Over a hundred delegates took part in the second ever Supply Chain Perspective, held yesterday at the Park Inn by Radisson Clark in Angeles City. There they listened to supply chain practitioners and stakeholders as they painted a picture of opportunity for Central Luzon, as well as illustrated the skills and tools needed to take advantage of the growth not just in the region but also elsewhere in the Philippines.
Once again, Ma. Catalina Cabral, undersecretary for planning of the Department of Public Works and Highways, graced the event to discuss government’s infrastructure plans. She focused on planned road and flood control projects for Central Luzon, and also outlined plans for the Luzon Spine Expressway Network, which can connect San Fernando, La Union to San Fernando, Camarines Sur in just over eight hours.
SCMAP president Nestor Felicio then spoke about the opportunities posed by supply chain optimization, presenting its importance as global value chains become the norm, and also touching on network design and how it is becoming an important part of supply chain management.
Enrique Castillo, a former president of SCMAP and now the president of the Victory Group of Companies, also presented his insights into the evolution of supply chain, while touching on a topic that strikes deep into locators in freeport zones like Clark and Subic: incoterms.
Finally, the REID Foundation’s Ronilo Balbieran again presented his outlook of the Philippine economy, and particularly singled out Central Luzon as a region with the biggest potential for growth, after decades of work from the public and private sectors to make them competitive investment destinations.
The event gathered participants from this year’s Supply Chain Immersion, which continues today and tomorrow with tours of locators and facilities across the Clark/Subic corridor, as well as representatives from national and local government agencies, businesses and the academe. In his closing remarks, SCMAP North Luzon president Frankie Villanueva expressed confidence that there are more good things ahead for the region, but only if stakeholders continue to work towards it.
This year’s Supply Chain Perspective was co-presented by the REID Foundation and the Center for International Private Enterprise, and supported by American Technologies and OpenPort.