At AB Agri, we’re passionate about supporting the professional development of our colleagues, and we know that doing so assists internal business growth. Our Supply Chain Academy was created with this in mind.
Our Supply Chain Management programme was developed to help identify and fill competency gaps for those already working in, or aspiring to move into, a role at managerial level within our supply chain. The programme, initiated in 2020, is currently seeing its fourth cohort of participants and has already successfully helped 30 employees raise their profiles.
The initiative is sponsored by Adam Grimwood, Head of Supply Chain Performance Delivery, who has worked with teams across several business areas to identify the competencies required for management positions within the supply chain. Thus, the classroom sessions explore topics including insights profiles and how they’re discovered, successfully managing change, fostering an inclusive environment, the essential human resource skills, feed safety, health and safety, and understanding project scope and execution.
Each cohort is made up of ten people who are nominated each year to take on the significant commitment of participating in the 12-14 month programme, alongside their daily responsibilities within the business. Their dedication has more than paid off, with each cohort having since contributed to the business in a tangible way.
Upon completion of the classroom sessions colleagues work on a team project for 4-5 months, which is then presented back to the Senior Leadership Team.
Recent projects include ‘Target Zero’, where employees focus on small wins that help make sure we focus on health and safety, quality, environment and security in all aspects of the business in their local areas and sites. The ‘Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Plant’ which is part of Amur, a division of AB Agri and an Associated British Foods business, focused on renewable energy and getting more with less through processing all the waste from making feed. Finally, a cost model across AB Neo to help make the most of the stock and keep it moving through the supply chain in the right order, was also included in the new projects.
These projects have had a real, direct impact on the business. Following the projects, all programme attendees had a one-to-one session with the Senior Leadership Team about the programme and their plans moving forward.
All our programme graduates have done wonderful things, and we can’t wait to see what our next cohort does!