Latest news with #SCM
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Witness in Zandile Gumede trial prefers waste pile over irregular expenditure
Former mayor of eThekwini, Zandile Gumede, with her supporters outside the Durban High Court. Image: Nomonde Zondi In the R320 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender fraud case involving former eThekwini municipality mayor Zandile Gumede, a State witness has told the Durban High Court that she would prefer not to have a pile of rubbish picked up than to deal with irregular expenses for not following due process. The witness, who cannot be named as per court order, is currently being cross-examined by advocate Jimmy Howse SC, who is counsel for Sandile Ngcobo, a fifth accused who was a deputy head of supply chain management (SCM) in eThekwini. Gumede, Ngcobo, and 20 others are facing numerous charges, including money laundering, racketeering, fraud, corruption, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Municipal Systems Act relating to the tender. The witness told the court that waste collection is not an emergency, but a critical service. The court has heard that the Durban Solid Waste Unit had sought authority in December 2017 to get experienced service providers to collect waste from January 2018. This is because the contract of service providers was going to expire on December 31, 2017. In November 2017, the unit advertised a tender for waste collection, but they claimed that they received a lot of submissions and needed extra time to go through all of the proposals.. The witness during this time worked at the tenders and contracts unit. Part of her job included issuing letters of award to those who had won tenders. She said that after the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC) gave the DSW the go-ahead to get service providers and approved the quotations, that decision needed to be reviewed by the Executive Acquisitions Committee (EAC), which was established by former city manager Sipho Nzuza to advice him. The BAC-approved quotations are subject to compliance checks, and then letters of appointment will be issued to the service providers. Howse asked her if it made sense that the EAC had to consider this on January 29, 2018, when the service providers should start collecting waste on January 1, 2018. The witness said that had she been instructed to do otherwise, she would have. "I was following due processes," she said. Howse asked her if she had approached any of her supervisors to tell them that there were not going to be waste management services in January, considering the email that was sent by a DSW contract administrator stating that this was an emergency. She said no and added that this was not the only contract she was dealing with. Additionally, Howse asked her if the SCM policy had any distinction between critical and emergency. She said it was her view that this was not an emergency and she continued to refer to SCM policies. She said the DSW Unit had a sole mandate to ensure contracts for waste management and illegal dumping. 'Failure to have those contracts does not result in an emergency. That is a failure to properly plan. In my view, Mr Howse, this was not an emergency,' she said. On December 28, 2018, the witness said Ngcobo had asked her to prepare the letters of award for the contractors, who were going to collect waste in January 2018. Howse said this was after his client received a call from the city manager enquiring about the letters of award.
Business Upturn
29-05-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
Kinaxis Brings AI-Powered Supply Chain Breakthroughs to Tokyo at Kinexions 25
By Business Wire Published on May 29, 2025, 10:14 IST TOKYO, Japan: Kinaxis® (TSX: KXS), a global leader in end-to-end supply chain orchestration, today announced it will host Kinexions Japan 25 on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Tokyo. This year's event will spotlight new product capabilities and customer strategies designed for complex, fast-changing supply chain environments. Part of the global Kinexions event series, Kinexions Japan brings together supply chain leaders, business decision-makers, and industry experts to reveal how organizations are accelerating decision-making, improving collaboration, and scaling operations with greater resilience. With pressure mounting from disruption, sustainability demands, and economic uncertainty, this year's event delivers practical insights, customer success stories, and strategies that are helping organizations take action today. Attendees will get an early look at Maestro™ features, including faster scenario modeling, integrated planning, and real-time coordination across global operations. 'Kinexions Japan 25 is where forward-thinking companies come to exchange ideas and see what's truly possible with modern supply chain orchestration,' said Masa Kogure, president of Kinaxis Japan. 'This year's event will provide in-depth insight into transformation stories, sustainability, and AI-driven orchestration with real-world examples, hands-on sessions, and practical takeaways for supply chain teams. Executives from leading organizations will share how they've improved planning cycles, reduced risk exposure, and increased supply chain visibility. Some of the event highlights include: Kazuya Saito , general manager of SCM, Fujirebio Inc. – sharing a transformation journey to align planning processes, streamline decision-making, and gain end-to-end visibility using Maestro. , general manager of SCM, – sharing a transformation journey to align planning processes, streamline decision-making, and gain end-to-end visibility using Maestro. Masashi Onozuka , partner, Roland Berger – offering insights on the future of risk management and sustainability through connected supply chain platforms. , partner, – offering insights on the future of risk management and sustainability through connected supply chain platforms. Masa Kogure , president, Kinaxis Japan K.K. – delivering the welcome address and opening the event. , president, K.K. – delivering the welcome address and opening the event. Mark Morgan , president, commercial operations, Kinaxis – sharing the latest company and global strategy updates. , president, commercial operations, – sharing the latest company and global strategy updates. Phillip Teschemacher , president, APAC, Kinaxis – providing a regional outlook and APAC business update. , president, APAC, – providing a regional outlook and APAC business update. Isao Sugiyama, director of business consulting, Kinaxis Japan – leading a product roadmap session focused on AI-driven orchestration and upcoming Maestro innovations. Discussions will focus on real-world strategies for managing complexity, adapting to shifting demand, and improving multi-tier collaboration. Topics to be explored include: The shift from linear supply chains to agile, web-based networks Orchestrating global and regional operations in real time How concurrent planning with Maestro is unlocking speed, agility, and collaboration Using AI and digitization to advance sustainability and risk management Kinexions Japan 25 will spotlight how organizations across Japan are using real-time scenario modeling, concurrent planning, and end-to-end visibility to make faster, smarter decisions and build more resilient supply chains. The event will include live Maestro demonstrations, interactive product sessions, and expert-led roundtables for peer learning and networking. Register now and explore the full agenda: About Kinaxis Kinaxis is a global leader in modern supply chain orchestration, powering complex global supply chains and supporting the people who manage them, in service of humanity. Our powerful, AI-infused supply chain orchestration platform, Maestro™ combines proprietary technologies and techniques that provide full transparency and agility across the entire supply chain — from multi-year strategic planning to last-mile delivery. We are trusted by renowned global brands to provide the agility and predictability needed to navigate today's volatility and disruption. For more news and information, please visit or follow us on LinkedIn. View source version on Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, social networks and other audiences.
New Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Indian cities: Flood of woes, drought of action
Urban development in the Indian context is, effectively, an unplanned amoebic expansion of housing and commercial spaces. The faultlines are documented. A 2021 report of the ministry of housing and urban affairs observes, 'Floodplains in Indian cities are very much exposed to unauthorised construction, which has taken place without preparation and approval of layout plans.' Flooding is a result of poor retrofitting of policy and facilities such as drainage. Add to this the inadequacies of waste management, poor desilting, the inefficiencies haunting urban local bodies and lack of capacity. In 2014, the BJP manifesto promised the construction of 100 new cities. That was replaced with a promise of Smart Cities launched in June 2015. The mission: to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment, and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of 'smart solutions'. How has that panned out? The Smart Cities Mission (SCM) covered 100 cities. As per data provided in parliament, 8,063 projects costing over Rs 1,64,545 crore were taken up, and 7,504 projects costing over Rs 1,50,306 crore were completed. It is arguable that this spend should have included provision of infrastructure to prevent flooding. But cities continue to be flooded. The SCM was supplemented by another scheme called AMRUT, launched in 2015 to cover 500 cities and towns. The mission: development of basic infrastructure. The thrust areas: water supply, sewage and septage management, storm-water drains to reduce flooding, besides public transport and enhancement of amenities. Under AMRUT, over 6,000 projects worth Rs 83,578 crore were taken up. What was the spending on flood prevention and what has it delivered? Some 793 projects with a total spend Rs 2,332 crore for 1,434 km of storm water drains were taken up. The where-what of their success is as fuzzy as the answer provided in the Lok Sabha. The gap between need and delivery is stark. A 2022 World Bank report estimates that India would need to spend as much as $840 billion in 15 years on its urban infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing urban population that's expected to touch 600 million by 2036. The hurdle is not only of resources—the government's total expenditure in the decade since 2014 has gone up from Rs 17.94 lakh crore to Rs 50.65 lakh crore, as the GDP more than doubled. The situation is worsened by a poverty of political intent. The architecture of governance disempowers urban governance. The promise of the 74th Amendment to the Constitution—transfer of funds and functions from the Centre and states to local governments—was reduced to legalese in over a quarter of a century. Local bodies are colonised by states, just as states are colonised by the Union. Urbanisation is a proven force-multiplier of employment, incomes and growth. Unfortunately, the architecture of politics, with an inherent bias for freebie-funded votes, has reduced urban India into a constituency of a lesser god. Shankkar Aiyar Author of The Gated Republic, Aadhaar: A Biometric History of India's 12 Digit Revolution, and Accidental India (
Economic Times
22-05-2025
- General
- Economic Times
Our smart cities are dumbing down
It's easy to launch a flashy new project. Way harder to keep it going. Despite grand makeovers and dutifully media-covered inaugurations, most cities have, to put it euphemistically, 'maintenance issues'. And as each monsoon reminds us, even so-called 'smart cities'. This week, Bengaluru and Pune, both ostensibly 'smart', were waterlogged after just a round of pre-monsoon showers, proof that smartness lies not in tech but in the dull discipline of upkeep. In 2014, GoI announced 100 smart cities envisioned to use technology as the backbone to pre-empt and solve everyday challenges - from traffic snarls to urban flooding. But somewhere along the way, the goal shifted. Smart Cities Mission (SCM) became confined to renovating and retrofitting existing cities and providing basic facilities, such as housing, clean water, power and transport. Over the past decade, roughly 8,000 projects worth ₹1.64 lakh cr were sanctioned under SCM. The mission ended on March 31, but without clear answers about the future of SPVs, including integrated command and control centres (ICCCs), the nerve centre of these smart cities. These were set up in all 100 smart cities to enable real-time, data-driven decision-making. To ensure continued maintenance of smart city assets, the parliamentary standing committee on housing and urban affairs rightly recommended that the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) frame guidelines for SPVs to keep operating beyond the mission's end. But there has been no movement on this. Public money doesn't just need to be spent, it needs to work. Without a culture of upkeep and performance tracking, we'll keep rebuilding the same cities and assets every decade. This is as unsmart as it can get.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oracle Named a Leader in Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Warehouse Management Systems for 10th Consecutive Year
AI-powered fulfillment capabilities and real-time inventory visibility position Oracle Fusion Cloud Warehouse Management as the standard for SaaS warehouse management solutions AUSTIN, Texas, May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle has been named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Warehouse Management Systems. For the 10th year in a row, Oracle was recognized based on its Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision for Oracle Fusion Cloud Warehouse Management. A copy of the report is available here. "Shifting market dynamics and growing customer expectations are putting increased strain on warehouse, inventory, and fulfillment operations," said Srini Rajagopal, vice president of logistics product strategy at Oracle. "Oracle Warehouse Management helps organizations streamline complex warehouse processes and achieve more complete inventory visibility from factory floors to distribution centers to store shelves. We believe our position as a Leader in this report reflects the strength of our solution, our continued investment in innovation, and – most importantly – the success of our customers." Part of Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain & Manufacturing (SCM), Oracle Warehouse Management provides a single platform for organizations to manage all warehouse management and fulfillment in the cloud. With embedded AI and industry-leading capabilities, Oracle Warehouse Management enables organizations to maximize order fulfillment, help reduce costs, and adapt to change. With Oracle Warehouse Management, organizations can: Support omnichannel fulfillment: Streamlined multi-channel fulfillment processes help organizations reduce stockouts, improve efficiency, and enhance customer satisfaction by fulfilling orders quickly and accurately. Gain real-time inventory visibility: An aggregated view of inventory helps organizations increase inventory accuracy and help reduce material write-offs by improving coordination across their network of warehouse locations. Automate warehouse operations: Integrated materials handling equipment and robotics help organizations increase on-time delivery and reduce operating costs by automating the movement of inventory into, within, and out of warehouses. Increase warehouse efficiency: AI-powered warehouse capabilities help organizations optimize warehouse space and fulfillment speed by using dynamic slotting to identify products frequently ordered together. Improve workforce productivity: Intelligent task management tools help organizations enhance overall warehouse performance by identifying and reducing labor inefficiencies and improving accuracy. Part of Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications Suite, Oracle Cloud SCM enables customers to seamlessly connect supply chain processes and quickly respond to changing demand, supply, and market conditions. In addition, embedded AI acts as an advisor to help analyze supply chain data, generate content, and augment or automate processes to help improve business operations and create a resilient supply network to outpace change. For additional information on Oracle Cloud Warehouse Management applications, visit Gartner DisclaimerGartner, Magic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems, Simon Tunstall, Dwight Klappich, Rishabh Narang, Federica Stufano, 1 May 2025. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark, and MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. About OracleOracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at TrademarksOracle, Java, MySQL and NetSuite are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. NetSuite was the first cloud company—ushering in the new era of cloud computing. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Oracle Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
