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rite away for a free holiday
Page 44
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WHICH way distribution? Nobody, of course, can answer that question with absolute certainty, but if you can present well reasoned arguments based on a broad awareness of present trends you could be soaking up the sunshine on a foreign beach next summer by courtesy of National Carriers Contract Services, The National Freight Consortium company, in association with Commercial Motor, is running an essay competition. The theme is distribution in the UK over the next five years and the prize a holiday of the winner's choice to the value of £600.
Essays should be of at least 1,500 words and must be submitted by February 18, 1985. There are no constraints on how entrants may wish to tackle the subject, but one aspect must be discussed — Physical Distribution Management.
In broad terms, PDM embraces all aspects of the transport, handling and transfer of goods from the raw materials stage right through to the delivery of finished goods to retail outlets. It includes activities such as stock control, warehousing, administration, inventory costs and publishing.
The theory of PDM has been discussed for many years, but it is only recently that it has started to become reality. NCCS is one of the companies which has been responsible for bringing this about. For some of its larger customers it considers that it is close to achieving a total PDM policy.
The importance the company attaches to this development is implied by the competition's title, the PDM Award, and un derlined by a rule of the competition that discussion of PDM should take up at least 20 per cent of all essays submitted.
Entries will be judged by lain Sherriff, editor, CM; Mike Tarrant, managing director, NCCS; Prof Martin Christopher of the Cranfield Institute of Technology; and Dr Carl WatsonCandy of Imperial College, London. A trophy will be presented to the winner at a lunch in London in April.
The competition is not open to NEC or Business Press International employees.