Paper thin productivity

The Australian transport industry needs to improve by as much as 20 per cent to 30 per cent for local manufacturers to stay competitive in the face of globalisation, one manufacturer says.

SCA Hygiene produces toilet paper and paper towel and is one the largest grocery suppliers in the country. Supply chain manager, Anthony Feneley, says unless they get that massive saving a competitor could start up in Asia and undercut their business.

“In our space our competitors are not the threat to our business. The threat to our business is 40 hectares of land that’s undeveloped and has bamboo growing on it and it’s somewhere in South East Asia”, he says.

Speaking at a recent Innovate/Collaborate workshop in Melbourne, Feneley says his company is out of ideas when it comes to greater efficiency and is asking the transport industry to catch up.