The Chemical Business Association (CBA) has taken a further step towards becoming an organisation representing the UK chemical supply chain
At its annual general meeting held on 25 April 2007, CBA member companies voted in support of a special resolution that, for the first time, allowed warehouse, transport and logistics companies to become full voting members of the association.
CBA chairman Ken Gilkes said: "This is part of the transition process we began last year when we changed the Association's name.
"At the time, we said that our new inclusive identity recognised the importance to the industry of a range of supply chain activities and services.
"The formal inclusion of warehousing, transport and logistics businesses - which traditionally have been non-voting members of CBA - as full voting members of the association, is the next logical stage in this transition process," he said.
A strategy review undertaken by the CBA two years ago concluded that structural changes in the industry and the accelerating migration of manufacturing assets to China, Asia, and India would increase the importance of UK supply chain operations.
"Against this background, it makes sense to take an inclusive view of the supply chain, rather than focus narrowly on the traditional distributor function," explained Gilkes.
"And, in quite practical terms, supply chain companies are one of the fastest growing areas of CBA's membership," he said.
"CBA has built a pro-active organisation providing value-for-money supply chain services in addition to representation on an increasingly wide range of issues - particularly in the area of regulatory affairs," he added.
