Business

ISMM International Seminar on October 24, 2022 at the Shangri-La

Published

4 years ago

2022/06/14

The Institute of Supply and Materials Management (ISMM) came into being on 24th October 1972. Accordingly, we are celebrating our 50th Anniversary on 24th October 2022 and to coincide with this event ISMM will be organizing a Full Day International Seminar on 24th October 2022 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, where eminent scholars in the supply chain profession, both local and foreign are scheduled to attend. The theme selected for the Seminar is “Elevating the economy through innovative and sustainable supply chain solutions”.

The Institute of Supply and Materials Management (ISMM) is the only national body in Sri Lanka in the field of supply chain management. ISMM was incorporated by Act of Parliament No. 03 of 1981 on 29th January 1981. In 1980 ISMM was affiliated to the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management (IFPSM) based in UK. IFPSM is the world body encompassing 45 National Associations having over 250,000 Supply Chain Management professionals engaged in different sectors and levels. In recognition of its expertise the ISMM was able to obtain the membership of the Organization of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (OPA) on 3rd September 1976. Since then, ISMM plays a vital role in OPA activities. ISMM is also registered under the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) under reference P01/0160. In 2001, ISMM was affiliated to the International Trade Centre (ITC) and licensed to conduct its MLS-SCM programmes in Sri Lanka and in 2014 ISMM was able to obtain the ISO 9001 Quality Management System Certificate from the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI).

ISMM has been the Diploma awarding National Body for the last three decades awarding Graduate Diploma and Advance Diploma, in addition to conducting other Professional Courses namely Certificate and Management Courses adding more than 10,000 professionals to the profession of Supply Chain Management in Sri Lanka on a national scale including the government sector, tri forces and police. In 2010, ISMM launched the 3-year Graduate Diploma in Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (GDPSCM) programme with a dissertation. This Programme contains 120 Credits, and it is designed equivalent to a Special Degree. As at present, ISMM conducts the following courses at the operational, supervisory middle and senior management levels:

Graduate Diploma in Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (English)

Advance Diploma in Logistics and Warehouse Management (Sinhala & English).

Advance Diploma in Purchasing and Logistics Management (Sinhala & English).

International Diploma in Supply Chain Management (English).

Course in Stores Management (Sinhala & English).

Course in Purchasing Management (Sinhala & English).

Course in Shipping, Air Cargo and Containerization (English).

Certificate Course in Project Management for Supply Chain Professionals (English).

Certificate Course in Government Tender Procedure (Sinhala)

Certificate Course in Import and Export Procedures (English)

Certificate Course in Storekeeping (Sinhala)

In recognition of the increasingly crucial role played by ISMM in the development of the supply chain profession in Sri Lanka, the Department of Public Administration by its Circular No 46/09 (1) of 20.06.1994 recognizes the Corporate Membership of the ISMM as equivalent to a First or Second Class Degree in the field of Supply and Materials Management awarded by a recognized University in the recruitment and promotional process.

ISMM’s main thrust of activities from the inception was the training of supplies personnel at all levels. ISMM has trained more than 10,000 practitioners in the field of procurement and supply chain management. There are more than 1,000 Diplomates who have successfully completed Diploma Courses conducted by ISMM which enjoys a wide recognition in all sectors having a heavy input of procurement and supply chain activity. Training is also given at grassroots level and over 10,000 Stores personnel, including Storekeepers, Stores Managers and over 6,000 officers engaged in Purchasing, Inventory Control, Import & Export Trade, Shipping and Clearance work have successfully undergone training so far.

The extensive range of services rendered by ISMM include the up-to-date training programmes, seminars, workshops, conferences, discussions, members days, lectures, consultancy services and annual get-togethers. ISMM is strengthened by a professional membership who has wide knowledge on Supply Chain Management. President, Office Bearers and Council Members are selected by the members at the Annual General Meeting. Council of Management includes the Past Presidents of the Institution. In its recognition of the education and experience in the field of Supply Chain Management, ISMM membership is awarded to the professionals and Institutions in the following sequence:

Fellow Members

Life and Corporate Members

Associate Members (Non-voting members)

Affiliate Members (Students)

Institutional Members (Institutions)

Supply Chain Management is a fast-developing field of management, having a major influence on economic development and trade both at domestic and international levels. Globalization and regionalization are taking pride in international trade and development of competition is taking precedence over other factors as the driver of business. The benefits of Supply Chain Management are immense and to name a few; higher productivity, reduce cost, raise output, raise efficient/effective levels, boost cooperation, lowers delay in processes and enhances the effectiveness of Supply Chain Networks.

It is pivotal that Supply Chain Management has taken an imperative role with the Sri Lankan Government development plan to procure and manage scares resources wisely with limited money available. As it is leading private sector organizations in Sri Lanka has employed most of our highly skilled professionals to manage the high spend of the organisation by understanding the importance of the effective and efficient management of Supply Chain. The impact of supply chain will be felt in all activities and no institution could carry on with its activities devoid of material resources. As a result, the role of purchasing and Supply Chain Management is assuming a strategic role for the progressive development of the country.

ISMM Office and the Training Directorate is housed at the Organisation Professional Association Premises, Professional Centre, No. 275/75, Prof. Stanley Wijesundara Mawatha, Colombo 07, and for further information you can visit the website www.ismmsrilanka.com

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Business

Cost-effective clearance of goods across borders to determine worth of Customs Paperless Declaration

Published

22 hours ago

2026/09/25

Thilina Walpola

Containers held up at the Port of Colombo

By Ifham Nizam

The introduction of the Customs Paperless Declaration from October 1 could mark an important step in Sri Lanka’s efforts to modernise trade, but its real value will depend on whether it reduces the time and cost of moving goods through the country’s borders, Customs House Agents & Traders Association President Mohamed Niyas said.

Niyas warned that digitising Customs declarations alone would not necessarily translate into faster cargo clearance or lower costs for businesses.

‘Expecting a dramatic improvement in clearance speed under the present conditions is like expecting Ferrari performance from a Morris Minor configuration, he said.

For importers and exporters, the issue extends well beyond paperwork. Every additional hour or day that cargo remains in the clearance chain can have wider consequences for businesses, including increased port and storage-related costs, additional working-capital requirements, uncertainty over delivery schedules and disruptions to production and distribution.

Niyas said the competitiveness of Sri Lanka’s trading sector ultimately depended on how efficiently goods could move through the country’s border-clearance system.

‘The real bottleneck is not merely the absence of paper. It is the entire clearance ecosystem—the limitations of the existing ASYCUDA World system, excessive regulatory interventions by Other

Government Agencies, multiple approvals, physical examinations, manual interventions, fragmented processes and institutional constraints, he said.

He cautioned that unless these bottlenecks were addressed, there was a risk that the paperless initiative would merely digitise existing bureaucracy.

‘If these underlying constraints remain unchanged, there is a real risk that the new paperless system could become another “copy-and-paste road show”—where an old, complex clearance process is simply transferred onto a digital screen without fundamentally changing the process itself, Niyas said.

For businesses dependent on imported raw materials, machinery, components and other inputs, clearance efficiency can directly affect the wider supply chain.

Delays at the border can create uncertainty for manufacturers, distributors and retailers, while exporters can face difficulties meeting delivery schedules when imported inputs or export consignments are held up.

Niyas therefore argued that the success of the October 1 initiative should be judged by its impact on trade flows rather than by the number of declarations processed electronically.

‘Paperless does not automatically mean faster, he said. ‘Digitising a slow process does not make the process fast. It only makes the slow process digital.’

He said Sri Lanka needed to move towards what he described as “process-less Customs”—a system in which unnecessary procedures are eliminated rather than simply converted into electronic procedures.

Among the reforms he called for are simplification of Customs declarations and approval workflows, improvements to the functionality of ASYCUDA World, greater use of risk-based inspections and better integration of Other Government Agency approvals.

Niyas also called for the elimination of repetitive document submissions and physical endorsements, greater use of pre-arrival processing, sufficient capacity for digital document uploads and clearly defined service-level timelines for Customs and OGAs.

Business

China backs Sri Lanka’s Non-aligned stance to counter regional pressures

Published

22 hours ago

2026/09/25

Thilina Walpola

Chinese Ambassador Wei Huaxiang delivering the keynote address in Colombo

By Sanath Nanayakkare

As global attention has fixed on the high-level diplomatic choreography at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a subtler, yet profound geopolitical signal was sent from Colombo, yesterday.

In a major address marking the founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, newly appointed Chinese Ambassador Wei Huaxiang chose to anchor bilateral relations not just in modern trade or infrastructure, but in a shared respect for Sri Lanka’s legacy of non-aligned independence.

By explicitly invoking Sri Lanka’s foundational role in the 1976 Non-Aligned Summit, Beijing was doing something unexpected in an era defined by fierce great-power rivalry: it was officially validating a small island nation’s right to maintain an independent foreign policy stance.

The Strategic Value of Independence

For decades, nations caught in the crosshairs of major-power competition have faced intense pressure to pick sides. Yet, Ambassador Wei’s embrace of Colombo’s non-aligned tradition signaled a different diplomatic playbook. Instead of demanding alignment, Beijing was framing its partnership as a reliable counterbalance to regional pressures. By honouring Sri Lanka’s diplomatic autonomy, China was effectively reassuring smaller economies that sovereign independence and robust economic cooperation can coexist.

Beyond Ports and Industrial Zones

This diplomatic framing reframed the narrative surrounding major collaborative ventures like the Colombo Port City and Hambantota Port. While foreign analysts often view these projects exclusively through the lens of strategic rivalry, Beijing’s diplomatic messaging tied them back to a historical ethos of solidarity—evoking memories of the 1952 Rubber-Rice Pact.

By marrying economic projects with a stated respect for non-alignment, China is positioning itself as a steadfast stakeholder that respects Sri Lanka’s internal agency during difficult economic and political seasons.

As both nations look toward major milestones in 2027—including the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties—this nuanced diplomatic move revealed how historic traditions are being leveraged to navigate modern multipolar realities.

For global observers, the takeaway was clear: in the shifting architecture of Asian geopolitics, respecting a nation’s historical neutrality may just be the most effective way to secure a lasting partnership, a diplomatic masterclass that Ambassador Wei Huaxiang executed in style.

Business

Sri Lanka Insurance Life appoints Dr. Sameera Dharmasena Chief Executive Officer

Published

22 hours ago

2026/09/25

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Sameera Dharmasena

Sri Lanka Insurance Life (SLIC Life), the nation’s largest and strongest Life Insurer, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Sameera Dharmasena as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 22nd September 2026.

Dr. Dharmasena is a distinguished insurance professional with over 21 years of experience in the Sri Lankan insurance industry, having held senior leadership positions across several leading insurance companies affiliated with some of Sri Lanka’s largest business conglomerates. His extensive career spans both local and multinational insurance environments, bringing together broad industry expertise, strategic leadership and a strong commitment to the advancement of the insurance profession.