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Completion Report COMPLETION REPORT COMPLETION REPORT August 20 – September 1, 2017 Mekong Institute, Khon Kaen, Thailand – COMPLETION REPORT Regional Training cum Business Networking on Sustainable Transport and Logistics Planning and Management September 25 – October 6, 2017 Mekong Institute (MI), Khon Kaen, Thailand Organized by Mekong Institute (MI) 1 | P a g e Organized by Mekong Institute (MI) COMPLETION REPORT Regional Training cum Business Networking on Sustainable Transport and Logistics Planning and Management September 25 – October 6, 2017 Mekong Institute (MI), Khon Kaen, Thailand i | P a g e ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all participants from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand (CLMVT) representing the mid-level, senior and management- level officials, academic and logistics operators from the government and private sector. The participants successfully completed all the program activities during the training program, actively participated in the discussion and group work and came up with the Action Plans (AP) which they have begun implementing in their respective organizations. Active engagement by the participants resulted in the success of this training program. This program could not have been accomplished without the kind cooperation and full financial support of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. Furthermore, we wish to express our sincere appreciation to internal and external resource persons for providing technical expertise and sharing their knowledge, lessons learned and best practices with all participants during the training course. Lastly, we wish to thank the Organizing Team of the Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) Department and all the Mekong Institute (MI) staff members involved for their support and assistance to ensure successful completion of the Training Program. Mekong Institute Khon Kaen, Thailand October 27, 2017 ii | P a g e EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Mekong Institute (MI) conducted a two-week Regional Training cum Business Networking on Sustainable Transport and Logistics Planning and Management from September 25 – October 6, 2017, at its residential training center in Khon Kaen, Thailand. The program was commissioned by the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. The main objectives of the program were to understand the significance of transport and logistics management and to enhance the participants’ knowledge on effective implementation of logistics procedures and services. The specific objectives of the program were: • To enhance and develop regional trade relationships within the CLMVT countries; • To foster the creation of a long-term network and cooperation, and knowledge exchange on sustainable transport and logistics for public and private, and academic organizations in transport and logistics in CLMVT; • To raise awareness of the importance of sustainable transport and logistics for the participating agencies from CLMVT and develop their businesses simultaneously; • To apply the gained knowledge, skills and techniques to transport and logistics planning and management in CLMVT; • To formulate strategies / guidelines on Human Resources Development and sustainable transport and logistics business development in CLMVT. A total of 55 participants attended the training from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand (CLMVT) - representing the mid-level, senior and management-level officials, academic and logistics operators from government and private sector. Among the participants, five (5) officers from the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) and Department of Trade Negotiation, Ministry of Commerce, Thailand also participated the program. Through attending the training, the participants gained knowledge and skills delivered and shared by a team of national and in-house experts with experience in sustainable transport and logistics planning and management at regional level. Resource Persons (RPs) provided participants with significant opportunities for being exposed to international best practices and expertise. More specifically, the training program cum business networking covered the following five inter-related modules: (i) Needs and Importance of Transport and Logistics, and Challenges and Opportunities in Context of AEC, and Carriage of Dangerous Goods, (ii) Strategy for Transport Planning and Management, (iii) International Agreements in the CLMVT / GMS and ASEAN and Transport Regulations, (iv) E-Logistics in Supply Chain Management and GMS Transport Information Connection (GTIC) System, and (v) Green Freight – key issues and its importance. To complement the in-house lectures, five (5) structured learning visits were also organized to the Professional ID Driver Training School (Khon Kaen), CP All Public Company Limited (Khon Kaen), SCG Skills Development School (Nakhon Ratchasima), V. Serve Group and Lad Krabang Inland Container Depot (Bangkok). The visits were designed and organized to gain knowledge on best practices of sustainable logistics sector management with a focus on modern techniques iii | P a g e and approaches in Thailand. Key issues for discussion during the field visits were: the identification of effective elements of transport and logistics services in planning and operations and the functioning of effective logistics operations. The SLVs proved effective in enhancing cooperation among the participants as a team and encouraging peer learning as well as forging business alliances. As part of the program, Business Networking was also organized with members of Thai Logistics for Greater Mekong Subregion Trade Association, Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Thai Industries in Khon Kaen, members of Thai SME Federation in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, members of ASEAN Trucking Federation and Thailand International Freight Forwarder Association (TIFFA) during the field visits in Bangkok. Inspired and motivated by the new knowledge and insights gained through in-house lectures and SLV visits, the participants prepared feasible Action Plans on logistics sector planning and management in line with their respective national development context. To understand the effectiveness and usefulness of the training program cum business networking, different evaluation methods were employed. First, the result of the pre- and post- training self-assessment shows that participants increased their knowledge and understanding on each of the module’s session/topics contents, leading to an overall increase in knowledge. Furthermore, results from the final program evaluation form show that all participants believed they had increased their knowledge from the training program. Among the five modules, it was clear there was a significant improvement in participants’ knowledge and skills on “E-Logistics in Supply Chain Management Policy and GMS Transport Information Connection (GTIC) System” and “Green Freight – Key Issues and its Importance” in particular. Meanwhile, all participants indicated that the knowledge and skills gained from the training would be relevant for their work. Overall 72% of participants were “mostly” or “highly satisfied” with the training. 88% stated that they “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the program should be organized again next year. The majority of participants stated that teaching methods had been appropriate. Suggestions from participants for improving the training program included: Arranging Structured Learning Visits and business networking opportunities with traders or manufacturing (SME) companies also, further support and financial assistance to implement their Action Plans, more time for Networking and SLVs and more diversity in the selection of participants. iv | P a g e ACRONYMS AP Action Plan CDS Curriculum Design Statement CLMVT Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MI Mekong Institute SLV Structured Learning Visit TIF Trade and Investment Facilitation TPSO Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) v | P a g e Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ ii Executive Summary .............................................................................................. iii Acronyms ............................................................................................................... v 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 7 2. Program Objectives, Outcomes and Inauguration Session................................. 8 2.1 Program Objectives ........................................................................................... 8 2.2 Program Outcomes ............................................................................................ 8 2.3 Inauguration Session ......................................................................................... 9 3. Program participants and resource persons .................................................... 10 3.1 Participants ...................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Resource Persons ............................................................................................. 11 4. Program contents ........................................................................................... 13 4.1 Program Introduction .....................................................................................
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