What’s Up

From Tech to Capitol Hill

Graduates of Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering thrive across an array of industries and roles, so it’s no surprise that one alumna, Elisabeth Deeb, ME 2013, M.S. MT 2015, found herself spending the past year busy with purpose in the heart of Washington D.C. as an ASME Congressional Fellow in Advanced Manufacturing.

Sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in conjunction with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Congressional Fellowship program is extremely selective; it’s more than just an opportunity for professional development, as fellows like Deeb spend 12 months in Washington providing technical expertise to lawmakers and taking an active role in shaping future policy.

For the full article on Georgia Tech’s website:  https://www.me.gatech.edu/news/tech-capitol-hill-alumnas-impactful-journey-engineering-and-policy

 


EU Food Trade Issues

European Union Food Trade Issues:  The evolving EU regulations on Maximum Residue Limits for Perfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) could have significant implications for emerging market suppliers and governments.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in a discussion to explore solutions and mitigation strategies that can be adopted with experts in the field.
Speakers include:
Welcome: Natia Mgeladze, Global Lead, IFC Food Safety and Food Loss Prevention Advisory Program
Dr. Tom Deeb, Vice President, T&M Associates
Melvin Spreij, Head, Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) Secretariat
Shane Sela, Senior Trade Facilitation Specialist, WBG
Moderator: Kateryna Onul, Policy Lead, IFC Food Safety and Food Loss Prevention Advisory Program


ESG and Localization

Investors, regulatory agencies, and companies are focusing on  ESG in order to manage and measure sustainable long term business performance and investment potential.  Companies that can demonstrate Environmental Social Governance (ESG) performance are showing increased revenues, higher returns, and greater investment attraction.  Delivering on ESG is good for business.

The S in ESG is the social impact criteria and consists of practices that benefit the employees, consumers, suppliers, and the community.  In his article in ISMWorld.com, Shaun Doherty provides an excellent explanation on how localization programs are an effective and sustainable ESG strategy. Well designed localization programs encourage companies to invest in their employees, suppliers and communities in a way that is sustainable, good for the company’s business and deliver cost savings and a return on investment.

T&M Associates designs and helps clients implement highly successful localization programs that deliver on ESG performance.  Working together with our clients, our programs have delivered benefits to all stakeholders, from governments, to the sponsoring companies, to the local workforce and local companies (including small and medium enterprises).  These localization programs resulted in significant growth of local enterprises, as well as significant increases in meaningful local employment and workforce development.  And by delivering a positive return on investment for the sponsoring entity, the programs insured their sustainability and continued growth for many years.

For the article on ESG and Localization, please click on this link:  ISM Insights_ ESG and Localization


T&M Associates’ Onshoring Programs Build Sustainable Supply Chains

T&M Associates’ onshoring programs help our clients develop, grow, diversify, and optimize their supply chains.  Our programs are supported by proprietary systems and processes designed to meet the needs of our clients.   Digitization and data analytics are some of the tools used to provide information to make business decisions. By themselves, data analytics do not grow supply chain ecosystems.  Growing local supply chains requires hands-on experience in implementation and execution. The output of our program provides clients with a portfolio of opportunities and a list of activities targeting short-, mid- and long-term development and investment opportunities.

The success of our programs was seen during the pandemic. “We have seen a lot of plants and factories and suppliers that support Saudi Aramco from Europe, including China and other places – they had to shut down because of the lockdown. That impacted us for a while. But because of the optimum level of inventory that we have and because of our in-Kingdom total value add, which is our local content – we are at 56% so a lot of things are being manufactured in the Kingdom – it helped us a lot.” Quote by Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser in Oil&Gas, June 2020.

Over the last decade, T&M Associates developed and executed the leading onshoring and in-country value addition programs, recognized by the IFC and World Petroleum Council Excellence Awards in Social Responsibility and especially our clients. Our programs have developed hundreds of supply chain ecosystems to support our clients’ industries, generated billions in new revenue for local companies, created 1000’s of new jobs, and 10’s of millions of USD in new investment.


Saudi Aramco’s iktva Program Helped Battle the Pandemic

Resilient supply chains,  as a result of iktva, were a clear advantage during the pandemic. The pandemic caused supply chain disruptions and exposed the vulnerabilities and critical pinch points of global supply chains.  During these events, companies and regions experienced difficulties obtaining services and materials, especially from offshore suppliers, delivery times increased, quality decreased, and some suppliers had to shut down or went out of business.

“Mohammad A. Al Shammary, VP Procurement & Supply Chain Management at Saudi Aramco, discusses the impact of iktva on the pandemic, and how localization helps build resilience in Oil&Gas.

The full Press Release can be read here:  O&G Aramco iktva Mar 2021

Saudi Aramco CEO credits iktva with helping to build resilience before the pandemic.  “We have seen a lot of plants and factories and suppliers that support Saudi Aramco from Europe, including China and other places – they had to shut down because of the lockdown. That impacted us for a while. But because of the optimum level of inventory that we have and because of our in-Kingdom total value add, which is our local content – we are at 56% so a lot of things are being manufactured in the Kingdom – it helped us a lot.” Quote by Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser.

The Oil&Gas Press Release can be read here: O&G iktva and Covid Jul 2020


Leveraging Value Add Programs to Support Economic Recovery

Webinar Presented by AmCham Abu Dhabi

AmCham Abu Dhabi in collaboration with ADNOC, ALDAR and Etihad hosted a live webinar on Wednesday Nov. 18th, 2020  on ” Leveraging Value Add Programs to Support Economic Recovery”.

Moderator:   Dr. Tom Deeb, VP, T&M Associates.

Panelists:

  • Mona Ahmed Balalaa: Manager ICV Execution ADNOC
  • Sultan Almheiri: Local Content Manager Sourcing & Procurement Etihad Airways
  • Kim Schofield: Founder and Managing Partner O2K Limited
  • Leya Al Damani: VP Sustainability Department Procurement ALDAR

 

 

 


Opportunities in Oil & Gas in the Middle East

Danish Export Association Member Conference

In September 2019, Elisabeth Deeb, T&M Associates, was invited to present “Opportunities in Oil & Gas in the Middle East” at the Danish Export Association Member Conference in Esbjerg, Denmark.


World Economic Forum on Economic Development

T&M Associates was an invited author and reviewer for World Economic Forum on Economic Development, Chapter 10. Stimulating Broader Social and Economic Development from Natural Resources. This book was published as a part of the WEF on-going work to help countries maximize the value they create from their natural resources. Read More