Students of the MSc Procurement Management programme at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) have deepened their understanding of contemporary supply chain management through a Practitioners’ Forum that brought classroom concepts into conversation with industry experience. The forum, held on Friday, 29 May 2026 at the UPSA Graduate School, was organised by the School of Graduate Studies under the theme, “Supply Chain Management in Practice: From the Perspective of Industry.”
The one-day seminar brought together graduate students, faculty and industry practitioners for a focused discussion on the realities, challenges and opportunities shaping supply chains in Ghana and beyond.
The session was hosted by Mr Mark Ofori Afayori, Lecturer in Supply Chain Management at UPSA, and featured Mr Alex Mould, an engineer, banker and current Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), as guest speaker.
Drawing on his experience across the energy, banking and public sectors, Mr Mould offered practical perspectives on strategic sourcing, supply chain resilience, stakeholder management, risk mitigation and leadership. He explained that supply chain management had moved beyond operational support to become a strategic function central to organizational competitiveness, sustainability and long-term value creation.
He noted that global market disruptions, geopolitical shifts and changing customer expectations had made agility, innovation, technology adoption and data-driven decision-making essential to effective supply chain leadership. Mr Mould also drew attention to persistent challenges in Ghana and other developing economies, including infrastructure gaps, regulatory bottlenecks, procurement inefficiencies and supplier relationship management constraints.
He encouraged students to strengthen their analytical, ethical and leadership competencies, stressing that future professionals must be able to respond to complex risks while upholding integrity and sound judgement in procurement and supply chain decisions.
The forum further examined the changing role of procurement and supply chain professionals in improving efficiency, supporting institutional growth and creating value across sectors.
During an interactive session, participants engaged Mr Mould on procurement strategy, public sector procurement reforms, inventory management, career development and the future of supply chain management in Africa.
Students described the session as insightful and professionally enriching, noting that it helped them appreciate how theories taught in class are applied in real organisational settings.
The Practitioners’ Forum forms part of UPSA’s commitment to strengthening the link between scholarship and professional practice. Through such engagements, the University continues to expose students to industry knowledge, practical experience and the professional mindset required to excel in the dynamic fields of procurement and supply chain management.
