Strategic Review

Menu

SASSDA IDENTIFIES KEY MEMBER BENEFITS AS ONE OF ITS GREATEST STRENGTHS

As part of its aim of remaining relevant and forward thinking, Sassda has reassessed its performance during two collaborative strategic sessions with  the Sassda Team and Main Committee members in attendance. The session proved extremely successful at identifying wins and losses during the  last 12-months and clearly showed the most agile and effective path forward. Here Sassda Acting Executive Director Michel Basson provides an  overview of what was achieved.

Management literature defines a strategy as “a general direction set for a company and its various components to achieve a desired state in the  future”. Re-visiting a strategy from time to time is good practice, especially in a fast developing world where (as seen in the last two years) the  general environment for business and living can change within weeks.

In the current state of the globe, it would be unwise to make five year or longer strategic plans. The ability to survive unforeseen calamities stems from an organisation’s ability to adapt and thrive. The level of adaptability shown by organisations during chaotic interventions is not only a sign of their chances of surviving but also the level of organisational intelligence. In short, clever organisations learn how to adapt and survive.

At the end of 2018, Sassda embarked on a new funding model, and it was time to investigate the success of our Tiered Membership system in terms of income generation through membership and the ability to offer members value for money benefits and services. In 2021 a strategic task team was  formed by Sassda staff and members to structure a scientific and accurate way to conduct a study to answer these questions.

MEMBER-DRIVEN & TRANSPARENT

A strategic session was held in September 2021 with the Main Committee and Board to evaluate the research findings and how to approach the next  12 to 18 months. Sassda is a member-driven and transparent organisation, and we would like to share with you some of the detail of the strategic session.

Most important is that the members confirmed Sassda’s mandate namely that the Association provides a platform for Sassda members to collectively promote the sustainable growth and development of the industry with the main emphasis on stainless steel converted within the South African
economy.

The session highlighted the following key phrases in the mandate, namely:
“promote”; “sustainable”; “industry growth and development”, and “conversion of stainless steel within the local economy”.

It was also confirmed that the strategic pillars for future development and focus will remain:

  • Marketing of Stainless Steel
  • Education and Training
  • Safeguarding the Industry
  • Raise Sassda’s Profile
  • Member Engagement

Before the session, the Sassda team conducted a competitive review in terms of membership costs and services rendered when compared to other  stainless steel development associations globally. What this showed, is that Sassda delivers the same generic features as the other associations but is unique in the following Services and Products:

TECHNICAL SERVICE

  • Welding Brochure
  • Guide for Architects, Consulting Engineers and Quantity Surveyors
  • Stainless Steel Maintenance in and Around the Home
  •  Weekly Webinars
  • Sassda YouTube Channel

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

  • eLearning Introduction course
  • Shop floor Warehouse course
  • Shop floor Fabrication course
  • Advanced course
  • CPD presentation to architectural institutes
  • “60 Minutes” type webinar

MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS AND GENERATING LEADS

  • Life Cycle Costing
  • Outward bound trade missions with the dtic
  • Trade shows with the dtic
  • Monthly Africa Country Report
  • Influencing and Networking
  • Short Track Survey
  • Strong Government interaction and lobbying

A questionnaire showed that most members are satisfied that the current Sassda membership fee is in line with the value received. We will therefore continue our current path of delivering improved membership benefits with no membership fee increase during 2022.

SASSDA PILLARS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND FUTURE FOCUS DECEMBER

For more details on the revised benefits, we will also be emailing out a digital snapshot of all the added value services we currently offer to ensure our members can easily identify these value add opportunities for their business.

For further enquiries on our current membership offerings please email michel@sassda.co.za