Hickory Ground Solutions and Supply Chain Visions team on Afghanistan Carpet Center of Excellence

HEATHSVILLE, Va., Jan. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hickory Ground Solutions, LLC, teaming with Supply Chain Visions, Inc., has won a contract from the Department of Commerce to support the development of the Afghan Carpet Center of Excellence.  The Afghan Carpet Center of Excellence (ACCOE) will increase the revenue to Afghanistan from handmade carpet sales and drive employment by increasing the Afghan value-added content of the carpets.  The initiative to establish the Afghan Carpet Center of Excellence follows the successful opening of the Marble Center of Excellence in Kabul in 2013. 

The Commerce Department's director of the Afghanistan Investment and Reconstruction Task Force, Susan Hamrock Mann, says, "We're helping Afghanistan get its identity back and return the entire production to Afghanistan so that they can start stamping the carpets made in Afghanistan."

The Afghanistan Investment and Reconstruction Task Force (AIRTF) of the U.S. Department of Commerce works closely with other Commerce offices, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, other U.S. government agencies, Afghan government agencies, and international organizations to coordinate activities in support of Afghan economic development.

"Our expertise in global supply chains, history of work in non-permissive environments, knowledge of the hand-woven carpet history, and first-hand experience in Afghanistan are each clear discriminators," said Bart Morrison, CEO of Hickory Ground Solutions. "Together, they describe a distinctive and compelling set of capabilities for the Afghanistan Carpet Center of Excellence requirement."

"Our understanding of supply chain requirements and global trade provides the ACCOE with a team that can understand requirements and identify alignment opportunities," said Steve Geary, President of Supply Chain Visions, Inc. "Beyond our experience in North America and Europe, we have extensive experience with mapping and then restoring commercial supply chains in uncertain environments."

Hickory Ground Solutions, LLC is an SBA approved Native American owned SBA certified 8(a) small and disadvantaged business.   Supply Chain Visions, Inc. is a small business with a portfolio that includes HUBZone and Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SDVOSB) certified companies.  With a decade of past performance, and experience in some of the most challenging environments around the globe, the allied companies offer proven capabilities across the supply chain.

SOURCE Supply Chain Visions, Inc.