01 Developing a best-in-class cross-functional supply chain organization
Developing a best-in-class cross-functional supply chain organization
Developing a best-in-class crossfunctional supply chain organization Mr. Sebastian Thomas is a Senior VP Supply Chain at ZAFCO, Managing the Global supply chain at strategic level including various overseas logistics projects. ZAFCO FZCO is a leading global player in tire and battery distribution head quartered in Jebel Ali Free Zone. With more than 21 years in Dubai, Mr. Sebastian has been associated with some of the corporate giants like Seal-Land, P&G, Masterfoods, Philip Morris, BAT, Marks & Spencer, IKEA, TOYS R US, Ace Hardware etc supporting their end to end Supply chain management. During his close association with these blue chip organizations, Sebastian fine honed his supply chain and management skill which enabled him to bag the prestigious Supply Chain award ‘Logistics Manager of the Middle East” during SCATA award ceremony organized by ITP in 2007. Currently Mr. Sebastian is a key note speaker for supply chain conferences and a lead figure in regional supply chain associations. Today, Mr.Sebastian is sharing with Frederic Gomer, partner at B2G Consulting, his deep insights on the Challenges in Supply Chain Education for the GCC Region.
In a few words, please describe your company
The latest focus of the company is to invest
activity?
heavily into retail sector and planning to open
In 1993, Zafco started their operations in Dubai
65 retail outlets in GCC during the next couple
as a tire & battery distributor. Today, Zafco is
of year.
the uncontested leader in the region, and one
Could you please give an overview of the sup-
of the top companies worldwide in the sector,
ply chain at ZAFCO?
with more than 1 million tires in stock and op-
Supply chain is considered as an integral part
erations in more than 85 countries. ZAFCO de-
of our operation. At Zafco, the ‘end to end sup-
veloped own brand “ZEETEX” tires and batter-
ply chain’ covers Demand forecasting, procure-
ies which are distributed in various countries.
ment, customs brokerage, warehousing, inven-
Industry Insights Mr. Sebastian Thomas Senior VP Supply Chain
tory management and distribution. It is very
our customers’ expectation. The processes are
crucial for us to closely manage all the aspects
defined, accountability and timeframe are set
of supply chain management as this is one of
to ensure smooth delivery of performance at
the core areas where there is huge potential
various stages of end to end supply chain.
for cost efficiency.
Zafco supply chain can be treated as one of the
Considering the importance of supply chain,
best in this region. 100% of our local deliveries
Zafco management gives considerable focus in
are effectively done within 24 Hours across the
managing this core functional area with highly
U.A.E. Supply chain plays a vital role in:
experienced professionals. At Zafco, we claim
- Excellent service level and customer satisfac-
Supply Chain as one of our which
core
competency
supports
our
growth and helps towards
realising
our
“It is very crucial for us to closely manage all the aspects of supply chain management”
tion - Product availability - Cost efficiency - Continual service improvement
dream of ‘Going Global’ mantra. The world
- Delivery within 24 hours to all our UAE cus-
class facility equipped with most modern ware-
tomers
house equipments and most powerful Ware-
- Inventory management
house Management System along with our
- Measuring and controlling ageing inventory
highly talented and experienced professionals,
- Measuring and reporting stock days
enable us to exceed our customers’ expectation. We have taken all measures to ensure a
What was your biggest challenge in supply
perfect and performing supply chain division
chain at ZAFCO?
which is best in class. Zafco supply chain is sec-
When I joined Zafco in 2009, my mission was to re-engineer and design a suitable supply
ond to none and meets with and often exceeds
Developing a best-in-class cross-functional supply chain organization
Developing a best-in-class crossfunctional supply chain organization chain model to manage the global supply chain
communication between the external stake-
of ZAFCO more cost effectively. The company
holder. How effectively we manage the flow of
was planning for major expansion through
material and information throughout the sup-
wider global reach and diversification which
ply chain is crucial.
necessitated a strong supply chain depart-
My objective was then to break the silos be-
ment.
tween departments. I decided to establish
In the global competitive environment where
SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to de-
the company is evolving, the supply chain de-
fine the roles, responsibilities, tasks and time-
partments needed to reach a more profes-
frame of each cross functional departments
sional level, to provide higher
involved directly or indirectly
service level and to become a “My objective was then to in the management of the competitive advantage embed- break the silos between Supply Chain. This has enabled ded into the company’s DNA. the departments to share their departments” Company embarked upon mainformation and resolve their jor expansion drive and the volume increased
issues as a team and not as separate depart-
tremendously and also the geographical reach
ments during cross-functional meetings. In ad-
which itself created a challenge for supply
dition, the development of KPIs (key perform-
chain. Through re-structuring and hiring of
ance indicators) was very important to bring a
highly experienced professionals, and process
quantitative measure of the improvements. All
re-engineering we at Zafco supply chain made
these measures paved way for continuous im-
a big leap in capacity and service level.
provement in service level and customer satis-
The success of supply chain for a great extend
faction. As of today, the supply chain depart-
depends on how healthy is the interface be-
ment has been ranked as one of the “best per-
tween cross functional departments as well as
forming department in Zafco”.
Industry Insights Mr. Sebastian Thomas Senior VP Supply Chain
Regarding manpower in general and specifi-
ures the performance and identify the poten-
cally in Supply Chain Management, what are
tial talents who need to be retained in the or-
the challenges that you are currently facing?
ganization. The employee who meets with the predefined criteria, and who is capable of go-
The main issue that we are facing is that most
ing up to two levels, will be trained with the
of the people that we see during the recruit-
appropriate training, regardless of his current
ment processes have yet some experience and
function, position or department. Someone
exposure in supply chain management but do
who has been highly proficient in customer
not hold any degrees or recognized qualifica-
service, for example, could receive training in
tions in Supply Chain Man-
sales or marketing. Promo-
“We established a talent tion along with an above-the agement or Logistics. Another negative aspect is that retention program that -market package is also a key we rarely find true supply element in the talent retenmeasures the performance� chain professionals who are tion. The vacancies are comcapable of managing the end to end supply
municated internally before being advertised
chain. In more cases, their experience is only
outside.
limited to the logistics aspect of the supply
What are the skills the most lacking? How
chain, but do not cover the entire scope of this
does the Company overcome this challenge?
end-to-end discipline (from suppliers to customers).
There are four main areas where I have identified some clear areas of improvements:
How does ZAFCO manage to retain talents?
1. Demand forecasting
Any specific program? At Zafco, we estab-
In any trading organization, Procurement is a
lished a talent retention program that meas-
fundamental function which plays a predomi-
Developing a best-in-class cross-functional supply chain organization
Industry Insights Mr. Sebastian Thomas Senior VP Supply Chain
function in this part of the world. The supply chain and Logistics infrastructure
Having said that, Supply Chain management
plays a pivotal role in the economic develop-
should not be taught only in some avant-garde
ment of any country, which is not different in
universities but as early as at high school level.
GCC and therefore, we expect to have more focus towards professional courses and degree
As a fundamental discipline, SCM should be a
programs in Supply chain management and
mandatory course such as mathematics, phys-
Logistics.
ics or commerce in order to be aligned with the market demand for qualified supply chain
According to you, what is
professionals.
“Supply Chain professionals will I strongly recommend that supply chain workforce in continue having predominant it is high time for us to the region? introduce supply chain place in the organizations� and Logistics to students Supply chain managethe future outlook for the
ment and Logistics will continue to hold a very
at school level which will create interest
important place in GCC business arena. Supply
among them to pursue this for higher studies.
chain professional will continue having predominant place in the organizations. The im-
As Middle East is focusing on becoming a ma-
portance of supply chain management became
jor logistics hub in the world, it will be inevita-
very evident during economic recession; this in
ble that education in SCM becomes a top prior-
return caused the organizations to focus to-
ity.
wards this business discipline.