Business Chief - Canada - Apr2018

INTERVIEW

Lord Marland: An OPTIMISTIC ROAD AHEAD for Canadian trade

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April 2018 • CANADA EDITION

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FOREWORD HELLO AND WELCOME to the April edition of Canada’s Business Chief magazine.

This month’s cover story is an exclusive interview with Pacific Reach Properties & Retirement Concepts.

Escalating healthcare costs, ageing populations and increased demand has led healthcare companies to overhaul traditional models of care, in favour of adopting a complete consumer-focused model. Pacific Reach Director of Technology Jason Gomes tells us how the company is adapting to such change.

We also speak to Lord Marland, Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, who discusses the numerous trade opportunities for Canadian companies.

April’s Top 10 looks at the largest companies operating in the country, based on revenues from last year, while we also have an exclusive interview with Wilfrid Laurier University.

This month’s City Focus regular looks at Montreal.

Finally, be sure to read our insights on AI and machine learning, the benefits of academia partnerships and how CRM can boost client retention.

We sincerely hope you enjoy the issue, and as always, please tweet your feedback to @Business_Chief

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An OPTIMISTIC ROAD AHEAD for Canadian trade

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An OPTIMISTIC ROAD AHEAD for Canadian trade

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y

Lord Marland, Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, tells us why he’s confident Canada has plenty of avenues for trade even if no NAFTA agreement can be reached Writ ten by STUART HODGE

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y RIGHT NOW MARKS perhaps the most uncertain period we’ve seen in global trading terms for a long, long time. The United States is on the warpath with regards to NAFTA and is building barriers and tearing up agreements. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is Brexiting from the European Union, and across Europe right-wing parties with antiEuropean agendas are springing up; Italy being the most high-profile.

The North American Free Trade Agreement situation, in particular, is still rather fluid. Any number of scenarios could present, with the potential that the USA could be exempt from whatever agreement is drawn up between Canada and Mexico. Although it could all just be a negotiation tactic by Donald Trump to secure the best possible deal for the USA to score major political capital.

It’s a situation very delicately poised and even the most knowledgeable and experienced onlookers aren’t entirely sure what to make of it. Business Chief spoke to Lord Marland, Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CEIC), to discuss all matters pertaining to trade and business in Canada.

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Marland is the former UK government minister who served as David Cameron’s Trade Envoy prior to taking up his current role at CEIC. He admits that Canada is in a tricky position with regards to the NAFTA negotiations.

“I think it’s a very difficult thing for Canada,” says Marland. “Whether it is a negotiation position by Donald Trump to improve the terms of NAFTA, or whether he is going to tear up the whole thing, remains to be seen.

“But it does underline the need for Canada to explore other markets, because if you have a very substantial dependency on one market or two markets, and then NAFTA gets torn up, it leaves the country vulnerable.

That’s why I think the impressive way I see Canadian ministers and civil servants going about developing other relationships is rather important.”

Canada has worked hard to achieve growth to position itself as a bigger player on the global stage, and Marland says that good work has not gone unnoticed by his organisation and other countries around the world. Efforts by the Trudeau government to reach out to potential trading partners mean that

“What is so exciting about Canada at the moment is that they are looking externally, they are being incredibly industrious in their approach to outward trade and inward investment�

LORD MARLAND Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council 13

L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y Canada at least has plenty of options it can explore if the attempt to reach an agreement with an increasingly volatile Trump proves to be a bust.

“I think Canada was a sleeping giant in terms of international trade,” Marland reflects. “It didn’t feature on our (Britain’s) radar a huge amount and I think Canada itself would admit that it looked far too much internally rather than externally.

What is so exciting about Canada at the moment is that they are looking externally, they are being incredibly industrious in their approach to

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April 2018

outward trade and inward investment.

“In Canada, you’ve got a great education system so you’ve got the skills, and it’s an open and compassionate society, which means people want to go and live there. You also have a diverse population, which will enhance the economy, plus you’ve got a very good selection of younger people.

“I think all of this transforms the economy from being rather stuck in its ways to looking at ways of doing non-traditional trading. The other great thing about Canada, of course,

is that it’s geographically well-placed for access to the American market and other American continent countries. It’s got a rule of law, it’s got

“In Canada, you’ve got a great education system so you’ve got the skills, and it’s an open and compassionate society, which means people want to go and live there. You also have a diverse population which will enhance the economy”

a very straightforward way of doing business and it’s a pretty free and open economy and therefore well placed to tune its international development.”

Another positive for Canada is the recently revived Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The agreement was put in jeopardy when Trump’s government withdrew from the pact, which was agreed during the Obama presidency, but after strong lobbying by Japan and Australia, the deal was finally signed last month.

TPP should open up the markets of Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan,

LORD MARLAND Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council

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L E A D E R S H I P & S T R AT E G Y Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam to the Canadian government, taking away barriers to trade and substantially cutting tariffs. Lord Marland is a big fan of the deal, especially given how it provides greater access to markets such as Japan, which has historically been seen as difficult to trade with in some quarters, as has South America.

“I think it’s a great agreement,” he asserts. “It’s those like-minded countries that have a rule of law, have free and open trade and which understand the importance of trade in lifting countries out of poverty.

“I’ve always said about trade agreements, that actually they’re unnecessary unless you’re uncertain about the country with which you’re striking the agreement. But of course,

the US is doing one or two things at the moment, which means you don’t have the same confidence you did with the terms of engagement and therefore may require you to need a trade agreement.

“TPP is a very powerful and diverse trading partnership and those [countries] are always going to be the easiest ones to deal with, but of course you’re still going sell Bombardier aircraft, for example, to every country you possibly can.”

No doubt TPP will help Canada increase its foothold in the global playing field, and the fact that more than half of the countries are members of the Commonwealth means that it is of particular interest to Marland.

There is plenty of evidence which points to Canada having a rosy

“TPP is a very powerful and diverse trading partnership, but of course you’re still going to sell Bombardier aircraft, for example, to every country you possibly can” LORD MARLAND Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council 16

April 2018

The Bombardier CSeries is a family of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range jet airliners currently under development by Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace future as a trading nation, not least the fact that Toronto has grown into the world’s seventh largest financial centre and a global tech hub.

In fact, with so many dominos teetering on the edge of falling globally, and with Canada having such a dynamic, young economy, Marland is even entertaining the prospect of Canada being the driving force behind a pan-Commonwealth trading agreement, which could supplement a post-Brexit UK as well as Canada itself.

“Canada could broker a Commonwealth trade deal,” claims

Marland. “For a Commonwealth framework where those like-minded countries in the Commonwealth agree and sign up to it, like the UK post-Brexit, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.

“If they all sign up to it, then they set the framework where other Commonwealth countries, who adopt a similar attitude to free trade and business practice, can join in their own time, when they’ve adopted the same sort of approach.

There’s no reason why Canada shouldn’t be the broker of that.”

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TECHNOLOGY

TAKING THE FEAR OUT OF AI Business Chief speaks to ServisBOT Founder and CEO Cathal McGloin about AI adoption and why businesses shouldn’t be afraid of it Writ ten by OLIVIA MINNOCK

TECHNOLOGY “NO TECHNOLOGY WINS because it’s a piece of technology: it wins because somebody figures out how to apply it to solve a particular business problem in a unique way.”

Cathal McGloin, CEO of artificial intelligence and automationbased customer service provider, ServisBOT, enthuses about the potential of AI, but warns businesses must apply it properly to their needs or risk being left in the dust.

McGloin, a self-confessed “software-addicted entrepreneur”, recently founded his fourth startup which utilises the latest in AI and automated technology to help businesses more easily manage their customer service needs. He’s passionate about making AI more accessible to a variety of businesses.

Certain elements of AI are nothing new, as McGloin is quick to clarify.

The idea for ServisBOT came about from experiences within the contact centre space, in which McGloin had co-founded Performix Technologies in 1998. “We created this idea of employee performance back in the late 1990s, with the rationale that if you give people a view of what their targets are and 22

April 2018

“AI will become table stakes in software going forward – anybody who doesn’t have it won’t even be in the race” Cathal McGloin, CEO, ServisBOT

how they are doing in real-time, they perform much better. We created, patented, and still own that, and every contact centre has employee performance software today.”

It’s clear our demands on technology are changing, and AI is key in both promoting and fulfilling that expectation.

“One of the big changes is we’ve moved away from a big screen onto mobile which is now a combination of touch and voice,” McGloin says. “My 16-year-old daughter will sometimes voice-text her friends, and won’t bother typing into Google… they can now just activate Siri, for example, to ask a question. The

interface is part of the conversation… that’s what’s interesting to me.

“One of the few areas that has not been impacted by digital transformation is customer service,” McGloin argues. “We’re still very much voice centric, waiting on hold. With live chat – which is 20 years old and has resurged in the past five years – you still have to have staffing, and 23

TECHNOLOGY so can only have your live chat work between, say, 8am and 8pm, often with a live chat agent handling several queries at once. That’s what gave rise to ServisBOT: the idea there had to be a better way of handling customer service with a conversational interface in a digital world that’s mobile-centric.”

The evolution of AI “AI has been around for 40 or 50 years now,” McGloin explains, “but a few things have changed. One is the abundance of data to create an AI system – because these are learning systems, you need large amounts of data for machines to know what to do. That’s fulfilled today by the data

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overload we have.” Another element, according to McGloin, is the major processing power required for AI. “You needed a lot of processing power to crunch that data and come up with the answers – the Android device we now carry in our pocket has more power than anything in the 1990s.”

In addition, open sourcing has made essential knowledge and skills available. “Amazon’s been using AI for 10 years for book preferences… they open sourced it and made it available,” he explains, saying that these tech giants are releasing APIs to carry out machine learning and as such making AI easier to use so that “ordinary developers are able

to get up to speed very quickly”.

These factors are set to make AI as much a part of life as the computer.

“As Andreessen Horowitz talks about, AI will become a feature of all software going forward. Software will have to have some self-learning capability, and some artificial intelligence. So, AI will become table stakes in software going forward – anybody who doesn’t have it won’t even be in the race.”

The application of AI McGloin is clear that “the difference between the winners and the losers is who knows how to apply AI. At ServisBOT, we’re trying to change the customer service experience

ServisBOT – changing the customer service conversation ServisBOT was founded in 2016 by brothers Cathal and Ray McGloin along with Chris Doyle. The company aims to transform customer service for businesses using technologies like AI and automation.

An army of “bots”, including Chat Bots and Service Bots, provide automated solutions giving customers “the service they want, any time they want”. In this way, the Massachusetts-based software company makes it easier and cheaper for businesses to implement AI.

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TECHNOLOGY

“The onus will be on application providers and vendors like ourselves to make it easy: we’ll build a solution that has an AI engine under the hood” Cathal McGloin CEO, ServisBOT

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by heeding trends. For example, millennials don’t like phone calls – they want to send off a text and hear back.

People are impatient and want instant answers. Applying AI and chat bots means we can respond immediately.

In addition, the way we’ve built it, a company can get this system up and running within hours and days.”

“Automation is key to what we’re trying to do,” McGloin emphasises.

“It’s not AI for AI’s sake… while chat bots can be used to hold a conversation, we then have service bots which perform a particular task. It could print your banking statement or help you manage a journey… and because we use serverless technology, you can scale up to millions of transactions in an instant. Service bots aren’t just about chatting, but about performing a task, and our platform allows a company to orchestrate

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TECHNOLOGY an army of service bots across different areas of their business.”

Why aren’t all businesses implementing AI? Recently, software giant Red Hat commissioned Vanson Bourne to survey IT decision-makers on the adoption of technologies like AI. Respondents expected to increase technology investment by 25% from 2017-18. However, only 24% stated they currently implement AI, with an additional 30% planning to implement the tech in 2018. What threats, real or perceived, have stopped businesses already adopting AI in a flash?

First, McGloin mentions fear of AI replacing jobs. “This was the same argument with computers in the 1980s, but you’re always going to need human involvement. For example, customer complaints can’t be handled

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by bots as they can’t empathise.

With certain transactions, people will always want to talk to someone, especially those to do with money.

What will happen is we’ll provide better service, automate mundane tasks, and take the repetition out for folks.”

He also argues that most businesses are already using AI even if they haven’t made a disruptive song and dance about it. “Even things like preference selection on websites, there’s AI technology behind it. I think there’s this fear: ‘I don’t have a data scientist, it’s hard to get these people, it’s too expensive for my budget, I can do without it…’ You’ve got the issue of barriers like skills, availability, costs and so on that are stopping people from trying it out. The onus will be on application providers and vendors like ourselves to make it easy: we’ll build a solution that has

an AI engine under the hood. As we make it more about the application and less about the technology, I think we’ll find it easier to embark on.”

So, is AI just the latest buzzword?

“It’s the bees and the honey: everyone swarms to the latest thing, but AI is just a piece of technology. If you don’t

apply it in a different way you don’t get anything out of it. Companies like ServisBOT are coming out and saying ‘don’t worry about the AI, we’ll solve that – this is about its application. Here are some easy tools to create a new work flow, or a new bot, to complete a new task… don’t worry what’s under the hood’. We’re selling it as a service.”

What’s next for AI? Customer service and AI, then, go hand in hand – but where else can businesses easily utilise the tech?

“Customer service is across all industries,” McGloin clarifies, “so it’s a horizontal layer. Where I see 29

TECHNOLOGY

“People are scared of AI, but if you just make it easy for them to embark on it, they will” Cathal McGloin, CEO, ServisBOT

AI going next is into back-office, becoming the new business process management and elevating back-end tasks. It’s a useful area to apply AI because it can learn about things as it goes, it can change and adapt…”

In terms of ServisBOT, McGloin adds: “We’re at a really exciting stage, the product-market fit phase. We think we’ve hit something really big. People are scared of AI, but if you just make it 30

April 2018

easy for them to embark on it, they will.

We see a huge opportunity in actually taking the fear out of it and making it easy and low-cost to get started.”

One can’t help but wonder whether the serial entrepreneur will stick with his business, but McGloin is focused on creating a solution that lasts. “The thing I am most proud of is the fact that every company I’ve been involved with on this whole journey, including

the first one, Performix, all the technology is still available and in use today for companies to benefit from.

What drives me is the idea of creating something new that has a purpose and is useful. That to me is success: regardless of how much revenue it’s generating, there’s somebody getting use out of it. It’s creating something out of nothing and having it live beyond when you’re involved.”

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PEOPLE

The mutual benefit of academia partnerships How can businesses and academic institutions work together to boost productivity? Business Chief investigates Edited by OLIVIA MINNOCK

PEOPLE

ACCESS TO TOP experts for R&D will benefit any company, and now more than ever recruiting bright minds is top priority for business. In addition, higher education institutes are constantly looking to offer their students and academics the chance to build relationships with top players in the business world. Business Chief gathered some insight on how these partnerships can be developed and who stands to benefit.

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Collaboration for a brighter future in the UK

Gary Davie, Partner and Head of Independent Providers at law firm Shakespeare Martineau, feels that in the UK, collaboration is the way forward to benefit those in education as well as potential employers. “Whilst competition may in many ways fuels creativity and innovation, for the education sector, closer collaboration between further education,

“ For employers, a more streamlined education sector could be vital in helping solve the UK’s productivity crisis” – Gary Davie, Head of Independent Providers, Shakespeare Martineau

higher education and private providers could be just what UK students and learners need. People looking to take up a place in education would be able to see a demonstrable path towards a job and career progression, and businesses would have access to a talent pool which is equipped across the full breadth of the skills gap.

“HE policy in recent years has centred on competition, but that approach is starting to be questioned. A recent

report by the Higher Education Commission, titled One Size Doesn’t Fit All, put the themes of collaboration and competition under the spotlight, suggesting that a culture within the education sector, which encourages both equally, would bring greater benefits for students and the wider business community.

“Learners navigating UK education are likely to encounter a variety of different providers; the linear model 37

PEOPLE “ There’s significant untapped potential for businesses to establish mutually beneficial partnerships with universities” – David Docherty, Chief Executive, National Centre for Universities and Business

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April 2018

of traditional study is still popular, but by no means works for everyone. For those students whose educational outcomes are best delivered through different learning settings, for instance both vocational courses and academic qualifications, closer collaboration could be integral to their success.

“Educational institutions have been working together for a number of years in some form. For instance, colleges, universities and private providers have long collaborated to deliver foundation programmes, franchised or validated provision. However, there is the potential for much more.

“Greater collaboration would be beneficial in two main ways: access to courses offered by further education and private providers would increase, equipping learners with a more diverse skillset for the workplace; and universities would benefit from more streamlined progression to higher education and the more extensive talent pool it would bring.

“Particularly for those learners who may not have considered higher education as an option, this clear progression through a range of learning environments would be a confidence booster, with an end goal in sight from

the start. This could be a particular career or qualification, even up to Masters or PhD level.

“To achieve this, though, all providers must accept that they cannot do everything on their own and realise that working together while drawing on individual strengths is key.

“For employers, a more streamlined education sector could be vital in helping solve the UK’s productivity crisis. Jobseekers in the market currently tend to have a range of qualifications and with different roles requiring various accreditations, they may have to engage separately with a number of different providers. If a consortium model was set up which could support learners through the different stages of education or employment, the benefits to employers looking for candidates across the range of qualification levels would be great.

“As the world changes and Brexit looms on the horizon, students in the UK will no doubt be considering employment and education options overseas. With more educational institutions setting up foreign campuses and forging links with multinational companies, the options 39

PEOPLE are there for learners and facilitation within the industry to support outward mobility will certainly be beneficial.

“The solution to the productivity puzzle has collaborative education at its heart. If learners have better access to the courses and qualifications of their choice which will get them the right jobs, and if employers can tap into the best possible pool of talent, the benefits will be felt by all.”

Partnerships to foster innovation and success

Meanwhile, Professor Elena RodriguezFalcon, Provost Chief Academic Officer of new STEM-focussed university, NMiTE (New Model in Technology & Engineering), offers an academic perspective on this kind of collaboration.

She also has some advice on how we can make these important relationships work.

“Having partnerships between universities and businesses is not new; there is now a long and evolving history of collaboration and innovation.

“Whilst there has always been a keen interest in developing partnerships that enable universities to understand the challenges being faced by industry in order to inform the creation of knowledge, or from companies to 40

April 2018

identify the next generation of capable employees, in more recent times the trend is for businesses to increasingly become co-creators of knowledge. Businesses are increasingly active participants in the development and delivery of the student learning experience.

“This provides a huge win-win for businesses, students and academics, and the benefits such partnerships deliver to industry are now even more valuable in our age of tightening

“ The trend is for businesses to increasingly become co-creators of knowledge. Businesses are increasingly active participants in the development and delivery of the student learning experience” – Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon, New Model in Technology & Engineering R&D budgets and, seemingly, an everincreasing speed of innovation.

“For instance, a study by IBM in the US found that a majority of tech industry and academic leaders felt partnerships are essential to provide students with skills for these jobs. It noted that when comparing the past five years to the next, those involved expect such partnerships will help bring significant improvements in meeting industry demands and ensuring the employability of students.

“Certainly, I have seen from my own experience how having students work closely with businesses has had a positive and inspirational effect. One such example from Sheffield University, where I taught previously, a group of students started their own company Handy Fasteners after having input that included local manufacturing businesses such as Gripple and Kingkraft. In another, a collaboration with Crown and Sheffield Hallam University resulted in the development of easy-open packaging.

“Ensuring tomorrow’s graduates have the skills your business needs is one benefit from such partnerships.

Another, very sizeable one is that they enable companies to make breakthroughs through accessing the leading-edge research and analytical skills universities have and, of course, lots of bright and inquisitive minds.

“However, businesses and universities are very different beasts, and making such partnerships work so successfully is not always easy. I have been personally involved with very many, and from the start it’s important to create a joint vision that identifies clear purposes and goals for the collaboration.

It’s also important to mention the 41

PEOPLE importance of them being viewed as long-term at the highest level of all involved. Ultimately, there also needs to be a clear strategic “what is in it for me” for both parties if it is to survive competing calls on time and budget over the ensuing years.

“There are lots of basics that need to be in place early on: in particular, agreements regarding intellectual property must be agreed upon and transparent, without putting undue risk on either party. In my experience the partnerships that work the best do so because expectations from both parties are managed right from the start; this is because there is a clear benefit for all involved, but mainly because partners really want to make it work.

“My institution, NMiTE (the new engineering university being created in Hereford in the UK), is taking these principles up a level by boldly forgoing set textbooks, lectures and exams.

Instead we are focussing entirely on a curriculum based around teams of students solving practical challenges actually designed in association with engineering companies to reflect the technical and commercial challenges they currently face.

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“We are currently working with a range of engineering and manufacturing companies to help tackle the current shortage of suitable graduates that such businesses regularly report, and I am inviting all others that are interested to get involved.”

Academia for R&D — finding the perfect match

How might these businesses create the mutually beneficial partnerships they require in this day and age? One platform that’s helping them to do so is Konfer.

With a “trusted user group” that includes leading business groups and companies representing bioscience, commercial chemistry, cybersecurity, digital media, energy, food production, intelligent mobility and transport, land management, technology and textiles, Konfer aims to accelerate research partnerships with UK universities.

Founding members include Capgemini, National Tryst, and Unilever, and total members represent a collective turnover/income of over £48.6bn ($68.69bn). Konfer takes the form of a free online match-making tool, which connects businesses with research expertise and funding opportunities.

It is backed by 132 universities in the

“ The benefits partnerships deliver to industry are now even more valuable in our age of tightening R&D budgets and an ever-increasing speed of innovation” – Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon, New Model in Technology & Engineering UK and includes profiles of over 130,000 academics available for collaborative research.

As a not-for-profit resource, Konfer has been funded and developed by the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Research Councils UK and Innovate UK. Since its beta launch in November 2017, Konfer has already helped big names like Jaguar Land Rover conduct vital R&D.

David Docherty, Chief Executive at NCUB, told Business Chief: “There’s significant untapped potential for businesses to establish mutually beneficial partnerships with universities… we were inspired by business leaders who said they would be better equipped to grow and exploit opportunities in the UK and internationally if they had better access and insight to academic research partners and innovation funding.”

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The value of customer retention Armadillo CRM helps major global brands manage customer relationships. We speak to CEO James Ray about the value of retaining customers and how technology like AI and machine learning can help Writ ten by STUART HODGE

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y AS LEGENDARY MANAGEMENT theorist Peter Drucker once remarked: “The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer”. Indeed, the art of creating new customers, as per the maxim, has been welldocumented by many business publications, but the challenge of keeping customers is not always given quite as much mainstream attention.

Research from Econsultancy a few years ago demonstrated that seven out of 10 businesses reckon it easier to retain a customer than acquire one. If this is the case, why is more attention is not devoted to this topic?

In recent years, customer relationship marketing (CRM) has emerged as a key means by which businesses can tap into their existing customer base to generate easy profit. To find out a bit more about the potential benefits of CRM, Business Chief spoke to James Ray, CEO of Armadillo CRM, a big player in the space which underwent a management buyout earlier this year.

Ray was part of the three-man team responsible for the buy-out, and has been with the company since 1996, previously serving as Armadillo’s Client Services Director, 48

April 2018

Armadillo CEO James Ray

Chairman and MD prior to the buyout.

We asked him exactly how CRM works.

“Data is our raw material,” Ray explains. “In our case our clients tend to be businessto-consumer (B2C) brands so we are usually working with consumer data, purchases, clicks, logins, browsing and so on.

We mine the data for insights – analysing patterns, trends and signals. That insight feeds a strategy to engage, influence or change the customer’s behavior in line with our client’s objectives – usually with KPIs and a business case attached. Then we bring that strategy to life with the right mix of data, creativity and technology to change the customer

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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y experience and deliver the behavior change our clients are seeking.

That might be to get the customer to spend more, become more loyal, or even to feel more positively toward the brand. To complete the loop, we analyze the resulting data and optimize the strategy.”

Armadillo, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, lists McDonald’s, the BBC and Disney amongst its clients. The company claims to have run a number of CRM strategies as part of integrated

campaigns for clients which have driven double-digit uplifts in performance from the CRM channel alone. Impressive – but as companies embark on digital transformation and become more tech-aware, has CRM become more popular? “Yes,” says Ray. “The diversity of our client base points to this – digitally native brands like Hotels.com, where CRM is baked in to their DNA, as well as more traditional businesses like McDonald’s and Disney, where what started as a specialist channel is now core to their future plans.

“We often start working with businesses when they are consciously at a turning point in their approach to managing and using customer data.

We help them build the strategy for managing their customer relationships, which helps define the associated requirements for technology within the business. I think there’s a shift in client expectations going on, not only in CRM but in marketing services more generally, too. With the

“With the accessibility of powerful marketing technology and the empowerment it brings, clients’ needs are more fluid and varied than ever before” – James Ray, CEO of Armadillo CRM 50

April 2018

Armadillo CRM: data insight creative The launch of a new brand

accessibility of powerful marketing technology and the empowerment it brings, clients’ needs are more fluid and varied than ever before. Tailoring solutions and services to specific needs used to be a nice option to have – and a quirk of Armadillo – but now it’s an expectation.”

Armadillo is ambitious, and upon completion of the recent buyout, the new leadership announced the company now aims to double in size over the next five years. Integral to that is how it retains some of its

bigger clients, while ensuring it enables its clients do the same.

“We’ve been the retained CRM agency partner for McDonald’s in the UK since 2011, helping them develop a CRM capability, originally from a standing start, with a full service that includes analysis, strategy, data management, creative and campaign delivery,” says Ray. “We’ve been working with Hotels.com since 2015, supporting their in-house team on strategy, analysis and creative projects 51

“Where machines can automate and do tasks better than humans, it leaves more time for humans to do the creative and lateral things that create resilient and loyal connection between customers and brands” – James Ray, CEO of Armadillo CRM

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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y that are tested in the North American market, and then rolled out globally.

And we’ve been working with The Walt Disney Company since 2007, currently helping them deliver eCRM campaigns across five key European markets.

“What I love about what we do is that every client is different.

For McDonald’s in the UK, who’ve had 48 quarters of consecutive growth, market share and sales are not a problem for them – the priority is building and sustaining customer affinity, so our approach is tailored to do that. That means eCRM programs that connect customers to new products and tastes according to their favorites and preferences, and driving them to use new convenience platforms like mobile ordering and delivery. For Hotels.com, who operate in a fiercely competitive and highly-commoditized market, it’s very different. Here, we work with the client to identify trends and patterns in customer behavior, and develop multi-channel CRM strategies to intervene with offers and messages in order to restore and

retain customer booking behavior.”

According to Ray, the key to Armadillo’s success has been “fundamentally about finding the right people” and the fact the team has an “obsession with service”. That, alongside the company’s capacity to change and evolve, has helped it navigate any choppy financial waters caused by major events such as the global financial crash.

The CEO recognizes that you always need to have an idea of where the next major disruption or industry innovation may be coming from, and Ray has already identified the key areas Armadillo will be keeping an eye on over the coming months and years.

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“We mine the data for insights – analysing patterns, trends and signals. That insight feeds a strategy, to engage, influence or change the customer’s behavior in line with our client’s objectives.”

– James Ray, CEO of Armadillo CRM

“For a while now, the big players in the marketing tech space have been sweeping all before them,” he adds. “We’re seeing quite a few frustrations on the client side as expectations have fallen a bit short.

Our tech teams are increasingly called on to develop additional tech to plug some of these gaps. I can see this growing: the creation of mini bits of bespoke tech as a service 54

April 2018

rather than an off-the-shelf product.

“As well as artificial intelligence and machine learning, in Europe there’s the new GDPR legislation. Brands need to re-permission some or all of their customers ahead of the May deadline. We’re helping brands to make a virtue out of the opportunity for customers to keep their investment in the data they give and what benefits they receive in return. Although it’s

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

been a long process for brands, it will also bring positive change in the long term, encouraging companies to talk to customers more openly about the value their data provides them.

“I think we’re still in the foothills of the potential for AI and machine learning, but it’s already changing the landscape. I think it’s a great opportunity not only for brands but for agencies like us – where machines

can automate and do tasks better than humans, it leaves more time for humans to do the creative and lateral things that create resilient and loyal connections between customers and brands.”

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MONT CITY FOCUS

TREAL A LOOK AT MONTREAL, THE HEART OF QUEBEC AND HOME TO ONE OF THE LARGEST INLAND PORTS IN THE WORLD

Writ ten by OLIVIA MINNOCK

THE HEART OF QUEBEC BUSINESS

MONTREAL, LOCATED IN Quebec, is home to the largest population in the province and is also Canada’s second most populous municipality following Toronto. Montreal had a population of over 1.7mn people as of 2016, and the city’s entire metro area encompasses a population of 58

April 2018

almost 4.1mn residents. The official language of Montreal is French, which is spoken at home by nearly half of the population. The city is known to be one of Canada’s most bilingual cities with more than 59% of its residents being fluent in both French and English. Montreal is second

CITY FOCUS

‘IN 2017, MONTREAL’S GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT WAS NEARLY US$142.6MN, THE LARGEST IN QUEBEC AND THE COUNTRY’S SECOND LARGEST’ only to Paris as being the largest French-speaking city in the world.

In 2017, Montreal’s gross domestic product (GDP) was nearly US$142.6mn, the largest in Quebec and the country’s second largest. In addition to being the region’s cultural centre,

Montreal is also the headquarters of the Montreal Exchange as well as diverse industries such as technology, finance, aerospace, manufacturing, transportation, pharmaceuticals, engineering, petrochemicals and more.

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TRANSPORTATION AND AEROSPACE The Port of Montreal is not only a significant Canadian port, it’s also one of the largest inland ports in the world. In 2017, port traffic included more than 38mn metric tonnes of bulk and general cargo, up from 35.36mn metric tonnes in 2016.

Montreal is also a major railway hub of the country and is the headquarters of the Canadian National Railway.

Coupled with the port, these two major economic giants facilitate the movement of scores of products, such as consumer goods, sugar, machinery, grain and petroleum products, across the country.

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Within the aerospace sector, Montreal is the headquarters of several prominent companies including: The Canadian Space Agency, a governmental agency is responsible for all civil and space-related programs.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is a trade organization representing around 280 airlines that comprise 83% of the world’s total air traffic. The agency created the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) program, an internationally recognized and accepted system that evaluates and assesses an airline’s control and management systems.

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CULTURE Montreal was recognised by London’s Monocle magazine as the country’s cultural capital – and it’s easy to see why.

Not only is the city the headquarters of Alliance Films, it’s also the location of Telefilm Canada’s head offices and Television de Radio-Canada. The five studios of the National Film Board of Canada are also located in the city.

Montreal is often used as a filming location and sometimes finds itself being used as a stand-in for European backdrops. Many festivals make their home in the city including the Montreal World Film Festival, Just for Laughs and the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

Cirque du Soleil is also based in Montreal.

‘MANY FESTIVALS MAKE THEIR HOME IN THE CITY INCLUDING THE MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL, JUST FOR LAUGHS AND THE MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL’ 62

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FINANCE Montreal’s finance sector was ranked 12th by the Global Financial Centres Index on its 2017 list of the most competitive financial regions around the world.

The industry employs about 100,000 within its metro area. In addition to being the location of the Montreal Exchange, Canada’s oldest stock exchange and the country’s only financial derivatives exchange, Montreal is also home to the legal corporate offices of the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal, two of the largest banks in Canada.

The head offices of two smaller

‘MONTREAL’S FINANCE SECTOR WAS RANKED 12TH BY THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CENTRES INDEX’ banks, Laurentian Bank of Canada and the National Bank of Canada.

Fastest-growing companies in Montreal Though Montreal is impressive as the home of large companies across a diverse span of industries, it’s also known as an incubator for innovative small businesses. The following are just a few examples:

IOU Financial Founded in 2008, IOU Financial specializes in online lending services with a focus on small businesses. In 2016, the company employed about 53 people and posted revenues of between $10-20mn.

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Arani Arani, a company that supplies and manufactures stateof-the-art LED light products for a variety of needs and projects, employed a team of 12 people as of 2016, showed a profit of between $2-5mn in 2016 and saw more than 2,000% growth between 2011 and 2016.

Quadbridge A prime example of a technology-based small business that is successful in Montreal, Quadbridge was founded in 2007 and has seen its five-year growth expand by 1,674%. The company supplies software and hardware to large and mid-sized companies.

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TOP 10

BIGGEST CANADIAN COMPANIES This article ranks the ten Canadian companies with the highest reported revenue at the end of 2017. Revenue data has been established using the Fortune Global 500 list Writ ten by HARRY MENE AR

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TOP 10

TOP 10

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA URL: www.scotiabank.com

10 BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT URL: www.brookfield.com

Toronto-based investment company Brookfield Asset Management enters the Fortune Global 500 for the first time, with a reported a net revenue of $24.411bn at the end of 2017. This represents an impressive 22.6% growth in revenue over the previous financial year, although the company experienced a profit decrease of 29.5%. Brookfield’s asset portfolio has shrunk steadily over the past decade, reports Forbes, although a $4.6bn deal struck in January 2018 for Toshibaowned Westinghouse Electric may indicate a reversal of this trend. The purchase of Westinghouse Electric signals a return of big money to the US/Canadian nuclear power sector and a new direction for Brookfield, according to Bloomberg.

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Headquartered in Toronto, Bank of Nova Scotia reported a yearly revenue of $25.817bn at the close of the 2017 financial year, according to Fortune’s Global 500. This represents a 2.8% increase in revenue over the previous year, although profits fell by 4.9%. According to Forbes, Scotiabank “remains a Buy for its extensive international exposure to the faster growing Latin American and Asian economies…

It has a reputation for having the lowest expense ratio of any of the big Canadian banks.” Goldman Sachs and Citibank are currently in the final stages of bidding for Scotiabank’s metal trading division, although Reuters reports the final sale is unlikely to meet Scotiabank’s $1bn asking price.

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T O P 1 0 C O M PA N I E S I N C A N A D A

TORONTODOMINION BANK URL: www.tdbank.com

08 ENBRIDGE

URL: www.enbridge.com

il and Gas pipeline operator Enbridge is the joint-second newest company to join the Canada top 10. It is also the smallest employer on the list, with 7,733 members of staff on payroll. It reported a net revenue of $26.073bn in 2017, with a staggering 695% increase in profits over the previous year.

Reuters partially attributes the profit growth to Enbridge’s purchase of natural gas company Spectra Energy Corp. in February last year, although the absorption of Spectra had temporary setbacks for company stock, which diluted from “a high of $44.52 in late January to a low of $34.39 in November”, according to Forbes.

Canadian banking house Toronto-Dominion Bank reported a net revenue of $30.855bn at the close of the 2017 financial year, a 2.3% increase over 2016.

The company also reported a 4.5% increase in annual profits, with further expected growth in 2018. Ambrose O’Callaghan for the Motley Fool writes “there is reason for major optimism in 2018.

With the largest US footprint of any Canadian bank, TD Bank will stand to benefit from tax reform that will see the corporate tax rate slashed from 35% to 21%.”

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ROYAL BANK OF CANADA URL: www.rbcroyalbank.com

06 ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD

URL: corpo.couche-tard.com

Joint-second on Canada’s top 10, alongside Enbridge’s entry to the Fortune Global 500, Alimentation Couche-Tard reported a net revenue of $34.904mn last year.

While the Quebecan food and drug store operator reported a 1.1% decrease in revenue over 2016, the company also experienced a profit increase of 27.9%. In addition to controlling US convenience store chain Circle K, Couche-Tard expanded its holdings in 2017 to include Minnesota-based convenience chain, Holiday Stationstores Inc. 70

April 2018

Canada’s largest banking house, Royal Bank of Canada, reported a net revenue of $34.904mn at the close of the 2017 financial year.

This represents a minimal revenue increase of 0.3%, and a profit decrease of 1.8%. The company provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, investor services and capital markets products and services on a global basis. RBC has hiked interest rates three times in the last 12 months, up to 1.25%, following a strong year for Canada’s economy.

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T O P 1 0 C O M PA N I E S I N C A N A D A

MAGNA INTERNATIONAL URL: www.magna.com

04 GEORGE WESTON URL: www.weston.ca

George Weston, Canada’s largest operator of food and drug stores, specialising in food processing and distribution of fresh and frozen baked goods, reported a net revenue of $36.211bn in 2017. This represents a 1.3% decrease in revenue over the previous year, though the company experienced a 0.6% increase in profits. With 195,000 people on its payroll, George Weston is the largest employer in Canada’s top 10, according to Fortune’s Global 500.

Aurora-based automotive manufacturer Magna International reported a net revenue of $36.445bn in 2017.

This represents a 7.6% increase in revenue over the previous fiscal year. The company also experienced a 0.9% increase in profit. Magna International operate as Canada’s largest equipment manufacturers of cars and light trucks in North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa, according to Forbes. The company announced in January that “it is supporting the production of the new Mercedes-Benz G-Class via contract manufacturing.

The model will be assembled at Magna International’s Graz, Austria facility,” Nasdaq reports.

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POWER CORP. OF CANADA URL: www.powercorporation.com

Power Corp. of Canada, achieved a net revenue of $38.286bn last year. Although this represents a 27.9% increase in revenue over the previous year, company profits fell by 40.5%, the most significant decrease of any company in the top 10. This year, Sagard Holdings, a subsidiary of Power Corp. specialising in direct lending to small and mid-sized North American companies, attracted $260mn of investor commitments. This is the first time Sagard has raised capital from outside investors, according to Institutional Investor.

02

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MANULIFE FINANCIAL URL: www.manulife.com

Toronto-based Manulife Financial reported a yearly revenue of $40.238bn in revenue last year, making it the highest-earning Canadian company by just over $20bn. The company experienced a revenue increase of 49.4%, along with a growth in annual profit of 28.9%, moving up the Fortune Global 500 list by 144 places. This follows a drop in ranking of over 100 places in 2015, and represents a potential growth trend that might see Manulife revisit its all-time high point of 145th worldwide. Manulife expanded its predictive analytics feature of its health insurance program in February of 2017, eliminating the need for nicotine, blood, and urine testing of prospective customers. These cost reductions have had clear benefits to the company’s bottom line, according to Newswire Canada.

By Skeezix1000 (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)

01

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INVESTING IN TO CARE FOR CANADA’S

RETIRING POPULATION

an

W Pr ritt od en uc by ed C by ath G er le in n e W S hi tu te rm

The Canadian healthcare industry is facing an uphill challenge, its ageing population in particular reshaping traditional models of care. Jason Gomes, Pacific Reach’s Director of Information Technology, delivers key insights.

PA C I F I C R E A C H P R O P E R T I E S & R E T I R E M E N T C O N C E P T S

T

he healthcare industry is witnessing a digital revolution. Escalating healthcare costs, ageing populations and increased demand has led healthcare companies to overhaul traditional models of care, in favour of adopting a complete consumer-focused model.

The Canadian healthcare industry in particular is witnessing a significant shift. Up to 770,000 Canadians are now over 85 years old, a figure which keeps growing year-on-year, placing increased demands on current services. Since 2015, it has been reported that there are now more people aged over 65 years in the country than children under 14 years.

This changing demographic has led to an increased demand for home care and community led services, as well as the need for technology to play a central role in how care is delivered now and in the future.

Noting that tech-savvy Baby Boomers will be the next key generation to retire, healthcare providers and homecare services are looking at new ways to transform

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present service offerings and embrace new digital tools, which will guarantee that the consumer, resident or patient will be at the forefront of all care delivered, whether in an acute or homecare setting.

Enter Pacific Reach Established in 2014, Pacific Reach Properties & Retirement Concepts has steadily grown across Western Canada. Managing 25 care homes, the company also houses seven hotels under its umbrella, as well as commercial real estate and multifamily homes. Its growth over the last few years is impressive, but Jason Gomes, Pacific Reach’s Director of Information Technology, explains that its objective to deliver exceptional service, as well as its investment in personalised, digital tools, has been essential to its ongoing growth. “We have a lot of residents now that are more technologically aware. There are a lot of Baby Boomers coming in, where a lot of them bring their own devices,� he adds.

H E A LT H C A R E

Jason Gomes Pacific Reach’s Director of Information Technology

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H E A LT H C A R E

Managing the digital transformation unable to scale in alignment with of both Pacific Reach’s retirement business growth. Rebuilding Pacific’s and hotel division, Gomes has technology backbone, encompassing introduced technologies, some of the removal of all assets from which, although small, have made a its data centre and starting from significant impact on users lives. scratch, the company has utilised He says: “When I was originally Dell Technologies, and replicated hired, one of the first questions I all its assets to a separate site. asked the ownership was ‘if you Throughout its transformation, were not owners and you Dell technology has been were potential residents embedded and replicated what would you look to a separate site, for in technology?’ enabling the Year Founded “It was very business to interesting to see adopt a disaster their reaction because recovery (DR) strategy they hadn’t thought of it and strengthen its that way. From something security across the board. as simple as wi-fi, to electronic “We’re now scalable and have medication management, to things seen no slowdowns or issues,” that will help the residents in the longcomments Gomes. “As we bring in term, that makes such a big impact new facilities, we’re able to quickly and difference right off the bat.” ramp sites up with a concept I built called “RC in a box.” We can deploy Strengthening its a fully tested solution which includes, technology backbone the Zero Client VDI hardware, Whilst looking at Pacific’s Virtual monitors, printers, firewall, switches Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and wireless infrastructure. deployments from VMware, Gomes “Being able to change the centre noted that the company would be into a more state-of-the-art center,

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we’re able to scale very quickly.

It’s made a huge difference.”

The company has also worked to embed wireless technology within every facility under its umbrella in order to cater towards a growing resident and guest demand.

“You definitely have to be

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cognizant of any type of brand standard when you put in a new technology – anything from the guest computers or the business areas to the wi-fi,” adds Gomes.

This strategy has also led to the revamp of Pacific Reach’s teleconference, internet lines, and

H E A LT H C A R E

770,000

‘UP TO CANADIANS ARE NOW OVER

85 YEARS, A FIGURE WHICH KEEPS GROWING YEAR-ON-YEAR, PLACING INCREASED DEMANDS ON CURRENT SERVICES’

telecom and mobility capabilities, all completed through a number of various partnerships. However, in order to drive down cost savings, in one area alone Gomes has worked to consolidate Pacific Reach’s partners by half, saving up to CA$750,000 in the process.

People focused Across its entire portfolio, Pacific has worked to embed both resident and guest focused technologies across its operations, where both its hotel and retirement division are guaranteed to cater towards delivering exceptional services.

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‘PACIFIC REACH HAS WORKED TO CONSOLIDATE ITS PARTNERS

BY HALF, SAVING UP TO CA$750,000’

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H E A LT H C A R E

“REPORTING, ANALYTICS AND TECHNOLOGY KEEPS EVOLVING AND WE KEEP MOVING WITH THEM” – Jason Gomes, Pacific Reach’s Director of Information Technology

“We’ve got to be at the forefront.

We have to make sure our wireless is top of the line and our backend is solid. We want to make sure the guest experience is the best it’s going to be,” advises Gomes.

“There’s so many facets, even the way in which residents and guests connect. Is it a chargeable thing for the room or is it a free Wi-Fi? How do we limit it? Do they want to have tiered wi-fi, or do they want to have a standard? There’s a lot of things like that we have to factor in. I think that it’s a good transition from the retirement side as well as into the hotel because you have a better understanding to what people want.

“We are now looking at implementing more technology for residents, such as front-end kiosks

where you’ve got a directory, which is a touchscreen and interactive. We are also bringing in guest computers for residents with Skype capabilities as well as making it easier to plan their day by introducing digital signage” Health-tech investment Pacific’s digital transformation has also impacted its healthcare services when supporting residents at its facilities. From outstanding medical documentation, to the transformation of its nurse call systems to become completely location based, residents are now seen quicker; the safety of residents has increased and any incidents are managed effectively by registered and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs).

“When we first started, if a patient

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fell, staff would assume the resident was in their room, when in fact they could have been on the first floor. We have now changed that technology to be more locationbased, and this standardisation has also allowed for reduced interference across the line,” says Gomes. “I feel that the technology we’ve been putting in is having a significant impact on ensuring the residents’ safety and security.

“Another thing we’ve really standardised was changing out all our cameras. We’ve gone to Avigilon Systems, where we’re able to put higher resolution cameras in so we can detect falls, monitor residents and have that layer of safety and security that makes everyone more comfortable,” he continues.

“We’ve been working with a couple of companies so that we can predict with analytics when a person may fall or if someone is prone to falling. We can then say, ‘okay, well, based on this, we think this person will have a fall when they get out of bed at two in the morning or they’ll fall at four

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o’clock in the afternoon because they’ve done that seven times this last month.’ Nursing staff can now take a look and they can keep an eye on that person around that time.

“Reporting, analytics and technology keeps evolving and we keep moving with them. I think that resident safety and care will only benefit in the long-term.”

However, with the number of cyberattacks on healthcare companies, Pacific Reach is taking no chances surrounding the protection of resident data, and works with a number of security companies to ensure it remains ahead of the curve.

“It’s always a challenge to make sure the technology keeps apace with what’s out there for healthcare, staying at the forefront of things. You don’t want to be behind the eight-ball,” observes Gomes. “We want to always be in the forefront and be a leader in the field, and a leader of technology rather than a follower. If there’s a new technology that definitely makes sense, we definitely evaluate it.”

H E A LT H C A R E

‘UTILISING HIGHER RESOLUTION CAMERAS HAS ENABLED THE COMPANY TO DETECT FALLS EASIER’ canada.businesschief.com

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“WE WANT TO ALWAYS BE A LEADER IN THE FIELD, AND A LEADER OF TECHNOLOGY RATHER THAN A FOLLOWER. IF THERE’S A NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT MAKES SENSE, WE DEFINITELY EVALUATE IT” – Jason Gomes, Pacific Reach’s Director of Information Technology

Continuous development Strengthening relationships with partners has therefore been crucial for Pacific Reach, particularly in the building of future projects, facilities or technologies to better support its residents and guests.

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“Working with partners and building that relationship to say, ‘we’d be happy to work with you and give you the business, but you need to work with us on the pricing as well as the quality of gear and the installation’. And having that give and take relationship and

H E A LT H C A R E

being able to consistently keep each other in the loop has made a huge difference as well,” Gomes says.

An edge above the rest Pacific Reach will continue to look at further opportunities for expansion, looking out for key trends within its hotel division, on top of its residential offering. Never resting on its laurels, the company maintains an astute awareness that its growth and digital offering go hand-in-hand, which will see it remain a leader in the field.

“We have a very good product. I think it ends up coming down to really providing the best for everybody, but at a better price that’s not going to break the bank,” concludes Gomes.

“We keep residents involved. The company has done well at making sure that the residents are put first and foremost. Considering that the business was started from a single home and has developed to one of the largest providers in Canada, I think the company has done extremely well.”

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Tracey Ens Director of Procurement

LEVERAGING THE POWER OF PROCUREMENT TO THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE Embracing new digital tools, Laurier aims to remain ahead of the curve and deliver student-focused procurement solutions Written by Catherine Sturman Produced by Glen White

WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY

W

ith exchange agreements with more than 70 universities and 25 countries around the world, Laurier offers not only an intimate student experience, but global opportunity for its students.

The student experience is one which continually drives Laurier to deliver essential student-focused solutions. Its excellent reputation has seen it ranked as number one in student satisfaction in Canada by the Maclean’s Ranking of Canadian Universities for the second year in a row, and second in experiential learning. Additionally, its students and alumni were ranked number one for volunteerism by LinkedIn in 2015, which is part of its core mission.

But Buthow how does does procurement procurement come come into play into play across across its operations? its operations?

Supporting more than 19,000 students, the procurement team has overhauled its traditional ways of working and implemented new digital tools to remain ahead of the curve. “We support the students in procurement by working with the faculties and departments, making sure they get what they need at the best possible value to facilitate teaching and research. Our students are the core of everything,� explains Director of Procurement, Tracey Ens. Joining Laurier in 2011, Ens has witnessed how the procurement function has changed, which

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S U P P LY C H A I N

“WE SUPPORT STUDENTS BY MAKING SURE THEY GET WHAT THEY NEED AND TO ADD THE BEST VALUE POSSIBLE. OUR STUDENTS ARE THE CORE OF EVERYTHING” – Tracey Ens, Director of Procurement

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WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY

Tracey Ens Director of Procurement

Tracey Ens joined Wilfrid Laurier University in 2011 and is currently the Director of Procurement after spending 10 years at the University of Waterloo as a Senior Research Buyer. Prior to entering this sector, she spent six years as a Production Controller in manufacturing. Ens recently stepped down as President of the Ontario University Procurement Management Association and currently serves as Past President. She is an active member in the Canadian Association of University Business Officers.

Ens holds a Bachelor of Theology Degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Waterloo and has obtained her Certified Supply Chain Management Professional Designation in Canada and the Certified Professional in Supply Chain Designation in the United States.

In her free time, she is active in sports including skiing, scuba diving, crossfit and is learning golf and tennis.

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S U P P LY C H A I N

has been revolutionised through contract value over $100,000. the use of new technologies.

Nonetheless, the establishment “It’s in the last five years that of Ontario’s Broader Public Sector procurement has shown that we Accountability Act in 2010 provided deserve to be at the table. I think ample opportunity for Ens to deliver what’s really driven that entire key direction within procurement, entity is technology,” she says. whilst strengthening relationships “When I arrived, it was how with Laurier’s partners and suppliers. procurement 20 years ago used to Doubling in size has also supported be. The faculty and staff on campus the evolving role of procurement at wanted to do things Laurier. Although the right way but really the team remains didn’t know what that small, Ens states way was. Procurement that this remains OFFERS EXCHANGE were seen as rule advantageous, PROGRAMMES IN enforcers. Whilst this particularly in avoiding 25 COUNTRIES is true to a certain any duplication extent, we needed of work. Each to make sure people member remains understood the ‘why’ of what we need able to cover for one another, to do and how it could help them.” and each individual is able to make their role their own without Relationship building the need for micromanagement, The use of public funds has seen leaving them empowered. the value of transparency become Such an approach has also increasingly vital throughout influenced the university’s the transformation of Laurier’s relationships with its end procurement function. The users on campus. organisation is required to run formal “Laurier is a small campus. By process for any contract with a total taking the time to learn about people’s

LAURIER

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LAURIER’S

EXCELLENT REPUTATION HAS SEEN LAURIER RANKED #1 IN CANADA

BY MACLEAN’S UNIVERSITY RANKINGS TWO YEAR IN A ROW

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roles, you can ask them to try out new ways of working,” comments Ens. “Most people will say, ‘yeah, I’ll give it a try’, because they know I’ve done X for them and this is how they can reciprocate. That’s been a huge plus, knowing that I have people on campus I can call who are willing to try things, even though it might

S U P P LY C H A I N

“IT’S IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS THAT PROCUREMENT HAS SHOWN THAT WE DESERVE TO BE AT THE TABLE.

WHAT’S DRIVEN THAT ENTIRE ENTITY IS TECHNOLOGY” – Tracey Ens, Director of Procurement

not be easy while we’re working out the kinks – that’s been critical.”

Technological advancements With an aim to add value across Laurier’s services, Ens notes that the right mindset remains essential, particularly when investing in new technologies.

Partnering with Jaggaer has enabled the organization to transform its procure to pay (P2P) system. Meeting with all departments individually and providing essential training to all staff has been paramount to its successful implementation and demonstrates how digital tools can further enhance its procurement operations.

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“The Jaggaer system has been incredibly instrumental in reporting data analytics and contract management,” notes Ens. “The cost savings we were able to obtain by putting in this P2P system was much better than anticipated. Jaggaer has erased a lot of our past redundancies and streamlined the whole process.

“It’s also difficult to put a value on soft cost, so we also hired an external consultant, Huron Consulting.

Through their consultation on campus, we were able to realize how much of a benefit it was to end users to use this system on campus and how much time was saved by using this new system. Our return on investment (ROI) went down from four years to two.”

LAURIER HOUSES OVER 19,000 STUDENTS Seamless payment services Ens is clearly passionate in delivering tailored solutions across Laurier’s procurement function. The organisation’s partnership with Bonfire Interactive is one such example, where it has eradicated all paperbased tendering processes and fully automated a number of others, whilst implementing a new credit card programme with Scotia Bank.

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WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY

“THE JAGGAER SYSTEM HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY INSTRUMENTAL IN REPORTING DATA ANALYTICS AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT” – Tracey Ens Director of Procurement “Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) and cheques can become an expensive way of paying vendors, so we’re also now in the midst of implementing Visa Payables Automation,” explains Ens. “Along with our Accounts Payable department, we have started a drive

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to get vendors on campus to take Visa as a method of payment and it’s been very, very successful to date.

“Our suppliers have been a big part of our success. They also were willing to try things because of the relationships which have been built

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PARTNERING WITH JAGGAER HAS ENABLED LAURIER TO TRANSFORM ITS PROCURE TO PAY (P2P) SYSTEM

over the years. When it comes to credit card payments, Big Kahuna, our athletic supplier, was one of the first ones to sign on for that, as well as Telus Mobility,” she continues.

“Whilst we have transformed different areas of our department, we have also overhauled the audit function for our corporate card program through partnering with Scotia Bank using VISA’s Visa Intelligence Compliance Audit tool. We have approximately 1,400 cards, and procurement has to accommodate the size of that.

“There was a need for a better audit programme, and so we hired someone who could help us transform the function to be what I consider the best university credit card audit programme in Canada.”

Ongoing developments Although the procurement team at Laurier has delivered numerous benefits to its students, the industry is facing a number of uncertainties surrounding developing regulations.

The establishment of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement and the

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LAURIER STUDENTS AND ALUMNI WERE RANKED NUMBER ONE FOR VOLUNTEERISM BY LINKEDIN IN 2015

TAKE A TOUR OF LAURIER’S WEBSITE FOR CURRENT STUDENTS

Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement in Canada will bring new levels of complexity to Laurier’s procurement operations, as well as Laurier’s internal governance.

“It’s also interesting to watch the

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negotiations with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and it’s too early to tell exactly what the ramifications are going to be,” reflects Ens. “It’s also very early when it comes to the Comprehensive Economic

Trade Agreement with Europe to see how this factors into Canadian public-sector procurement in reality.”

Nonetheless, Laurier’s procurement team will continue to navigate the procurement of goods and services its students will need, particularly around research and teaching. Encompassing complex research grant requirements for the buying of goods, coupled with a multitude of other legislative requirements, Laurier will also continue to support professors in the training of students and drive further

student engagement for the future.

“Enrolment continues to increase and we’re seen not as a viable alternative, but as students’ first choice,” concludes Ens. “We have great student experience, great facilities, world-class teaching, a small campus, tonnes of student groups and intramurals, and it’s a great region of Canada to live in.

“Laurier is absolutely one of the best schools in Canada. I personally think it’s the best school in Canada - who wouldn’t want to go here?”

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