Business Chief Europe Magazine – November 2019

EUROPE EDITION NOVEMBER 20 19 europe.businesschief.com

Accelerating automation in the supply chain

REDUCING THE UK’S CARBON FOOTPRINT

Sylvie Noel, Chief Procurement Officer, breaks down Covéa’s drive to digitise procurement Busiest airports in Europe

City Focus

DUBLIN

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FOREWORD

W

elcome to the November issue

company PayByPhone, and how

of Business Chief Europe!

it is working to reduce the country’s

This month’s cover piece features an exclusive interview with Sylvie

carbon footprint.

Other features include interviews

Noel, Chief Procurement Officer of

with major companies, such as:

Covéa Insurance Group, who dis-

SAS Automotive Systems, innogy

cusses the professionalisation of

SE, Saudi Telecom Company,

procurement by creating a digital

Nigerian Bottling Company and

platform: “The digitisation of pro-

Hudson Resources. Business Chief

curement enables easy work cover in

also ranks the top 10 busiest air-

the event of sickness, but also the

ports across Europe, as well as

platform is wholly compliant. It also

taking a closer look at the city of

provides a new perspective to pro-

Dublin, which is emerging as a leading

curement,” she says.

technology hub.

Business Chief also sits down with

Do you have a story to share?

Abhy Maharaj, Global Chief Com-

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch

mercial Officer & Chief Operating

and you could be featured in our

Officer, NewCold, who discusses

next issue.

how essential automation has become to his firm’s operations.

This month’s lead feature hears from Jonny Combe, who explains the sustainability strategy of UK

Enjoy the read!

Amber amber.donovan-stevens @bizclikmedia.com e u r o p e . b u s i n e s s c h i e f. c o m

03

EUROPE EDITION

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

AMBER DONOVAN-STEVENS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

MATT HIGH CREATIVE DIRECTORS

DANIEL CRAWFORD STEVE SHIPLEY

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CONTENTS

10

30 40 The cloud playbook

50

THE YEAR OF THE CUSTOMER

MANAGING OPERATIONAL RISK IS KEY TO IMPROVING SUSTAINABILITY

City Focus

DUBLIN

68 78

60

AIRPORTS IN EUROPE

CONTENTS

94 NewCold

120 innogy SE

Hudson Resources

152

138 Saudi Telecom Company

Nigerian Bottling Company

170 SAS Automotive Systems

188

10

Covéa: Working better.

Together.

WRITTEN BY

AMBER DONOVAN-STEVENS PRODUCED BY

CHARLOTTE CLARKE

NOVEMBER 2019

11

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COVÉA INSURANCE GROUP

Sylvie Noel, Chief Procurement Officer, Covéa Insurance Group, details the company’s drive for transparency amidst its digital transformation in order to truly professionalise procurement 12

C

ovéa Insurance has built an excellent reputation over the last 20 years for its customer service and products. The

insurance company was formed by the merger of three brands: Garantie Mutuelle des Fonctionnaires (GMF), Mutuelle d’assurance des artisans de France (MAAF) and Mutuelle du Mans Assurance (MMA). Today, the company holds a number of awards, including Personal Lines Claims Excellence of the Year 2019 (Insurance Times Claims Excellence Awards); and Best Use of Customer Service Technology 2019 (Modern Insurance Customer Service Excellence Awards) among others.

NOVEMBER 2019

13

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COVÉA GROUP

As the company has grown, so has the need for a more seamless procurement process. “I initially came to the company to assist with the professionalisation of procurement at Covéa,” says Sylvie Noel, Chief Procurement Officer. “I created a proposal on how to improve procurement, called EMA: ensemble pour mieux acheter, which means ‘together to work better.’” Noel has been with Covéa for almost nine years, starting out as a consultant, before taking the role of CPO, which was created for her in July 2012.

14

“In 2012 Covéa had over 12 members of staff specialised in procurement, working across different levels within our three brands and in our French subsidiary on procurement, internal procurement and IT.” Noel’s

“The unification of procurement through this platform enables us to speak with one voice” — Sylvie Noel, Chief Procurement Officer, Covéa Group NOVEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘COVÉA EN BREF’ 15 responsibility was to streamline this

on segmentation, building common

into a connected, standardised net-

language and legal. “Having worked

work with added value. She achieved

across different parts of the company,

this by digitising the entire process.

we realised that we could make the process more sustainable, and so we

DIGITISING PROCUREMENT

took to the market to search for an

“The process is now really slick. The

appropriate tool that would help us

digitalisation of procurement ena-

achieve our goals of transparency and

bles easy work cover in the event

added value,” recalls Noel. She then

of sickness, but also the platform is

began conversing with over 60 stake-

wholly compliant. It provides a new

holders about their views and fears

perspective to procurement.” Noel

regarding procurement, and began to

and her team created the procure-

build the platform from there.

ment function from scratch. Initially, she had worked across the process,

The platform was initially rolled out in 2013 to internal stakeholders and e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

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xperiences nvention Discover now

COVÉA GROUP

“We were proactive with our stakeholders and responded to their suggestions, which were present in the version of the platform that we later rolled out” — Sylvie Noel, Chief Procurement Officer, Covéa Group

18

NOVEMBER 2019

procurement before rollout to wider users. According to Noel, there were naturally some challenges during the 2013 rollout, which have since been overcome following the platform expansion. “We started with the procurement request, the workflow associated and a first wave of model of contracts. What we’re doing now is very different: we start with the budgets imported to the platform; any procurement request needs to have a budget line. Then, it either goes to the creation of a tender, or into catalogs.”

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Sylvie Noel, Chief Procurement Officer Sylvie Noel is the Chief Procurement Officer at Covéa and has been with the insurance company for nine years. She started with the company in 2010 as a Principal Consultant, working across process and legal, before moving to becoming Chief Procurement Officer in 2012. In this role she is in charge of heading up the program EMA (Ensemble pour Mieux Acheter) which is an initiative designed to professionalise procurement.

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

19

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21

Noel goes on to explain that if a tender is chosen, a group comprising all the required individuals — including procurement and legal — forms in order to process the tender’s dispatch to suppliers via the platform. “All the exchanges with parties occur solely within the platform, so we all have a very good view of the activity and it’s impossible now for anyone to be out of the loop,” she says. “We were proactive with our stakeholders and responded

“The process is now really slick. The digitisation of procurement enables easy work cover in the event of sickness, but also the platform is wholly compliant.

It also provides a new perspective to procurement” — Sylvie Noel, Chief Procurement Officer, Covéa Group

to their suggestions, which were e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

COVEA deploys SAP S/4 HANA as part of its financial transformation plan.

To achieve its objective of aligning financial processes for all its subsidiaries, the COVEA group relies on SAP S/4 HANA.

COVEA is composed of the three mutuals MAAF, MMA and GMF, leaders in property insurance and responsibility in France. The key figures for 2017 are: - 26,000 employees: 21,000 in France and 5,000 abroad - Nearly 2,700 points of sale - In France, 11.5 million members and customers - Premiums earned (France & International): €16.3 billion - Combined net income (group share): €818m - Equity: €14.7 billion The financial function at the heart of the strategic plan COVEA’s strategy is to mutualize the central and backoffice functions while keeping the customer relationship with their different markets to the brands. In this context, the COMEX of the COVEA group decided, in July 2018, to align the financial processes of the various subsidiaries and to respond to the obsolescence of the existing accounting tools. In September 2018, COVEA launched a consultation for its “Convergence Finance” program. The project’s roadmap aims to achieve the following objectives.

First objective is to improve the efficiency of business and operational processes between its three brands. This requires the definition of a common language for the entire group, as well as the harmonization of financial processes and reporting, the reduction of low valueadded activities and the automation of repetitive tasks.

The second objective is to simplify and rationalize the information system in order to reduce the operational risk of multiple systems and their obsolescence. In addition to optimizing the standardization of tools, COVEA also needs to define a norm of integration, build a transactional data source for the entire group in order to facilitate future transformations. The construction of this new platform will ensure that changes in regulatory requirements are met more quickly and at a lower cost. Last but not least, to make economic management more reliable and faster. The transformations generated by technology are leading to profound changes in insurance. The ability to manage the Group more consistently will bring efficiency, responsiveness and strategic agility to COVEA.

SAP wins for its state-of-the-art financial solutions To choose the solution and the service provider, the bidding is organized in two phases: choice of the tool, and choice of the integrator.

The selection process has been conducted by the COVEA group between September 2018 and March 2019. After a pre-selection of several solutions, COVEA opted for SAP. On the one hand, the publisher already had references in insurance; and on the other hand, the technologies on which the SAP solution is based (“in memory” technology) opens up the world of possibilities in terms of reporting and data exploitation.

The core of the selected solution will be based on the SAP HANA database combined with the S/4 HANA ERP (Finance modules). This will be complemented, for budget management, by SAP Analytics Cloud Planning. Finally, SAP Profitabilty and Performance Management will manage the cost management.

The choice of deploying on the private Cloud of SAP has been made to benefit from more flexible technical platforms, and from the latest innovations of the software publisher more quickly.

A progressive deployment The project was therefore launched in early July 2019.

The design phase of the target model is expected to be completed by mid-2020. In parallel, a prototyping environment will allow to share with users to make the new processes and tool more concrete. These workshops promote a customization closer to user needs, as well as the sharing of a common vocabulary for all brands.

The development and configuration phase will be carried out by Accenture. A first integration and testing phase has been planned for 2021, and the first wave of operational deployment of the project is scheduled for January 1, 2022. Ultimately, 500 users will be involved in this project.

Learn More

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘COVÉA CÉLÈBRE LES 200 ANS D’ASSURANCES MUTUELLES DE FRANCE’ 23 present in the version of the plarform

eliminated through the creation of the

that we later rolled out.”

platform. It is also important to lead by

From a change management perspective, this digitisation has been largely welcomed, as it has created

example with confidence and reassurance,” she says.

In addition to this, big data is an

clarity and ease of access to vital

integral component to the quality that

information at Covéa. But this may

Covéa strives for: “We are also still try-

not always be the case and Noel

ing to ensure that all who are involved

asserts the need to listen to employee

with the procurement process are

concerns and to work through them.

aware of the importance of big data.

“This is why we built the program in

We are constantly evaluating the qual-

response to our stakeholders: not only

ity of the overall process and upscaling

to show them that this is a serious pro-

it often to meet expectations.” Noel

gression, but to ensure that any of their

shares that the company that

fears regarding the industry could be

assisted in the implementation of this e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

25

1999

Year founded

transformation was Ivalua, which has been “the core skeleton to the process at Covéa,” and assisted in the streamlining of the function. The digitisation

$1bn

of procurement has had many benefits.

“The unification of procurement through

Approximate revenue

this platform enables us to speak with

2,500

and improved relations with our stake-

Approximate number of employees

one voice,” Noel says, adding that “this allows for a greater market presence holders and vendors.”

Not only has the process added value and been well received by e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

COVÉA GROUP

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27 employees and stakeholders alike,

will continue to be aligned with the

but it has had excellent benefits in

business strategy of the group.”

terms of sustainability: “In terms of our

She is confident that both customers

vision for sustainability, we are almost

and employees will continue to see

paperless and it’s compliant with reg-

a growing level of transparency that

ulation and auditable. Sustainability

will bring the business and stakehold-

isn’t underlined as much as it should

ers closer, while consolidating the

be,” Noel asserts.

valuable role that procurement plays within the company.

A TRANSPARENT FUTURE “As Covéa moves forward, customers will be at the center of all we do, and this is evident in our huge project transformation with added value and productivity,” she adds. “Procurement e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

LEADERSHIP

30

NOVEMBER 2019

THE UNIQUE BUSINESS MODEL THAT IS DRIVING THE UK TO A GREENER FUTURE Jonny Combe, UK CEO of cashless parking payment provider PayByPhone, talks about his Meters for Trees Initiative, Europe expansion and the simplification of travel.

WRITTEN BY

AMBER DONOVAN-STEVENS

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

31

LEADERSHIP

P

ayByPhone is pioneering sustainability initiatives in the UK.

With its cashless payments and

seamless customer interface, the parking

app’s unique business strategy positions it as a key player in the emergence of the UK as a smart city hub. Business Chief caught up with CEO of cashless parking payment provider PayByPhone UK, Jonny Combe, to discuss the recent launch of its new initiative, Meters for Trees.

32

A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODEL The Scotland-born CEO is a self-confessed “car fanatic.” His passion led to a career in the automotive sector, working across a variety of departments such as marketing, sales, operations, strategy, and manufacturing at BMW Group. Combe made the transition from BMW to UK CEO of PayByPhone in 2018, tasked with driving expansion across the UK. His approach has been both conscientious and bold as he leads the company towards achieving this goal, all while maintaining the company’s green ethos.

NOVEMBER 2019

33

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LEADERSHIP

In June 2019, Combe officially

34

via apps such as PayByPhone. “These

launched the Meters for Trees initiative,

machines do more environmental

a unique programme designed to

damage than most would realise. They

reduce the UK’s carbon footprint.

require regular maintenance, whether

“Meters for Trees works with local

this is an employee driving to empty the

authorities and private operators as

machines, or even repairs due to theft

clients in order to reduce the amount

or vandalism in the area. This is why we

of CO2 produced,” he says, adding

encourage local authorities to reduce

that “to do this they are assisting with

them.” The Meters for Trees initiative

the reduction of parking machines.”

pledges that for every 10 machines

Combe acknowledges the vast

reduced by local authorities,

reduction of these machines over

PayByPhone will offset one tonne

the last decade though and that

of carbon through the port of the

individuals now pay for parking

Portel-Pará REDD project, a Verified

“ For every tonne that we offset, we also donate a tree to the local authority” — Jonny Combe, CEO, PayByPhone UK

NOVEMBER 2019

Carbon Standard (VCS) audited initiative project in the Amazon Rainforest. “For every tonne that we offset, we also donate a tree to the local authority. For example, in the case of Kensington and Chelsea council, where we launched the programme, they had 700 machines that they wanted to remove. So that’s 70 tonnes of carbon that we offset and as a kind of nod to that, we’ll donate 70

parking solution, with Ealing council,

trees to the borough.” Combe says that

taking the scratch-card method digital

from this, it was calculated that over

in order to streamline the user’s

23,000 miles were driven just to empty

parking experience. In addition to

these machines alone. Not only is this

local authorities, Combe notes that

reducing the borough’s carbon footprint,

PayByPhone also works closely with a

but it’s also creating cost savings in

number of parking operators, including

excess of £120,000 a year

the largest and best known, NCP.

that would have otherwise been lost

PayByPhone has already picked

to theft. Earlier in the year the company

up two Green World Environment

also launched a visitor vouchers

Awards; one for carbon

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Jonny Combe Combe is the UK of global mobile parking payment provider PayByPhone UK. In November 2018, he was brought in from BMW Group, where he spent 13 years, to lead PayByPhone through a phase of rapid expansion. The company is growing quickly under his leadership, with sustainability remaining at the heart of all of that the company does.

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35

LEADERSHIP

ABOUT PAY BY P H O N E Global mobile parking payment provider PayByPhone, a whollyowned subsidiary of Volkswagen Financial Services, is one of the fastest growing mobile parking payment companies in the world.

36

It enables cashless parking payments in 500 cities across 12 countries through smartphone and smartwatch applications as well as its website, helping 29.1 mn registered users pay for parking easily and securely without the hassle of waiting in line, carrying change or risking costly fines.

Today, PayByPhone is quickly establishing itself as a market leader in the UK thanks to aggressive growth initiatives, acquisitions and a surge of contract wins.

Its transactions in the UK grew from 23 million to 28.3 million between 2017 and 2018, and employee numbers have doubled over the past year, currently employing 29 people, with the aim to employ 35 by the end of 2019.

NOVEMBER 2019

reduction and the other for work with local authorities, and a Green Apple Environment Award. “We’ve also been short-listed for four or five more awards and I’m optimistic that we will pick a couple more up.” He adds: “We’re the largest in the industry for what we do and we truly believe in leading by example.” Before launching the initiative, PayByPhone ensured it had itself achieved carbon neutral status. “C-level executives need to lead by example,” explains Combe.

“As you can tell, we are pretty passionate about the green agenda and how technology can forward that.”

A GREENER UK As Combe looks to the future, he shares that there are several advancements in the works. “One of the main metrics of our business is the number of transactions that we process and this year we will have done close to 50% more than last year.” Combe hopes that this number will continue to increase. Earlier in the year, PayByPhone acquired Connect Cashless Parking, a company located

“ We’re the largest in the industry for what we do and we truly believe in leading by example” — Jonny Combe, CEO, PayByPhone UK 37 Financial Services didn’t just acquire PayByPhone for parking, it’s the fact that parking is a key component in Liverpool. “We’re certainly open-

of how our consumers’ journey fits

minded to any further acquisitions that

together. So, I think in the future we’ll

will help us achieve our business

be able to bring lots of different types

strategy.” He says that PayByPhone

of journeys under one umbrella and

is a global brand moving to strengthen

pay for them in a really easy and

its presence in Europe. “I want to take

simple way.”

over Scotland with this initiative,” he jokes. “We have a small presence in the country currently and I’m really passionate about expanding there.”

As the company evolves, Combe believes that PayByPhone will go beyond parking solutions. “Volkswagen e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

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TECHNOLOGY

THE CLOUD 40

PLAYBOOK Bas Lemmens, VP EMEA at software company Pivotal, on the factors to consider when planning a cloud migration strategy WRITTEN BY

BAS LEMMENS

NOVEMBER 2019

41

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TECHNOLOGY

T

he execution of a cloud migration strategy can be an anxious time for business leaders.

Not only are the core aspects of moving to

the cloud often shrouded in technical jargon (public vs private; hybrid vs multi; containerisation; XaaS; etc.), but also, the diversity and complexity of IT infrastructure varies widely from business to business,

42

making the risk of disruption difficult to determine.

Imagine a business’ IT infrastructure as a bus speeding along the motorway. The vehicle must transport assets and information according to a strict schedule, otherwise mission critical processes are subject to disruption, resulting in the loss of precious time and money. In this analogy, an attempt to execute a cloud migration strategy is akin to climbing under the bonnet, swapping out the old engine and fitting a new one, all while the bus is still travelling at speed.

Much to the relief of business leaders, the process of cloud migration is far too incremental to be comparable to a Hollywood-style stunt. In fact, a more useful analogy is to think about moving to the cloud as something much more relaxing: chess.

NOVEMBER 2019

43

“CLOUD-NATIVE APPS RUN BETTER, FASTER AND MORE RELIABLY THAN THOSE HOSTED IN ON-PREMISES DATA CENTERS” — Bas Lemmens, VP EMEA, Pivotal

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

TECHNOLOGY

RE-IMAGINING CLOUD MIGRATION IN BLACK AND WHITE

piece forward has the potential to

Modern businesses run on a number of

while creating a set model for success

different apps, each with a specific set

is rendered almost impossible by billions

of services or processes that enable

of different potential arrangements.

different aspects of business to func-

44

increase the vulnerability of others,

What does this have to do with the

tion. Like pieces on a chess board,

cloud? Put simply, cloud-native apps

these components achieve their pur-

run better, faster and more reliably than

pose by operating in a variety of differ-

those hosted in on-premises data cent-

ent ways to achieve a common goal.

ers. Moreover, the distributed nature of

The way in which these components

cloud computing makes it more difficult

are configured can impact how effec-

for apps to be targeted by cyber-attacks,

tive they are in achieving their goals,

while the flexibility it affords organisations

creating a delicate network of interde-

means that cybersecurity protocols can

pendencies that is not always obvious

be rapidly adapted to the shifting cyber

from an initial assessment. Moving one

threat landscape. Most importantly,

“RUNNING APPS IN THE CLOUD ALLOWS BUSINESSES TO BECOME MORE AGILE – A CRUCIAL CHARACTERISTIC TO HAVE IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD” — Bas Lemmens, VP EMEA, Pivotal NOVEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘HOW PIVOTAL HELPS YOU BECOME A MODERN SOFTWARE COMPANY’ 45

however, running apps in the cloud

BRING IN THE CAVALRY

allows businesses to become more

The external perspective of a third-

agile – a crucial characteristic to have in

party organisation is especially useful

a rapidly changing world. Apps run in

during migration projects. This will help

the cloud benefit from both increased

to overcome the tendency for cloud

portability and scalability, which helps

migration projects to suffer from tunnel

businesses adapt their products and

vision and offer an expert opinion to

services to changing levels of demand,

assist difficult decisions. For example,

or to more closely align with customer

an organisation may have modernised

needs. This is how value can be gener-

its enterprise application structure to

ated as a direct result of migrating apps

run in the cloud, launched new micros-

to the cloud, while also saving costs by

ervices and started adhering to a new

only using as much of the IT depart-

architectural style, but neglected to

ment’s resources as needed at the time.

retire its legacy infrastructure. Such e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

TECHNOLOGY

ground and end up wasting money and

ONE SMALL STEP FOR IT, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR BUSINESS

slowing down systems – despite effec-

A game of chess is lost when all the

tively being redundant in cloud-based IT

most important pieces are brought

environments. Instead of hiding, these

to the frontline simultaneously.

blind spots can be easily identified and

Accordingly, nowhere does it say that a

safely eliminated by granting visibility

business must shift all of its apps to the

to an unbiased third party to rigorously

cloud in a single move. Even with just

check the assumptions initially made.

a small portion of apps running in the

problems can easily fade into the back-

The surging popularity of cloud-native

46

cloud – often only 10-20% of a total

enterprise applications has also chal-

estate – businesses will notice the ben-

lenged conventional wisdom on how

efits of the cloud begin to manifest in

to keep systems safe and secure. From

areas such as value-added services,

infrastructure to application development,

enhanced customer experience and a

there is a sharp contrast between legacy

greater capacity to innovate.

cybersecurity tools and a more modern, cloud-native approach to protecting IT resources. Organisations must reimagine their cyber defences to adapt to the needs of the cloud-native era. As a result, organisations moving to the cloud must be bold and invest in the innovations, patterns and practices in order to be successful, such as establishing a DevOps culture, engage in the continuous delivery of new apps and updates and adopt a microservices architecture. These are the tools that are needed for cloud-native security the way in which major risks can be mitigated.

NOVEMBER 2019

It is paramount that businesses

businesses can embark on a journey of

planning a cloud migration strategy

learning and adapting to a new cloud-

focus first on moving the apps that are

based environment, and ensure that

best positioned to reap the benefits of

cloud migration projects are successful.

the cloud. Which apps deliver the most value to customers? Which apps are

MAINTAINING ENGAGEMENT

the most important in ensuring the

The usefulness of technology partners

people within the business can achieve

does not stop at the technology itself.

their goals? Which apps drive the most

Perhaps, one of the most important

traffic? Identifying which apps are core

aspects of cloud migration projects is

to the business and moving them to

to maintain stakeholder engagement

the cloud, it can be assured that the

throughout the process. Technology

maximum outcomes of the technology

partners can be instrumental in

are being achieved with minimal

espousing the benefits of technical

change. By taking incremental steps,

projects to members of the executive

“THE BEST MIGRATIONS HAPPEN WHEN INDIVIDUAL TEAMS WORK TOGETHER, FROM DEVOPS TO IT” — Bas Lemmens, VP EMEA, Pivotal

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

47

TECHNOLOGY

board, such as tangible ROI and new opportunities to compete, scale and grow. It’s important that it’s not just the customers that go on and benefit from this journey. Teams within the organisation must understand the technology and concepts being deployed and be shown the value of having existing systems changed.

As with any major cultural change, resistance is to be expected, especially when executed in parallel with a large technology project such as a 48

cloud migration. Making sure teams are on board with change is foundational to success, and establishing processes for introducing them to new solutions and software is crucial.

The best migrations happen when individual teams work together, from DevOps to IT. Again, this is where an incremental approach is fundamental, as each step leads to new insights which require continuous course correction and adaptation. The often technical way in which cloud is described means that the crucial human factor of cloud migration is forgotten. A people-centric approach must be taken, one which rigorously NOVEMBER 2019

questions any assumptions regarding individual teams’ reactions to the change involved. Only then can a project become successful.

WINNING THE GAME No one ever won a game of chess without sacrificing pieces along the way. Equally, no cloud migration project is flawless. Even with the best tools and people at their disposal, organisations will find themselves making certain trade-offs and facing unexpected circumstances. Moving to the cloud, however, isn’t a leap of faith; it’s an incremental and strategic reconfiguration of IT resources that requires evaluation every step of the way. The outcome? An IT offering that is fit for purpose, futureproof and capable of serving the needs of both clients and employees alike.

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PEOPLE

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THE YEAR OF THE CUSTOMER In every industry, the need for companies to provide their customers with seamless digital experiences is growing more and more pressing, and those unwilling to adapt to a new class of consumer run the risk of being left behind WRITTEN BY

NOVEMBER 2019

HARRY MENEAR

51

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PEOPLE

A

cross every industry in every market, one thing has become clear in 2019: this is the year of the customer.

Ubiquitous advertising, economic discomfort in a shrinking middle class, more ways than ever for people to self-determine the companies they deal with, a hunger for on-demand and personalised products and services, and a younger consumer class grown increasingly distrustful of an unfair capitalist system, are all conspiring to firmly put the ball back in

the court of corporations when it comes to 52

attracting and retaining a customer base.

Back in 2018, James Paine, the Founder of West Realty Advisors wrote, in a piece for Inc, that “twenty years ago, if you paid for a product or service and you weren’t happy with what you received, the best you could hope for was that if you sent in a letter of complaint, you’d eventually receive a refund. You could tell a couple of friends and maybe they’d tell their friends, but that was about it. Nowadays, though, if a customer has a bad experience then they can post about it online, and if they post about it online then it can go viral and even seriously damage the overall value of your brand. After all, all it took was one tweet from Kylie Jenner to knock US$1.3bn off Snapchat’s valuation.”

NOVEMBER 2019

“ People expect improvements at a pretty fast clip these days” — Victoria Holt, CEO, Protolabs

53

The message from consumers is clear: “treat us right or perish.”

This month, we explore explores the strategies being adopted by companies that want not simply to survive this age of seamless consumer experience, but to thrive in it.

Victoria Holt, CEO of digital manufacturer Protolabs, agrees that customer expectations in her industry have changed over the past decade.

“People expect improvements at a pretty fast clip these days. So, being able to very quickly design, prototype e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

PEOPLE

54 and launch products is a critical suc-

transform to offer products that are

cess factor for manufacturers today,”

more personalised and readily availa-

she explains, adding that “there’s more

ble, and in return, this drives customer

mass-customisation too, which is

expectations and the standards are

another thing that not only requires

becoming more exacting every year as

rapid innovation, but the capacity to

the customers take more and more

produce products in lower quantities

control.

as you customise them for specific end

“For the last 50 years, software

uses. Again, this lends itself to a more

development has been specification-

digitalised manufacturing process.”

centric. Teams created software that

This emphasis on harnessing the

complied with a specification. That just

power of digital transformation is part

doesn’t work anymore,” says Antony

and parcel with the ouroboric relation-

Edwards, Chief Operating Officer of

ship between the company and

artificial intelligence, analytics and

customer. Companies digitally

software solutions company, Eggplant.

NOVEMBER 2019

CORTEX Social media is the most visible, immediate and effective medium

Small, Boston-based AI startup Cortex touches

through which companies can interact

more lives on a daily

with their customers. These three

basis than most major

startups are using AI to revolutionise the customer experience online.

advertising firms.

Founded in 2015, the company owns and operates a

“ Software teams need to use customer analytics to become user-centric and create software that delights users and drives business outcomes” — Antony Edwards, Chief Operating Officer, Eggplant

proprietary AI platform that reportedly eliminates the need for a dedicated social media data analyst.

“Cortex learns what makes better marketing content and offers creative direction, social media insights, and competitive benchmarking based on this data analysis.”

Trusted by diverse global brands like Heineken (achieving a 39% increase in engagement with the beverage giant’s Dos Equis property) and band

“Software teams need to use customer

Maroon 5, Cortex uses its algo-

analytics to become user-centric and

rithmic analysis of social trends

create software that delights users

to “know exactly what to post,

and drives business outcomes.”

when, how often, and instantly

Edwards’ observations are backed by

add the most effective photo

a recent white paper from Adobe.

or video. No more guessing,

Noting that the most successful mod-

no more searching. Done in no

ern companies are the ones that have

time at all.” e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

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PEOPLE

digitally transformed themselves, Adobe warns that “transformation needs to be driven with a purpose.

For top businesses, that purpose is customer experience”. Companies that place customer experience at the top of their list of priorities are more successful than those who adopt a ‘push’ mentality.

But what do those customers want?

High level concepts like “customisability” and “on-demand” are a good start, but to better understand the specific 56

things consumers want from them, successful companies are doubling down on analytics and diverting more and more resources, both to under-

purchases. They then feed this auto-

standing their consumers and to

matically back into their software

providing a seamless experience. “Fast

development to optimise revenue.”

food stores are employing user analyt-

Across the board, industry leaders are

ics to understand how their staff are

moving as one towards a more

using point-of-sale terminals and then

informed company-customer relation-

using this information to update the

ship. In Gartner’s recent Customer

point-of-sale terminal so that custom-

Experience Trends Survey, it was

ers are served faster,” says Edwards.

revealed that, in 2018, two-thirds of

“Retailers are using a combination of

companies increased their customer

user and technical analytics to under-

experience technology investments,

stand how technical factors such as

with 52% reporting that they intended

website speed and design factors such

to increase spending further in 2019. In

as high-resolution graphics, impact

last year’s survey, Gartner found that

NOVEMBER 2019

DRIFT Another Bostonian firm, Drift was founded in 2014 and has since become the world’s leading conversational marketing and sales platform that helps businesses connect with their customers.

With a focus on immediate revenue generation for its clients, Drift has undeniably displayed the trend with regard to its own development.

After just two years on the market, the company has become one of the fastest growing SaaS companies of all-time and was named to the Forbes Cloud 100, LinkedIn 81% of companies expect customer

Top 50 Startups, Entrepreneur’s

experience to be the most important

Top Company Cultures, Boston

competition metric by 2020.

Business Journal’s Best Places to

Seeking to perfect the customer experience is going to become an even greater point of differentiation for com-

Work, and SaaS Company of the Year by the NEVCA. “Using Drift chatbots you can

panies in the next few years. Social

answer common questions in real

media is a valuable tool for companies

time, route qualified leads to the

to understand, sell to and interact with

right sales reps and start conver-

their customer bases, but the sword

sations with prospects in real time.

swings both ways. Debacles like Fyre

Rep in a meeting? No problem,

Festival and Kylie Jenner’s Snapchat

leads can book a time that works

Tweet prove that brands have nowhere

for them and your rep in seconds

to hide anymore; the customer

flat,” according to the company. e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

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PEOPLE

INVOCA Founded in 2008, Santa Barbara-based analytics firm Invoca has spent over a decade selling the idea of relationship insights as direct value creation. The company is centered around its AI-powered call tracking and analytics platform that helps marketers get campaign attribution and actionable data from inbound phone calls.

The approach is a less common one, given the focus of most social media solutions on internet engagements over social media apps. However, with the US outbound telemarketing market predicted to reach higher than $12bn annually by 2025, the application of AI to gain greater 58

insight into the space has its appeal.

In an interview in 2017, Invoca CEO Gregg Johnson said: “With the massive rise of mobile, which is driving 85 bn calls to businesses globally and influencing more than $1 trn in US consumer spending, it’s becoming even more important for marketers to integrate call intelligence with their marketing automation solutions. As consumers increasingly combine their digital interactions with voice interactions, live conversation has become the new competitive battleground for customer experience. Call intelligence allows marketers to connect digital consumer interactions (clicking on paid search ads, browsing websites, etc.) to the voice experience (talking to a human), to have a holistic profile of the customer.�

NOVEMBER 2019

experience must be seamless, curated and on-demand. Companies that want to succeed in what may become the Decade of the Customer need expert help – a fact that means the global Customer Experience Analytics Market is expected to grow to around $12bn by 2023 – and to embrace the power of digital. Vinod Muthukrishnan, co-founder and CEO of customer experience management software company CloudCherry, lives this reality every day. “Customer retention is lower than it ever has been. The millennial audience is actually much more conscious of business ethics, the

IN 2018, TWO-THIRDS OF COMPANIES INCREASED THEIR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS THE GLOBAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ANALYTICS MARKET IS EXPECTED TO GROW TO AROUND $12BN BY 2023

environment and corporate social responsibility than the two generations before it, mine included,” he explains.

When asked about the key to a great customer experience, Muthukrishnan says: “We’re going back to the basics.

In many ways, the more digitisation we do, the more humanisation the customer demands. You can use machine learning, you can use bots – you do whatever, as long as it’s aimed at actually giving that customer a more personal experience.”

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

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NOVEMBER 2019

MANAGING OPERATIONAL RISK IS KEY TO IMPROVING SUSTAINABILITY Bill Zuurbier, co-founder and Managing Director of risk management consultancy, Equib, discusses the importance of resilience within new structures and the need for clear communication when addressing sustainability

WRITTEN BY

BILL ZUURBIER e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

61

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

62

T

here is an increasing focus on

in the construction sector and other

incorporating resilience into new

industries to prioritise sustainability.

structures, as well as updating

In setting this new target to reduce

existing infrastructure. However,

carbon emissions, the UK is the first

addressing sustainability requires vision

G7 nation to align with the Paris 2015

and clear communication to ensure it

agreement, but others already have

gets the attention it deserves prior to

plans to follow.

and during delivery.

To assist those responsible for the

Increased public awareness of the

design and development of new

impact of climate change and the UK

buildings and infrastructure, the

Government’s recent decision to set

sustainability assessment methodology

a legally-binding target to reduce

– BREEAM – has been rolled out to

greenhouse gas emissions to net zero

more than 70 countries around the

by 2050, are driving decision-makers

world. Used to measure and certify

NOVEMBER 2019

“At any stage of delivery, if whole-life costs are not properly considered, the risks associated with the project can increase dramatically� — Bill Zuurbier, Co-founder and Managing Director of risk management consultancy, Equib 63

the environmental performance of

environmental or societal benefits.

new and existing buildings, those with

As a result, those responsible for

a rating of Excellent or Outstanding are

designing new projects are specifying

deemed to be sustainable environments

sustainable materials and operational

that meet a high standard in terms of

equipment, usually justified by

their environmental, social and corporate

whole-life cost considerations, which

governance (ESG) performance.

prove their efficiency over time.

Certification schemes and bench-

Operational risks are among the

marks clearly have an important role

biggest risk factors for any major-scale

to play in driving sustainability perfor-

infrastructure programme or construc-

mance. Their use is certainly helping

tion project and successful mitigation

to attract investors and other stake-

starts at design stage, when sustain-

holders, who increasingly expect

ability is closely considered. At this

projects to deliver measurable

stage, a complete cost plan for the e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

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

“Building in sustainability and forward planning at design stage can help to make projects more attractive to private sector investors and public sector sponsors� — Bill Zuurbier, Co-founder and Managing Director of risk management consultancy, Equib 64 project is prepared, incorporating both capital costs, which are associated with the build itself and operational costs, spanning the expected life of the structure. If capital expenditure is low at design stage, but operational costs, such as those incurred when using or maintaining the asset, seem excessive, there is an opportunity to address this by specifying a more sustainable solution.

Once building work gets underway, costs can start to increase and if not properly controlled, some of the sustainability benefits of the structure NOVEMBER 2019

65 could be eroded. From the project

make projects more attractive to

manager’s perspective, if budgets are

private sector investors and public

not being met, there could be pressure

sector sponsors. For this reason, many

to cut corners and decisions might be

designers are focused on reducing

taken to swap sustainable equipment,

both embodied and operational carbon

which comes with a higher price tag,

emissions. This typically involves the

for cheaper, less eco-friendly alterna-

specification of energy-efficient

tives. While this could help to reduce

lighting or microgeneration technolo-

capital expenditure, the longer-term

gies, such as solar panels or wind

impact of such decisions on the life-cycle

turbines. Such equipment may increase

performance of the building could

capital expenditure but has the potential

be considerable, particularly if the

to drastically reduce operational costs

replacement costs more to maintain.

over time, making the building more

Building in sustainability and forward

efficient from a cost and environmental

planning at design stage can help to

perspective. Increasingly, designers e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

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

are being challenged to future-proof structures to ensure their sustainability by allowing changes to extend their functionality or capacity further down the line, in lieu of significant refurbishment or rebuilding.

At any stage of delivery, if whole-life costs are not properly considered, the risks associated with the project can increase dramatically. An example of this can be seen in the award-winning Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which became home to West Ham 66

Football Club in 2016. Forward-thinking designers and their sponsors were keen to develop a multi-storey asset which could bring diverse benefits to the local area for many years to come.

Their decision to incorporate dual

“Keeping an eye on operational risks at all stages of delivery is vital to ensure that construction projects deliver on their sustainability promises� — Bill Zuurbier, Co-founder and Managing Director of risk management consultancy, Equib NOVEMBER 2019

it is important that stakeholders at a senior level encourage adherence to the right processes and controls from the start. Once a project is underway, decisions made onsite must be communicated to all stakeholders and endorsed where necessary. As projects can often take many years to complete, these processes and controls must also be robust enough to stick even when there are significant changes of personnel or multiple specialist teams are involved.

Wider application of BIM or Building Information Modelling, which involves the creation of a detailed digital description of every aspect of a building or project, can also help to improve data management and visibility across the life of the project. The ability to integrate 3D models with time and cost data means functionality by allowing the structure

risks can be identified more readily and

to double as an athletics track was

used to inform decision making.

inspired, but the operational costs

Keeping an eye on operational risks

attached to switching from one use

at all stages of delivery is vital to ensure

to the other have since become a bone

that construction projects deliver

of contention.

on their sustainability promises.

To assist in de-risking construction projects and infrastructure programmes and delivering sustainability benefits, e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

67

CITY FOCUS | DUBLIN

City Focus

DUB

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NOVEMBER 2019

BLIN

69

We explore Dublin, a city rapidly becoming known as the ‘tech capital of Europe’ thanks to its hosting the likes of Google and Microsoft WRITTEN BY

OLLIE MULKERRINS

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

CITY FOCUS | DUBLIN

N

estled in a bay along the east coast of Ireland, Dublin rests at the mouth

of the River Liffey. The city is divided by the river between North and South and bordered by an area of the Wicklow mountain range,

aptly named the Dublin Mountains. The earliest record of a settlement in the area where the city stands today comes from 140AD, in which a town named Eblana was mentioned in the writings of Ptolemy. Dublin has grown 70

significantly since then and celebrated its ‘official’ millennium in 1988. In 2016, the population of Dublin’s urban area was recorded as 1.17 mn. The natural beauty of the area, including the Great Sugar Loaf mountain and the Greystones bay, along with the bustling nature of the city have inspired some of the greatest poets to have ever put pen to paper, including Oscar Wilde and William Butler Yeats. In recent years, Ireland’s economic policies have helped the city develop into a promising prospect for financial investment and as a foothold for businesses wishing to trade within the European Union.

During the mid-1990’s to late-2000’s a swell of direct foreign investment saw Dublin’s economy experience a rapid NOVEMBER 2019

71

expansion, which became known

“ Ireland’s economic policies have helped the city develop into a promising prospect for financial investment”

as the Celtic Tiger period. Although the property-led economic crash in 2008 certainly had a dampening effect on this expansion, the city’s economic resilience led a quick recovery from the global downturn.

ECONOMY Throughout the 1980s, Ireland was considered a poor country

by Western standards with many citizens living below the poverty e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

CITY FOCUS | DUBLIN

“ Hosting so many high-tech developers has earned Dublin the moniker ‘Tech Capital of Europe’”

line employment and inflation were in constant decline. Between 1995 and 2000, the economy expanded by an estimated average of 9.4% and beyond that continued at a growth of 6.7%. This unprecedented rapid expansion of the Celtic Tiger has been noted as a rare example of a western country achieving such a marked improvement, matching the growth of East Asian nations, most notably the Four Asian Tigers: Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.

The recession had a considerable

72

impact on the wellbeing of Dublin’s economy. Its GDP contracted 14% by

NOVEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘BEHIND THE GATES OF THE GUINNESS BREWERY’ 73

2011; a statistic mirrored by unem-

at the St James’s Gate Brewery for

ployment rates which rose to 14% by

the foreseeable future. Economic

2011. Dublin recovered quickly, with

growth during the 90’s invited

the growth rate making a return to

pharmaceutical companies and IT

6.7% by 2015.

developers to the region, which now plays host to giants like Microsoft,

INDUSTRY

Google, Amazon, eBay, Facebook

Many of Dublin’s traditional indus-

and Twitter. Google is the largest

tries, such as textile manufacturing,

private sector employer in the region

brewing and distilling, have experi-

with more than 6,000 employees.

enced a decline in the past few years.

hosting so many high-tech developers

That being said, Guinness’ famous

has earned Dublin the moniker “Tech

9000-year lease, running since 1759,

Capital of Europe”.

is sure to see production continue e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

CITY FOCUS | DUBLIN

WHY START A BUSINESS IN IRELAND?

becoming a hub for innovation

Dublin has built a reputation as a

through world class companies

welcoming place for new businesses.

and research in sectors such as

Its wealth of startup funding, such

ICT, life sciences, gaming, financial

as Enterprise Ireland makes it an

services and the food industry. This

easy stepping stone for companies

offers companies access to an

looking to get a foothold in Europe.

experienced and talented workforce,

The low levels of bureaucracy and

which is the youngest in Europe

low tax environment also ensure that

according to localenterprise.ie.

prospective startups are not experi-

Ireland is also one of the most con-

encing unnecessary set-backs during

nected countries in the world, given

the early days of trading.

its geographical location,

This environment has led to Dublin 74

NOVEMBER 2019

ease of transport to Europe, US,

Middle East, combined with its membership to the EU euro currency provides a gateway into the richest markets available. Its corporation tax is very low too at 12.5%, almost half

1.17mn Approximate population

the OECD average of 24.9%. Through targeted funding and legislation, Ireland has put itself at the forefront of the European corporate landscape by offering a welcoming and acces-

6.7%

Revenue growth

sible place for business and Dublin has become a focal point for global progress in a wealth of sectors.

Google Largest private sector employer

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

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CITY FOCUS | DUBLIN

DCC Founded as Development Capital Corporation in 1976, originally a venture capital company catering to start ups, it changed direction during the 1980’s and moved into industrial holdings and became DCC in 1994. It has made significant investments in the oil and gas sector with £88.5mn invested in Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) during 2012, DCC followed this with an agreement with ExxonMobil to acquire 76

the Esso Express petrol station network. Its net income currently sits at £266.9mn and in December 2015 was one of 100 companies listed with the highest market capitalisation on the London Stock Exchange.

SMURFIT KAPPA Established in Dublin as a box maker in 1934, they were acquired by Mr Jefferson Smurfit in 1938, trading as Jefferson Smurfit. In 1974, they acquired a partial share of Time Industries, a Chicago-based paper and packaging company. In 1998 the company merged with Stone Container Corporation to become NOVEMBER 2019

“ Its geographical location, ease of transport to Europe, US, Middle East, combined with its membership to the EU and Euro currency provides a gateway into the richest markets available”

Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation.

In 2005, after a management buyout funded by Madison Dearborn Partners, the company merged with Kappa packaging to become Smurfit Kappa in 2005. It has a net income of £564.3mn, employing 45,000 people across its business network.

GOOGLE DOCKS CAMPUS The tech giant has built new offices in Sandford, expanding on its presence in Dublin. The four-building campus in the heart of the docklands district has become the hub for employees from 65 countries speaking 45 languages and working in marketing, finance and engineering. The campus has been dubbed Google Docks after the popular browser-based document hosting platform and its position within the city. Sustainability is a key part of the organisation and the unit is looking to achieve its LEED accreditation in the near future.

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

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T O P 10

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NOVEMBER 2019

Airports in Europe We take a look at Flights From’s “Top 100 Busiest Airports” to bring you the top 10 airports in Europe, based on scheduled daily flights WRITTEN BY

SHANNON LEWIS

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T O P 10

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10

Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport

Airport code FCO, Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport is located in Rome, Italy. The 48th busiest airport in the world, it has 401 flights scheduled every day. Opened in 1960 as a support airport for the Summer Olympics, it has since become a hub of passenger activity with 40.9mn passengers passing through in 2017, according to Roma Airport. It has four passenger terminals, with free wi-fi and a personal shopper service.

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81

09

Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport

The 33rd busiest airport in the world, Josep Taradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport sees 467 daily flights scheduled. Situated in Barcelona, Spain, it has seen record passenger growth rates, from 11.7mn passengers in 1995 to 50mn in 2018. Its management prides itself on the success of its terminal T1. Built in 2009 and it has already garnered the airport multiple awards including the coveted ACPETUR prize for the best contribution to quality in tourism.

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08

Istanbul Airport

Located in the Arnavutkรถy district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, Istanbul Airport is the 29th busiest airport in the world. A hub for travel between Europe, Asia, and Africa, it sees 481 flights scheduled every day. With a self-reported 243 shops, 309 destinations, and amenities such as baby care rooms, it has ample facilities to service the 33.5mn that have passed through it between April and September of this year.

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

T O P 10

© Alex Beltyukov

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07

Sheremetyevo International Airport

Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, Russia — airport code SVO — sees 483 flights scheduled every day. It is the 27th busiest airport in the world. Named after Alexander Pushkin, Sheremetyevo is equipped with a VIP lounge, 75 eating locales, almost 50 stores, and the technology to allow customers to use e-boarding passes.

Its five terminals are divide into two groups: North Sector Complex and South Sector Complex.

NOVEMBER 2019

© Jean-Pierre Dalbéra

06

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport

The Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport is located in Madrid, Spain.

With 501 flights scheduled every day, it is the 22nd busiest airport in the world. It changed its name from Madrid-Barajas Airport to its current designation in 2014 in response to the death of the former Prime Minister. A hub for flights between Latin America and Europe, its facilities were used by 57mn passengers in 2017.

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05

Munich Airport

Munich Airport - airport code MUC - is the 19th busiest airport in the world, with 511 flights scheduled to pass through it every day. A popular airport for its design and operation, it offers multiple tours of its facilities, and is equipped with an observation deck that allows customers to view the airport apron. Its interactive exhibition and playground make it popular among families, and its visitors’ park is open year-round.

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04

Heathrow Airport

The 13th busiest airport in the world, Heathrow Airport is located on the outskirts of London, England. With 616 flights scheduled every day, its four passenger terminals experience constant use. In terms of passenger traffic, it was reported by Thrillist that 80.1mn passengers using its facilities in 2018. It has almost 80 stores throughout the airport and organises fun events throughout the year.

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

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03

Charles de Gaulle Airport

Based in Paris, France, Charles de Gaulle Airport — airport code CDG — is the 11th busiest air travel hub in the world. It sees 623 flights scheduled daily. Among its services are luggage home delivery, luggage protection and advance tickets to events in Paris, all of which can be pre-purchased online. Based on passenger volume, Charles de Gaulle is the 10th busiest airport in the world, with 72.2mn passengers passing through its doors in 2018, according to Thrillist.

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

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02

Frankfurt Airport

The 10th busiest airport in the world, Frankfurt

90

Airport sees 625 flights pass through it every day.

Located in Frankfurt, Germany, its website hosts an Oktoberfest-themed 2048 number game that puts up terminal shopping coupons as prizes.

Throughout its terminals it provides leisure zones, with comfortable chairs, hardwood floors and multiple plug sockets. According to Thrillist, 69.5mn people used its facilities in 2018, making it the 14th busiest airport in the world by passenger volume.

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01

Amsterdam Airport    Schiphol

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Situated in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the eighth busiest airport in the world. It has 639 flights scheduled every day. Its services include free wi-fi, a baby care lounge, a financial centre, meeting rooms, showers and a hairdresser.

Its shopping plaza provides customers with access to more than 20 bars and restaurants.

According to Thrillist 71mn people travelled through it in 2018, making it the 11th busiest airport globally by passenger volume.

NOVEMBER 2019

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ACCELERATING AUTOMATION IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN WRITTEN BY

PRODUCED BY

SEAN GALEA-PACE CAITLYN COLE

NOVEMBER 2019

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NEWCOLD

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Speaking to Supply Chain Digital in Wakefield, Abhy Maharaj, Global Chief Commercial Officer & Chief Operating Officer, discusses how influential automation has become to his firm’s operations

T

he industry is changing — automation has become king. The influence of technology on how businesses operate shows

no signs of slowing down and its now become paramount that companies are agile or risk getting left behind. In the case of NewCold, the latest industry trends have been embraced and instilled into four key pillars: innovation, trust, agility and automation.

NewCold is recognised as a leader in the development and operation of highly automated cold stores.

The firm has a global network with eight locations in three continents and is still growing.

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LIVING LOGISTICS

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TGW is your reliable partner for intralogistics solutions: We deliver complete integrated solutions for our customers, realize and service mechatronical subsystems or products adapted to the specific needs of our distributors. TGW Distributor Business is proud of the successful long-term cooperation with NewCold, which includes most areas of intralogistics.

www.tgw-group.com

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘INNOVATION AT THE HEART - ABHY MAHARAJ, NEWCOLDS GLOBAL CCO & COO’ 99 Speaking to Supply Chain Digital

the data, its value and how to build the

at the company’s Wakefield site, Abhy

logistical business around it. All of our

Maharaj, Global Chief Commercial

sites are 80-90% automated and you

Officer & Chief Operating Officer,

won’t find anything else close to that

stresses just how vital technology

all over the world.”

has become to NewCold. “At the heart

Maharaj lives and works at NewCold’s

of NewCold is technology and we

Asia Pacific headquarters in Melbourne.

always operate with the customer in

Still relatively fresh into the role having

mind. What makes us different is the

joined in July 2019, Maharaj believes

way in which we leverage technology

that NewCold’s key focus on customer-

to deliver solutions for our customers,”

centricity was an important factor on his

he explains. “Take Big Data for instance,

decision to join the firm. “When I looked

when NewCold thinks about automa-

at the model, it was breath-taking

tion or about its customers and services

because it centered around automation

— that starts with data. We understand

and getting large volumes of product e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

Degrees Beyond.

Founded in 1997 on the principles of sound construction, exceptional customer service, financial responsibility and personnel management, we are a structurally dynamic organization dedicated to outperforming our competition and exceeding the expectations of the cold storage industry. Most importantly, we are here to help our clients succeed.

As an employee-owned company, each member of our team is empowered and vested in the success of our clients. We commit 100% to each detail, big and small. We dismiss the idea of cutting corners and we aim to provide the best for our clients in every aspect. We pledge to complete your job safely, efficiently, on-time and within budget.

The partnership with Newcold and their construction team highlights our commitment to listen to our clients and tailor solutions that fit their particular needs.

SubZero is your partner from concept to completion.

949 216 9506 subzeroconstructors.com

LEARN MORE

in and out,” affirms Maharaj. “I developed

I feel like it’s a great time to be joining

a strong relationship with NewCold’s

NewCold and also for us to realise our

founder, Bram Hage, who I felt was

potential beyond the three continents

a great visionary and always had the

that we’ve just entered.”

customer at heart. I truly believed it

With automation at the forefront of

was a business model that suited me

operations, NewCold leverages ware-

very well and it’s tremendously scalable

house management software (WMS)

across the world. It’s rare that a

in its automated facilities, which has

European-based business can enter

proven highly successful at the compa-

the US and Australian markets so quickly

ny’s eight facilities worldwide. The WMS,

and we’re only just scratching the surface.

developed by Davanti Warehousing,

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

101

Abhy Maharaj Abhy Maharaj is the Global Chief Commercial Officer & Chief Operating Officer for NewCold. Maharaj is from New Zealand and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Auckland. In his previous roles Maharaj was Head of Strategy & Investor Relations for Air New Zealand, Director of Equity Markets and Strategy for Fonterra Co-operative Group and CFO for Fonterra Australia. During this time, he was responsible for a number of significant transformation initiatives ranging from establishment of new business ventures, re-engineering of customer engagement models, technology and online innovations and complex financial restructuring including leading a $13bn IPO. Maharaj also studied at Harvard Business School and is married to Ashika Maharaj. He has three children.

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

INDUSTRIAL

COOLING

SOLUTIONS Potyzestraat 42 B-8900 IEPER BELGIUM Tel.+32 57 21 86 21 www.skt.be info@skt.be

- Major refrigeration contractor to the European frozen food industry - Specialist in the design of large industrial ammonia plants - Manufacturer and installer of large modular IQF freezing tunnels - Authorised installer of Howden, Grasso & Bitzer - Up to 40 tons/hour - More than 50 years of experience - Service 24/24 - 7/7

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘CCO AND COO ABHY MAHARAJ ON THE NEWCOLD FAMILY SYSTEM’ 103

“ I feel like it’s a great time to be joining NewCold and also for us to realise our potential beyond the three continents that we’ve just entered” — Abhy Maharaj, Global Chief Commercial Officer & Chief Operating Officer

delivers its own state-of-the-art product — the innovative cloud-based management system CORAX. Having been developed using the latest Microsoft technologies, the SaaS (Software as a Service) allows NewCold to control the software design to meet its requirements and fulfil the needs of its customers. Through the assessment of these customer needs, NewCold provides tailor made solutions for the specific transport requests of its customers. The company possesses a range of different solutions to execute the transport of its customers, which e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

NEWCOLD

104

NOVEMBER 2019

includes a fleet of 200 own managed trucks and a diversity of partnerships which enables a full network optimisation. From operating a large-scale own transport fleet to a 3PL managed transport solution with dedicated partners, Maharaj’s customer-centric approach comes from understanding the drive behind his customers’ requirements.

Despite the influx of new technology, Maharaj believes that it is vital that all incoming technology serves a purpose and enhances existing processes to ensure technology is not embraced for the sake of it. “Our sites are developed with sustainability in mind because customers want less energy use. Typically, NewCold’s sites are 50% more energy efficient than conventional cold storages,” he explains. “We make it easy for our customers to understand exactly where their products are in order to enable them to track it in real-time. Our systems are very smart so if a product arrives and is in the warehouse only for a few hours, it is placed in the most optimal position so that it can be moved in and out efficiently. There’s already quite a degree of AI already built into our software system.” e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

105

HIGH-BAY WAREHOUSE FOR DEEP FREEZE INTRALOGISTICS AT ITS BEST

In Burley, Idaho, NewCold celebrated the grand opening of one of the largest frozen storage facilities of its kind. This impressive project includes a high bay warehouse with 90,000 pallet positions supplied by SSI Schaefer. Additional high bay warehouses for NewCold have been built in Tacoma, Washington, as well as Wakefield, UK and Rheine, Germany.

SSI Schaefer has a longstanding partnership with NewCold.

As a leading provider of modular warehouse solutions – especially rack clad storage systems, SSI Schaefer has provided several deep-freeze high bay warehouses for NewCold. The latest automated deep-freeze warehouse project is currently underway in Rennes, France.

The demand for deep-freeze products continues to grow. As volumes increase, requirements placed upon deep-freeze logistics are getting more complex. SSI Schaefer offers flexible, modular, and scalable solutions that optimize storage, picking processes, and profitability within cold storage facilities. Along with complex logistics solutions, SSI Schaefer also provides rack structures as a standalone business.

ssi-schaefer.com

The long-term success of all businesses lies with the relationships that is developed with its customers.

By operating with an agile approach, it allows NewCold to be lean and easily adapt its processes. “Engagement with our customers is key,” he explains.

“We need to be constantly aware of the latest industry trends and the needs of our customers. For example, an increasing number of people are eating out of their homes, or using innovations like UberEats or DoorDash, so you need to consider the impact that this is having on our customer’s

“ At the heart of NewCold is technology and we always operate with the customer in mind” — Abhy Maharaj, Global Chief Commercial Officer & Chief Operating Officer

businesses.” With customer demands frequently changing, Maharaj believes it’s important to keep up-to-date with the latest trends in order to retain its position as a leader in the market. “It’s all about understanding those requirements from our customers to enable us to think ahead,” says Maharaj. “Our software is not just about warehouse management; it also revolves around starting to integrate more into the customer channels. We’re in multiple markets with some of our major customers and it’s important to recognise that supply chain and logistics aren’t e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

107

Building the Future

At Kingspan Insulated Panels, we are pioneering better technologies and methods of building for a low carbon world. Improving building performance, construction methods and ultimately people’s lives – that’s what drives our people across the world.

Energy efficiency is at the heart of our innovation, from making the industry’s most thermally efficient core for our insulated panels, to producing the most airtight interfaces, to providing technical and fieldservice support on how to build optimally.

As the world demands more from buildings in terms of energy efficiency, fire safety, weather resilience, health and aesthetics, Kingspan envelopes will take our built environment to the next era of efficiency and wellbeing.

kingspanpanels.com.au

Aesthetics

Build Ease

Energy

Fire

109

the same in every market. It’s really

Kinspan, SSI Schager, Deweerdt,

about acknowledging how we can

S-Zero. Maharaj believes the ability

apply the learning across not only one

to develop mutual trust and under-

country but multiple ones and then

standing is vital to all successful

bring that to our customers and say

partnerships that NewCold estab-

‘you could potentially improve your

lishes. “Partnerships are essential

business if you adopt these changes,’

to us. We have a co-competence that

and that’s really how we work together.”

relies heavily on our partners. At the

Highlighting the importance of devel-

core, we need to grow together and

oping strategic partnerships to help

learn from one another, so trust plays

accelerate operations, NewCold has

an important role in that,” explains

developed key partnerships with a

Maharaj. “Partnerships also help

number of companies such as; TGW

us with innovation too. If they’ve got

Group, SKT, B-Built, Ancra, Fisher CGI,

thoughts and ideas on the latest e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

NEWCOLD

OUR PARTNERS NewCold values the impact its partners have on its success and collaborates with TGW Logistics Group, SKT, B-Built, Ancra, Celonis, Fisher Construction Group, CGI, Kingspan, SSI Schaefer, Masterveil/De Weerdt BVBA and Subzero Constructors.

This affirms why each of these partnerships are critical to driving success at NewCold.

110

TGW Logistics Group TGW Group is NewCold’s partner for the conveyors and lifts in the cold storages, which takes care of pallet transport within the warehouse. It is a global, preferred supplier of NewCold, the two firms have worked in partnership for a considerable amount of time. www.tgw-group.com SKT SKT is NewCold’s supplier of industrial cooling solutions for the European market.

SKT delivers the industrial equipment to control the freezing temperatures in the cold storages. It’s a Belgian family-owned company which NewCold has a long-term partnership with. www.skt.be NOVEMBER 2019

B-Built B-Built is a general contractor of NewCold for the European market. B-Built takes care of the actual construction of a NewCold facility. It is a family-owned, small scale company with a lot of flexibility. www.b-built.com Ancra Ancra is NewCold’s preferred partner in the innovative application of Automatic Loading and Unloading systems for warehouses and trailers. With this system, no human hands touch the food products from loading at the producer to in- and outbound at the NewCold warehouse.

Ancra is a Dutch company with a global playfield. www.ancra.nl Fisher Construction Group Fisher Construction Group is a preferred general contractor of NewCold in the USA. Fisher built the NewCold facilities in Tacoma (WA) and Burley (ID). Fisher has long-term experience in the construction of cold storages which is of great value in its projects. www.fishercgi.com CGI CGI is a global IT and consultancy services provider that helps maximise the technologies that transform the business of

its customers. CGI supported NewCold in Melbourne to define KPI’s and test protocols for the start-up of a crucial functionality. Their knowledge of Business Intelligence and Testing Methodology helped NewCold to optimise its operation. www.cgi.com.au Kingspan Kingspan is NewCold’s global supplier of insulation panels; they form the external, high insulating cover of NewCold’s facilities. Its high-quality panels are always at the forefront of innovation, which is – in relation to fire safety and insulation value – a high-impact value for NewCold. www.kingspan.com

It’s a Belgian based company with a a high innovative drive and flexibility. www.masterveil-eu.com Subzero Constructors Subzero Constructors is NewCold’s supplier of industrial cooling solutions for the Northern-American market. Subzero Constructors, a US-based company, delivers the industrial equipment to control the freezing temperatures in the cold storages. www.subzeroconstructors.com

111

SSI Schaefer SSI Schaefer is NewCold’s preferred supplier of pallet racking. The racking in the high bay construction of NewCold’s facilities takes care of the huge storage capacity. SSI Schaefer is a global, solid company, originated in Germany, with which NewCold has a long-term partnership. www.ssi-schaefer.com Masterveil/De Weerdt BVBA Masterveil is the designer and supplier of NewCold’s aircurtains and dehumification systems. These systems take care of a solid closure of external openings in NewCold’s cold storage, for instance at train docks. e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘STAYING CUSTOMER CENTRIC WITH NEWCOLDS GLOBAL CCO & COO’ 113 incoming technology, then they share

measuring risk when looking to imple-

that information and we collaborate

ment new software and processes.

together to develop new solutions for

“With any technology and innovation,

our customers or improve efficiencies.

there’s a risk attached. We tend to

I also believe that due to the pace of

develop our own systems and technol-

which NewCold is growing; execution

ogies because we’ve got existing sites

and agility is also critical. As we con-

that we can test and if it’s not working,

tinue to incorporate new customers

we also have mechanisms in place

and enter new markets, we need to

where we can quickly stop the pro-

be fully informed of the trends that

cess.” Maharaj believes in a ‘fail fast’

are out there as well as the challenges

process that if something isn’t going

that we might face.”

to work, then the process can be

With innovation recognised as one

moved into an environment that can

of NewCold’s key pillars, Maharaj

be tested more easily. “We don’t take

understands the importance of

massive risks where we will implement e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

Outside door (protection)

THE SOLUTION PROVIDER FOR THE END-USER More than 30 years of experience in creating the ideal product and production environment, that is Masterveil.

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We set ourselves up as a sparring partner and devote ourselves to achieving an integral solution. Whether it concerns cool cells, freezer cells, logistics, production or storage, Masterveil thinks along with you.

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new untested processes on a full site

our customers need to believe in and

all at once. We’ll take an approach where

be educated on the automation we

we collaborate with our customers,

have. When you look at the advance-

our people and understand what the

ments of technology, we have spent

risks are. We manage the risks and if

a considerable amount of time educating

the worst happens then we always

and making sure that people fully

have a back-up plan.” Another vital part

understand what it’s all about — there

of NewCold’s mantra is trust. Maharaj

has to be the trust there.”

believes this to be essential to NewCold’s

With an intent to reduce the impact

strategy. “Due to the way our logistics

its operations have on the environment,

and cold storage business is set up,

NewCold has begun to optimise the cold supply chain and introduce innovating concepts. Due to its facilities being tall, it allows the buildings to embrace storage technology with a high stock density.

The company’s stacker cranes in the cold store operates in the dark, with

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

115

NEWCOLD

“ We have a strong philosophy around sustainability and we want to help bring a greener 116 future. There’s still more to do — we aren’t finished yet” — Abhy Maharaj, Global Chief Commercial Officer & Chief Operating Officer only LED lighting used for maintenance.

This approach has enabled NewCold to use 50% less energy per pallet position in comparison with traditional cold storage facilities. “There’s a substantial focus on sustainability NOVEMBER 2019

117

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

The specialist in automatic truck (un)loading.

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COLD AS ICE A fast-growing specialized construction company, B-Built has extensive experience in building large-scale cold store warehouses in Western Europe. Acquired knowledge that we continuously and successfully apply in the building of new logistics facilities.

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+31-(0)164-271660

2012

Year founded

years and beyond. “We’ve got substantial projects already underway and our existing sites are filling up. Across Europe, most of our sites are full so

730,000 Pallet positions

1,000

Approximate number of employees

there’s extension work to be done on our sites in order for us to increase our capacity,” he explains. “We’ve already entered Australia and the US, with both our sites becoming busier, I believe there’s also possibility for new builds coming into those regions.

Our immediate focus is to ensure that we bring in new business as we look to enter new markets. We’re always looking to grow and it’s a big part of

worldwide and we like to think we focus

our focus by scaling up our software

heavily on helping to bring that change

developers, operations people and

too,” affirms Maharaj. “In the early days

management team to ensure we deliver

of NewCold’s model, we dramatically

on our commitments and successful

reduced energy consumption and with

implementation of projects on-time

our customers becoming increasingly

and on-budget.”

more focused on sustainability, it has led to it becoming an important driver for us. We have a strong philosophy around sustainability and we want to help bring a greener future. There’s still more to do — we aren’t finished yet.”

Looking to the future, Maharaj has a clear vision of the position he hopes NewCold to be in over the next few e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

119

120

NOVEMBER 2019

121

Looking across industries for inspired innovations WRITTEN BY

OLLIE MULKERRINS

PRODUCED BY

BEN MALTBY

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

INNOGY SE

innogy is using digital innovations to speed up the green energy transition and help 23mn customers become more sustainable

I 122

nnogy is a large-scale energy provider based in Essen, Germany, currently serving 22 million clients across Europe. The com-

pany spans three major industry demographics: retail, grid infrastructure and renewable energy production.

It has also started to expand into the e-mobility market with one of the largest charging point networks in Europe and a worldwide number of 34,000 charging sites. Since innogy was carved out from RWE and listed on the M-DAX separately in October 2016, the business has been driving digital transformation as a key part of its strategy. Kuldip Singh, Digital & Data Director Retail International and part of the Retail Leadership team, sat down with us to elaborate.

“We want to play a leading role in the global green energy transition and we believe that digital and disruptive new technologies are going to be at the heart of speeding up this process,” explains Singh. “Digital transformation is really at the heart of our customer facing business. We’re constantly looking for ways NOVEMBER 2019

“ Keep this planet a great place to live, not only for the current generation but for many to come” — Kuldip Singh, Digital Director Retail International, Retail Leadership team

123

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

INNOGY SE

2016

Year founded

€36.9bn Approximate revenue

to optimise our end-to-end customer journeys - seeing where we can give our clients a ‘digital delight’ as I like to call it - as well as exploring new business models which are data-driven, platformbased, and highly scalable in nature.” innogy is, next to its core business of supplying electricity and gas to its customers, making services available

42,000

124

Approximate number of employees

to help customers install and maintain sustainable energy solutions such as photovoltaic (PV) panels, insulation of houses, smart home devices and e-thermostats, all with a view to “make society more sustainable.”

As part of the Retail Digital Program, the focused use of digital innovations such as AI is able to grant customers a seamless and insightful journey into sustainable solutions for their home or business. “A beautiful example is the application of data analytics and artificial intelligence algorithms to make the whole journey of orientating and selecting solar panels easier for customers: Looking at whether your house is able to have solar panels on the roof as well as buying or renting them. What we have done is to bring lots of data points and sources together (through selected partners)

NOVEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘HELLO, I AM INNOGY’ 125 and have thereby been able to give the

with their local heads of digital, driving

customer a complete online journey.

a joint roadmap and enabling the delivery

Several years ago, this journey could

of selected digital value pools with

have taken several months due to uncer-

great scaling opportunity across all

tainty. Now, we have narrowed that down

these markets.

to a one-click experience, completely

An important pillar of the Retail Digital

online: enter your ZIP code and house

program is the delivery of a joint Mobile

number and an algorithm calculates how

Strategy across markets, in which innogy

many panels can go on your roof, how

realises smarter and faster app develop-

productive they will be, your payback

ment, improved life-cycle management

time and investment needed including

and best practice sharing in all aspects

a rental option” says Singh.

including a joint asset library for UX and

A key driver of the Retail Digital pro-

design. “We work closely with all our mar-

gram is our Leadership Team Digital that

kets to give customers a seamless and

consists of the key six markets of innogy

consistent mobile experience within all e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

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Enabling the Connected Energy Customer Through Cloud and Voice Services For more than a century, electric utilities have focused on the sale of a single commodity. The proliferation of distributed and renewable energy resources, advanced analytics and increasingly connected homes and businesses is now opening up the opportunity for utilities to think and act less like traditional providers of electricity and more like innovative retailers with an array of products and services that empower and delight customers, all while ensuring the safe and reliable delivery of power.

Simply put, the pressure to deliver increasing value for utility customers is mounting and non- utility players are willing to step in as intermediaries if the incumbents fail to act. Electric utilities intent on maintaining their customer base – and revenue flows – must transform how they interact with increasingly connected energy consumers.

With the proliferation of distributed solar, electric vehicles and energy storage, along with the adoption of devices such as smart speakers and Wi-Fi thermostats, utilities can leverage advanced cloud analytics to build and strengthen their customer relationships – while simultaneously working to build a more resilient digital grid.

Just as Amazon makes use of consumer insights to create new, highly valued offerings for its customers, next-generation electric utilities can likewise transform themselves into digital organizations that rely on advanced cloud analytics to learn far more about their customers than they ever could before, and then tailor services to improve their customers’ lives.

The convergence of digitalization and decentralization provides an opportunity for utilities to tap into the capabilities of machine learning and artificial intelligence to build upon their role as a 24/7 core service provider in people’s lives. Unlike past transformations in the utility industry, redefining the customer experience through cloud analytics can start to bear fruit in months, rather than years.

For some of the largest utilities around the world, such as Centrica, Enel and Pacific Gas & Electric, the journey to the cloud is already well underway. But there is ample opportunity for utilities of all sizes and under all regulatory frameworks. For energy providers that have not yet mapped out a transformative customer experience, now is the time to embrace an agile platform and chart a course.

Making the most of the cloud requires much more than just a technology change; it requires evolving processes and transforming the business culture.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) gives power and utility companies the foundation to focus on delivering the best customer experience and achieve operational and cost efficiencies while meeting demand securely and reliably; the flexibility to evolve their business model and innovate in a rapidly changing industry; and the critical business insights to transform the industry. AWS Power & Utilities solutions address the industries four core business categories and are centered around IT and OT Transformation, Workforce & Asset Management and Customer Engagement. These are underpinned by Data Insights and core cloud services consisting of database, edge technologies, AI/ ML, IoT, analytics and voice services.

WATCH Innovation in Power & Utilities with AWS Digital Transformation to Drive Customer Innovation in Energy Efficiency

Learn More

INNOGY SE

“ Digital transformation is really at the heart of our business” — Kuldip Singh, Digital Director Retail International, Retail Leadership team

128

innogy brands” says Sebastian Schmelz,

reinventing the wheel when it comes to

Team Lead Digital Program.

meeting the demands of its business. A

To achieve a comprehensive view of a

successful example is AI-based online

client’s needs, innogy has worked with

experimentation to improve the sales

several partners outside energy sector

funnel for innogy products & services. By

to integrate innovative technology into

testing a multitude of changes in the dif-

its platforms and processes. Through

ferent online pages, innogy can in a short

tried and tested applications, developed

period of time increase sales conversion

in other industry sectors, innogy avoids

significantly, as proven by great impact

NOVEMBER 2019

achieved by the energiedirect.nl digital

renewables energy industry. Singh

team. This way of working (“testing and

explains: “We should not be bench-

validating customer flows at scale using

marking ourselves against what

AI based tooling”) is now being scaled

energy companies are doing, but

to other innogy markets, too.

rather look at what other industries

Through adaptation and innovation, innogy is catering to businesses and individuals looking for sustainable

that are ahead of us are doing as also the big tech companies.”

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has

energy solutions. As the global industry

been able to provide intricate AI, originally

becomes more interconnected, cus-

used in its online services, to provide an

tomer expectations are founded on

efficient data farming solution. “AWS is

the achievements of disparate sectors.

a partner we are working with very

The Amazons and Googles of the world

closely to see how we can leverage

are setting those expectations and,

advanced analytics and artificial intel-

by looking at them for forward-thinking

ligence in several complex use cases

and rapid innovation, innogy is able

and, by working with them, use algo-

to stay ahead of the curve within the

rithms to be predictive,” Singh explains.

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Kuldip Singh Kuldip Singh is a digital executive with a strong grounding in digital technology adoption and digital business scaling.

He has been a digital executive in CXO roles in reputed global media companies and is now leading the digital transformation at innogy in the international retail business.

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

129

Empowering those who power our world Wipro is helping Utilities across the globe move towards a sustainable energy future. Get started on your digital transformation journey today.

Click here to know more

INNOGY SE

132

NOVEMBER 2019

“ We can be more relevant, more personalised, and more real-time in our offering” — Kuldip Singh, Digital Director Retail International, Retail Leadership team

most relevance and impact for a cus-

tomer. The Essent Commercial Director Boudewijn Wildeman is working very closely with Singh’s team on this and states: “I believe we can nurture customer relationships much better with this kind

One of the very impactful use cases is

of technology that can enable us to work

centered around retail energy manage-

in an omnichannel approach. We can be

ment and demand forecasting. “By using

more relevant, more personalized, and

the Amazon Sagemaker DeepAR fore-

more real-time in our offerings, whenever

casting algorithm in a successful pilot,

that needs to be done.”

we were able to develop a clear roadmap

As part of its journey to a digital

to further improve our forecasting, which

workplace, Innogy collaborated with

is a very important aspect of energy

Infosys to introduce new multilingual

management.”, states Carsten Kleewald

capabilities, such as the chat chan-

of the Retail Energy Management team.

nel for service desk interactions and

In addition, innogy uses the AWS data

automated password reset. This set the

analytic solutions for a “Full Household

foundations for workplace digitalisation,

View” platform in the Dutch and Belgium

while also offering its employees and

markets. The platform provides the

partners the choice, convenience and

Essent business with the opportunity

control that they experience with their

to do real-time personalization using

personal technology environment.

customer profile data and actual online

In the Netherlands, Infosys not only

behavior combined with a best-offer

manages innogy’s key IT platforms to

matrix. This allows for accurately advis-

efficiently run its B2C business, but

ing on which products could have the

also helps it in building successful new e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

133

NAVIGATE THE FUTURE OF ENERGY WITH INFOSYS

With over two decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of 70+ global utilities, we can help navigate you towards opportunity with AI-powered Core Agile Digital at Scale Always-on Learning The journey to digital has so many nexts.

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Digital Grid and Assets offerings enable a distributed, self-healing grid with the security capabilities to operate the Grid of the Future

Digital Customer Service offerings enable mobile first customer service strategies and cognitive chatbots to delight customers

Digital Enterprise and Workforce – Build a digital infrastructure that enables your enterprise systems to listen, learn and adapt to make better decisions with minimal intervention Digital Operations and Energy Supply – blockchain based ETRM and solutions enable efficiency of trading, and streamline statutory and customer reporting

Š 2019 Infosys Limited, Bengaluru, India.

INNOGY SE

“ We should not be benchmarking ourselves with what energy companies are doing” — Kuldip Singh, Digital Director Retail International, Retail Leadership team

136

NOVEMBER 2019

business models (e.g. implementing mixed reality for its boiler maintenance business). It is also improving the digital fluency of innogy’s internal IT teams through focused training programmes n its global learning and innovation hubs.

Singh adds: “We apply digital innovations to our sustainability products & services with the clear ambition to keep this planet a great place to live and work, not only for the current generation, but for many generations to come.”

The acquisition of innogy by E.ON has also given it a much wider scope to expand. “Together with E.ON, innogy is going to be even bigger; we will grow from 11 to 15 countries, in which we service 50+ mn customers with more than 70,000 employees. I believe that we are even better set up for scaling digital in the future,” says Singh. “My intention is to build upon the good things we’ve done in this retail digital transformation and, of course, learn from the great things that E.ON is doing and ensure that together one plus one becomes three.”

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138

Teaching emerging technology and adaptable mindsets at the STC Academy NOVEMBER 2019

139

WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

JAMES PEPPER

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STC ACADEMY

Dr Moudhi Aljamea, General Manager of the Digital School at STC Academy, talks innovation in education, and how she is helping to reinvent the culture of Saudi Arabia’s largest telco

T

he technology landscape is always changing. New technologies like quantum computing and 5G surge into the mar-

ketplace, while trends like cloud and IoT adoption 140

barely transition into the mainstream. As it was theorised by Charles Darwin, “it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is a time of upheaval and rapid advancement, as the nation continues its supercharged adoption of digital technologies and strategies in preparation for Vision 2030 - the central goal of which is to reduce the Kingdom’s dependence on oil and petrochemicals, diversify its economy and develop sectors like health, education, infrastructure, recreation and tourism. “This is an exciting time for us in Saudi Arabia. I think that, with the support of our company and our government, we will reach the goals we are aiming for,” enthuses Dr Moudhi Aljamea, General

NOVEMBER 2019

141

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STC ACADEMY

“ Because I have this mixture of technical and academic backgrounds I found the idea of working in a corporate academy very interesting”

Manager of the Digital School at the STC Academy.

As General Manager of the Digital School in the STC Academy, Aljamea is at the centre of a digital operation that will have a perceptible effect on the Saudi telecommunications space for decades to come. We sat down with her to find out more about her role in reinventing the culture of the Kingdom’s largest telco.

“My father was an electrical engi-

142

— Dr Moudhi Aljamea, General Manager, Digital School, STC Academy

neer, and my uncle was the person who introduced the Arabic language to computing, so I come from a very technologically-oriented family,” she

NOVEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘TC – GITEX 2019’ 143 recalls. After obtaining a bachelor’s in

I have this mixture of technical and

Computer and Information Systems

academic backgrounds, I found

from King Faisal University, and

the idea of working in a corporate

following a stint running her own

academy very interesting,” she

software business, Aljamea accepted

remembers. “I think it’s a known prob-

a government scholarship to travel

lem that there’s this gap between

to London where, after completing

academia and industry. Working at

a Masters and obtained her PhD

the Academy presents the opportu-

in Computer Security from King’s

nity to do both at the same time and

College in 2016. Specialising in algo-

help fill this gap, which is exciting.”

rithm design for cyber security, she is

The role of the STC Academy as an

a certified Ethical Hacker, a veteran

education provider to the company’s

of working in academia, and became

executive staff presents Aljamea and

the first woman to join STC’s execu-

her team with an interesting set of chal-

tive team in February 2019. “Because

lenges. “They are almost all experts e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

STC ACADEMY

144

in their own field,” she explains. “It’s

with STC’s partner companies. “We

not like working with a student, or in a

don’t use off the shelf programs from

university, or running a training course.

third party vendors; we always cus-

They’re executives that are taking time

tomise our programs. The customer

out of their busy days, so in order to

experience of our clients within the

engage them, they need to see some-

program is paramount, so the STC

thing worth leaving work for.”

Academy makes sure that what we

In order to create educational

are delivering is custom tailored to our

courses that engage STC execu-

executives,” Aljamea explains. “We try

tives, the STC Academy’s curriculum

to avoid traditional methods of deliv-

is focused around introducing them

ering courses, instead focusing on

to new technologies through highly

interactivity. We’re designing cyberse-

customised and immersive training

curity labs, for example, in order to run

courses developed in conjunction

simulations that allow our executives to

NOVEMBER 2019

2018

Year founded

10.8mn+

Revenue in Saudi Riyal, generated by STC

47

Number of academy employees

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Dr Moudhi Aljamea Dr. Moudhi Aljamea has a PhD in Computer Security Algorithms Design from King’s College London, Dr. Aljamea currently is the General Manger of the ICT School at STC Academy (Saudi Telcom Company). She is the first Saudi woman to occupy an executive position in the company and has vast experience in cyber and information security.

Prior to joining STC, she was the president of an entrepreneurship unit and business incubator and an assistant Professor in cyber security at Imam Abdurrahman Bin Faisal University, she is considered as one of the Saudis experts in the computer security field.

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145

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147 live through the experience of a cyber attack.” Increasing cyber threat awareness and readiness in its executives is a top priority of STC and the Academy.

“The more connected we become, the more we are exposed to cyber risk.

The weakest link in every system is the human aspect, so, as an executive, increasing awareness of this type of threat is critical,” Aljamea says.

In addition to cyber security, Aljamea explains that the Academy’s program also delivers education in the fields of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). “I have a vision that

“ We try to avoid traditional methods of delivering courses, instead focusing on interactivity” — Dr Moudhi Aljamea, General Manager, Digital School, STC Academy e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

STC ACADEMY

148

NOVEMBER 2019

every employee at STC should have at least a basis of knowledge regarding cyber security and data analytics. It doesn’t require a technical background; it’s something that they should know about. So, one of the things we’re doing is developing our executives knowledge of data analytics,” she says. “We also focus on AI. We just launched an AI competition for our employees to encourage them to come up

149

with, develop and prototype an idea relating to AI.” Across

“ You never know what the future will bring.

Maybe tomorrow we’ll be dealing with new technology that we don’t know anything about today” — Dr Moudhi Aljamea, General Manager, Digital School, STC Academy e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

STC ACADEMY

150

NOVEMBER 2019

multiple digital disciplines, Aljamea and the STC Academy is constantly pushing to increase engagement in digital sectors and new technologies.

Aljamea notes, however, that the rapidly changing pace of technology means that, more important to the Academy and STC as a whole than educating executives on technology applications, is helping cultivate an agile perspective and approach. “You never know what the future will bring.

Maybe tomorrow we’ll be dealing with new technology that we don’t know anything about today.” As a result, while introducing its executives to new use cases for technologies such as 5G, quantum computing and AI, the deeper goal is to develop an executive team to whom adaptability is a second nature survival trait.

Looking to the future, Aljamea is confident that although “what our executives are learning today might not be important tomorrow, with this agile mindset, they can easily adapt to whatever tomorrow may bring.”

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151

152

HUDSON RESOURCES: MINING FOR A GREENER FUTURE WRITTEN BY

DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY

RICHARD DEANE

NOVEMBER 2019

153

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HUDSON RESOURCES

HUDSON RESOURCES IS REALISING A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP MULTIPLE REVENUE STREAMS FROM ITS WHITE MOUNTAIN ANORTHOSITE MINE IN GREENLAND

H

udson Resources celebrated the safe arrival of the first bulk shipment of anorthosite (calcium feldspar) from its

White Mountain (Qaqortorsuaq) Greenland mine in August this year. It’s set to be the first of many shipments taking advantage of a unique orebody 154

with a +100-year mine life.

“The journey to the commencement of production of the anorthosite at White Mountain in February 2019 has taken seven years,” explains President and Director Jim Cambon. With a 50-year permit in place, we embarked on our 12-month plan to develop the mine site in 2018. The creation of the mine and associated infrastructure was a CA$45mn construction project utilising a modular approach, with 1200 tonnes of steel brought in to the remote Greenland location by barge. “That barge is now our dock at the deep-water port,” adds Vice President of Operations, Jerry Janik, who recalls the logistical challenges of commissioning the process plant during the Arctic winter. “It was -40°C when we first commissioned the site – 12 months earlier the plant was just a slab of concrete. The execution of the NOVEMBER 2019

155

2005

Year founded

40

Approximate number of employees

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HUDSON RESOURCES

156

“ IT WAS -40°C WHEN WE FIRST COMMISSIONED THE SITE – LAST YEAR THE PLANT WAS JUST A SLAB OF CONCRETE. THE EXECUTION OF THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE WAS A GREAT SUCCESS AND MET ALL OF OUR EXPECTATIONS FROM A SAFETY, COST AND SCHEDULING PERSPECTIVE” — Jerry Janik, Vice President, Operations, Hudson Resources

construction phase was a great success and met all of our expectations from a safety, cost and scheduling perspective. It’s a great reflection of the excellent team we assembled, boosted by the skilled workforce here in Greenland and the engineering led

by CWA Engineers in Vancouver.”

Greenland is a self-governing administrative jurisdiction of Denmark with control of its mineral rights. With no land claim issues, Hudson deals directly with the Greenlandic people and has very strong support from the local communities. Greenland is a mining friendly jurisdiction with a competitive fiscal regime that provides a sound financial basis for the future of White Mountain. The Greenland School of Minerals and Petroleum Råstofskolen is also located near White Mountain; it has toured the facility.

Anorthosite, which is 30% aluminum, offers Hudson the opportunity to develop products with multiple revenue streams. Hudson’s GreenSpar is derived from the igneous mineral plagioclase, which yields the hardest feldspar with the highest refractive index, and offers a distinct advantage as a premium mineral extender for

NOVEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘HUDSON RESOURCES – ANORTHOSITE PIT 360º’ 157 interior paints requiring very good

agreement with a leading fiberglass

abrasion resistance. Its use can also

producer in a market expected to be

result in a stronger finish and cost

worth $17.4bn by 2024. It can offer

savings as resin filler in clear coatings.

significant technical, financial and

The paint, coatings and polymer

environmental advantages, including:

industries are forecast to become a

energy savings in excess of 10%;

US$31.8bn industry by 2023.

reduction of melt times by up to a third;

GreenSpar can also be used as a

a lower heavy metal content; reduced

replacement for kaolin in the production

wear and tear on refractories and

of E-glass fiber most commonly used

reduced NOx, SOx and CO2 emissions.

in the reinforced polymer composite

GreenSpar also offers a source of

industry in high-end fiberglass for

alumina and could be a replacement for

wind turbines, cars and boat parts,

bauxite, without producing any of the

and sporting equipment. Hudson has

associated waste and tailings. The

already signed a 10-year off-take

global high purity alumina market was e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

HUDSON RESOURCES

158

worth $1.8bn in 2015 and is expected

8km long, it’s massive, it’s homogeneous

to rise to $5.8bn by 2022. In addition to

and has very few contaminants –

this trio of established markets, Hudson

which is key for industrial mineral

has also discovered that, by adding

projects. We could deliver shipments

phosphoric acid to its anorthosite it

consistently for over 100 years with

can produce strong, heat resistant

this deposit. Even though Greenland

white cement (Anocrete).

is logistically challenged, being on

The White Mountain mine is the

tidewater offers excellent opportunities

source for all of these opportunities.

to bring anything in by ship and load out

“There are some competing minerals

to Western Europe or the US for $25

out there, potentially, but there are no

a tonne. It’s extremely cost effective.”

competing orebodies for anorthosite,”

Technology has played a big part in

reveals Janik. “White Mountain is

operations planning at White Mountain,

unique in its size, the orebody itself is

where the management team knew

NOVEMBER 2019

that the remote location would offer limited workforce resources. “The entire process plant is automated,” explains Janik, “to the point where you can run it off an iPhone or iPad. I could walk around the plant and see it fully controlled. You could actually be in a loader filling rocks into the plant feed hopper and still be able to monitor the plant and see how it’s running. We also have an internet link directly with our automation consultant in Denmark, so if we do have any issues, they’re able to log in from Denmark and help us troubleshoot online.

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Jim Cambon Jim Cambon, President & Director, Hudson Resources, has over 30 years’ international business development and project management experience in the mineral exploration, consulting and engineering industries with a focus on Arctic projects. He has held senior positions with engineering firms AMEC and Bateman. Jim was Co-Founder of Mongolian exploration company QGX Ltd., which was acquired for $300mn in 2008. Cambon served as the Honourary Consul for Mongolia for eight years, and obtained a Bachelor of Science (Geology) from the University of Western Ontario.

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159

SOLVING YOUR TOUGHEST OPERATING CHALLENGES. SAFELY, EFFICIENTLY & SUSTAINABLY. A global market leader providing trusted technology and services which make your mining operations more productive and profitable.

Learn more

Enduring solutions to last a mine’s life At Weir, our engineers have been solving the mining industry’s biggest operational challenges since 1871.

Today we have 15,000 people in over 50 countries serving the mining sector alongside the infrastructure and oil & gas markets. We can improve the processes at your mine site with everything from slurry transportation, mine dewatering systems and classification & separation to wear lining & corrosion protection, tailings management and crushing & grinding.

Crushing & Grinding Our high capacity crushing and grinding equipment was conceived to process a wide range of applications from primary, secondary, and tertiary hard rock crushing. Weir’s Enduron equipment is tough, reliable and designed to maximise performance. Built for extra-long service life, our entire range of crushing and grinding solutions is backed by the Weir Minerals Service network operating in over 70 countries across the globe.

Conquering the mountain When Hudson Resources needed a tailored solution to meet its crushing and grinding needs at the White Mountain anorthosite mine in Greenland, Weir had the answer. Anorthosite’s dust can interfere with magnetic separation so Hudson commissioned Weir to deliver a crushing and fine grinding system using high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR). “The Enduron HPGR requires little to no water for size reduction and has 30% less power consumption versus standard crushing circuits,” explains Weir’s North American HPGR Manager Tim Lundquist. “Since Hudson is creating a dry product in a remote location both of these factors were vitally important to the success of the operation.”

Hudson’s Vice President Jerry Janik was impressed: “What Weir provided was unique.

It enabled us to generate sand and less dust during the second stage of crushing.”

Used in mining applications for the last 30 years, HPGR reduce particles by compressing and crushing the feed between two counter rotating, parallel rollers with a small gap between them. This forces the rocks against each other and compresses the feed’s density to 80% of its solid volume, exceeding their compressive strength with equal pressure being applied to particles of all sizes.

WHY HPGR? Decrease your energy consumption by up to 30% Reduce recirculation and wear within your crushing circuits Enhance your downstream mineral liberation Reduce your maintenance requirements Substantially reduce your water consumption

With their excellent throughput capacity, low maintenance requirements and energy efficiency, high pressure grinding rolls are fast becoming a go-to for greenfield projects looking to maintain their margins despite commodity price pressures and declining ore grades. On average, 53% of a mine site’s energy consumption is attributed to crushing and grinding ores accounting for almost 10% of a site’s production costs. Where HPGR technology has replaced traditional methods of crushing and grinding customers have seen energy savings, and substantially improved mineral liberation.

“Weir’s goal

is always to provide a solution and not just a product,” pledges Lundquist. “When the opportunity arises to work with a company like Hudson we take a look at the entire process as part of offering equipment.

Additionally, we undergo testing to verify our solution will meet the client requirements and do not stop working until our promises have been met.” enduron@mail.weir www.global.weir

HUDSON RESOURCES

The green benefits of White Mountain are highlighted by the fact that

engaged Thor because we needed

Cambon believes it will be a zero-waste

help with ship loading,” explains

facility in the future. “We are running as

Cambon. “With our floating dock, we

lean as we can energy wise,” he says.

required a system to take material out

“We’re also looking at putting in a wind

of our warehouse, transfer it to the

turbine and solar panels in the future.

dock, and then into a ship’s hold. We

We’re even looking at tidal energy

worked with Thor to produce a simple

because we are on a fjord that has

system robust enough for the Arctic,

significant tides – there’s an opportunity

and it did an excellent job delivering

to harness that energy.”

a solution beyond the capacity of

Hudson has been able to quickly

162

component in the operation, we

what we need right now. It allows for

progress White Mountain to the

expansion – we can load a ship at

production stage with the help of some

a thousand tonnes an hour with the

key partners. “As it’s such a major

equipment Thor provided.”

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘HUDSON RESOURCES – ANORTHOSITE READY FOR FIRST SHIP’

NOVEMBER 2019

Weir was also commissioned to supply the in-plant crushers. “The ones we’re using are high pressure grinding rolls,” reveals Janik. “They’re somewhat different than what you’d normally expect. The fine dust can interfere with the magnetic separation. What Weir provides is unique, enabling us to generate sand and less dust during the second stage of crushing.” Elsewhere, Lillegaarden was employed to head up the electrical work at the plant.

“I’ve been in this business for 30 years and can say it’s the cleanest, most high-quality layout I’ve ever seen,”

163

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Jerry Janik Jerry Janik, Vice President, Operations, Hudson Resources, has extensive knowledge in design, operation, management, and optimisation of industrial minerals facilities with a focus on paints and specialized mineral applications.

Jerry began his industrial mineral career at the Nephton Nepheline Syenite operation in Ontario, which produces a product similar to Hudson’s GreenSpar. Janik was manager of the operation during a period of major capital expansion.

Jerry holds diplomas in geology and mineral processing from Sir Sandford Fleming College School of Natural Resources in Lindsay, Ontario.

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THANK YOU HUDSON RESOURCES FOR CHOOSING THOR AND CONGRATULATIONS ON A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT!

164

MOVE MOUNTAINS! Thor global enterprises ltd. Is a leading manufacturer of bulk material handling equipment for applications ranging from mining, recycling and aggregate to agriculture, coal, mineral and port terminals. Founded in 1969, thor global has grown significantly over the years in order to provide innovative solutions with unparalleled service and technology worldwide.

LEARN MORE

Hudson’s Lunar Research White Mountain anorthosite is being tested by space agencies as a potential lunar simulant to be used for testing lunar equipment such as rovers, and as a potential building material using Hudson’s CO2 free Anocrete concrete.

Future lunar missions are planned to travel to the Lunar Highlands and the Lunar Poles where the main geological environment is anorthosite (very similar to Hudson’s anorthosite in Greenland). Lunar anorthosite was collected by the Apollo missions in the early 1970s.

Hudson is collaborating with lunar scientists at the University of Tokyo, who are at the forefront of space research. The University of Tokyo developed petrological sections and

conducted tests which confirmed that Hudson’s anorthosite is very similar to the Lunar Highland material in texture, grain size and constituent minerals. Hudson and the University of Tokyo are also in discussions with regard to collaborating on research and development on concrete applications using Hudson’s CO2 free Anocrete concrete.

Hudson has provided material to NASA’s Johnson Space Center for evaluation to use in its testing facilities for rover simulations. The company has also held preliminary discussions with the European Space Agency regarding utilising Hudson’s anorthosite for lunar research.

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165

Overall electrical contractor on the Hudson Plant Industrial plants in Greenland & Denmark · · · · · · · ·

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“ WE’VE GOT 14,000 TONNES OF PRODUCT SITTING IN A WAREHOUSE, SO WHAT WE’VE ACCOMPLISHED ON SUCH A SKINNY BUDGET IS REMARKABLE” — Jim Cambon, President and Director, Hudson Resources 167 confirms Janik. “In fact, they’re so

Savannah, so what we’ve accomplished

good we stole one of their project

on such a skinny budget with a small

managers to become our own site

team is remarkable.”

manager,” he laughs.

Hudson has big plans to increase

Long-term, Cambon believes it’s important to have sustainable rare

capacity and grow the markets, as

earth supplies outside China and

Cambon believes demand will outstrip

suggests Hudson is well placed to

supply in the next 24 months. “We are

advance another of its Greenland

in discussions with a number of groups

projects with a high ratio of neodymium

about potential strategic partnerships

at Sarfartoq. “The Chinese have

going forward, which would give us

control of the market and are even

more horsepower. That’s something

investing in rare earth projects outside

we’ll look at as a way to grow the

of China to further control it. Because

company and add shareholder value,”

of the value of neodymium in creating

he says. “We’ve got 14,000 tonnes

these super magnets you need to have

of product sitting in a warehouse in

that supply outside of China. I think it’s e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

HUDSON RESOURCES

GREE N B E N E F I T S AT W H I T E M O U N TA I N

• The Greenland operation is a simple quarry with a crushing and magnetic separation facility • No water or chemicals are used to process the anorthosite • Minimal impact to the local landscape

168

• Reduced CO2 by up to 15% for every tonne used by E-Glass producers • Will make paints and coatings last longer • Ability to produce alumina without toxic red mud tailings • Ability to produce CO2 free white cement

NOVEMBER 2019

just a matter of time. We keep going through these cycles where exploration ramps up, but then the Chinese lower rare earth prices. Eventually they will run out of material, or will want to use it internally, and that’s going to be a huge problem for the rest of the world.

Realising sustainable, green, environmentally friendly rare earth projects is an important challenge to meet and one where we’ll look at finding the right partners to tackle.”

Next year, Cambon expects White Mountain to be producing material for paint and E-glass customers, and hopefully rockwool too. “We are in detailed discussions with a fair number of potential off-take partners,” he says.

“I think by 2021 we’ll be sold out.

We won’t have the ability to take on new customers until we can expand; it’s a nice problem to have. By year three we’ll be looking at doubling the size of the operation. I think that’s just the reality of the demands we’re going to see for anorthosite.”

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169

170

EMBRACING D IN MANUFACT

NOVEMBER 2019

DIGITISATION TURING WRITTEN BY

SEAN GALEA-PACE PRODUCED BY

MANUEL NAVARRO

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

171

SAS AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS

With the manufacturing industry changing, Freddy Torres, Head of Corporate Operational Excellence at SAS Automotive Systems, discusses how his firm is utilising technology to advance operations

172

W

ith the manufacturing industry undergoing the fourth industrial revolution (industry 4.0), businesses worldwide are seeking

how new technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can be leveraged to accelerate operations.

In the case of SAS Automotive Systems, Freddy Torres, Head of Corporate Operational Excellence, affirms how important digitisation has become as his company seeks to embrace new technology, particularly in its assembly process. “We’re always looking at how we can improve our assembly process and seek a solution which will enable us to increase our operational performance and find a way to create real more value in our operations,” says Torres. SAS employs approximately 4,300 people worldwide and produces around 5.2mn cockpits annually. Operating as a joint

NOVEMBER 2019

173

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

SAS AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS

174

venture between two market lead-

increasing the robustness and capa-

ers, Continental and Faurecia, SAS

bilities of our tightening process,”

conducts operations from 21 locations

explains Torres. “Many companies

worldwide. Sound technical knowledge

collect this kind of information mainly

and strict quality standards form the

for traceability and process control. As

basis of the firm’s efficient processes

you understand more about the pro-

and reliable services.

cess by analysing its behaviour, more

As part of its digitisation journey,

effective improvement actions can be

SAS is making its first steps in taking

taken to accelerate its capability and

advantage of the actual Data Lake in

product quality which reduces opera-

order to create more value. “We deal

tional risk.” To amplify this, SAS has

with several safeties critical com-

successfully trialled three examples in

ponents so it’s important to continue

its digitisation journey so far featuring

NOVEMBER 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SAS AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS HD’

its paperless approach, 3D printer for

he lived for 10 years, Torres’ first role

tooling and web-applications such as

was as a research and development

“Truck Arrival” reducing waste in its

engineer in Okegawa, Japan, before

operations. “We are proud of having

moving onto work as a quality engineer

internally developed an electronic-

prior to leaving for Germany in 2011.

paper solution that adapt to our needs,”

Torres reflects on his unique begin-

he says. “This will enable us to keep

ning and believes the life experience

reducing our carbon footprint as we

acted as a springboard for where

deploy the technology in our plants.”

he is today. “That’s where I learnt my

It’s fair to say that Torres experi-

craft,” affirms Torres. “I was the only

enced a different start to his career

foreigner working at my former com-

from competitors in the field. Having

pany in one of two plants located in

begun his journey in Japan, where

Yamagata Prefecture, Japan; I really felt e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

175

Top Top10 10 Strategy Strategy Execution Execution trends trends 0101 Strategic Strategicexecution execution TheThe CXO demand a platform to to enable strategy CXO demand a platform enable strategy execution to be managed with the same disciplineasas dailybusiness. business. execution to be managed with the same discipline daily

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Forleaders leadersto tosuccessfully successfullycascade cascade For theirstrategy strategywith withits itsinitiatives initiativesand and their respectivecomponents componentsthere therewill will be be respective callfor foraadigital digitalplatform platformto toachieve achieve aacall thison onan anorganisation-wide organisation-widescale. scale. this

07 07 digitalboardroom boardroom AAdigital monitors performance monitors performance

Digital strategy execution boardrooms will offer Digital strategy execution boardrooms will offer real-time scalable insights aross the whole real-time scalable insights aross the whole organisation, monitoring execution through organisation, monitoring execution through progress and key outcomes in KPIs. progress and key outcomes in KPIs.

With global delivery across With global delivery across thousands of individuals and their thousands of individuals and their respective teams, common facts and respective teams, common and of evidence will become thefacts bedrock evidence will become the bedrock of performance management. performance management.

08 08Guaranteed

Global Global deliveryand and delivery execution execution

09 09

Procurement Procurement focus focus

With the stakes so With thewith stakes so to the high regards successful execution high with regards to theof the strategy,execution a formal, of standardised successful the strategy execution platform strategy, a formal, standardised procurement process will emerge, strategy execution platform driven by the CXO will emerge, procurement process driven by the CXO

10 10 Insights driving Insights action driving

action

Predictive external analytics Predictive external and AI, aligned to analytics your enterprise solution, and AI, aligned to yourwill alert your organisation enterprise solution, to willfuture alert risks of your strategy’s failure. your organisation to future risks of your strategy’s failure.

Many of the world’s largest businesses still use outdated approaches when it comes to executing strategy.

Simon Crowther, CEO, i-nexus and Freddy Torres, Head of Operational Excellence, SAS Automotive Systems outline how digitalising strategy execution can be used to safeguard existing processes, continuously improve and deliver results.

The time-consuming task of tracking and managing goals, programs and performance using methods like Excel and PowerPoint is an outdated way of

ForSAS SASAutomotive, Automotive,clearly clearlydefined definedand and For bindingstandards standardsare arethe thebasis basisfor forcreating creating binding reliable and sustainable products which reliable and robust processes to ensure are of high quality and performance. the customer satisfaction.

At the same At time, same time, that means uncovering and that means uncovering and using the using potential for improvements and also potential for improvements and constantly constantly adapting processes. adapting to new customer needs.

Real-Time Project Tracking

managing strategy execution that is still widely

“Our benchmark is to utilise the most

adopted by many global organisations today.

modern methods and work at a constantly high level of quality.

With 90% of strategies failing due to poor execution

Working with i-nexus has meant that

(Kaplan & Norton), it’s no surprise that strategy

we can maintain the exceptionally

execution is an emerging priority for C-level execu-

high standards our clients expect,

tives who demand a single dedicated platform to

while growing our business.”

transform, run and improve their businesses.

“For us, quality relates to every area of the company, “Traditional approaches to managing

so we place great importance on continuously im-

strategy execution don’t offer the

proving quality.” Says Freddy Torres, Head of

versatility, collaboration and security

Operational Excellence at SAS Automotive Systems.

needed to successfully deploy, manage and optimise strategy at scale”, says Simon Crowther, CEO at i-nexus.

“Strategy execution software offers control, accountability and visibility in an increasingly complex world.

Experience has shown us that for leaders to suc-

Before using i-nexus, Automotive Before using i-nexus, SASSAS Automotive usedused Excel Excel to manage quality.

The switch to the to manage projects and improvement initiatives. i-nexus digital platform that uncovering The switch to the i-nexus means digital platform means the uncovering potential for and adapting that theimprovements potential for improvements processes now easier.

Theeasier. system has also and adaptingisprocesses is now The system driven assurance that projects are aligned has also driven assurance that projects are to the corporate strategy. aligned to the corporate strategy.

cessfully cascade their strategic plan across the whole organisation, on a global scale, a digital platform is a necessity.”

Simplifying the time-consuming and complex task of delivering successful strategy execution is helping i-nexus’s market-leading clients like SAS Automotive Systems, Syngenta and CRH to gain competitive advantage.

“By digitalising all of our improvement projects and our gate review process in i-nexus, we are now able to track the value and status of each project. We can analyse the actions that are having a positive impact in real-time and intervene early to optimise and adjust.”

Take the free i-nexus StratexAssess Strategy Execution Maturity Assessment at www.stratexassess.com. Contact Matthew Redwood on +447917 435232.

SAS AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS

178

the senior people welcomed me and

some routines in daily life known in the

the experience helped me massively,

western world as kaizen tools are an

particularly in learning the meaning of

intrinsic part of the Japanese culture.”

Genba.” Moreover, Torres stresses the

Having made the switch to his cur-

influence “kaizen” (the Japanese word

rent position at SAS in 2017, Torres

for continuously improving all business

acts as a key link between several

functions across all areas of the pro-

Corporate Functions and the plants.

duction line) is having on firms in Japan.

“We want to increase the level of

“There is a big focus on the importance

alignment and transparency in the

of kaizen across all companies in

organisation.” Serving a range of high-

Japan,” says Torres. “I realised early

profile automotive customers such as

on during my time in the country that

FCA, Daimler, Volkswagen Group and

NOVEMBER 2019

179

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Freddy Torres, Freddy Torres, M.Sc. Material Sciences Engineer and automotive professional with more than 15 years of experience in industry in areas such as R&D, Quality Management and Lean Manufacturing.

After starting his career in automotive industry in Japan moved to Germany in 2011 where he has hold several Regional and Global functions in Quality and Lean Manufacturing since then.

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SAS AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS

180

NOVEMBER 2019

181

“ There is a big influence on the importance of kaizen across all companies in Japan” — Freddy Torres, Head of Corporate Operational Excellence, SAS Automotive Systems

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

SAS AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS

1996

Year founded

€633mn Approximate revenue

182

4,372

Approximate number of employees

Tesla, SAS delivers tailored customer service for each of its clients. Torres reflects on the role partnerships play on his firm’s operations, particularly its strategic collaboration with SK Automation. “SK Automation is becoming a key business partner that plays an important role in the establishment of our new production facilities in Europe and Asia. It has demonstrated the speed and effectiveness we need in NOVEMBER 2019

183

this kind of business,” explains Torres.

“We must have a dedicated approach to each customer in order to fulfil their requirements. Take Tesla for instance, we’re learning how to build with it because it has a completely different approach to the traditional way of doing things and it’s important we adapt our services to suit each client’s different needs.” With a firm customercentric approach in mind, Torres e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

SK Automation Group Automation solution provider Turn key project machine builder Assembly, test, welding, industry software Focus on battery module pack and chassis system production line 600+ Employees world wide Facility in Europe, China and USA

Customer Reference

Contact SK Germany Address : An der Bรถrse 2, 30159 Hannover, Germany

Tel : 0049 -151 4264 5273

Email : sales@sk1.net.cn

Website : www.sk1.net.cn

185

Tesla ©

stresses the importance of ensuring

necessarily mean that we need to

customers obtain the best value. “As

introduce new technologies. It can be

we are in the JIS-JIT business, our

how we operate as a business to work

processes must be 100% robust

out ways to reduce costs and provide

so innovation remains a permanent

customers with a competitive cost. We

challenge for us,” he says. “We need

want to show that we’re 100% available

to search for opportunities that will

for our customers at all times.”

enable us to go the extra mile in com-

With the future in mind, Torres affirms

parison to our competitors and ensure

the aim is to ensure SAS can continue

we always deliver the best value for

to go from strength to strength as it

our customers. Innovation doesn’t

looks to expand over the upcoming e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

SAS AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS

186

NOVEMBER 2019

“ We want to show that we’re 100% available for our customers at all times” Volkswagon ©

— Freddy Torres, Head of Corporate Operational Excellence, SAS Automotive Systems

years. “Growth is the most important thing. Our expectation is to ensure we grow in North America and China because we believe that those countries remain our biggest chances of increasing our manufacturing footprint,” summarises Torres. “There’s also opportunities here in Europe so we must stay alert to ensure SAS can continue to grow.”

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187

188

Nigerian Bottling Company Driving sustainability with an increasingly digitalised supply chain WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

MANUEL NAVARRO

NOVEMBER 2019

189

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

N I G E R I A N B O T T L I N G C O M PA N Y

George Chantoumakos, Supply Chain Director at the Nigerian Bottling Company, discusses the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company subsidiary’s increasingly sustainable and digitally interconnected supply chain

A

s the world’s population continues to grow and the looming climate crisis becomes a fact of daily life, the need for

sustainable practices in global supply chains is being thrown into increasingly sharp relief. In few places is the truth of this clearer than in the food 190

and beverage market. Waste reduction, recycling and sustainable packaging alternatives are the name of the game.

“I see sustainable packaging becoming the key industry goal in coming years,” says George Chantoumakos, Supply Chain Director at the Nigerian Bottling Company. Alongside increasing the sustainability of its supply chain, the Nigerian Bottling Company, is harnessing the power of digital transformation to shape its Nigerian supply chain into an efficient, interconnected operation. “Any industrial player that wants to remain relevant to the consumer needs to fully embrace a digital, interactive supply chain,” Chantoumakos explains. We sat down with him to discuss his continuing role in developing the Nigerian

NOVEMBER 2019

191

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘NBC YOUTH EMPOWERED 2017’ 193 Bottling Company’s interconnected,

the feeling of ownership of a family

digital and increasingly sustainable

company with the breadth, depth and

supply chain.

international scope associated with

Chantoumakos arrived in Nigeria

working for a blue chip company,”

in 2017, quickly coming to relish the

he enthuses. “The Nigerian Bottling

central role that the Nigerian Bottling

Company is the heart of Coca-Cola

Company plays in Coca-Cola Hel-

Hellenic – it’s where it all started

lenic’s global strategy. “Coca-Cola

back in 1951. It’s the group’s only

Hellenic operates in 28 countries,

African operation, which gives us a

offering opportunities to live and

unique position in the company port-

work in very different markets and

folio. Special market conditions and

societies. The company is built on

a tough operating environment are

strong values which remain the foun-

coupled with huge growth opportu-

dations of the group today. Working

nities.” The company operates eight

for Coca-Cola Hellenic combines

plants across the country, in locae uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

N I G E R I A N B O T T L I N G C O M PA N Y

Our Energy Working for You Nigeria´s Leading Independent Power Producer (IPP) Solar-Gas Hybrid Plant Combined Heat & Power Our Strategy is To Provide Power & Energy Solutions In A Challenging Fast Changing Environment

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CONTACT US

tions such as Lagos, Maiduguri and

growing country, India, grew by 36%.

Port Harcourt. Nigeria is a rising star

This population growth is, accord-

in Sub-Saharan Africa’s economies,

ing to Chantoumakos, a key driver of

and Chantoumakos is excited by the

the need for increasingly sustainable

role that Coca-Cola Hellenic will play

consumer goods packaging. “The

in meeting the challenges and oppor-

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET –

tunities of rapid growth.

the most common thermoplastic

From around 122.4 million at the

polymer resin of the polyester fam-

turn of the millennium, Nigeria’s popu-

ily) market has exploded, and the

lation has exploded, exceeding 202

country’s recycling infrastructure

million in 2019. It is now the seventh

and regulatory framework are still

most–populous country on the planet,

some steps behind,” Chantoumakos

growing by 62.1% in the past 20

explains. “Plastic pollution is a high

years. For context, the next–fastest

priority problem for regulatory bodies

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

George Chantoumakos George obtained his MSc in Mechanical Engineering in Greece and then proceeded to the United Kingdom, Warwick University, to obtain an MSc in Business Management. He started his career in the Advisory departments of PwC and Deloitte in London, where he also obtained a Chartered Management Accounting certification. He then moved to ContourGlobal as Project Manager before joining Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company in 2011, and eventually taking up a Regional Engineering role. George moved to Nigeria and NBC in 2017 as Manufacturing Director of NBC, and earlier in 2019, was appointed as Supply Chain Director. He is happily married and the proud father of two.

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195

N I G E R I A N B O T T L I N G C O M PA N Y

136

Brands in our diverse portfolio

1951

Year founded

3,000

Approximate number of employees 196

NOVEMBER 2019

197

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

PERFECT SOLUTIONS

N I G E R I A N B O T T L I N G C O M PA N Y

DO NOT STOP US FROM CONTINUING TO WORK ON OUR IDEAS.

As a leading innovator, we have one prime characteristic: We are never satisfied.

At KHS, we are thus always proud of what we have achieved – but we also immediately start to question it and think ahead.

With the aim of constantly advancing and always improving – and of providing our customers with new, intelligent systems time and again. Which we then, of course, develop further. khs.com/products

khsIM5021_AZ_Markenkampagne_Podest_196x137_ICv2_2ml_englisch.indd 1

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TEBIOME.COM NOVEMBER 2019

EXPERT SOLUTIONS FOR DEMANDING PROJECTS

“I see sustainable packaging becoming the key industry goal in coming years”

— George Chantoumakos, Supply Chain Director, Nigerian Bottling Company

for plastic production, Chantoumakos explains that the Nigerian Bottling Company is also expanding its use of more sustainable options in the form of glass and aluminium cans. “Glass, being a fully recyclable and environmentally friendly packaging material, should be the thing that protects the Nigerian population from overwhelming plastic pollution. Glass bottles also address the market’s need for affordability,” he says. “This year, the Nigerian Bottling Company is also investing in a new, state-of-the-art canning line, and we will continue with our returnable glass bottle business.”

In addition to being a driving force behind Nigeria’s food and beverage industry and embracing more sustainable packaging strategies, the Nigerian Bottling Company is

to solve. The food and beverage in-

also dedicated to contributing to the

dustry – especially multinationals that

development of quality of life in the

operate in territories where recycling

region. “Considering the fact that Ni-

is already working well – will be driv-

geria is experiencing infrastructural

ing the action plans leading to zero

challenges impacting both electric-

plastic waste.”

ity and water supply, my role comes

In addition to working towards a ze-

with a great deal of responsibility to

ro-waste plastic packaging solution

the Nigerian consumer,” Chantouma-

and creating a cyclical supply chain

kos explains. “If I had to highlight one e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

199

N I G E R I A N B O T T L I N G C O M PA N Y

200

“Plastic pollution is a high priority problem for regulatory bodies to solve” — George Chantoumakos, Supply Chain Director, Nigerian Bottling Company

accomplishment since arriving at the Nigerian Bottling Company, I would emphasise the construction projects we did in Kano State, Nigeria, providing fresh water via two new tube wells to the Kano State Water Board, and from there providing potable water for up to one million inhabitants of the state. We also established a free NOVEMBER 2019

201

e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

LEVENTIS MOTORS FLEET SOLUTIONS SERVICES We provide haulage and transportation services worldwide

www.leventismotors.com.ng

2 Wharf Road,Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria

+234 (1) 440134

treated water supply point outside our

order to incorporate new technolo-

plant and refurbished a local school

gies that increase efficiency, speed

in the vicinity of our plant. These

and connectivity, and allow the com-

sustainability projects, especially the

pany to more fully utilise its talented

water supply, have dramatically im-

workforce to drive greater supply

proved the day to day lives of millions

chain success. “Connectivity remains

of people. Making a difference in a

the key challenge to fully deploying

country where basic infrastructure

digital transformation across our op-

is not a given is something I hadn’t

erations. We’re working with our main

experienced before in my career and

suppliers to increase connectivity be-

something I will surely take with me

tween our equipment and to elevate

when leaving the country.”

our predictive maintenance capabili-

Within the Nigerian Bottling Com-

ties. Similarly, for our fleet manage-

pany’s own operations, Chantouma-

ment division, we are investing in full

kos has been working constantly in

digitalisation with interactive, real-

NOVEMBER 2019

time report systems for optimising our fleet’s efficiency,” says Chantoumakos. He adds: “Industry 4.0 is expected to provide a direct connection between the consumer and manufacturers, making the industry almost immediately responsive to consumer feedback and developing needs.” In Nigeria, this is perhaps truer than anywhere else in the world.

“In this market there is a paradox: while the basic infrastructure remains a challenge in several areas across the country, internet use is extremely

203

high, especially amongst younger people,” Chantoumakos elaborates.

“I recently read that Nigeria is second worldwide, behind the Philippines, in time spent per capita on social media.

This indicates the huge opportunities we have to pull feedback from consumers almost instantly and adjust our plans accordingly.”

Looking to the future, Chantoumakos is confident that the Nigerian Bottling Company will continue to live up to its tradition of excellence within the market by incorporating digital technologies that allow it to meet demand in a sustainable way. “We’ve e uro pe .busi ne ssc hief. com

N I G E R I A N B O T T L I N G C O M PA N Y

204

“Nigeria is second worldwide in time spent per capita on social media.

This indicates the huge opportunities we have to pull feedback from consumers almost instantly and adjust our plans accordingly” — George Chantoumakos, Supply Chain Director, Nigerian Bottling Company

NOVEMBER 2019

205

been operating in Nigeria for 68 years, and we are very proud of the fact that the entire Coca-Cola Hellenic Group originated here. We have been sustaining market leadership in times of great hardship in the country, so we can only plan to continue being market leaders in every sector in which we operate.�

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E z

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