ALWAYS RISING TO MEET NEW CHALLENGES Over the years, Technicolor has proudly supported Forthnet in providing end users with the best in class broadband services. Looking ahead, we are thrilled to continue our successful collaboration as Forthnet ventures into new multimedia horizons.
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EDITOR’S COMMENT
Driving growth W E L C O M E T O T H E A P R I L issue of
Business Review Europe. In this issue, we profile Alban Sayag, the French entrepreneur who founded the going out app WINGiT, talking to him about his plans to launch across more European cities. And we take a look at how financial services companies need to embrace digital transformation. We also look at how to drive IT innovation within a business – and the impact this could have on the wider company. Our cover story this issue is an interview with William Grant & Sons, focussing on its travel retail operations. Other interviews include debt restructuring experts Hoist Finance, and Covestro, a high-tech chemical solutions company. We do hope you enjoy the issue, please send any feedback to @BizReviewEurope
Lucy Dixon Managing Editor EMEA lucy.dixon@bizclikmedia.com
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F E AT U R E S
INTERVIEW
Alban Sayag; founder of the going out app WINGiT
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Six ways to drive IT innovation
TECHNOLOGY
Digital transformations for financial services
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Company Profiles
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Tata Global Beverages
TECHNOLOGY 36 William Grant & Sons 52 Hoist Finance 62 Workonline Communications (Pty) Ltd
SUPPLY CHAIN
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Hoist Finance
Covestro
72 Covestro 90 EVO Group 102 Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG 116 Tata Global Beverages
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William Grant & Sons
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Workonline Communications (Pty) Ltd
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Rodhe & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG
INTERVIEW
WING i
Travel app WINGiT aims to be in 100 cities worldwide end of 2016. French entrepreneur Alban Sayag share plans for the brand with Business Review Europe WRITTEN BY JESS SHANAHAN
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INTERVIEW THE TRAVEL TECH scene is growing rapidly with new apps popping up on a daily basis. This is a hard market to break into and even for successful businesses, launching an app isn’t without its challenges. We spoke to French entrepreneur Alban Sayag about his app WINGiT, which allows users to find out what’s happening near them and book tickets straight through the app, all in real time. Sayag comes from a business background and launched his first start up at 19. He says: “It was for the first wireless ear piece for mobile phones. The technology was very close to what would become Bluetooth. We had to close the business after three years because Bluetooth came on the market and was instantly huge. “I then started a consulting company, developing apps and websites for other companies. It was quite successful and I sold the business to Capgemini, one of the biggest consulting companies in the world. I worked for them for six years, heading up the business unit and a team of 50 people. I was just 25 at the time. I then spent 8
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one year on the other side of the business for an investor AlcatelLucent before I created WINGiT.” As with most successful apps, the idea came from a real need for this in the market. It all started when Sayag was out with friends and needed something to do. The internet and travel apps couldn’t quite deliver when it came to events that were happening in the area that evening and so the idea for WINGiT was born.
DRESSING UP
The app allows you to improvise like a local, giving you access to events and activities shared by local insiders. Generating this content, was one of the first challenges Sayag faced when developing the app. He says: “If you want content to be real time and hyper local, you can either rely on users to generate content, which is often difficult, or you can analyse social networks. “This can also prove challenging
because you find that you can’t always access the content, as you don’t subscribe to all the feeds and pages to get the information when you need it. That’s where we started to bring in the technology.” WINGiT uses a special algorithm that analyses social networks to find local events happening now. It continuously screens billions of posts and will push relevant ones to a user’s app based on location 9
INTERVIEW and time. Sayag adds: “I can’t say much about the algorithm, but it’s not based on specific pages or accounts - it’s based on conversation. “We analyse public conversations on Facebook, Twitter, Meetup and Instagram, and look for clues to events such as the name of a place and further information such as time and date. When we are sure everything is correct, we match it with other sources of content then publish it to the app. “Once we find the content, that’s just the first part of the process. We then go through the inventories of ticket providers and try to match them with the event. If we are successful then users will be able to book tickets straight from the app.” The app originally launched in New York in 2012 but since then it’s expanded into 15 cities across Europe too. Expanding into new countries meant changing the way in which the app worked. Sayag explains: “Even if you have many states in the US, it’s just one country. One thing you are doing right in New York will work the same in San Francisco. It’s completely different in Europe. It won’t be the same in London as in Madrid, for example, as each 10
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country has differences in culture. That’s the challenge in Europe, you have to adapt to any country when launching something like this and not just in the app but your marketing, communication, everything.” Monetising the app is a strong focus for this year as this is how WINGiT will keep developing. Sayag says: “We’re just starting to monetise the app so if you click to buy a ticket and go through the process, we get a commission on that. That’s one part of the monetisation, and we also work on the B2B side and are giving access to other businesses who want to offer this kind of content to their users. For example, if a magazine wants a things to do section, they can use WINGiT’s content on their site or app.” As well as further monetising the app in 2016, Sayag is aiming to expand into more countries and grow WINGiT’s user base, he says: “We’re aiming to grow from 20 cities to 100 cities worldwide and from 300,000 users to one million users by end of the year.” WINGiT is also dedicated to developing the app in users’ best interests. The company already runs monthly focus groups to 11
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INTERVIEW
determine what improvements need to be made and users are encouraged to give feedback on which cities they’d like to see next. Sayag also speaks about the future of the app and developments they’re hoping to make. He says: “We’d like to learn something this year about meeting people through the app. You have a lot of apps that will connect you with people, like Tinder, but when it comes to a special event you’re going to, those apps don’t help so that’s where we see WINGiT going.” The travel tech scene is booming and the next trend we’re likely to see is the advancement in aggregator apps that allow you to do more than one thing at a time. Sayag explains he is seeing great demand for this in the industry: “We see a lot of things coming up relating to aggregators of content and services. For example, when you travel you want one platform to help you do many things. Finding events is one thing but it could be booking flights and hotels too. This all points to aggregating content and services, becoming big in the travel tech scene.”
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WINGiT uses a specia algorithm that analys social networks to fin local events happeni now. It continuously screens billions of po and will push relevan ones to a user’s app on location and time
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YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WINGiT HERE
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TECHNOLOGY
DIGITAL TRANSFORM
W ri t t e n b y: D R E W N I C H
MATIONS
H O LS O N , C E O , O G I LV Y O N E B U S I N E S S
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Financial services need to embrace digital transformation EVERYONE HAS JUMPED on the digital transformation bandwagon over the past few years – particularly those in the financial services (FS) sector. However, whilst there is an appetite for it, and significant investment allocated to it, the FS sector in particular is still struggling to harness the potential of this vogue approach. This is particularly true of the B2B organisations within the sector. Digital transformation is actually relatively easy to instil into a business’ culture, but far too many organisations – particularly within FS, are over-complicating it. The key to success is taking a step back and getting to grips with exactly what digital transformation looks like for your business. At the core should be the customer – and their experience of your business. Indeed, almost every B2B business looking to implement a digital transformation strategy is looking to create a better customer 16
April 2016
experience that either moves customers through the sales process faster and/or builds the relationship between the brand and its customers. B2B organisations understand this. Indeed, Forrester’s 2015 report revealed that “improving the experience of our customers” was the number one priority across the board for B2B marketers, closely followed by growing revenues and reducing costs. The challenge seems to be implementing the processes that will drive these changes. This is unsurprising given the significantly longer sales cycles within B2B. The pace of change within organisations typically matches the sales cycle, meaning it takes longer for B2B organisations to implement transformational change. Therefore there is a clear need to act now to get the process of change started. For me, the best option for any FS organisation is, quite simply, to put digital at the heart
ROAMING FREE
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TECHNOLOGY
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of the customer experience. Spanning not just technology, but people, and processes too, putting digital at the core of the customer experience can realign focus, and help find a common goal that meets the ever-changing needs of both the business and its customers. Indeed, the FS businesses that will see the best results from digital transformation in 2016 and beyond, will be those that think like a start-up and behave like an entrepreneur. This doesn’t mean trying to replicate what others are doing – it means investing in a culture that helps their business excel. It means focusing on the customer and the experience. For any FS company looking to maximise returns from digital transformation, here are three pieces of advice: 1. Focus on online and cross-channel customer experiences but don’t ignore traditional channels – digital transformation can still have a significant impact on offline channels too. 2. Advocate digital transformation and first-class customer experience from the top level down – everyone needs to be responsible for delivering a first-class experience so don’t make it one person’s responsibility and make sure that every ‘new recruit’ is on board. In order to remain ahead of the digital curve, banks and financial services must invest in the right people to develop and deliver the strategies and roadmaps that will bring about transformation. This doesn’t 19
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“Digital transformation is actually relatively easy to instil into a business’ culture, but far too many organisations – particularly within FS, are over-complicating it” mean trying to find better versions of the people who you hired 10 years ago. It means taking a long hard look at the new skill sets you need. With the rapid pace of technological change, these are skill sets that the existing team may not understand, let alone have capabilities in, so it is pivotal to bring talent in to create a complete, complimentary team. 3. Take risks and learn continually – the whole process of digital transformation requires organisations to continue to evolve. The FS sector is one of the most traditional industries, making it difficult to be innovative, but this test and learn mentality is key to success. Taking the risk now will pay off much sooner than many think. 20
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Digital transformation has the potential to have a massive impact on B2B FS companies because it helps them to re-align themselves with their customers and to be ongoing strategic partners. Customer expectations are continually evolving to higher standards, so it is imperative that B2B organisations work to exceed those expectations if they are to shore-up long-term returns. Digital transformation offers an unrivalled opportunity for the FS sector to improve how it engages with and retains customers in the 21st century. The brands that invest in getting on board now will undoubtedly come of age and retain their place in the world; but those that don’t risk holding themselves back by years.
ROAMING FREE
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LIST
Dare to dream Six ways to drive IT innovation Written by Matthew Weaver IT Consultancy Director, Objectivity
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LIST
All too often, clients and suppliers are focussed on removing the risks from every engagement. But there is no change without risk and no innovation without change. Innovation is important. It can give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. It can also create a working environment that attracts bright and creative people to your organisation. This article looks at ways to promote innovation from a software development perspective.
Share everything Great teamwork is essential for delivering great solutions. Software suppliers often have many clients with separate teams, each working on different assignments. With everyone concentrating on their own challenges it can be difficult to share innovative ideas. While each client will benefit from a stable team, it can lead to silos where creativity on one project goes unnoticed on another. Having a way to share experiences between projects can help to spread innovation. Consider ‘show and tell’ workshops where people share ideas and experiences. Invite a representative 24
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from another team to spend a little time in yours. Perhaps they can attend a daily stand up meeting or a design workshop. A short video that presents an overview of your team’s experiences is an alternative way to keep everyone updated. Posting the top 3 challenges that each team faces is a way to encourage ideas from people outside your project. As Tom DeMarco says: “There is no such thing as ‘healthy competition’ in a knowledge organisation”. Sharing information will increase your ability to innovate across your entire organisation.
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DARE TO DREAM
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Allow mistakes When people are afraid to make mistakes, they are less inclined to step out of their comfort zone. People that don’t stretch themselves are less likely to innovate. Creating a culture that doesn’t penalise mistakes will promote initiative and give people the confidence to be creative. This does not mean that you should encourage carelessness.
Mistakes will occur from time to time, especially when people are trying to find new and novel ways to solve problems. When this happens, focus on the process that led to the mistake rather than pointing a finger of blame at someone. When errors do occur, the objective should be to learn from the experience and do things a little better the next time around. 27
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Look at the bigger picture Development teams solve problems. They take big challenges, break them into smaller, manageable tasks and do whatever is necessary to get the job done. These tasks are often small enough to finish in one or two days. Small tasks promote visibilty; stakeholders can see progress on a regular basis. While this is a reasonable approach, take some time to look at the bigger picture before splitting it up. The smaller the work, the harder it is to innovate. It’s a little like baking a cake – it’s easy to be 28
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creative when you start but once you’ve chosen the ingredients, your options are limited. Get the team together before you start coding, line the walls with brown paper and think about the bigger picture. Map out the details and look for areas where you can innovate. Talk to key stakeholders and end users to understand their real needs. Sometimes a small business compromise can save a lot of coding. An occasional, informal discussion can reveal details that you won’t find in a specification document.
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Invest in people and encourage repayment Within a software organisation, people are the greatest asset. The happier they are, the more motivated and productive they will be; this does not happen by accident. Pay people a salary and they will turn up for work. Build a great working environment and give them the opportunity to improve themselves and they will excel. Allowing people some time now and again to do a little research or investigate a new technology is a good start. The real benefit comes from using personal develoment to drive social interaction. When people share, everyone benefits. Short presentations, interactive workshops, hackathons, TED style talks - all help to spread valuable knowledge and build a strong community spirit. Everyone likes to feel they are giving something back now and again – there is a sense of achievement in sharing new discoveries with your colleagues. The combination of knowledge sharing and teamwork is a breeding ground for innovation.
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Challenge your customers We all look to our customers for direction and support. After all, they are the domain experts and know their business far better than we do. While this is true, you should not rely on them to be the only source of creative input. Sometimes it’s easier to find inspiration when you are on the outside looking in. People can get so used to doing the same thing every day that it’s difficult to see how to improve. As Henry Ford once said: “If I had asked my customers what they wanted they would have said a faster horse.” When your customer asks for a new feature, take time to understand what they are really asking for. Understanding the specific nature of a requirement can provide valuable context. Just beware that context can constrain your ideas as well as crystallise them. Don’t be afraid to challenge your customers from time to time. Explore their needs from a wider perspective, take them for a coffee and chat about what they are really after. People often describe things differently when you push the formality aside.
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Define just enough process, but no more It’s good to have guidelines that describe the way you work. They provide a map that steers your people in the same general direction. They do not, and should not, replace team support or the company values that your senior stakeholders work hard to promote. Neither should they define expected behaviour in exquisite (and frustrating) detail. The idea is to have a high level process that people can shape to fit their preferred way of working. For example, your process may mandate that teams works in short iterations and demonstrate progress at the end of each iteration. Each individual team should choose the length of their
iterations, how they perform their demos and who attends. Equally, you may mandate a set of coding standards to promote consistent development practises. Your teams should decide on the nature of these coding standards and choose the tools that help to enforce them. In this way, different teams will find their own way of working without diverging too far from an agreed approach. Sharing ideas across teams will promote creativity and help to drive continual improvement at an organisation level. This, in turn, will generate innovation for clients as everyone coaches and educates everyone else. 35
The growth of travel retail Written by Nye longman
WILLIAM GRANT & SONS
Already a long-established household name for premium spirits, William Grant & Sons has extended this presence to travel destinations across Europe and beyond
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illiam Grant & Sons has been a stalwart of the premium spirits landscape for five generations and, with the dual rise of e-retail and worldwide travel, the company has gained a truly world-renowned reputation for quality and originality. In recent years this independent, family-owned company has also achieved significant growth in its global travel retail (GTR) business channel and is looking to capitalise on this achievement, as Business Review Europe explores.
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The business of distilling In 1887, the Glenfiddich distillery was established by William Grant, his wife and nine children in Dufftown, Scotland, and since then William Grant & Sons has expanded its capacity and the number of its distilleries to support the growth of its award winning brands. The company now has a reach covering practically every territory in the world with the marketing and distribution of its various brands executed via a range of wholly-owned, joint venture, and third party vendors, spanning Cape
WILLIAM GRANT & SONS
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T R A V E L R E TA I L
Town, Mexico City, and New York, airlines, ferry and cruise ships, as well as offices in India, Australia, diplomatic and military shops.” Russia, China, and South America. Managing a whisky business “William Grant’s as a company is presents its own unique operational defined by our history and inspired challenges, as de Almeida explains: by the future and it is “We have to lay down our history of innovation stocks and have that is key to the planning cycles which company’s success,” run 20, 30 years ahead says André de Almeida, in terms of forecasts William Grant’s Europe for future demand. Travel Retail Director; We foster innovation “Our entrepreneurial because whilst we spirit is one of the key clearly know what’s differentiators for the relevant today we The year William company - it is actually always ask ourselves if Grant & Sons one of the reasons there is something we was founded why I work here. can do now that has “My role is to bring the potential to give us our portfolio of core brands options and flexibility in the future.” to life in the global travel retail channel, with a specific focus on Branding strategy Europe and that can take shape in The image of holidaymakers different ways. Global travel retail stocking up on duty-free alcohol covers everything from airports, is certainly a common one, but
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WILLIAM GRANT & SONS
the realities of travel retail are far more nuanced – and challenging – to say the least. Not only are operations subject to fluctuations in traveller numbers (particularly pertinent in the wake of recent terrorist attacks) but each outlet also has to cater to the interests of a truly international customer-base. De Almeida says: “Penetration levels at airport retail stores are one such challenge, as the number of people that are actually going into a store is fairly low. We try to recognise this crucial factor by offering reasons for the consumer to enter the store such as engaging activations and unique propositions such as differentiated ranges of our products.” “My objective is to think of ways to build longterm growth in a sustainable way because what we don’t want to do is to drive sales only by activating our brands via heavily discounted price off promotions, for example, which diminishes the value perception consumers have of our brands. “We are always striving to improve the experience at point of purchase for the consumer. Looking at how to bring our brands alive in some way, shape or form in travel retail environment in order to showcase those premium products we have.” William Grant and Sons prides itself on its creativity
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retail consultancy
T R A V E L R E TA I L
“ William Grant & Sons has the ability to move quickly, working in collaboration with partners, to be creative and innovative in our approach which ultimately, of course, helps to drive our business ” – André de Almeida, Europe Travel Retail Director and for being able to cater to a smorgasbord of international customers, each with different personal tastes, budgets, and brand expectations. Being able to achieve this is not merely a triumph of sales and marketing prowess – it is an art, bringing together a symphony of ideas, underscored by the growing significance of technology. De Almeida explains: “Technology has become more and more important. Airports for example are talking about being able to communicate directly with consumers from the moment they decide to travel on their journey all the way through to their destination. I think personally e-commerce
will have more of an impact we’ve already seen examples of it in travel retail and just have to look at the success of Amazon in the US and UK markets. “I think what technology will also play a role in is the engagement aspect, with increased use of virtual or augmented reality and insights generated from anonymous wi-fi analytics for example. So from our perspective, we want to use technology - whether online or in store - to really convey what the brand stands for and create engagement.” The company has also utilised experiential marketing in order to increase the coverage of its
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WILLIAM GRANT & SONS
BRINGING BRANDS TO LIFE
With more than 20 years’ experience, Blackjack is trusted to deliver innovative brand experiences at the point of sale across airports in the UK and the UAE. Why not see what we could do for your brand? blackjackpromotions.co.uk
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portfolio in particularly novel ways. One such example was the Hendrick’s Gin Gin Oscillating Sensory Helmet (G.O.S.H.) activity. Other more recent examples include the launch of the House of Hazelwood whisky and the Grant’s Elementary range launch exclusive to the travel retail channel. Shopper and retail marketing agency, HRG, is responsible for the majority of William Grant & Sons’s build and installation of activations in Europe travel retail. HRG is an example of a partnership approach with a dedicated account director, Lucy Tugwell, supporting the business as well as helping to develop creative content. He adds: “William Grant & Sons has the ability to move quickly, working in collaboration with partners, to be creative and innovative in our approach which ultimately, of course, helps to drive our business ”
T R A V E L R E TA I L
PLAY VIDEO
Supporting partners Understandably, William Grant & Sons’ brands need to be carefully managed; not only to maximise in-store impact, but also to ensure that they reach the correct demographic – an important factor given the increasing prominence of high-spend travellers. Agency staff in store play a prominent role in representing the company and its brands to consumers. William
Grant & Sons is working to enhance its presence and impact at point of purchase in partnership with Sally Allington at Blackjack Promotions– a company specialised in serving the travel retail sector with quality, brand-conscious personnel and an experiential specialist. Almeida adds: “As an example of partnership approach, we work with One Red Kite retail and digital consultancy on an ongoing basis
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William Grant and Sons prides itself on its creativity and for being able to cater to a smorgasbord of international customers, each with different personal tastes, budgets, and brand expectations
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WILLIAM GRANT & SONS
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André de Almeida, Europe Travel Retail Director and Kevin Brocklebank and the team have helped us in developing an app to improve our communication and performance management with the agency staff in store “We are also working with Brett Goldhawk and team at Ziggurat Creative Agency because we are trying to look past just the travel retail store. We want to be looking at the moment the consumer decides to travel, all the way to when they arrive at their destination “If our objective is to bring our brand essence to life, then we should be looking beyond the travel retail store and Ziggurat is helping us to look at following the consumer through this journey and identifying alternative ways to bring the brand to life”
Having gained global prominence for the quality and innovative approach to its brands, William Grant & Sons has combined over a century of experience with the latest trends, while managing to keep its sights fixed firmly on the future. Having been able to leverage travel retail as a healthy source of revenue, the company is poised for even more growth in this area.
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Data-driven debt collection
Written by Lucy Dixon Produced by James Pepper
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HOIST FINANCE
Hoist Finance uses a combination of data and technology to collect debts from millions of customers
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oist Finance is a debt purchaser, specialising in non-performing debts, primarily from banks or financial institutions. It is based in Sweden and has a presence throughout Europe, including the UK, Germany, Poland, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria. Anders Wallin has been CIO since 2012, starting with the goal to update the company so it could manage its plans for growth – expansion that has seen it increase from about 350 to 1,700 employees. “I think it’s also interesting that we come from an investment volume of about 50 million euros in 2011 to where we are now at 450 million euros,” Wallin adds. Another key task that Wallin was brought in to achieve was to
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support entry onto the Swedish stock market, and it is now listed on Nasdaq Stockholm Mid-Cap list. Wallin is responsible for four pillars within Hoist Finance: ITService, which manages IT service operations from an end-to-end perspective; Business Applications, which is responsible for system development, datawarehouse architecture, and business applications; Group Analytics and the central Project Management Office, which oversees all projects within Hoist. The organisation is federated with about 40 group staff and 40 local staff. Wallin describes Hoist Finance as ‘an information-driven, technologybased company.’ And both the data and the tech have been pivotal
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in its success. “A lot of things we are doing are based on analytics, using big data to understand how we should address our customers and how we should position ourself in our markets.” Hoist Finance uses technology to collect and examine vast amounts of data about its customers, ultimately meaning that it knows how to increase the chances that they pay back their debts. Hoist Finance advocates the benefits of amicable settlements which allow customers to take control of their own situation, and to take the leap from debt trap to re-established creditworthiness.
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The quantity of data is dealt with by two data centres that Wallin set up while streamlining the IT infrastructure, one in Germany and one in the UK. He adds: “We also set up centralised contracts with selected providers of infrastructure, because otherwise we would be facing a problem with lots of different companies providing services to us. The changes mean we can actually close down and fire up a new office with very, very little notice, and quickly scale while keeping profitability intact.” Hoist Finance holds sensitive financial information for millions
S U P P LY C H A I N
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HOIST FINANCE
of people and makes use of this data in various ways. “One way is to support our investment team in calculating the actual price or what they should pay for the next investment price, that’s important. Then, of course, we also use the information to improve our own processes in our collection centres to ensure that we’re working in the most efficient way. Our Analytics team plays a key role in creating and sustaining a lean organisation. It lets us draw extreme amounts of information in a smart and high-quality way. Then the production performance feeds into our data that we then use for pricing and you have this whole process of managing data. There is a lot of automatic big data management but a lot of R&D behind it as well,” Wallin explains. The company is always
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considering new ways it can use its data, says Wallin. “We look at the possibilities to use our data in a different way, to see how we can use the technologies that are out there to work differently with our customers or just internally. That’s part of the normal process and development that we have in Business Applications, Group Analytics, and utilising recent technology developments.” Keeping the data secure is another critical part of Wallin’s role. He says: “We are not just, in a traditional way, building protection around our information, we’re also working proactively with information security and our assets, that’s why we haven’t outsourced the IT on
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Anders Wallin Chief Information Officer Anders started his career as a software developer and project manager, and quickly made partner at an IT consultancy firm. He later founded a successful consultancy business where he worked with leading Swedish companies like Scandinavian Airlines, SEB, and Ericsson. Before coming on board Hoist Finance, he was the CIO of UC, Sweden’s by far leading business and credit reference agency. Anders holds an MBA from the prestigious Stockholm School of Economics.
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HOIST FINANCE
1700
Number of employees at Hoist Finance
that level, we’re protective of our central data. We do penetration tests on a regular basis, it’s not a once-a-year activity, we do it continuously and, of course, we try to understand what kind of threats we may be facing and build our security proactively based on that.” Hoist’s clients are primarily banks and larger financial institutions, but its customers are the people that are in debt. Wallin says: “I think it’s very important to point out that we work mainly through what we call amicable collections. 60
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We actually set up a payment plan over a longer period of time with the customer, which is easier and fairer for them to manage.” The staff at Hoist are tasked with finding out who can pay, who wants to pay and how much they can pay. Wallin adds: “We aspire to protect them from paying more than they can handle, which would compromise their ability to stick to the agreed payment plan.” Hoist uses technology to analyse the best ways to communicate with customers – when they are available
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and when will be the best time to contact them. “To be able to understand that you need to have some behavioural patterns and the systems need to understand when it’s time to attempt contact. So, that’s one part that technology can play.” Speech analytics and quality management
technologies are also used, so that Hoist can make sure customers are being treated well. Wallin says: “We all benefit from the customers having a good experience.” w w w. h o i s t f i n a n c e . c o m
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W O R K O N L I N E C O M M U N I C AT I O N S ( P T Y ) LT D
Founded in South Africa in 2006, Workonline Communications is a privately owned global Network Service Provider
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ince 2006, privately-owned Workonline Communications has worked tirelessly to provide Africa with high-quality IP transit and connectivity services, achieving acclaim as the Southern African network with the highest number of directly interconnected global tier 1 transits. Some of the largest international telecommunication companies make use of Workonline’s technologically advanced services, as its network has proven stable, resilient, and reliable. According to Workonline’s Director of Business Development, Edward Lawrence, the company’s structure and products are far simpler than they appear: “We basically provide two services: IP transit and various forms thereof, and connectivity or transport services. Within those two categories we have hundreds of moving parts we use to design each individual service; we don’t have a fixed price list; all the services we provide are tailor-made to the requirements of our clients. We don’t deviate from what we do, meaning we can be very flexible within the bounds of what we do, and deliver the services we focus on at scale.” Group input The direction of the company, and each individual project it undertakes from conception onwards, is group effort: “We have a very flat organisational structure designed to maximize collaboration,” Lawrence says. “Everyone has the chance to contribute towards the
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A large degree of growth still needs to take place in places like Kenya.
direction of the company. We achieve this by increasing interpersonal communication as much as possible between everyone regardless of seniority, and working together to agree on direction to achieve the goals we set for ourselves and the company as a whole.” Workonline’s liberal company structure allows all members of the business to feel a part of its operations; impressively, it has lost only one employee since the company began. “We don’t enforce office hours so everybody can work when they want. We manage productivity through a goal-based system,” Lawrence explains. “We try to bring the passion out of people. If you’re very good at what you do, the chances are that you’re
20 Number of staff working at Workonline Communications
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Workonline is dedicated to developing the network across Africa, in places like Kenya and
passionate about it, so how can we enable and support that passion? By giving our employees the tools to play with to discover themselves and what they can achieve, and by supporting them in any direction they wish to grow in. We actually implement that, rather than just saying it.�
Zambia, for example
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Prestigious partnerships As it has grown, the business has forged bilateral partnerships with the largest global players such as TeliaSonera, NTT, and Level 3 Communications, and according to Lawrence, “forming these relationships has proven to be very fruitful for all parties involved. Essentially the cornerstone of our relationships with our partners is the technical aspect. Their engineers feel comfortable and confident in dealing with
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us because of the level of skill that we have on board and our knowledge of the African market. Vice versa, we look to them for their knowledge depending on the markets in which they are strongest of have the most experience.” Falling in line with its growth and expectations from its prestigious client base, Workonline decided to improve the brand awareness of the company. To this end, Workonline recently decided to refresh its logo to show an identity which reflects its modernity. The basics of the business remain, but its image has developed alongside its blossoming reputation. What sets Workonline apart is the determination to stay ahead of the curve, Lawrence says: “We’re often the first to come up with and implement either technical or commercial models in the subSaharan African market. That’s what attracts the partnerships that we have in place, and ensures that they remain in place over the years to come.” Technology Workonline is a tech-heavy company with a very strong engineering team, and it has the accolades to support its notable status. Its transport services are MEF compliant, and one of the company’s directors, Ben Maddison, was the first ever person to achieve 100 percent on the MEF certification
“The developments we’ve made are about constantly researching and putting in place new and more efficient ways of doing things” – Edward Lawrence, Director of Business Development
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‘We have a very flat organisational structure designed to maximize collaboration. Everyone has the chance to contribute towards the direction of the company’
globally. “Out of thousands of engineers around the world, Ben was the first and the only one thus far to get full marks,” Lawrence comments. “We have a very high level of technical skill on board, which we constantly strive to improve. The developments we’ve made are about constantly researching and putting in place new and more efficient ways of doing things.” Part of staying ahead is rigorously planning the future, Lawrence says. “The year is pretty much mapped out already. We’re looking at where to build in 2017. The focus is on expansion of the network into a few new key markets. We’re investing heavily in the expansion and
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Email: info@eis.mu | manish.rajwani@eis.mu
www.eis.com
TECHNOLOGY
uptake of Internet Protocol version 6 – or IPv6 – and we’re somewhere in the top double digits of IPv6 networks in the world by size. We’ve tried to encourage uptake by offering a free 100 Megabits per second of IPv6 transit to any AfriNIC LIR. We’re very involved in sponsoring training of the use of IPv6 and helping networks to make that transition.”
The new cable system being
Workonline’s future As is common in the technological sector, outside forces have the potential to alter a company’s plans. An example of this is a new cable system which is being
planned between Brazil and Africa will present new opportunities for the company
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We see a huge amount of growth potential in Africa as the world focuses on connecting the next billion people to the Internet
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planned between Brazil and the west coast of Africa could present new opportunities for Workonline. “Typically there’s been no need for us to have infrastructure in North America because all of the paths between Africa and North America either go through Asia-Pac or Europe. The topology of the global cable system network will change if this project progresses, and in doing so it would open up the possibility of us building a PoP in North America. That’s far from being confirmed, but it’s a potential development.” Bandwidth in Africa is commoditising fast, which has been an advantage to Workonline. The business was designed around a foresighted belief that this would occur, and Lawrence says “we have been fortunate in that the current trend has played into our hands. A
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couple of the developing market’s currencies struggling has impacted our clients, but on the whole the recent economic situations in Africa haven’t had much impact on us at all. We have some very good advisers who saw this coming. We still see a huge amount of growth potential in Africa as the world focuses on connecting the next billion people to the internet.” Regardless of how plans may change, Workonline will continue to develop the network across Africa. “While South Africa is a little more developed than many others, there are plenty of countries where there is a lot of work to be done,” Lawrence concludes. “A lot of growth still needs to happen in places like Kenya and Zambia. When I visit them, I can’t help but wonder why people aren’t seeing the opportunities.”
‘We’re often the first to come up with and implement either technical or commercial models in the subSaharan African market. That’s what attracts the partnerships that we have in place’
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Implem solut
Written by N
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menting tions
Nell Walker
ichard Durrant
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COVESTRO
Covestro aims to brighten up the world with its innovative high-tech chemical solutions, extending its reach to a global scale
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reviously known as Bayer MaterialScience, the Germanbased chemicals company rebranded itself as Covestro in September 2015. 69 percent of the shares are still in the hands of Bayer, with the other 31 percent traded in the MDAX. The company’s focus is split into three units; one for the production of polyurethane raw materials, TDI, MDI and polyols; the second for a high-tech plastic named polycarbonate; and the third for raw materials for coatings, adhesives, and specialties. The latter
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unit supplies over 4,000 products for different industrial applications, with all of Covestro’s dealings being business-to-business. The company’s vision, according to CPO Dirk Jan De With and Board Member Klaus Schäfer, is to make the world a brighter place. Covestro wants to contribute to this goal with products and technologies that benefit society and reduce the impact on the environment. “Many of our materials are within one metre reach of you,” says Schäfer. “Sofas, mattresses, sports accessories such
€12.1 billion Annual Revenue
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PLIER P U S C I STRATEG VESTRO OF CO
DO YOU KNOW YOUR FIT FACTOR? Looking for a new location for your company? We’re here to help. Will your plant have a high energy demand? What raw materials are required? Do you need assistance throughout the permit process? With our investment tool, it only takes a few minutes to see how well your company will fit in at CHEMPARK. Just enter the internet address and here we go! Of course you can also give us a ring in case you have any questions. Contact us – we look forward to hearing from you!
Powered by Contact: Currenta GmbH & Co. OHG Dr. Regina Schade-Lehn 51368 Leverkusen Phone: +49 214/30 72 41 5 Mail: regina.schade-lehn@currenta.de
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Leverkusen Dormagen Krefeld-Uerdingen
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“ When a sustainability assessment has been positive it doesn’t mean we stop there - we want to see how we can improve further ” as running shoes, skiing equipment, and everything in between.” Covestro’s values Covestro centres the way it does business on what it calls The Three Cs: curious, courageous, and colourful. “Curious very much refers to the fact that we are interested in understanding what happens out there in the world and beyond our own industry,” De With explains. “We look for best practice there and bring it in-house. We’re curious about understanding other practices and how we can improve our performance. “Courageous is about having the courage to step up, come up with refreshing new ideas, challenging
each other within the company and externally for the better. Colourful is probably a value you haven’t heard often, and I think that’s exactly what sets us apart in the chemical industry – because it’s not exactly seen as one of the sexier industries – but colourful is what we aim for. The kinds of applications in which our products end up are the things that make our lives brighter,” says de With. Integrated sustainability is also at the heart of Covestro’s business, which affects many of its business decisions from a People, Planet and Profit perspective: “We are working on challenges of our time, including climate change, growing cities, and ageing populations,”
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DIRK JAN DE WITH Chief Procurement Officer Dirk Jan De With joined Covestro in April 2015 as Chief Procurement Officer being responsible for the procurement of all materials and services for the company. Previously he has spent 27 years with Unilever in The Netherlands, Germany, Israel, Italy and Switzerland and held senior management positions in all areas of the supply chain. He has been leading the supply chain in Unilever Israel, Planning & Customer Service for Ice Cream Europe and established the Unilever supply hain Company in Switzerland and implemented SAP across all operations in Europe. In his most recent role he was leading Ingredients Procurement and implemented Sustainable Sourcing in line with the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. During that period he served as President of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform. De With has a MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from Twente University in The Netherlands and a MBA from the European University, Antwerp/Belgium.
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Key Personnel DR KLAUS SCHÄFER Chief Industrial Operations Officer Dr. Klaus Schäfer became Chief Industrial Operations Officer at Covestro in 2015 and is responsible for production and technology. Previously, Schäfer held the same responsibility in the Polyurethanes segment, was the Country Representative in China for predecessor company Bayer MaterialScience, and Managing Director of German site operator Currenta, which provides services to Covestro at the Dormagen, Krefeld-Uerdingen and Leverkusen sites. Born in Cologne, Germany, in 1962, Schäfer studied physics at the city’s university. After obtaining his PhD, he worked for Erdölchemie and BP, before joining the Bayer Group in 2001.
Schäfer says. “For example, we provide materials for making cars lighter, saving on fuel, and also materials to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions.” “Sustainability is something embedded in everything we do in this company,” De With adds. “We constantly evaluate the chemical processes we are using and the energy-saving measures we have implemented over the years. We’re always saving energy and, because of that, are reducing our carbon
footprint and saving money. It’s a good business approach.” Covestro is striving to grow into its assets, leverage its leadership in the industry, and improve its cost
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TRANSPORT, CONTRACT MANUFACTURING, WAREHOUSING AND DISTRIBUTION FOR THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY 82
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www.imperial-international.com
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15,800
Number of employees at Covestro
base. It achieves these partially through a savvy approach to procurement and by forming a number of strategic partnerships. “We’ve set ourselves the ambition to deliver value for the company of 1 billion Euros by 2020,” says De With. “We want to create value in four strategic areas: cost transformation, reliability – which is essential in this industry – sustainability, and innovation. Innovation is in everything we do; in our processes and our technology, but also in partnership with others to use their capabilities. Delivering value in a broader sense rather than just cost savings is what we
really aim for with procurement.” Partnerships Covestro picks its suppliers and partners carefully, ensuring they also adhere to the company’s high standards. It has a very large supplier base including around 100 key suppliers: “We are very selective in understanding who the real strategic suppliers are that can add significant value,” De With explains. “It’s not just a procurement job; board members, marketing, sales, operations and R&D colleagues are involved – we all talk about our four key strategic areas. In addressing sustainability with those suppliers, we don’t
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stop at a positive sustainability assessment, but we want to see how we can improve further.” Schäfer describes the industry initiative for supplier sustainability assessments: “We are a member of Together for Sustainability, an initiative of the chemical industry with 16 members now which are all well-known in the chemical industry, with the objective to accelerate the implementation of sustainable practices within the supply chains of the chemical industry. “There are many assessments along the way, beginning with a risk assessment. If it’s a smaller operation in a higher-risk country, we do an evaluation there or an audit by a third party to measure them against economic, environmental, and social standards that we have agreed.” Covestro highly values the partnerships it works so hard to forge; the relationship with INEOS, for example, is one of the company’s most highlyvalued, says De With: “INEOS is a very like-minded business which operates in one of the same chemical parks as we do, so there’s a lot that we do share anyway. It’s a long-standing relationship and we manage multiple businesses together. It goes in both directions; we make materials they
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Your goals drive us. WE ARE HERE: WORKING WITH COVESTRO TO SUPPLY HIGH-TECH POLYMER MATERIALS. HELPING TO MAKE THE WORLD A BRIGHTER PLACE.
The international logistics company HOYER is a worldwide market leader in moving liquids by road, rail and sea. Wherever they may go, HOYER will get chemicals, foodstuffs, gas and mineral oil to their destinations safely and efficiently in tank containers, road tankers, flexitanks and IBCs.
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www.ineosphenol.com
Avenue des Utins 3, Rolle, Switzerland
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need and they make materials we need. Or the relationship with Mitsui that is key for our polycarbonate business, especially in Asia. “In terms of logistics we use companies like Hoyer, which has a container terminal in Dormagen,
integrated into the chemical park there, meaning public roads aren’t required. Hoyer covers the bulk liquids transport market for us. It was a pioneer of intermodal transport in the early 70’s, so we’re benefitting from the company’s expertise. “Hoyer is a partner that goes around the globe with us, and is starting to work with us in our logistics in China. Imperial Logistics, too, has a long history with us. It’s very important for the supply of many of our raw materials. Salt, for example, is a big raw material for us.” With Covestro’s group of trusted suppliers behind it, the company is able to run with optimum efficiency, allowing its operations to be as
“ We strive for the right kind of diversity in the company to get different views, approaches, and angles to problems, and to really become much better ”
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integrated as possible: “Our task as industrial operations is to manage the whole supply chain from raw materials to production and our commercial operations pick it up at the factory gate and sell it to customers,” Schäfer says. “Everything that is necessary, from buying the raw materials through to production on-site, building plants, managing safety health and environmental aspects and project engineering; these are tasks that we as an industrial operation have in this company.” “Currenta is the chemical park operator for our production plants in North-Rhine Westphalia,” Schäfer adds. “They are providing the complete infrastructure within the parks, and for that we are buying services from site security, fire brigade, rail connections, and then the biggest part in
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there is the energy supply.” “I always say it’s basically a partner you’re married to by definition,” says De With, “because you’re dependent on each other in these chemical parks. It really requires a strong relationship.” “Managing things like costs, reliability, and sustainability jointly also ensures that innovation is implemented in all activities,” Schäfer explains. Covestro’s unique and multifaceted business model has ensured that it is now a world leader in material solutions, and De With thanks the company’s community of people and skills for that: “We strive for the right kind of diversity in the company to get different views, approaches, and angles to problems, and to really become much better. I think that sets us aside and will do even more in the future.”
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Written by Nye Longman
Produced by Richard Durrant
Engaging distribution
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EVO GROUP
EVO Group is the UK’s largest multi-channel distributor of supplies and services for businesses – formed after a seamless merger in 2014, it is now working hard to increase customer engagement while maintaining its commitment to next-day delivery
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A
rising from the merger of two critically positioned UK distributors in 2014, what is now known as the EVO Group quickly became note-worthy for its ability to deliver and distribute to businesses across a range of channels, in the shortest possible time. Operations General Manager Phil Allsop explains how the efforts of all those involved ensures that the customer remains the focal-point of all of the company’s operations and how he and his teams are looking to further increase engagement across all channels. Operations EVO Group is an entity greater than the sum of its parts, an accolade that is all the more impressive given the scope, scale and size of its constituent companies: Vasanta and office2officeplc (o2o). Listed on the Sunday Times Top Track 250 -
EVO is a leading office equipment supplier with revenues last year of almost £660 million. It has a strong distribution footing in the UK and ROI. The Group’s specific wholesale and direct channels deliver managed procurement, distribution and supply chain services, alongside a strong business supplies offering. All told, the Group is made up of specific channels under the brands of VOW, VOW Retail, Banner, bokz, Headroom and Truline, which together give it a footprint of over 50,000 customers. These are serviced by a centralised distribution network supported by three main distribution centres, as well as various localised cross-dock sites and a fleet of over 320 vehicles. Allsop explains that the Group is able to target the market through a range of different channels: “We have three core businesses that
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operate out of EVO Group. We have a retail section which predominately covers goods for resale – we will provide customers with a product that they will then display for purchase. We also supply dealer networks where dealers sell on to end user, which include offices and SME enterprises. With the integration of Office to Office, we gained the Banner business which supplies directly into major accounts.” Our sales teams are consistently out there, talking with our customers and meeting them. I myself spend a day every two weeks on the road with the sales teams to help understand customer needs and how we can mitigate any potential challenges.” He adds: “We have sales teams operating out of Norwich, Droylsden in Manchester, Wakefield, and Lutterworth, while also having sales
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teams in Dublin and Belfast.” Strategy EVO Group’s unrivalled position in the UK is maintained by a combined effort to increase customer engagement, aggressively expand sales, and to optimise its operations in order to guarantee next day delivery to its customer base. In order to achieve this, Allsop is tasked with ensuring that every aspect of the company’s supply chain is in-line with these goals. He explains: “Next day delivery is a huge responsibility – we are able to take orders up until 6:30pm each evening and get those distributed by the next day. This ensures there is a balance between the distribution centres, mainly based on geography, but also order size. “We disseminate the orders into the right warehouse to ensure that warehouse is fit for purpose.
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Amanda Baker Sales Director Tel: (Freephone) 0808 1689595 enquiries@industria-jobs.co.uk industria-jobs.co.uk
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2000
Number of Employees at EVO Group One example of this would be if I walked across the despatch area of Lutterworth and saw a pallet of paper to go to a single customer - I question who has ordered this. Whereas in Normanton, there are several pallets of paper awaiting despatch. “Within Lutterworth, we are shipping out circa 220,000 items a day through automation and as you can imagine it’s a hive of activity between 6:30pm and 11pm.” While engagement has certainly become a buzzword for many in the distribution industry and beyond, Allsop describes that the EVO Group has its own culture and is
self-directed for what it wants to achieve using this clear identity. He says: “You will only get ideas to improve your operations from your teams. I personally put together a programme that has worked particularly well around displaying initiatives and encouraging people to come forward. They know their job. They know the shortcuts in that job - it’s about how do you evolve those shortcuts into a process that is then fit for purpose and within the boundaries of health and safety. “As a business, we are always looking to expand. I think our sales team are particularly dynamic. They are always looking for opportunities.
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“ Not only does the employee survey support a culture of ope within the organisation, it also enables management to work employees to drive positive, constructive change across the Saying that, we are pragmatic in implementing new ideas and know what our capacities are within our network and how best to gain maximum efficiency.� The Group also works with external parties where relevant to ensure the service delivered to customers is constantly enhanced. Phil says: “For instance, we work with Hazel 4D who is the provider of packaging to EVO for the last three years. Their Total Packaging Management solution means that they store our stock in their warehouse for call off. We receive a daily delivery, and at the end of the month we are only billed for the stock that has been used.
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Furthermore, we are also working with Ha look at further efficiencies in our pallet ful He also explains that, while the price of an item is obviously important to an office customer, the service and the accompan service delivery are of equal, if not superi importance. Leveraging its sophisticated distribution network in order to fulfil the needs of customers in this way is how the company has been able to maintain its place at the top. Talent management Allsop explains that in order to ensure that the EVO Group is consistently on track to deliver its operational strategies; it needs to have a constantly motivated and well-trained
enness k with business�
azel 4D to lfilment.� f e nying ior d
EVO GROUP
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workforce who is willing to go the extra mile. He says: “As a business, we aim to attract graduates and commence with an apprenticeship programme. I’m a great believer in apprentices, particularly within operations, I think they are a must have for organisations that operate in logistics.” “We operate NVQs, as well as on-site training which we carry out across the board, from manual handling all the way through to the supervisors and warehouse management systems. As a company, we also run a number of internal training and development programmes. In addition, we have a very recently launched mentoring programme within the business, combined with our internal awards programme – all supported with an annual employee survey.” Not only does the employee survey support a culture of
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openness within the organisation, it also enables management to work with employees to drive positive, constructive change across the business. Even when it comes to its contingent labour force, EVO ensures that its agency takes the time with temporary workers to ensure that they are fully aware of the company’s operations and work ethic. Having proved with its successful merger in 2014,
the EVO Group has gone on to become an essential part of the UK’s business supplies network and a model for others looking to give true value to their customers. The company’s dedicated approach to its operational strategy and its supporting talent pool shows that the Group has firmly cemented its place in the market and is well-positioned to be a serious influencer for years to come.
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FUTURE-PROO Written by Alice Young Produced by Richard Durrant
OF
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R O H D E & S C H WA R Z G M B H & C O . K G
Following a massive overhaul of its manufacturing and supply chain processes, Rohde & Schwarz is truly prepared for the fourth industrial revolution
R
ohde & Schwarz – a globallyleading electronics group based in Munich, Germany – has massively overhauled both its supply chain and manufacturing processes. Streamlining its ability to meet demand by placing the customer at the heart of its operations has not only enabled the company to achieve this goal, but has also created a completely new way of providing value for a range of sectors and markets.
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Operations Rohde & Schwarz utilises over 80 years of experience in high frequency technology to deliver products and services to a wide range of sectors, spread across a variety of markets. These comprise: wireless communications tests and measurement, secure communications, media operations, radio monitoring and radiolocation and IT security. From a products perspective,
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the company provides universal test platforms for all wireless communications and wireless standards, oscilloscopes, army radio based SDR (software defined radio) technology, Ethernet encryption, TV transmitters and receivers for radio monitoring. Of the company’s 9,900 global employees, almost 6,000 are stationed in Germany, which not only greatly reinforces its position in the country, but the entirety of its European coverage.
Klaus Buchwald, Vice President of Corporate Supply Chain Management at Rohde & Schwarz adds how the sales channel is set up: “We rely on our own sales force who are experienced in our customers’ products because they are often very complex and specific. It is really helpful to have our own sales force to explain our customer’s product and help them find the right hardware or software configuration and explain
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9,900 NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AT ROHDE & SCHWARZ
how to use it. On top of that, we established distributor channels for products that have less complexity and are more standardised.� With its sales channels divided into channel partner and its own sales force. Rohde & Schwarz is able to serve its more than 93,000 different articles, with 17,000 new articles every year, to more than 40,000 customers, with a rise of up to 10 percent year on year Having the ability to provide a range of sectors with so many services has ensured that Rohde & Schwarz is perfectly positioned to offer after-sales services across its entire range. Alongside more
traditional offerings such as warranty extension, online service management and order tracking, the company can also offer more customised solutions. These include service request handling, service level agreements and obsolescence management. Besides this, the company’s logistics requirements have changed dramatically since 2010. Rohde & Schwarz has experienced a reduction in delivery times and product lifecycle by 40 percent, a 100 percent increase in make-toorder, and a 60 percent increase in the number of assembled materials. Based on the KANO
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On June 1st Chain at R for the
Aft i
KLAUS BUCHWALD VP Corporate Supply Chain Management model of flexibility, agility and lead time, the company has been able to drive customer satisfaction and differentiation by a decisive competitive advantage through supply chain performance. Markus Fischer, Director of Supply Chain Management at the company’s Memmingen plant explains the change process: “We started with the vision for one day turnaround time production and supply chain with a clear belief to invest in flexibility instead of a forecast process and to reduce logistics costs and cost of sale to increase EBIT.” To bring the vision into real life and into the heart of all employees working in production and supply chain, Rohde & Schwarz developed a production system based on the
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LEAN philosophy with a three step approach. Having the end in mind “The one day plant” turnaround time was defined as the main driver. In the first step “transparent production system” value streams were identified, lot sizes determined and the lead times stabilised. Based on that in the second step “synchronised production system” the value streams were connected with a KANBAN system and the turnaround times further minimised. This was the base for the third step “learning organisation” where throughput increased, lot sizes reduced and the ability to react boosted. Buchwald explains how the changes were implemented across thousands of employees: “We initiated Change Management
t, 2013, Klaus Buchwald became Vice President Corporate Supply Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG. In this position, he is responsible e global end-to-end Supply Chain for all business units.
ter earning a degree in mechanical engineering followed by a degree in industrial engineering, he started his professional career as a consultant and project manager for various medium-sized companies in the production and logistics industries at CON MOTO Consulting Group. In 1998, he joined Infineon, the global market leader in semiconductor technologies, as Head of Logistics for the chip card and mobile radio division. In 2005, he switched to Head of Planning and Controlling for the semiconductor plants in Villach (Austria), Regensburg (Germany) and Kulim (Malaysia). In 2008 Buchwald assumed the position as Plant Manager for the Warstein site (Germany). In the same year he became Head of Supervisory Board of the plant in CeglĂŠd (Hungary).
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R O H D E & S C H WA R Z
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trainings for all levels of hierarchy and initiated a shop floor management initiative to make sure this could be communicated on a daily basis – we are always trying to support our staff and are doing as much as we can to help them.” Manufacturing transformation Since implementing these fundamental changes, the company has been able to focus substantially on reducing lead times while increasing volume flexibility, which has had, amongst other things, a profound effect on its ability to exceed the
demands of its customers. Buchwald explains: “To be really prepared and to have different abilities to our competitors, we need to have all necessary parts before final assembly. With this concept, we really try to use the customer order as the consumption trigger and then, based on this order, we do an assembly on what the customer really needs - our customer then has the opportunity to choose between a large variety of hardware and software based options – and this combined with stable lead times whatever high the demand is.”
“We started with the vision for one day turnaround time production and supply chain with a clear belief to invest in flexibility instead of a forecast process and to reduce logistics cost and cost of sale to increase EBIT” – Markus Fischer, Director of Corporate Supply Chain Management, Memmingen plant
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Supply chain agility through digitalisation Adding various layers of value to its manufacturing processes necessitated the company’s adoption of an ERP system to manage the increased complexity of its operations – but technology extends far deeper than a systems level. Rohde & Schwarz used its SAP system to dimension and link the established value streams with KANBAN up to seven level of the value chain – from final assembly to PCB test and assembly, PCB production, noncutting and machining production to cable confection. Fischer says: “Our company is really technology driven. We have been working with ERP and SAP systems. We need to understand what is happening on the shop floor and value streams. Of course, you can address SAP and how much we produce and in what configuration – we need to ensure that the data on the system corresponds what is going on in reality. If we have a better understanding of the reality we can manage better value streams and clients. Our whole supply chain needs technology - we use data, systems and interfaces. We are also in the process of
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digitalising our supply chain. Because we are living in a global world, our customers use systems that we have to connect to ours. Buchwald concludes: “With the successful LEAN transformation we reduced and mastered complexity but, more importantly, we laid the base for the Internet of Things. We established the ability to change and increase our resource efficiency and can bring concepts like collaborative robotics, digital operation with big data in production, and new business models for maintenance via life cycle monitoring into real life.
“ Having revolutionised a major portion of its business and supported the changes with the LEAN philosophy, Rohde & Schwarz is now poised to dominate its space with the possibilities of the Internet of Things �
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MARKUS FISCHER Director of Corporate Supply Chain Management, Memmingen plant
“Here also the need for protection in all the big data and digital operation came to reality and we can actively show the use cases of our latest found business division cybersecurity in our own operation.� Rohde & Schwarz has shown through the diligent way it approaches its operations, manufacturing, and supply chain that it is a company strongly grounded in the current realities of
modern electronics. The company does, however, have the foresight to appreciate the increasing importance of technology on its operations for the foreseeable future. Having revolutionised a major portion of its business and supported the changes with the LEAN philosophy, Rohde & Schwarz is now poised to dominate its space with the possibilities of the Internet of Things.
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Co m pany log o g oe s he re
Seeds of
Written by Nell Walker Produ
f change
uced by Richard Durrant
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Syngenta’s Marion Matthewman and Alexandre Leopoldes tell us how one world’s leading agrochemical companies developed an innovative logistics operating model with highly valued partners
H
successful in achieving sustained eadquartered in Basel, growth since its creation in 2000, Switzerland, Syngenta is a leading agriculture company supported by our supply strategy which focusses on innovation, helping to improve global food leverage, agility and customer security by enabling millions of experience. Logistics is critical to farmers to make better use of available resources. Through world the effective delivery of agility and customer experience; it became class science and innovative crop solutions, its 28,000 staff in over 90 clear that our current logistics operating model would not be fit countries are working for purpose to drive value and to transform how operational resilience. crops are grown. “One of the critical Head of Global questions was whether Operations, Mark we could or should Peacock explains: invest in building “Syngenta Mark Peacock Head of Global Operations internal capability has been very
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and technology to achieve and sustain the performance that we target, or whether professional logistics providers could do this more effectively. The answer was clear – specialised logistics providers were better equipped to assure service and leverage, and technology was available to enable a seamless integration with our ERP systems and we could establish the governance required for a beneficial partnership and the achievement of our targets. And so, our logistics journey started.” Head of Global Supply, Mike Hollands, adds: “We have a history of contracting with many third party logistics providers across the globe, and felt that consolidation would allow us to further professionalise and automate our logistics function. Of course logistics can have a real impact on our customer experience and is highly integrated with our planning and commercial teams, so we needed to manage this risk and find partners that understood what we were trying to achieve. I am very proud of our logistics team and their ability to balance delivery agility and cost savings in our very seasonal business.”
Mike Hollands Head of Global Supply
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Marion Matthewman Head of Global Logistics
Marion has been with Syngenta and legacy companies since 1991, with a degree in Business & Finance, Marion’s career started as the Quality & Compliance Manager for UK Manufacturing Sites (then AstraZeneca), relocating to Basel as Head of Risk Management, following a short spell as the Global Head of Trade Affairs, Marion has been the Global Head of Logistics for Syngenta for 3 years. Leading a strong logistics, intercompany order management and duties community for Syngenta, Marion is responsible for developing and implementing the Logistics Strategy, with focus on driving value, simplification and standardization, and creating a professional environment for the community to reach their potential.
Head of Logistics Marion Matthewman and Global Logistics Capacity Alexandre Leopoldes explain the story of how Syngenta implemented this change, the launch of the Global Logistics Optimization (GLO) program, how it started, what the challenges were, and what solutions they chose to apply. “Once we had made the decision to leverage specialized logistics
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providers,” Matthewman explains, “We elected to focus on creating an operating model fit for our business, understand what kind of information and transparency we wanted to manage, and what kind of technology we needed. We created a compelling story that proved to the business the benefits and future value creation as a result of implementing this change.”
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Syngenta Logistics Operating Model
The Integrator
Alexandre joined Syngenta in early 2012 as EAME Logistics and Order management Head and now serves as Global Logistics Capacity Manager. In his role, Alexandre owns the strategic end-to-end logistics process elements and drive standardization within the Logistics Function in building partnership with Logistics Service Providers. Alexandre now drives Syngenta Logistics Operations transformation Program named that deploy the 4PL Target Operating Model Alexandre has over 15 years’ experience in managerial and leading roles, working in the Operations and Supply Chain arena of Multinational Corporations active in the development, manufacturing and distribution of specialty chemicals, agrochemicals & Seeds so as life-science (biotech and generics).
Alexandre Leopoldes Global Logistics Capacity Manager
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A new model
Matthewman explains: “With support from Accenture, Syngenta developed a logistics strategy which will be enabled through a new operating model. The model is structured around the use of an externalised central operating desk, facilitated by fourth party logistics providers (4PL) that specialise in logistics execution. This is along with a decision to invest in a cloudbased supply chain collaboration platform provider, to enable a digital logistics solution that would deliver the desired transparency.” Matthewman continues: “Logistics strategic direction, budget visibility and key performance tracking is directed by myself as the Global Head of Logistics. The logistics team is responsible for the deployment of the strategy in the relevant regions, territories and
countries. I have global visibility of the cost of logistics for Syngenta, which is an important enabler to support the implementation of our logistics strategy.” This transformation is managed under the banner of the Global Logistics Optimization Program (GLO). “The program’s intention is not only designed to manage Syngenta’s growing supply chain demands and complexities, but aims to leverage innovative thinking in logistics through working closely with our partners, so that we can bring agility, scale and simplification,” says Matthewman. Leopoldes adds: “Syngenta has elected to go for an operating model that is structured around Partnership, Lead Logistics and Continuous improvement. Our 4PL model, as we call it, concentrates on governance logistics rather than managing the transactional side.
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“ Global Logistics Optimization is not only designed to manage Syngenta’s growing supply chain demands and complexities, our aim is to leverage innovative thinking in logistics through working closely with our partners, so that we can bring agility, scale and simplification ” The 4PL actually embraces four key processes on behalf of Syngenta: sourcing the 3PL, executing the operations, monitoring the proper execution of logistics operations, and eventually delivering continuous improvement and productivity gain.” Syngenta has elected to manage its operations using a cloud-based solution in order to connect systems, ERP’s, and other elements of the 4PL strategy to ensure ownership of data, “which is the backbone and intelligent side of the operation,” Leopoldes says. “It offers a single point of truth on a global scale looking after various metrics that
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are embedded into GT Nexus.” Any large logistical operation requires a great deal of IT infrastructure planning, and a company with a true global footprint like Syngenta requires high levels of technical organisation more than most. “We started having more and more discussions around IT integration as GLO developed. We have a multi-dimensional culture because we span regions. In areas where many companies are struggling with data and systems, Syngenta found a way to basically harvest all data which is logistics-relevant in a single cloud. From there you can drive the next logistics structure forward.”
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„Landscape with 4 PL & GT Nexus“
Syngenta OM / CS
gSAP
nSAP
ERP
lSAP*
FOU
Connectivity & Visibility Web Platform
4PL
Supplier
Toller
4PL
WH(s)
Carriers
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Working in partnership
While developing the 4PL model, Syngenta enlisted the expertise of Accenture to help develop and support the project delivery; Michael Dittrich, Strategy Supply Chain Manager at Accenture, describes the relationship: “Accenture has supported Syngenta on its journey towards a digitally-enabled logistics operating model by providing end-to-end consulting services,” Dittrich says, “starting with strategic conceptual design and finishing with implementation of the cloud-based multi4PL solution. We’ve achieved excellent work with Syngenta. The project team has been able to deliver the leading edge solution in a very efficient and effective manner. We’ve built a longlasting relationship with Syngenta and would be happy to support them with other digitallydriven supply chain opportunities in the future.” GT Nexus has also been a key player in Syngenta’s technological advancements, as its Sector Lead EAME Michael Wallraven explains: “We simplify connectivity for Syngenta, including all information around shipments, transit, business intelligence and analytics,” Wallraven says.
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“This is what they’re really looking for in terms of KPI measurement. It’s a truly global approach”. “GT Nexus is a US company growing in EAME, and Syngenta is a big brand name life sciences company in Europe, so it’s a prestigious name for us to have on our platform. They challenge us, which is great, and we challenge them back. It’s mutually beneficial. Syngenta is looking to us as a strategic partner, so this is something we’ll be in together for longer than just 12 months. This partnership with Syngenta is special; it’s honest and realistic. When we talk with them, we don’t dream about what can be achieved, we take it one step at a time.” Once Syngenta’s logistics vision was formalised in September 2014, the executive board of the company gave its approval to move into the model in early 2015. Leopoldes says: “The design and delivery of the first deployments were
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Syngenta is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland
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2000 The year Syngenta was founded
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conducted over the course of 2015 in record time covering both Europe and Northern America. “In October of that year, Syngenta went live with two 4PL’s – one in north America (XPO Logistics) and one in EAME (DHL LLP) for the seeds business. Since then we’re operationally live in those regions and we have approval for the next waves involving various dimensions over 2016. Our NA and EAME-nominated 4PLs are preparing to orchestrate across the other core business unit of Syngenta – crop protection – and on
the other hand, we are accelerating our global deployment with the launch of a third 4PL partnership (Damco) for the inter-regional air and sea operations.” Three of Syngenta’s Lead Logistics partners – Damco, XPO, and DHL – comment on the importance of their relationships with Syngenta: “We’ve been working with Syngenta since 2010 on a number of supply chain areas in Asia and Europe, which has progressively grown to recently agreeing with the company to be part of its global 4PL pool,”
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says Anthony Elwine, Global Head of Chemical Vertical at Damco. “It’s a journey of innovation to optimise the supply chain. Syngenta is a great company to work with; it’s very openminded, and they, like us, aspire to achieve win-win results. They’re very engaged in terms of what is best practice, how they can adopt best practice, and what other practices could be applicable to their business. There’s a spirit of understanding between us. We’re working on this journey together, and how to make sure we deliver on it.” These sentiments are shared by XPO’s SVP of Business Development, Marty Smith: “The biggest advantage for both companies is partnering together to be able to centralise the day-to-day decision making for transportation
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planning,” he says. “We have a holistic view of the Syngenta network; you can see where trucks are unloading, where the same carrier can be used again and how we can optimise the networks. Syngenta will look to us as being almost their own in-house transportation providers. Our people are essentially Syngenta employees. We do their carrier bids, we’re looking at new capacity to bring into the network, and we’ll always look for ways to lower costs so that our partners can benefit from the savings. This is something we – with Syngenta – drive together as a team.” Thomas Weins, Head of LLP and MD Agheera GmbH at DHL DE, adds: “We want a relationship with the customer which is strategic and not just a standard service. Our logistical
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operations are much more than just A to B. Our relationship with Syngenta goes beyond a business relationship; it’s a true partnership and I see and feel from both sides that people are aware it’s not a normal connection; it’s more about working together, not as a customer and a service provider. We have only just begun with Syngenta. None of our 4PL customers have short-term relationships with us, and I see a long future with Syngenta. Strategically, we’re a good fit.” DHL’s implementation reaped benefits early on, say Syngenta’s Julie Tempesta, EAME Logistics Manager, and Paul Lidbetter, Head EAME Logistics: “DHL has worked with Syngenta Seeds to clarify and improve our logistics processes. We are working together to identify
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KPI’s and further supply chain improvement opportunities. DHL is very focused on delivering a solution that is fully aligned to the customer needs.” Scott Kincaid, Syngenta’s 4PL Implementation Manager within the North American Logistics Team comments on the advantage of having so many logistics partners:
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“The goal of this project has been to leverage the tools and resources of our 4PL to reduce empty miles and other waste, while maintaining or improving the delivery experience for our customers. Historically our shipping sites have worked hard to maximize truckloads and avoid empty backhauls, but visibility to
those opportunities was limited. This year we have been excited to see routes which connect multiple shipping locations on the same equipment with less empty miles. Such network connectivity has not been possible before and the outsourcing to our 4PL has been a great success.”
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Green thinking
As an agriculture-based company, sustainability is important to Syngenta. The Good Growth Plan initiative, launched in 2013, aims to improve fertility and biodiversity of land. This means keeping a closer eye on the carbon footprint produced through logistics operations, Leopoldes explains: “What we did was fairly simple, but we wanted to be able to measure the carbon footprint directly at the source of our operational setup and execution. With GT Nexus, we have developed a way to measure the footprint by considering what we move from a volume standpoint, what we move by distance from A to B, and how we move it – whatever transport we use, we have a matrix. GT Nexus technology means we can create an automatic calculation of our carbon footprint taking those transactional elements into consideration.” This system is not wildly different to that of other systems on the market, but it allows Syngenta to calculate its environmental impact on an individual level. Now that Syngenta has started operating in the
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CONTACT US
Marion Matthewman Head of Global Logistics
Alexandre Leopoldes Global Logistics Capacity Manager
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marion.matthewman@syngenta.com alexandre.leopoldes@syngenta.com
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4PL environment, Syngenta is ready to take the next step in improving its operations. “The way we have conceptualized our model is that the 4PL partners are compensated on an incentive based element, if and when they deliver continuous improvement and productivity, they get a share of the value created,” Leopoldes says. “We use GT Nexus to reflect on our various logistics execution elements such as from a load factor and financial standpoint, and together with our 4PL we look into areas of opportunity to improve. If we are able to optimize load factors, to maximize load-by-
transport distance coverage, and to drive price reductions, we have leverage to motivate continuous improvement.” Matthewman concludes “By leveraging and working with strategic partners in this way, we can reduce logistics costs for Syngenta, gain full transparency of logistics operations around the world, and help us to understand and manage our impact on the environment. Finally, as Syngenta continues to grow in the future, I can be assured that the logistics operations with our chosen partners will be ready to respond as needed”.
“My thanks to the exemplary efforts and commitment given by the logistics community both Syngenta and our partners in delivering an exciting and innovative solution.” - Marion Matthewman
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THE RIGHT BREW Written by Nell Walker Produced by Richard Durrant
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Simon King, CPO of Tata Global Beverages – the global drinks division of Tata Group – describes the company’s procurement and logistics overhaul, and the brand explosion that led to it.
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T
ata Group, since its inception in 1868, has become one of India’s largest multinational conglomerate holding companies, ever-developing founder Jamsetji Tata’s 148-year-old vision. Tata Global Beverages has been a part of the group since 1960, and has seen some of the industry’s most significant drink innovations within its company umbrella. Global Beverages is a tea, coffee, and water company, which counts Tata Tea, Tetley, Teapigs, and Eight O’Clock Coffee as some of its biggest brands. Around 250 million servings of its products are consumed every day, with a strong brand presence in over 40 countries. Simon King, CPO of Tata Global Beverages, describes the impact of huge global trademarks such as these: “Tata Tea is enormous in India, as is Tetley in the UK and Canada. We have joint
ventures in the US and in South Africa. Business in the Middle East is growing quite rapidly. It’s grown largely by acquisition over a period of years, and total revenues are about $1.5 billion including joint ventures.” Each brand within Tata Group operates independently, and Global Beverages is currently undergoing a procurement transformation headed by King himself: “Previously, each of the brands in each of the countries had looked after their own packagingbuying under each of the individual functions within them. We’re now setting up the global procurement approach so we can look at how we deliver improved value to Global Beverages by working with fewer, better suppliers. Now we’re only interacting with suppliers who are able to support our business objectives and growth plans, rather
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than just whoever happened to business.” have been used historically.” This standardised method The company’s procurement of operation has ensured that overhaul includes a heavy Global Beverages maintains focus on putting in place the great communication with both right people, the right structure, stakeholder and consumer groups. and the right approach to It allows the company to logistics: “What we’ve got discover and establish is a regionally-placed best practice within each but category-led region, and implement matrix structure,” King it wherever appropriate. explains. “There are So how does King teams placed in each manage a supply chain of our geographies, of Global Beverages’s and each one has a scale? head of procurement. “Because it wasn’t Every other member attempted before this Staff are employed of each team will also overhaul, we hadn’t by Tata Global take a global lead been able to test it,” he Beverages in a particular area explains. “First we had of spend; a head of to look at establishing logistics, a head of marketing, of exactly what we spend. How packaging, and so on. That way much? On what? With whom? we can drive a standard strategy What are the contractual positions? and way of operating across our We’re in the process of putting in
3,000
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www.purico.co.uk
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SIMON KING, CPO
place a standard spend analytics tool across all of the countries, so they’ll be able to take feeds from all the ERP systems and feed that into our own tool. “So where is the business going in each category? What do our stakeholders need from their suppliers and their supply chains? We use the knowledge of different teams to measure how we should actually be going about sourcing in
that particular area, so that spend is as effective as possible. Then we know what is going on in the broader marketplace. It’s important to liaise with the teams on what we should be doing to optimise that spend and deliver sustainable value to the business.” The company has a three year plan in place at every step of the supply chain, ensuring its methods are optimised by 2019: “Quarter
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one is about understanding and pivot tables, negotiating with and updating knowledge of our potential lenders to put the new processes and the requirements of spend analysis tool in place. the market,” says King. “Quarter “We’re also putting a central two is about refreshing the contract management tool three year plan, quarter in place,” King says, three is about taking “because it’s very the first year of the difficult to keep on plan, turning it track when there into the annual are multiple business plan legal entities and getting it and multiple Tata Global aligned with the geographies Beverages products business, and involved, so are consumed daily quarter four is for this will allow focussing on those us to have all our initiatives and making standard terms and sure we deliver them.” conditions held on that Global Beverages is in the process system, with the ability to edit as of perfecting the business-wide required. ERP systems which will streamline “All of this is automatic and can be the company yet further. King is in built into our three year planning the final stages of switching from process. There’s no way we can outdated Excel spreadsheets keep a tab on our contracts without
250 million
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“ We’re only interacting with suppliers who are able to support our business objectives and growth plans ”
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a management tool, and much of the Tata Group is owned by charitable trusts, so we need to maintain that ethical focus with these new IT processes.” Tata’s strong sense of ethics extends throughout its operations, with a code of conduct that suppliers and 3,000-strong employee base alike are expected to adhere to, ensuring only the best and most dedicated team: “In India particularly Tata is a hugely powerful brand, and people are delighted and proud to work within the group,” says King. “They understand the ethical element and what it stands for. It’s a huge part of what impresses people about the business, and it’s one of the reasons I joined, as well as the charitable element, the great work Tata does, and the strength of the brand. “There isn’t the same level of awareness globally as there is in India, and I’m doing my small part to raise that awareness because I think it’s a genuinely impressive organisation with lots of fantastic ideals. Lots of businesses talk about values but it’s not always as embedded as it is for us. Tata Group lives up to its values.”
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