Flexibility and dynamism in customer logistics
DIGITAL REPORT 2020
TECHNOLOGY
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HMD Global: flexibility and dynamism in customer logistics WRITTEN BY
MARCUS LAWRENCE
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TECHNOLOGY
Noha Samara, Head of Customer Logistics (MENA), discusses how HMD Global’s revival of the Nokia phones brand is driven by robust logistics strategies
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n 2016, a startup by the name of HMD Global acquired the Nokia phones licence from Microsoft, along with its mobile
assets, and since then the brand has enjoyed a marked resurgence. HMD Global’s investment strategy, coupled with strategic use of Nokia phones’ enduring reputation and the demand for 04
feature phones that hark back to its heyday, has seen rapid gains across the smartphone and feature phone markets. In its first year, HMD’s approach to the mobile market and its insistence on disrupting the industry saw it achieve unicorn status, with over 50 offices worldwide and a partnership with Google that sees its handsets lead the charge with the latest Android OS iterations. Its offering is differentiated against the competition with a market-leading approach to handset aftercare, with the promise of years-long security and OS patches to ensure end users aren’t left behind in a fast-moving industry. While HMD Global’s leadership in marketing, design, and offering development are the most outward-facing factors driving this brand growth,
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TECHNOLOGY
“ By changing nothing, nothing changes” — Noha Samara, Head of Customer Logistics (MENA), HMD Global
the behind-the-scenes operations are the glue holding the resurgent Nokia phones together. In the world of ecommerce and next-day deliveries, fulfilling customer orders in the most timely and efficient way possible is the backbone of any consumer brand growth. Not only is logistics responsible for delivering on customer purchasing, but also on the wider brand promise of reliability, performance, and customer-centricity. Noha Samara, Head of Customer
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Logistics for the Middle East, North Africa (MENA) region, leads the function in some of HMD Global’s most diverse and fast-moving markets. Samara joined HMD Global at its inception, moving on from successful periods in the customer logistics wings of Microsoft and Procter and Gamble. Educated at Ain Shams University, Samara graduated in 2006 with a BSc in Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering, and in 2011 completed her MBA from The American University in Cairo. “I started my career with Procter and Gamble in manufacturing, and then I moved into the supply chain and fell in love
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07 with it,” says Samara. “Within P&G
requirements that we see from dif-
I worked on several regional assign-
ferent countries and new regulations
ments on category, market and
that are always being put in place. This
demand planning. Afterwards, I moved
can definitely be a challenge, so we
to Microsoft where I led the MENA
work hand in hand with our partners
region before joining HMD Global.”
to leverage their capabilities and set
In her current role, Samara views the
up systems together where automa-
smooth operation of customer logis-
tion can play a role. We have set up
tics to be the beating heart of Nokia
a standardised global framework
phones’ brand growth, particularly
strategy that enables flexibility and
in territories where market share is
agility for the specific requirements
transient and hotly contested.
of each region. For example, there are
“The MENA region is dynamic, with
barriers to automation across custom-
lots of emerging markets,” Samara
ers and geographies, so we need to
explains. “It also has fast moving
be aware of the levels of flexibility and w w w.hmdgl o b a l. com
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capability available. To overcome
opportunities for increased efficiency.
the challenge, we jointly develop solu-
“In general, the region is being driven
tions with partners that marry both our
by emergent technologies such as
capabilities and that of our customers
augmented reality (AR) and artificial
to enable compatibility and synergy.�
intelligence (AI), along with innovative
This approach to ensuring each link
new solutions including blockchain
across the HMD-to-customer supply
and machine learning which are dis-
chain is consolidated by techno-
rupting the traditional supply chain
logical solutions that provide visibility,
model. We’ve been highly aware of this,
transparency, and the identification of
and I would say we have been some of
E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E :
Noha Samara Title: Head of Customer Logistics (MENA and Turkey) Industry: Mobile Noha Samara is a seasoned supply chain professional with deep experience in supply chain transformation, category and initiatives planning, demand planning, and customer logistics. She has a strong track record of leading and building up operations within both global MNCs as well as rising unicorn startups. Noha has spent a large extent of her career in the FMCG sector; with the retail giant Procter & Gamble where she worked across diverse categories (Baby Care, Beauty Care and Luxury Cosmetics) before moving into the consumer electronics industry with Microsoft. She joined HMD Global in 2016 as the MENA Head of Customer Logistics and Supply Chain Director. Noha has led several complex supply chain transformation projects throughout her diverse career. She possesses great team leadership skills with a high level of discipline and rich experience in process improvement and standardisation. Noha is an electronics engineer with an MBA from the American University in Cairo. She has published three case studies on operations management and corporate strategy.
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TECHNOLOGY
“ We jointly develop solutions with partners that marry both our capabilities and those of our customers to enable compatibility and synergy” — Noha Samara, Head of Customer Logistics (MENA), HMD Global 10
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PARTN ERS
that HMD Global uses to oversee its
We build partnerships to last, constructed based on our partners’ capabilities. We have a clear set of aligned and mutual KPIs, and we share our global objectives with partners regarding growth and expansion strategies. We consider our partners as a driving force of our success. The more we grow, the more they also grow, so we have very strong relationships with our partners.
supply chain functions. With its wide
Noha Samara, Head of Customer Logistics (MENA), HMD Global
presence, both regionally and globally, and many shipping locations with varying lead times, HMD uses this control tower function in close conjunction with its partners to ensure on-time delivery. “Time to market and time to ramp up for our devices are vitally important in our industry, so we rely heavily on those relationships to support our focus and strategy,” continues Samara. “We have a clear set of aligned and mutual KPIs, and we share our global objectives with partners regarding growth and expansion strategies. We consider our partners as a driving force of our success. The more we grow, the more they also grow, so we have very strong relationships with our partners.” This close cooperation provides
the first adopters of these new tech-
end-to-end visibility across the supply
nologies. We have implemented many
chain function, with digitisation boost-
of these across our supply chain opera-
ing flexibility in ever-changing market
tions, particularly in terms of Big Data
situations. HMD’s distributors benefit
management and analytics, automation
from an online supply chain portal that
and AI.”
provides accurate real-time informa-
Each of these developments feed
tion, flagging areas of inefficiency and
into a ‘control tower’ organisation
clarifying areas to target strategically.
J U LY 2 0 2 0
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“ The more we grow, the more they also grow, so we have very strong relationships with our partners” — Noha Samara, Head of Customer Logistics (MENA), HMD Global w w w.hmdgl o b a l. com
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“ The MENA region is dynamic, with lots of emerging markets. It also has fast moving requirements that we see from different countries and new regulations that are always being put in place” — Noha Samara, Head of Customer Logistics (MENA), HMD Global
combined with bi-weekly leadership meetings focused on innovation and efficiency; the sum is an organisation that is flexible and able to rapidly react to shifting market conditions and fluctuations in demand. “By changing nothing, nothing changes,” Samara concludes, and HMD Global is committed to this principle. Reinstating Nokia phones at the forefront of the mobile conversation has required a focus on challenging the current status quo, seeking areas to innovate and move fast in ever-evolving markets where customer demand for the latest and greatest is a constant. Nokia phones is on the rise, and it is clear that HMD Global’s robust approach to supply chain management and logistics across its operations is a vital and effective driver of this return to prominence. The dynamism of MENA markets, and the four-to-six month lifecycle of each handset, is addressed by both this cutting-edge approach to visibility and HMD’s hands-on approach to demand forecasting and preparation. Weekly demand forecasting is w w w.hmdgl o b a l. com
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BERTEL JUNGIN AUKIO 9 02600 ESPOO FINL AND www.hmdglobal.com
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