Munters - Partnership That Creates Business Value

YOUR PERFECT CLIMATE

B U S I N E S S I N T E RV I E W

Partne that Cr Busines Written by Anna McMahon Produced by Jennifer Davies

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ership reates ss Value We talk speed, flexibility and innovation with Stefan MĂĽhl, VP Strategic Operations, and Ena Ryan, Director Sourcing Non-Product Related Materials and Services, at leading global energy-efficient climate solutions company, Munters Europe AB. 3

30

countries

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€700m OF NET SALES

17

manufacturin plants

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Munters was founded in 1955 by ingenious inventor and entrepreneur, Carl Munters. uilt around his insights into the laws of thermodynamics in combination with an ability to translate that understanding into ground-breaking technology, during his lifetime, Munters applied for more than 1,000 patents, mostly within the areas of dehumidification and evaporative cooling.

Today, Munters conducts business operations in two business areas; AirTech and FoodTech. AirTech offers air treatment for industrial and commercial solutions, while FoodTech provides climate control solutions for farming

and greenhouses, as well as software for controlling and optimising the entire food production value chain.

Stefan MĂĽhl has recently taken on the role of VP Strategic Operations at Munters, responsible for quality, supply chain, manufacturing, engineering and sourcing. He explains, “Munters is present in 30 countries with net sales of more than EURO 700 million. We have 17 manufacturing plants and a number of assembly hubs.

I would describe us as a very entrepreneurial-driven company.�

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Welcome to the future of climate control

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Ena Ryan, Director Sourcing Non-Product Related Materials and Services, adds, “We are a global leader in customised energy-efficient air treatment solutions, offering the perfect temperature and humidity control.”

Stefan and his team face various challenges in their roles, as he explains, “One of our focuses is to maintain the entrepreneurial freedom for the production sites locally, which means more opportunities and possibilities and less management from HQ (in Sweden), although we provide processes and guidelines centrally and support when needed. We put lots of efforts on localising the manufacturing and supplier base, which is also important from a sustainability perspective.

“In today’s business environment, speed and flexibility are two key components in the supply chain. Due to the coronavirus situation, Munters is stresstesting its risk management abilities. The fact that we have created a list of critical components for each site makes it possible for us to have an overview and take quick actions when needed.”

Ena adds, “I have worked in large civil service companies 7

that are not very flexible in their approach. Being agile, we are able to respond quickly to our business needs.

What our internal customers want from us is flexibility and the ability to change.

We respond very quickly to market changes because of the way we are structured.�

Being a global company, Munters has plenty of opportunities to identify synergies and amalgamate spend. However, as Ena explains, the team is lean, so it is crucial that the business employs technology, finds more innovative solutions and works with partners who are able to offer a leading edge. She says, “We need to lean in to partners who offer us an efficient and more innovative way of doing things. It is about taking advantage of all the opportunities with the resources we have.�

Digitalisation plays a key role in exploiting the

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Sustainability is part of how we work today. When it comes to sourcing, transportation is extremely important, but there are lots of areas in which we can incorporate it in our work�

Ena Ryan,

Director Sourcing Non-Product Related Materials and Services

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opportunities afforded to Munters, but Stefan believes it is not an option to be pursued simply for the sake of it. He explains, “Digitalisation for digitalisation’s sake does not make much sense to me. It is quite obvious that the early adopters in the digital procurement are already benefitting from incremental cost savings, but also improvements in terms of

“We need to lean in to p an efficient and more in things. It is about takin opportunities with th

Ena

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Director Sourcing Non-Produc

quality, innovation, speed and risk management.”

Stefan continues, “It won’t be the biggest companies that survive this race, but the most adaptable.”

And Stefan takes a similar stance on the role of innovation. He says, “A lot of companies talk about innovation,

partners who offer us nnovative way of doing ng advantage of all the he resources we have”

a Ryan,

ct Related Materials and Services

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but, for me, it is not of interest unless it creates value on the table. At the end of the day, innovation must bring value to our customers.�

Munters runs more than 10 innovation workshops each year with its partners, providing the opportunity to discuss improvements, in order to create winwin solutions with profit sharing. The company has longstanding relationships with a number of partners, each bringing something extra that adds value to the business.

Stefan says, “We have, for example, worked with Digital Procurement, who provide a digital way to negotiate.

Digital Procurement have enabled monumental cost savings, with few resources, no travel and very little interaction from my team.

That is how innovation can create value for both the company and our internal stakeholders. In addition, a number of suppliers have expressed positive feedback about Digital Procurement.

We are assessing possibilities 14

Your Perfect Climate

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We have taken decisions to use trains as the preferred method of transportation when feasible.

In addition, some factories are using green energy supply�

Stefan MĂĽhl,

VP Strategic Operations

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to deploy Digital Procurement in additional areas.”

Ena adds, “We have always used a control tower in Sweden, but we switched provider in November. Our previous solution relied on manual intervention and there were some delays in communication.

Our current solution from vChain is automated, with very limited manual intervention. It eliminates waste and inefficiencies, and is extremely strong on exception management. If a shipment is delayed, we will know before our customers.

The next phase is optimising our routes and our freight. vChain will analyse our database after three to six months, and with their knowledge in this area, they will be able to identify and drive improvements in our supply chain.”

In the US, Munters integrated a web-based supplier portal in 2016, eSP, to maximise efficiencies, reducing the amount of time buyers spend on non-value added activities. Ena explains, “It is automated and allows 18

Today a procurement organisation leaves 25-50 per cent of its spend un-negotiated. The reason is that this spend is spread out over hundreds or thousands of suppliers.

We supplement the procurement organisation by running digital negotiations with these suppliers.

Through our digital platform DigiProc scalable, efficient and smart negotiations are achieved without geographic or industry specific restrictions.

We negotiate digitally with an unlimited number of your existing suppliers in a week. Only 20 hours of your time are required for a complete project from start to finish. And of course, no software integration or similar is required.

Find Out More

“Try out & secure extra supplier savings! Digitally” Stefan Måhl VP Global Sourcing, Munters

Meet Your New Supplier Portal Digitally transform your supply chain with eSP 2020!

Increase your Visibility, Velocity and Agility across your global supply chain.

Automate the supply chain worldwide Promote real-time supplier collaboration Streamline internal operations Reduce procurement cost and inventory investment

Since the installation of the eSP® Portal Solution, we have seen improvements in costs and speed. We now: have lower administrative costs can reply to customer’s orders and changes much faster have better quality due to decreased administrative errors L.B., Project Manager, Billion Dollar Industrial Equipment Manufacturer

www.e-ventus.com

winwin@e-ventus.com

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buyers to spend more time on valueadded activities, eliminating waste and inefficiencies while maximising our working capital. It ensures the right materials arrive at the right place at the right time.�

Munters has partnered with Office Management for video conferencing since 2007. Stefan says, “Office Management provides top-quality video conferencing. We still run about 10,000 video calls a year.

Video conferencing is the selected system for connecting with people in different regions, both locally and globally. The beauty of Office Management is that they provide 20

Data Center cooling system

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cost-beneficial solutions, and they understand our needs. They are also located a short stroll from our office in Sweden, so if we need anything, they can be here in five minutes. It is good to have them around the corner.”

In addition, IFS is Munters’ selected ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system partner, having been in partnership for about 20 years.

Stefan adds, “ERP is the heart of the company. The reason why we have been with IFS for so many years is that it is easy to reach out to them, it is easy to discuss any issues, and you get quick responses. They are unique because they have the ability to understand our business needs that they can rapidly adopt into improved system updates.”

As for the future of Munters, Stefan and his team are excited by the growing importance of digitalisation” 22

As for the future of Munters, Stefan and his team are excited by the growing importance of sustainability. Stefan concludes, “Every decision we make, we will be thinking about sustainability as part of our business. More and more customers are seeking energyefficient air treatment and climate solutions. As a consequence of this, we have taken decisions to use trains as the preferred method of transportation when feasible. In addition, some factories are using green energy supply.

“The Munters Code of Conduct for suppliers and partners is based on the principles of the UN Global Compact. It is crucial that all suppliers and partners are in compliance. If a supplier does not sign our code of conduct, we will exit that relationship.”

Ena has the final word; “Sustainability is part of how we work today. When it comes to sourcing, transportation is extremely important, but there are lots of areas in which we can incorporate it in our work.”

For further information on Munters, visit www.munters.com

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info@munters.co.uk www.munters.com

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