a
publication
No. 4
30 min. update
Summer 2012
15
Wrong attitude ruins business
4
People are Tobler’s recipe for
success 22
Me and my
Shop 8 ASK OLE 10 WE HAVE A SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 16 IDEAS @ WORK 18 NEW LEVEL IN TOILETS
Ta ho ke m m e e
Loyalty is not a given
Inside
Charlotte Gullach Büttrich Chief Editor for Fittings editor@fittings.nu
Built to last People are Tobler’s recipe for success
4 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 24
24
Take your smile to the bank
Ask Ole We have a social responsibility Sales and margin booster Wasco introduces a new basic inventory
Knowledge we act upon Customer surveys provide important insights
Ideas@work Getting new customers up and running
New level in toilets Toilet hygiene takes on a new dimension
If you can’t find it in Wels ... Rearranging the Austrian logistics puzzle
Fittings Quiz
22 Me and my shop How do we differ? Where are we alike?
USEFUL NUMBERS Tobler CFM Wasco
+41 44 735 50 00 +352 4995-1 +31 88 099 5000
OÄG +43 50406 0 DT Group +45 39559700 Wolseley +44 118 929 8700
SMILE and the world will smile right back. Don’t you just hate it when people say that? I do. There are many situations where smiling doesn’t feel quite natural for me. But there are plenty of good reasons to smile: Scientists say it relieves stress and boosts your immune system. It also lowers blood pressure and it releases endorphins, natural pain killers and serotonin. In plain English, smiling taps into our brains’ natural drug cabinet and makes us happier. There’s more. Surveys show that bosses are more likely to promote people who smile a lot. Waitresses who smile receive substantially higher tips than waitresses who do not. Smiling encourages collaboration and productivity in work. If more smiles are seen in a meeting, that meeting is likely to achieve its aims more quickly and with fewer difficulties.
It has a positive effect on customer satisfaction. Customers are more likely to buy from a person who smiles than from a person who does not not. In fact, it is proven that customers prefer visiting “that place with the friendly sales rep” even if that store is slightly more expensive. The benefits of smiling are undeniable. If smiling does not come natural to you, you can practice your smile. You’re born with a smile - have you ever experienced a baby smiling at you - and could you resist smiling back? So it’s just a question of finding your smile again. Smiles are contagious and you can literally make yourself happy by smiling!
Happy reading You can write to Charlotte at editor@fittings.nu Feel free to share your ideas and comments – both positive and critical.
Fittings issue 4 · Distributed May 2012 · Fittings is the employee magazine for Wolseley CE staff in Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. Publication by Wolseley CE. Circulation: 2,300. Available languages: English, German, Dutch, Italian and French. Editorial responsibility: Wolseley CE/Charlotte Gullach Büttrich. Journalistic production and project management: Radical Communications/Patrick May. Design and layout: Appetizer.dk/Simon Johnsen. Photography: Martijn vd Griendt, Günter Wohlschlager, Peter Lous, Claudio Bruni and Jacqueline Made. Print: CoolGray. Editorial committee: DT Group/Charlotte Gullach Büttrich, editor@fittings.nu; Wasco/Sacha Büchele, s.buchele@wasco.nl; Julia Rees, Julia.REES@oeag.at; Tobler/Jacqueline Made, jacqueline.made@toblerag.ch; CFM and Wolseley CE/Tobias Roser, tobias.roser@wolseley.com
News
How are you doing? HAPPY customers are good for profit and happy employees generate happy customers. Wolseley Central Europe has initiated an Employee Engagement Survey to get feedback from every employee. In April you will have received a questionnaire asking you about everything that influences your working environment. For example, questions will cover whether you have clear defined tasks and objectives, the quality of support from your manager, your confidence in the business unit and whether you read Fittings. The results will be used as input to identify opportunities to improve the working environment. In the next Fittings we will report on the results and improvement projects.
The showroom in Den Bosch sets a new standard The historic city of Den Bosch is located in the south of the Netherlands and has lots of small, exciting restaurants, pubs and other hideaways that match the burgundian life style. The city is now enriched with Wasco’s brand new sanitary showroom, which without a doubt, will appeal to the city’s stylish citizens. AT ONE of the most busy roads Wasco the 1st of March opened a magnificent showroom: 1,200 square meters with a very industrial look and feel - only broken by three enormous wooden arches dividing the place. “What makes this showroom unique”, says a proud Hans van Leijsen, the showroom manager, “is the fact that the place is designed with the end consumer in mind. We have 22 bathroom exhibitions all with matching tiles, fixtures and even accessories like towels and soap. Visitors are able to ex-
perience the look and feel of what could be their new bathroom. It’s a lot of work and if we choose to change the exhibitions it costs money but we believe that because the showroom bathrooms are 100% styled, this helps people to decide what they they want.”
The Den Bosch showroom replaces Wasco’s old facility in Tilburg, 40 km up north. The experience here is second to none. Even project developers agree. They know that when they send the end customer to Den Bosch, not a lot can go wrong. “Our expectations are sky high,” says Hans van Leijsen. “The reactions from project developers have been very positive. We strongly believe that we can get a lot of business from them. But what is most important is the overwhelming enthusiasm we get from end customers who visit us. At the end of the day, they decide where they spend their money.”
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t l i u Bto last People are Tobler’s recipe for success
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It all started in 1957, when Kurt Tobler made heating appliances in his parents’ house and sold them to local installers. His products quickly gained popularity and two years later he invited his brother Max Tobler to join the business. A third brother, Peter Tobler, also joined the company and the three brothers laid the foundation for Tobler’s success — still flourishing 55 years later. While the organisation has changed beyond recognition, the legacy of the Tobler brothers is still present everywhere.
Spotlight Max and Kurt Tobler
“I HAVE HAD the pleasure of personally meeting Kurt Tobler and his two brothers,” says Beat Gsteiger. “Peter Tobler was my boss in the branch in Wil (St. Gallen) when I started in 1972. Before I started to work for Tobler, I worked as an installer. Health issues forced me to stop. Fortunately for me, Tobler had an opening. I called the manager in Wil, dropped by for an informal interview and voilà, the job was mine. Back then, things were not that complicated. My first job in Wil was to serve customers visiting our branch. Later I moved to the warehouse, after which I accepted an office sales job and today I am the logistics team leader in Däniken.”
1957 Kurt To establishbler Tobler es
“Tobler is excellent at retaining staff. I have been here for 40 years now. I am not the only one. In fact, I know many colleagues who have been working here for that long. The atmosphere is splendid, the working environment motivating and you get plenty of opportunities to develop inside the organisation. I think we owe this to the Tobler brothers. It is their heritage, their spirit that is the foundation. They were always good at visiting the branches and talking informally with everybody.
1974 Tobler es a becom AG family
2000 Tobler acquire Sixmad s un
They didn’t care whether you were a manager or a lorry driver. Everybody was contributing to the success of Tobler. They understood how to make you feel appreciated.”
Caring is part of our DNA Today Tobler has 41 Marchés, 720 employees, an assortment of 60,000 sku’s and a market share of approximately 30%. Wolseley, now owns Tobler. The organisation has greatly expanded since the start in 1957. “A lot has changed,” says Beat Gsteiger. “But a lot has
2001 Tobler expands to 20 branches
Stramax Training 19 74
stayed the same as well. The atmosphere for example, is still fantastic. Employees are treated with respect. Nobody puts pressure on you, instead you get help. People care for each other in Tobler. If you take care of your job, you get a lot of freedom to do it the way you want to do it.” “I’ve been tempted to leave Tobler once,” Beat Gsteiger says. “I was invited by a competitor to meet and talk job opportunities. They ended up offering me a job. I got a bad conscious and I decided to tell Peter Tobler,
More on next page
2003
2010
Wolseley buys Tobler
Däniken becomes the central distribution centre
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Former boar member on a client trip (1997)
Continued who was my boss at that time. Peter was totally cool about it. He told me how much he appreciated me, how much Tobler needed me and he convinced me to stay. I never regretted that decision. I am planning to stay here until my pension. Which is in three years. Until then, there’s still a lot to do. I have been working in logistics for the past 25 years. It is my responsibility to make sure customers get their deliver-
Max Tobler
Football fun tournam ent
ies on time.” “I have a huge heart for Tobler. It represents a big part of my life. It is with great pride that I can say the same goes for our drivers. Most of them have been with Tobler for many years. People love working here. It’s contagious. I am sure that customers feel it too when they deal with us. We have satisfied customers who have been with us for many years. Some of the companies that are customers here are now in their third generation but they are still loyal to Tobler. I like that.”
Tobler
in numbers
41 marchés 720 employees 30% marketshare Approx 6,000 customers Trucks: 55
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We understand how to have fun together Tobler’s 55th anniversary called for a celebration. The organisation planned nine events on different geographic locations so that the 3,500 invited customers never had to drive far to join in the celebrations with Tobler. The man who was responsible for the organisation of the festivities is just like Beat Gsteiger, he has Tobler blood in his veins. His name is Ivan Widmer, he’s Toblers’ marketing director and has been working for Tobler for 12 years. Incidentally, not always in marketing. “I started in Urdorf, as a forwarder, answering phones, registering orders,” Ivan Widmer says. “After the management buy out in 2000 the organisation changed dramatically. A lot of functions were relocated. My function was one of
them. It moved to Winterthur. That’s two hours commuting from where I live. Fortunately it didn’t come to that. There was an opening in Oberentfelden, which I took. Finally in 2005, I was given the opportunity to take a marketing position in Urdorf. Tobler trusted me with the function and provided the training and education needed for me to grow into the function.” That in a nutshell is what makes Tobler a great place to work. “We’re like a huge but close family,” says Ivan Widmer. “We act like a team. During the changes around the management buyout in 2000, a lot went wrong and this frustrated our customers. Some of the discussions with customers were tough but we stayed friendly and focused on giving them the best possible service. People here are dedicated to the company and the organisation. That is a result of the atmosphere here. The organisation is flat. We all talk together and have fun together. I honestly believe that this is the legacy of the founding brothers. I haven’t met them personally but the
I have a huge heart for Tobler. It is a big part of my life.
ler b o T d en ily. m m a m f o d c I re iends an to fr ays it all. That s
Beat Gsteiger
people who have - they pass on the values to the younger generation. Our values are strongly integrated in our culture. Everybody feels them and lives them.”
Tobler really believes in people Tom Gerber is Team Leader ERP systems. He and his team support ‘everything SAP’ internally. Tom Gerber started nearly 10 years ago as a Marché employee. “I liked working in the Marché. The contact with the customers was dear to me.
I could easily have continued here and probably today would have been a Marché manager. But I became a key user of our SAP system and found out that I really liked it. I had a natural affinity for this stuff. Next thing I applied for a function in the support team. Last year, I became the leader of that team.” “What I like about Tobler is the opportunity you get to develop personally. There are so many possibilities in this organisation. You never
Däniken
(central distribution centre)
in numbers
see that in most other organisations. The support I get is amazing. Tobler paid for a SAP education for me. This is an internationally recognised education and it means I can basically work anywhere I want to. Yet Tobler decided that I should have this education and were confident that I would put it to good use at Tobler. Which I did. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to.” “Help is never very far away. When I entered Tobler, the Tobler brothers were no longer working in the company. But their spirit lives on. Everybody gets along with everybody. If you have a problem or an idea - you’re taken seriously. Problems are solved fast. Ideas are carefully assessed and if they are good, implemented. Fast, because
the distance to the top in Tobler, is small. I love working here. I recommend Tobler as a working place to friends and family as well. That says it all.”
Tom Gerber
Length: 256 metres Depth: 105 metres Surface: Approx. 20,000 square metres Floors: 3 Ramps: 35 Materials handling: 3 heavy duty elevators 2 pallet elevators Conveyor belt Storage locations: Approx. 45,000
Ivan Widmer
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k s A le O
... Anything you like In an organisation with more than 2,000 people, the top management can seem very distant. With Ask Ole, you get close to top management, because we put you in contact with CE’s most senior manager, Ole Mikael. Ask Ole the question that’s been on your mind. Don’t let this chance pass you by.
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THE MARKET in Luxembourg is no worse than other markets. We have been challenged by a lack of focus and high costs. Fortunately, these are internal factors which we can improve. We have taken measures to get back on track. For example, we have reduced the size of our DC, which leads to a significant reduction of costs. We also built a new management team. Both customers and suppliers tell us we are a valuable company with a good position in the market but that we have lost cus-
tomer focus. Our deliveries have been slower and with less accuracy compared to our competitors - even the ones from abroad. Therefore we moved deliveries to earlier in the morning. We are also investing in new trucks. The old ones broke down all of the time and this made on-time delivery impossible. In the short term we have one objective only: to regain trust from our customers by providing a better service! These measures will provide immediate improvements and will ensure that CFM has a bright future.
It’s been more than two years since you started. Do the business units live up to your expectations?
CONSIDERING the tough market conditions we are experiencing, I think we’re doing fine. Each Business Unit is fighting to the best of its ability. Tobler is going strong - even though the Swiss franc is putting our prices under pressure. ÖAG has had a rough start to 2012
8
1
What does the future for CFM in Luxembourg look like?
- as the market has slowed down. However, it seems as if the situation in Austria is changing for the better. We have increased the salesforce and are making some necessary adjustments in the back office now because we need a better mix between front and back office to gain
efficiency. The Netherlands is a tough market in terms of competition customers naturally exploit this by putting pressure on our prices but we are on top of things and stay efficient and have success with our new initiatives; the huge growth rate in sanitary ware being the most prominent
What
4
example. CFM did not perform well in the past many months but I am confident we’re getting the company back on the right track. We’ve replaced the management team here and we expect that 100% customer focus will improve results drastically.
would you like to ask Ole?
3
3
4
What has surprised you the most working with Wolseley CE so far? What are the development plans?
I HAVE been positively surprised by the engagement and passion of staff who, right across the geopgraphical spread of the organisation and through every layer of the organisation, want to make this company a huge success. In fact I find the commitment of everyone in the organisation a very big and unique asset. But if I am to flag an area of potential, then
it would be that we’re lacking the last bit of self confidence. It is as if we sometimes do not really believe that we actually are able to add value to both our customers and suppliers. If we truly want to see change for the better, we have to start thinking and acting differently. If we do the same as everybody else in the industry, we limit our potential. In most ar-
eas, we are beating the competition, so our real benchmark should be the best companies outside our industry. We have to be willing to take calculated risks. Try new things. That’s why I am a strong advocate of getting fresh minds and eyes into all layers of our organisation. Preferably with a different background as well - to challenge what we do. As to development, I want to be more of an enabler than an initiator. I want ideas for how to develop the companies to come from the organisation. The best way of achieving this is a better mix of internal industry experience and external experience. In fact both of these are needed!
Are there any initiatives planned for similar functions across the CE organisation to meet and exchange experiences and best practice? WE’RE already well on our way with initiatives here. Except for the Management Team, currently colleagues from IT, HR, Finance and Sourcing & Logistics meet on a regular basis. I think when it is beneficiary to our learning curve
we should definitely do it. It would make sense also for Sales and Marketing to meet - in fact this will happen soon. Or for the people involved in our showrooms. If you feel a need, define the need and take the
initiative. I am proud of the development of the last couple of years; getting more common ideas and initiatives moving around - support for common
initiatives have increased rapidly. Two good examples right now are the common employee engagement survey setup and a new sales initiative called Sweet 16.
Send your questions to editor@fittings.nu, and we will make sure your questions are answered. Don’t mince your words as you will remain totally anonymous. Fittings 4 · 2012
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social
We have a
Responsibility Also when there’s a recession
The commitment they put into their work is impressive
TOBLER cooperates with a foundation called Solvita. The foundation supports approximately 600 people with disabilities who both live and work here. Companies typically contact the foundation with assignments varying from administrative work, small productions, gardening and bakery. Assignments are taken care of at the Solvita premises with professional care. The foundation has a branch in Urdorf, with 150 people - close to Toblers‘ headquarters. “They live down the road from us,” says Ivan Widmer, Mar-
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keting Director and responsible for the contact with Solvita. “We’ve been working together with them for at least fifteen years,” Ivan says. “Both partners are fully satisfied I should say. We typically use Solvita for jobs that
we lack resources for. For example, to update our technical documentation for heat generation - a very time consuming and precise job. These technical documents we distribute to customers and it’s paramount that there’s no mistakes in the texts. Leaving this job up to people with disabilities made me a bit nervous in the beginning. But I had absolutely no reason to doubt the quality at all. The people working here are truly happy for their jobs and their commitment is enormous.
They want to do a perfect job every time.” Ivan estimates that on average, Tobler uses the foundation’s services four times a year. “They also produce small elements like the footings to be used for our exhibition material and take care of the administrative handling of some of our mailings. Solvita is neither more expensive nor cheaper than if we would outsource this kind of work to regular companies. By outsourcing it to Solvita we support the fantastic work this foundation does.”
Lifestyle In our never ending battle for market share, customer loyalty, increasing margins and improving our financial performance, we should not forget our social responsibilities in the local communities where we are active. That’s why both Tobler and Wasco have long-term agreements with organisations helping people with physical and/or mental disabilities to have a more or less normal working life.
The Zozijn crew is a part of the Wasco family WASCO works together with the Zozijn foundation in Twello. Wasco employs eight people with mental disabilities and a care taker - full time. “They have their own protected space in our distribution centre,” says Nico Kerk, Wasco’s Logistic Manager and responsible for the contact with Zozijn. “They wrap and label spare parts for us. Typically smaller parts. Of course they help Wasco but the ambition level and expectations are adapted to the circumstances. For us it is really about giving these people a relevant and meaningful job. They are fully integrated and are considered Wasco staff.” The Zozijn team lives at the premises of Zozijn. Every morning they arrive in a bus, and are picked up again in the afternoon. “We have been working togeth-
er with Zozijn now for more than seven years. Every month we get an invoice from the organisation for the service. On top of that, we give all team members a small weekly allowance, €5. The allowance they get every Friday is cash in hand. €5 is a lot of money for these people and it makes them feel appreciated.” “Our experiences with Zozijn are very good. It’s the
same group of people that comes here every day, for seven years now. That’s pretty impressive.” “Working here is great,” says Frits Trentelman (48), a well-respected member of the Zozijn crew. “I get to work quite independent with the departments sealing machine. It’s not that hard, at least not most of the time. The bags with the parts go
in here and are automatically sealed. Sometimes I need to change the size of the bags. Then I get some help from Cengiz, whom I also discuss the working schedule with. I have good relations with my colleagues, not only the Zozijn crew but also the other Wasco people working here. The best thing about my work? The machine. I really like working with the machine.”
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Sales and margin
Booster Wasco introduces a new basic inventory
26 Wasco branches are getting a comprehensive makeover. The result will be a substantial new look. That however is not the main motivation for the makeover. Wasco is determined to increase their sales and margin by improving the product mix in the branches. The new branch design supports that ambition.
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Sales
THE ROLL OUT plan for the makeover has the character of a military operation: well prepared, well documented and executed with immense precision. “Our team has visited all of the branches to get a good idea of how to handle the makeover,” says Robin Waarsenburg, Business Unit Manager Branches. “Everything is described in detail so Wasco Branches, no matter where you visit them in the Netherlands, have a uniform look and feel. What is more important - they have the same inventory.” Wasco has identified a ‘basic inventory’ of approximately 5,000 sku’s that will be available in every branch at all times.
Robin Waarsenburg products we would like to sell more of. For example, sanitary. Or our private label brands. The latter provides us with a better margin. We believe that we can stimulate demand for certain products by increasing their visibility. Of course it also helps that staff are trained to promote these products. Whenever a customer wants a product without specifying a brand, we have an opportunity to
odern. The look is crisp and mment Better product place already has an effect. “There’s a revolutionary thought behind our inventory,” Robin Waarsenburg explains. “Of course, we considered our blockbusters. But we also added
sell one of our high margin products.”
Makeover takes three weeks The operation should
be completed by July 2012. According to Robin Waarsenburgs’ calculations, a makeover takes three weeks. “Ambitious for sure. It’s a lot of work and it needs to be done while the branch is open for business. But with the proper preparation and planning, it is possible. We demand a lot from the 115 colleagues in the branches but the result, I can assure you, is worth the effort. Both staff and customers in the two branches that have been madeover are enthusiast about the result. The look is crisp and modern. Better product placement already has an effect. It’s too early to present reliable sales numbers but staff reports that it supports the dialogue with customers entering the branch.” The basic inventory includes three main cat-
egories: parts, sanitary and heating. “We finished identifying the assortment for parts already before the start of the winter last year,” Robin Waarsenburg says. “We took a bold decision not to wait for the other categories but equip the branches with the new inventory right away. Sales exceeded our expectations and at some point staff found themselves selling the products before they had the chance to unpack and display them.” “This operation took a lot of preparation and requires a lot of work. Our expectations are high. We have divided the 26 branches into three categories - depending on size. We will benchmark the results of the branches by category. I can hardly wait to get the first reliable results in.”
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ge sta k c Ba ASS
Karl Kaura
P
Take a peek into the machinery of your organisation and get a better understanding of why and how things happen. Fittings has a backstage pass, and we’re happy to share the backstage pass with you.
act
Knowledge we
on
Customer surveys provide important insights CFM and Tobler do it twice a year, ÖAG and Wasco four times. We’re talking about customer surveys of course. The results of the surveys are the perfect barometer for assessing how the business is doing. There’s an undeniable link between customers perceptions and business results. 14
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“WE USE the surveys to benchmark,” says Geoffrey Barranco, responsible for customer surveys in CE. “We compare the companies with each other. We believe that the companies that are underperforming can learn from the companies that are doing well. Of course we also compare the results through time - to see whether the development is positive or nega-
Backstage
4 Top
what customers want to pay extra for:
1
Product availability
2
Sales staff knowledge and helpfulness
3
Next day delivery
4
Wide product range
tive. Last but not least, we compare the results with companies outside of CE. Basically, you can benchmark yourself against any company in the world.” A lot of effort is spent on customer surveys. For good reasons. It is no se-
Wrong attitude ruins business If you have a customer buying for €300,000 one year, and see the business with them drop to €35,000 the next year — it pays to act. It might be an indication that something went terribly wrong. “Something did indeed go wrong,” says Karl Kaura, Business Area Manager, Haustechnik. “We have a customer, a medium-sized company with 55 employees. A loyal customer. They bought for €290,000 in 2007 but only for €35,000 in 2008.”
IN 2010, the managing director of this company (for privacy reasons we have chosen to not mention the name of the customer) participated in an extensive series of interviews about their perception of ÖAG. “In that interview the CEO revealed that ÖAG’s attention did not live up to their expectations. The personal contact with ÖAG, which had been excellent until then, in their perception melted like ice in the sun. Their motivation to do business with us disappeared too. I saw the video in the office together with our MD, Helmut-
Dieter Kus Seeing that video hurt. Ouch.” “The next thing I did was that I hopped in my car and drove out to the customer. I told them I had seen the video. I told them that we would do everything in our power to make it up. We send a Christmas present nothing extravagant but a strong symbolic gesture. We started picking up the personal contact again, visited them again. The account manager has been able to grow the business to a level of €100,000 in 2011. It will even get better this year. In the first two months of
this year, they bought for €100,000 with us.” “This episode told us a clear lesson: you have to give your customers attention all of the time. It takes years to build up a good relationship and you can ruin it with just a few actions. We have used this case, and still do, when our team discuss customer service. It’s not about prices, it’s about attitude. It’s about how you treat your customers. You have to act in a good, fair and honest way. That is the key to sustainable customer service.”
cret that the margin in CE has to grow. But to be able to do so, our customers have to be willing to pay higher prices for our products and services. “Something they are willing to do if they feel we add value to their business,” says Geoffrey
Barranco. “Based on the latest results, there’s still a substantial potential for development. CFM has slightly improved their results. But they also came from far behind and they still need to improve a lot to get anywhere near the
other three business units. ÖAG has also improved slightly, Tobler is more or less the same on a high level and Wasco’s result is slightly less then last year. But we’re talking a marginal change here - nothing to worry about. That said, naturally we would prefer seeing continuous improvement. This requires a strong focus on everything that customers perceive to add value.”
Basically, you can benchmark yourself against any company in the world
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Getting new customers
Up and Running Wasco has 26 branches where customers can order, buy and pick up their supplies. On average, the company gets 70 new customers a month that would like to extend their relationship with Wasco. To get them up and running, they needed to be contacted and visited. Wasco was unable to do this because of a lack of resources - missing out on potential business. Junior sales reps were hired to turn the tide and were successful.
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“THE JUNIOR sales reps are a good supplement to the existing sales reps,” says Gert van den Brink, Sales Manager Regional Accounts. “Our sales reps can’t possibly squeeze in more customers. The junior sales reps work in the same regions but pick those customers that are not being managed by our regular sales reps.” “We started experimenting with the concept in August last year,” says Gert van den Brink. “Our junior sales people contact new customers, visit them with a welcome package and they identify the customers’ needs and wishes. On that basis,
they make an offer and try to get the customer to commit to Wasco. We have three juniors up and running and in the first seven months they have accumulated significant additional turnover. This in a tough market and in tough times.” “The beauty of the initiative is that we wouldn’t have had this business without them. It’s additional business. We would, in consultation with management, like to hire additional junior sales reps. It’s hard to say when since it requires that we have the time to train and support them properly. But the ambition is asap”
Ideas@work
The point of
Stefan Viscer, 27, is one of the new junior sales reps.
No Return
Stefan Viscer, 27, is one of the new junior sales reps. Stefan Viscer, unlike his two colleagues, has a past in Wasco (five years). When he got the chance to try hard-core sales, he didn’t hesitate for a second. Even though the organisation warned him that he had to perform and make his targets and that if he failed, he shouldn’t automatically assume that his old job would be available. “THAT DIDN’T scare me,” Stefan Viscer says. “I’d wanted to be a sales rep for a long time and I got the chance. I got two and a half weeks of training. To get a better understanding of our customers’ potential, I also visited different departments. That was all it took to get up and running.” “Wasco has got a lot of customers registered that we do not actively manage,” says Stefan Viscer. “I am free to choose which customers I think have potential. I call them, set up meetings and develop an offer that fits their specific needs and wish-
es. I love it. The back up I get from the organisation is tremendous. We’re a large company with more than 350 colleagues. But in spite of our size, in situations where we need to go the extra mile for a customer, we work together as a team.”
Recognising buying signals “I work more than in my previous position. This is not a regular nine to five job. You have to go where the customers are. That means you spend quite some time on the road. Of course you try to arrange your schedule as effectively as possible. I typically visit four to five customers a day.
Depending on where my first visit is, I start at 7:30 and drive home at 16:30. In the car I often talk on the phone with my colleagues in relation to what I dis-
“Here I learned a lot from our regular sales reps and my fellow junior colleagues. We discuss what went well and what could be improved on. The learning curve is still steep. Before I started working
I love it. The back up I get from the organization is tremendous. cussed with customers. When I get home, I still have some administrative work to do. Make and send offers, answer emails, etc.” “In the beginning, I had a hard time recognising buying signals from customers,” says Stefan Viscer.
in Wasco, I worked as an installer. I know who my customers meet when they visit their customers. I know how they work and how they think. This helps the dialogue. They have confidence in the solutions I offer.”
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New level in toilets Toilets might not be a sexy invention but without them, cities wouldn’t exist as we know them. Hard to comprehend, but true nevertheless. Imagine what a city like Vienna or Amsterdam would be like if everyone went about their “business” wherever they pleased! YET THIS is exactly what happened before the flush toilet made its way into peoples’ homes. Fortunately the days of the chamber pot are long
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gone, when highly contagious diseases killed thousands of people. In the old days, to keep epidemics under control, cities and villages weren’t
allowed to grow beyond a certain population. The flush toilet not only saved lives, it also played an important role in urban development as it allowed cities to grow bigger. In 1848, England was the first country to pass the national Public Health Act, which would become a model plumbing code for the rest of the world to follow. It mandated some kind of sanitary arrangement in every house, whether a flushing toilet, or a privy, or an ash pit. “People invest more money on their bathrooms than ever,” says Clemens Rapp, MD for Geberit in Austria. “They
The story of
want quality. They want wellness. And you want a toilet that fits into that line of thinking. Geberit has exactly that product: the AquaClean.” A lot of Europeans are somewhat shocked by this toilet when they first see it. It has a built in bidet - a shower nozzle that cleans you after you are done with your business. According to the experts, the only hygienic way to clean yourself here. It’s comfortable too and saves tons and tons of toilet paper (we use 12.4 billion rolls of toilet paper a year). The AquaClean comes in different models and prices. The Rolls Royce among the series, the AquaClean 8000+, has an automatic shower nozzle cleaner, it dries your
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behind with hot air and it removes all odours - close to the source. There’s a lot of adjustable features on the 8000+ and a special memory function remembers your individual preferences. This model comes with a price tag of approximately €4,000.
A new dimesion in toilet hygiene In Fittings no. 2 we said that the toilet hasn’t been through any big revolutionary changes. Well, that is not entirely true. Producers have presented us with radical updates — one of them Geberit.
Fresh feeling from behind Cheaper models can be acquired from €600. “That’s a relatively small cost compared to the entire investment to renovate a bathroom,” says Clemens Rapp. “People love the toilet. We’ve had double digit growth for
let This nozzle brings toi el lev hygiene to a new
DID YOU KNOW... On average, we visit the toilet six to eight times a day On average, we uses approx. 57 sheets of toilet paper every day On average, we spend three years of our lives on the toilet The most expensive toilet ever cost 19 million USD. It was commissioned by NASA and that it had a filter that could turn urine into drinking water
The AquaClean has a crisp and contemporary design
three years in a row. We put a lot of resources in marketing the product in Austria. The best product promotion we get is from people who have/had an AquaClean. 98% of customers who had one, buy one again when they move.”
The toilet uses more water than any other appliance in the house (on average 50 liters per person per day) 71% of people read while using the toilet 47% of teens and 22% of adults use or answer their smartphones while using the toilet 2.6 billion people still live without toilets
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If you can’t find it in
Wels ... ing g n a r Rear ustrian the A istics log zle pu z
An important piece of the ÖAG’s logistics puzzle is centralised distribution — a strategy that was successfully implemented in Tobler in 2010. The result is an impressive 50,000 square metres inbound hub in Wels, in Upper Austria. It’s the largest distribution centre of its kind in Austria to date. THE responsibility to transform ÖAG’s logistic network has fallen on Alexander von Weinzierl. A name Tobler readers will easily recognise since he is also the main architect of Däniken, Toblers’ centralised distribution centre. “The difference is that Austria is more than twice the size of Switzerland. Yet we
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work with the same customer promise: Ordered before 18:00, delivered next day. The size of the country adds an additional challenge to the maths in our planning.” ÖAG has split the market into five regions: East (Vienna, Niederösterreich and Burgenland), Central (Oberösterreich and Salzburg), South (Kärn-
Challenging
Maths
If a shuttle leaves Wels at 19:00 in the evening — drives an average of 70 km an hour — what time is the lorry at its destination in Innsbruck? And how long would it take for the lorry to deliver to the westernmost
Logistics
million — comparable to Switzerland. But Austria has an area of 84,000 sqr km; twice as big as Switzerland. And twice as big as Holland as well, which incidentally, has a population twice the size of Austria. Luxembourg with an area of 2,600 sqr km and 500,000 people is in a league of its own.
branch in Bregenz /Lake Constance? You probably recognise the maths from your glory days in the school. For the planners in Wels the geography is a mathematical factor that needs to be taken into calculation. Austria has a population of 8
Dazzling numbers
ten), Southwest (Steiermark) and West (Tirol and Vorarlberg). All of them operate with their own sales offices and distribution centres. “Forty percent of the Austrian population live in the Eastern region,” Alexander von Weinzierl explains. “But customers on the other side of the country should be able to rely on our delivery promise as well. Therefore Wells was the obvious choice as it is pretty much in the middle of the country - and ‘only’ 220 km west from Vienna.”
“Currently we use Wels both as a regional centre to distribute directly to customers in Oberösterreich and Salzburg,” the logistic specialist explains. “We also use it as a central distribution hub to replenish the other regional centres. We keep an inventory of 22,000 sku’s here (compared to 10,000 in Vienna and 5,000 in Graz and Kematen). We have more than 30 docks from which our trucks and shuttles leave to cater directly to customers and our regional distribution centres. The size of the centre in Wels is impressive: an area of 50,000 square meters. The biggest in Austria. Larger than Däniken - with ‘only’ 30,000 square meters. Gradually distribution will be more centralised and the operation in Wels will grow.” ÖAG will reap some major benefits from the centralisation. “We have a single point of contact for major suppliers - which makes managing deliv-
eries from suppliers a lot more efficient,” Alexander von Weinzierl says. “When we decide to add new products to our assortment, we don’t need to keep an inventory in all five distribution centres but can settle with one inventory in Wels. This will enable us to try new products and still manage the investment in our in-
ventory. We’ll be able to forecast better because distribution is less complex. In everything we do, we’re looking for efficiency and savings. However, there’s one thing we will not touch. We will use our own ÖAG drivers to cater for customers. They are an important link in our customer service.”
Trivia How many countries does Austria border? Eight countries: Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland.
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Me and my
Shop I know (almost) everyone here
SAMEDAN is a small, charming village in the heart of the Upper Engadin in the Alps. The village has 3,800 inhabitants and since 2008 it has a Tobler Marché. The manager, Gian Reto Rodigari, established the shop. He worked alone in
the first year. Two years ago he got a colleague, Daniel Dorta. “We have peak times here in the shop when it is busy. Mainly early in the morning, when installers and plumbers pick up their supplies on their way to their job and then again
Gian Reto Rodigari right, Orlando Destefani left
Two colleagues, two different shops from two different divisions.
Name: Gian Reto Rodigari Tobler: Working at Tobler
since 2008
This shop: Working in this shop
in the early afternoon when they have finished their meal and go back to work again. Later in the afternoon the phone starts ringing and customers phone or fax in their orders for the next morning. Our marché has an inventory of 5,000 sku’s. What we don’t have on stock, we can deliver the next morning at around 08:00.” The success of the marché is easily described. “We hardly have
since 2008
any competition. Besides, I know most of the private customers that come here. Samedan is a small village and people know each other. That’s a big advantage because you can talk to them in a more direct way. We’re close to the Italian border here. 80% of the people that come here, speak Italian.” “For me a good day is when the weather is nice, there’s activity in the shop and I am healthy.”
The
Shop in numbers
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Village: Samedan Established in: 2008 Size: 500 square meters Staff: 2 Opening hours: Weekdays from 07:30 - 12:00 and from 13:00 - 17:30 Best selling item last week: Fittings
Resume
Two different stories ... or? How do we differ? Where are we alike?
Loyalty is not a given GRAZ is the second largest city in Austria (after Vienna) in the region of Steiermark. It has almost 300,000 inhabitants. Johann Feichtinger works in ÖAG’s showroom in Graz. The showroom is split up into sanitary (500 square meters) and heating (200 square meters). “Heating has become popular. Especially energy-saving solutions. One of our colleagues is
The
Shop in numbers
a technical consultant, who can explain all the ins and outs. I mainly focus on sanitary. We have maybe ten customers a day. Typically, we spend between an hour to four hours together with a customer. Purchasing a bathroom is a large decision and people typically come in more than once before they have made a decision. Especially older
Name: Johann Feichtinger ÖAG: Working at ÖAG since 1989 This shop: Working in this shop since 1989
people, who have a little bit more money to spend. They want quality and they want to know exactly what they can get for their money.” “Quality has a different value now than it did 20 years ago. The products we sell now are more sophisticated. But at the same time, they are less sustainable than they used to be. They have a expiration date of between ten and 20 years. Which of course is great for us because it means that people have to replace their bathrooms more often. Another value that has changed significantly is customer loyalty. Competition has become more intensive and price has become a decisive factor for people to choose where
they buy their bathroom. A good day for me is a day where a customer returns to me after many years because he or she has been so satisfied with the bathroom I helped them purchase years ago.” “We sell the Geberit AquaClean. It is the Rolls Royce of toilets. Two in one - both toilet and bidet. I have one at home. I am so happy with the toilet that it’s easy for me to recommend the AquaClean to customers. We also have two toilets installed in our showroom in the visitor bathroom, so people can try the toilet out.”
City: Graz Established in: 1982 Size: 700 square meters Staff: 4 Opening hours: Weekdays from 09:00 - 18:00 Saturday from 09:00 - 12:00 Best selling item last week: Bathtubs
Julia Novak (left), Johann Feic htinger
Fittings 4 · 2012
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The winners of the Samsung Galaxy from the last quiz are Alois Weiskopf (picture) and Hermann Reisinger from ÖAG in Austria. Congratulations.
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1
How
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old is Tobler?
A 35 years B 45 years C 55 years
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Why did ÖAG choose
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A A good price on the building in Wels B Wels is in the middle of the country C There’s a huge concentration of suppliers around Wels
3
How many
times does the average person visit the toilet in a day?
4
How
many new customers does Wasco get a month?
5
Where is
Gian Reto Rodigari’s shop?
A Samedan
A 4-5 times
A 30
B Poschiavo
B 6-8 times
B 70
C Martigny
C 8-10 times
C 120
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B
C
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