July 2017
WORLDWIDE BUSINESS REVIEW
Put a ‘Dent in the Universe’g Gazelles International, winner of Best Global Management Consultancy Firm for 2017, is a worldwide coaching association. It brings together independent, executive business coaches who guide organisations in using the system for scaling described in the book Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) by Verne Harnish, founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO) and the executive education firm Gazelles. We spoke with Harnish recently to find out more about his system for helping companies scale up.
Also in this issue... Mediterranean Shipping Company Madagascar - Just Wills New Edge Technologies - eKomi - Ediattah Conseils + Solutions Runestone Capital - Parkers Packaging Limited - ehotel - SAP Ireland ENERCON GmbH Irish Branch - Aaron & Son Transport Logistics Touchstar Technologies - Ocean County College - Procurus Beechdean Dairies - All Bright Law Offices - Barons & Company Print Search Ltd - African Guarantee Fund - BFFT GmbH Aarvi Encon Private Limited Ederick Limited - MC Law Offices Lakes Business Group Inc. - Simoldes Plasticos Deutschland Engineering GmbH
Welcome to this captivating July edition of Worldwide Business Review, providing the latest news and updates from across the globe, throughout major industries. In this edition, we interviewed Adriano MuĂąoz from the Spanish Business Excellence Awards winning firm, Onyx Solar to learn more about how the company produce transparent glass, that generates clean and free electricity from the sun, for customers such as Samsung, Coca-Cola, Novartis, Foster, SOM and Vinoly. Worldwide coaching association, Gazelles brings together independent, executive business coaches who guide organisations in using the system for scaling described in the book Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) by Verne Harnish. We invited Harnish to tell us more about his system for helping companies scale up. I truly hope you enjoy reading this informative edition. Jessica Daykin, Editor Phone: +44 (0) 203 725 6842 Email: jessica.daykin@ai-globalmedia.com AI Global Media, Ltd. (AI) takes reasonable measures to ensure the quality of the information on this web site. However, AI will not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness or completeness of any information that is available through this web site. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. The information available through the website and our partner publications is for your general information and use and is not intended to address any particular finance or investment requirements. In particular, the information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by us or any of our partner publications and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making or refraining from making any investment or financial decisions. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Any arrangement made between you and any third party named in the site is at your sole risk and responsibility.
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10. Best for 4PL Control Tower Solutions 2017 14. A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words 18. Voyage of Discovery 20. Facilitating Infrastructure Financing 24. Ground-breaking Social Commerce Technology 26. Catering to Customer’s Mobile Needs 28. A Perpetual Investment Opportunity 30. Sweet Success 32. Advanced Wind Technology for Grid Integration 34. Preferred Supplier to Many Leading Organisations 36. Scoop of Success 38. ehotel: Your Perfect Stay at Your Fingertips 40. Searching Print Questions 42. Supporting SMEs in Africa 46. A Higher Purpose 48. A Wealth of Legal Experience 50. Tailoring Service to Clients’ Needs 52. Expert Care in the Community 54. Sales Mentoring – Sales Training, Sales Coaching & Ongoing Mentoring 56. Driven to Success 60. Cutting-Edge Technology 61. Global Network and Local Expertise 62. Sailing Ahead of the Competition 63. Leading Lights of Law 64. Outsourcing Manpower in India 65. How Do I Sell My Business and Retire? 66. Breaking the Mould 67. Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way 68. The Right Balance between Cost, Time and Quality 69. A Vital Link in the Chain 70. Best Civil Law Firm 2017 & Excellence Award for Data Protection 2017 71. Best Digital Advertising Tech Provider 2017 72. Domestic Appliances Distribution in Ghana
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UK Government Urges Welsh Businesses to Export Welsh businesses are being encouraged to consider exporting their goods and services abroad by UK Ministers, to mark the one year anniversary of the Department for International Trade.
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NEWS
, In 2016, there were more than 3,800 businesses exporting in Wales with an annual combined value of £12.4bn exports. Now, Ministers are urging other business to take up the support on offer including financial incentives and online matching services. To mark the anniversary Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns has announced that he will be writing to 26,000 Welsh businesses that have been identified as potential exporters and sending them a copy of a dedicated exporting guide for Welsh businesses. The Wales Export Guide, sets out the full range of support available to Welsh businesses from the UK Government and contains inspiring stories of companies based in Wales that are successfully exporting. Alun Cairns hopes that businesses will recognise the huge potential available to help them invest and grow. Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said: “I want Welsh businesses to get out into the wider world, to trade and do business all around the globe. That is why we are sharing the advice, guidance and support available from the UK Government, from the Department for International Trade, for businesses in our Wales Export Guide. We want to help them to build their brand abroad as we continue to increase UK exports and encourage inward investment.” DIT has helped to secure billions of pounds in export opportunities, and since its creation in July 2016, the department has also supported; • A trade mission to India which resulted in £1.2 billion worth of business deals; • The largest ever healthcare trade mission to China which saw British organisations sign deals worth more than £250 million and; • UK architecture firms to secure a contract worth tens of millions of pounds in UAE. DIT has also set up ten working groups across 15 countries to
strengthen trade and commercial ties with key trading partners around the world. International Trade Minister, Greg Hands said: “We are already a great trading nation, but as an international economic department we now want to encourage businesses to look at whether there could be a global market for their goods and services. By designing our own trade policy in Britain’s national interest, after we leave the EU, we will be able to take advantage of growing markets around the world and further boost our export successes.” Through great.gov.uk, the department gives UK businesses access to millions of pounds’ worth of potential overseas business, helping them start or increase exporting. There’s been more than 2.4 million visits to great.gov.uk and more than 3,300 UK businesses have already registered on the government’s ‘Find a Buyer’ service to match UK businesses to worldwide demand. Exporting support for Wales DIT hosted the inaugural Wales Export Business Summit where more than 80 businesses came together to access advice and guidance from entrepreneurs, international business owners and export champions. The summit helped to connect firms starting out on their exporting journey with the expertise they need. In the last year, DIT has supported almost 1,200 companies in Wales by helping them attend overseas trade shows, carry out crucial market research and develop international relationships. One Welsh manufacturer that has benefited from government support is Pontypool-based company Flamgard Calidair. Through UK Export Finance, which operates as part of DIT, Flamgard secured a contract to provide specialist fire and shut off dampers to the Chernobyl site. The €1.5bn multinational engineering project, managed by international contractor Novarka, will be installed in late 2017.
PatSnap Reaches US Shores with LA Office Launch PatSnap, the Intellectual Property Analytics company backed by Sequoia and used by innovative companies to accelerate their R&D, on July 13th announced the launch of its first USA office in Los Angeles. The new office will provide enhanced, dedicated support to PatSnap’s rapidly growing customer base in the USA.
PatSnap has brought together the world’s largest IP dataset, and by adding licensing and litigation data, economic data, patent valuation, image and chemical formula search, and trademark recognition, it provides the world’s most innovative enterprises, public bodies and academic institutions with a new, intuitive source of information for use during research. The company has chosen Los Angeles as its first North American outpost, over the well-trodden path to Silicon Valley. Amir Achourie, one of PatSnap’s London office founders, will lead PatSnap’s USA presence as Head of Sales Americas.
On choosing Los Angeles (also known as Silicon Beach), over the world-renowned technology hub of Silicon Valley, Amir said: “L.A has always been a creative hub. It has great universities, and Mayor Garcetti is working hard to create a supportive environment for fast-growing companies to thrive in. It was a surprisingly easy choice.” PatSnap now has over 3000 customers globally, and is onboarding new customers at a rate of 100 a month. Find out more: patsnap.com
On the decision to launch the USA office, Amir said: “60% of our customers are now based in the USA – so the question probably shouldn’t be ‘why are we opening the USA office?’ but ‘why has it taken so long?’. The truth is our amazing customer success team, and our UK sales operations have done such a brilliant job of establishing PatSnap in the USA that until now it wasn’t necessary. Recently we reached a tipping point where over 50% of our customers were based in the USA, and more and more of them are Enterprise level customers. We had to be on the ground to support them.”
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Put a ‘Dent in the Universe’ Gazelles International, winner of the Best Global Management Consultancy Firm for 2017, is a worldwide coaching association. It brings together independent, executive business coaches who guide organisations in using the system for scaling described in the book Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) by Verne Harnish, founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO) and the executive education firm Gazelles. Gazelles International coaches help organisations’ leadership teams develop a One-Page Strategic Plan and implement the Four DecisionsTM framework for making the right choices when it comes to People, Strategy, Execution and Cash. We spoke with Harnish recently to find out more about his system for helping companies scale up. Gazelles International coaches focus primarily on the scaling of mid-market companies (revenue from $5MM to $500MM) using the Four DecisionsTM as the framework for growth. Founded in 1997 by Harnish, Gazelles International has successfully grown under the leadership of Keith Cupp, current president and head coach, and Ron Huntington (past president). Gazelles International continues to expand as it fulfills its promise to offer the best education, tools, and community to the top business coaches in the world. The books for which Harnish is known are: • Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It… and Why the Rest Don’t (Rockefeller Habits 2.0); • The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time: How Apple, Ford, IBM, Zappos, and others made radical choices that changed the course of business and; • Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growth Firm. Many leaders who have read Harnish’s books want customized guidance in how to apply what
they have learned. Gazelles International coaches provide instruction tailored to their needs. “Gazelles International coaches are many of the most experienced, most effective executive coaching professionals in the world,” says Harnish. “They support growing companies and business units across the globe. Today, more than 220 Gazelles International coaches collaborate with more than 2,700 companies on six continents worldwide and contribute to more than $42 billion in combined revenues to the global economy. Gazelles International coaches have access to the best education through ongoing training, webinars and conferences; strong, relevant business partnerships; and the best tools (Four DecisionsTM Intellectual Property); as well as the exceptional Gazelles International community of top business coaches, Harnish notes. Additionally, Gazelles International coaches can seek certification in the use of Gazelles products and services. Certified coaches undergo at least 45 annual hours of continuing education received directly from mid-market thought leaders. Gazelles International coaches assist their clients with the
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implementation of the Four DecisionsTM, refinement of the One-Page Strategic Plan, annual and quarterly business planning, executive coaching for performance, and other services based the coach’s additional expertise, notes Harnish. The Four DecisionsTM is a framework for making decisions about four key areas of the business: People, Strategy, Execution and Cash. “The coaches are selected for their experience, professionalism, and ability to effectively coach their clients using these and other Gazellesrelated products and services,” he says. Why ‘Gazelles’? ‘Gazelle’ is a technical economic term for a company growing at an annual rate of 20% or more. This is the target market for Gazelles’ efforts, a market Harnish has served for over three decades as founder of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), an association he founded prior to launching Gazelles in 1997. Harnish’s published books reflect his work helping companies scale up. He is also the Venture columnist for FORTUNE magazine and writes about scaleups for Huffington Post. His first book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, became
a best-seller and has been translated into nine languages. It summarized the curriculum Harnish developed for EO’s executive program, which he launched in 1991, called “The Birthing of Giants,” held on the campus of MIT. He still teaches in that program, which has been renamed the Entrepreneurial Masters Program (EMP). With the editors of FORTUNE, he authored The Greatest Business Decisions of All Times, for which Jim Collins wrote the foreword. His latest book, Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0), has won eight major international book awards including the prestigious 2015 International Book Award for best general business book. Harnish also chairs FORTUNE magazine’s annual Scale Up Summits. He serves on several boards including chairman of The Riordan Clinic, which specializes in functional and integrative medicine, and chairman and co-founder of the newly launched Geoversity, an alliance of entities that share a commitment to learning from and partnering with nature. Harnish is a private investor in many scaleups. He is married with four children and enjoys piano, tennis and magic as a card-carrying member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
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Testimonials about Verne Harnish “Verne is THE guru of fast growth companies. Those who listen GROW and SUCCEED . . . so listen . . . or read!” Tom Peters “Verne is more committed to helping companies grow than any other person on the planet. Really. He’s also radically practical in his approach and that is reflected throughout this terrific book.” Patrick Lencioni, best-selling author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Advantage
“Scaling Up addresses the second half of the venture ball game, something often lost in all the hoopla about incubating disruptive innovation during the first half. Half-time scores don’t matter—it’s all about how you finish the game. So, get yourself into Verne’s locker room for a great half-time pep talk, and then get yourself out on the field to play a great second half.” Geoffrey Moore, Author, Crossing the Chasm “Imagine walking into a library and finding one book that captures the ideas of all the books in the library. Scaling Up is that business book. You will not have to go any farther.” Jack Stack, founder and CEO of SRC Holdings
Company: Gazelles Inc Name: Verne Harnish Email: coaches@gicoaches.com Web Address: www.scaleupu.com Telephone: 703-858-2300
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Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It… and Why the Rest Don’t In Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It… and Why the Rest Don’t, Harnish encourages entrepreneurs to “put a dent in the universe” and dominate their industry. The tools and techniques described focus on three deliverables: 1. Cut the company’s operational activities— the time it takes leadership to manage the business—by 80%; 2. Refocus the senior team on market-facing activities and; 3. Realign everyone else (onto the same page) to drive execution and results. And when these tools are successfully implemented, organisations attain these four outcomes: • At least double the rate of cash flow; • Triple their industry’s average profitability; • Increased valuation of the firm relative to competitors and; • Enjoyment of the climb by key stakeholders – employees, customers, and shareholders. Yet there are three barriers to scaling up, which Harnish details in the first chapter: • Leadership – ultimately, organisations don’t grow enough leaders who can delegate and predict; • Scalable infrastructure – the lack of the systems and structures (physical and organisational) to handle the complexities in communication and decisions that can come with growth and; • Market dynamics – the failure to address the increased competitive pressures that build (and erode margins) as you scale the business. As a result, he encourages teams to use the tools shared in the book to master four fundamentals: 1. In leading People, basic rules of parenting apply. Establish a handful of rules and repeat yourself a lot. Be consistent. This is the role and power of core values, which guide all the relationship decisions and systems in the company; 2. In setting Strategy, follow business strategist Gary Hamel’s definition. It must pass two tests: First, what you’re planning to do must really matter to customers and second, it must differentiate you from the competition; 3. In driving Execution, leaders must adopt three habits: First, have only a few priorities. Second, gather quantitative and qualitative data daily and review it weekly to guide decisions. Finally, they should establish an effective daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual meeting rhythm to keep everyone in the loop. The best at this grow faster. 4. In managing Cash, don’t run out of it. Pay as much attention to how every decision affects cash flow as you would to revenue and profitability.
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, Verne Harnish comes from a long tradition of entrepreneurship. His grandparents owned their own businesses, and his father ran a high-tech firm in the 1960s and 1970s. However, his father lost that business in the 1973 recession in the U.S. It was seeing the effects on his father and family that gave Harnish the drive to help other business owners succeed. “It devastated my father and our family, and I have dedicated my life to keep that from happening to others,” says Harnish. “For 35 years, I have done one thing. That is to help entrepreneurs.” Harnish’s first experience on the front lines of entrepreneurship came when his family moved from Colorado to Kansas after his father lost the high-tech business. His father enlisted his help in starting up an appliance repair business. “I had come from a privileged and wealthy background and here I was, selling appliances at the age of 15,” says Harnish. “This was my first experience with the world of entrepreneurship.” Although his introduction to entrepreneurship came through unfortunate circumstances, he found that he liked running businesses. “By the time I graduated college I was helping run a $12 million company called Superior Supply Company,” recalls Harnish. By 1983, he had co-founded the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs, which became a global organisation in 36 months. This led to founding the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organisation, now known as EO, in 1987.
“Scaling up a significant business requires precisely the kind of discipline and focus detailed in Verne’s practical and ‘how-to’ driven book.” – Scott Farquhar, co-founder and CEO of Atlassian The firm’s focus, from the beginning, has been firmly on scaleups, rather than startups. “It is the countries with gazelles that excel,” says Harnish. Most major cities have robust startup ecosystems, but to create jobs, they need those startups to scale up, notes Harnish. “Helping startups in the $5 million to $50 million range grow to $100 million in revenue—the sweet spot for job creation— is essential,” he says. “For political and business leaders, the real focus should be on scaleups, as much or more than startups.” At present, only about 4% of all companies scale up to more than $1 million per year in revenue, notes Harnish. Globally, scaleups make up no more than 2-3% of all the companies operating in an economy at present, he says. In the UK, they comprise only around 1%, he says. “Imagine if you could double that,” he says. Scaling up can be a slow process, however. “The real economic growth comes from the scaleup,”
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says Harnish. “Most scaleups have on average 25 years in business before things begin to take off.” In 2015, Harnish joined forces with an international team of experts to focus on helping scaleups around the globe. “Unfortunately, many cities don’t know how to assist scaleups in their growth,” explains Harnish. “Cities tend to measure the success of their entrepreneurial ecosystems by the sheer volume of people participating in business formation or local accelerators. In doing so, they overlook an element vital to the growth of their economies: The number of highpotential companies, or ‘gazelles’, with the capability to hit $100 million in revenue.” By 2016, Harnish and his colleagues launched ScaleUpU, an alliance of partners who are skilled in all aspects of scaling up companies. It offers executive education, quarterly education and strategic planning sessions for leadership teams and accredited online courses for leaders and employees to help them build robust, growing companies. To aid every city in unlocking its scaleups, ScaleUpU helps companies to grow and build the ecosystems that support them. The ScaleUpU impact report, “The Evolution of the ScaleUp Ecosystem” (https:// docs.wixstatic.com) details some of the early results of the alliance. “By identifying these companies and helping them significantly scale up, cities can gain a competitive edge in creating jobs and tax revenue,” says Harnish.
This report demonstrates how ScaleUpU’s strategies are transforming growing companies into thriving scaleups.” As a company scales, its founder needs to make the transition from entrepreneur to CEO, notes Harnish. “One thing all good entrepreneurs have in common is a thirst for learning,” he says. He points to Mark Cuban, who says he reads for three hours a day, and Warren Buffett, known to read 500 pages a day. “One thing that was highlighted in Buffett’s 50th-anniversary letter to shareholders was his #1 priority to take time for reading and thinking,” says Harnish. “Mark Zuckerberg reads a book every two weeks and Bill Gates reads 50 per year. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that four of the wealthiest people on the planet have this thing in common.” Leaders also need to keep pace with technology and understand how artificial intelligence will change their industry, notes Harnish in his 2017 “trends” column in FORTUNE magazine (fortune.com/2017/03/17/trendsbusiness-career-benefits/). “We are at a time when software is eating the world,” says Harnish. “At Gazelles, we’ve got a project where we are building both a business coach and CEO in a box. We’re building the same technology for our coaching partners and CEOs directly. It’s very exciting. You better be creating the software that is eating the world or you will be eaten. There are no other options.
Harnish went on to create EO’s premiere CEO programme Birthing of Giants, now known as the Entrepreneurial Masters Programme, and in 1991 began co-hosting it at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I still go back to teach there once a year,” he says. After his first child was born in 1997, Harnish founded Gazelles. “We wanted to eat our own dog food; practice what we preach,” recalls Harnish. “I had an ambitious, five-year plan to grow the company 10 times over with 150 coaching partners and 2,000 active clients.”
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Best for 4PL Control Tower Solutions 2017
Company: Procurus Europa Contact: Bryn Jones Email: brynj@procurusgroup.com Address: 9 Summit Business Park, Langer Road, Felixstowe, IP11 2JB, UK Phone: +44 1394 799052 Website: www.procurusgroup.com
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Best for 4PL Control Tower Solutions 2017 Procurus Europa Ltd, a member of the Harrison C White Ltd, are a dedicated 4th Party Logistics provider who automate and eliminate redundant functions leading to reduced costs and improved visibility and traceability end to end. We invited Bryn Jones to share the secrets behind the organisation’s phenomenal success. Established in 2009, Procurus understands the economics of the supply chain market and the diminishing opportunities for savings, but, through its specialist knowledge and use of advanced technologies, the company is able to leverage savings where others falter, as Bryn explains. “Through dedicated, remote or onsite implants, here at Procurus we use innovative technology to provide clear lines of communications, faster response times and proactive solutions. Combining our blue sky, creative thinking and innovative approach through our bespoke ‘LINK’ software suite (supplier management tool / tender management tool / no touch booking platforms / inventory management processors / advanced invoice matching technology/master data capture and analysis) we are able to provide our clients with a more competitive edge to drive their business forward in achieving their strategic goals. This is achieved through leveraging EDI, OCR and Business Intelligence technology, which along with
a highly experienced team of logistics experts, provides insights into the client’s business.
Bryn attributes to the dedication and hard work of its committed team.
“As a proven Entrepreneurial Global Award Winning 4PL (Asset Free, Carrier Neutral) Control Tower provider, our systems are designed to provide clear visibility across the client’s supply chain; identifying unseen bottlenecks and highlighting inefficiencies previously hidden within the clients own supply chain, in turn, empowering the client to make informed decisions whilst delivering measurable savings. In addition, the highly automated invoice matching process allows client teams across operations and finance to be freed up to focus on value added activities within their businesses helping to further reduce operational costs. Our client base is ever growing with our service provision not being restricted by commodity, we work alongside large global organisations with multiple subsidiaries through to singular organisations who believed at first they would not fit into our working scope.”
“This award compliments the awards recently received for Quality of Management and Quality of International Transport by the Global Trade Leaders Association. It is an indication to staff at all levels that their work is not only appreciated from within our own organisation but it is recognised from an external body. This is fundamental for all employees to understand this evaluation which consequently brings not only a feeling of achievement but a feeling of pride in what they conduct. These staff are central to our success; their drive, commitment, knowledge and focused approach ensure that the VOC (Voice of the Customer) is upheld in all they do. Our staff are proactive, multilingual, communicative “multidirectional”, advisory and agile in reaction, which provides the customer with advanced capabilities to make informed decisions.”
The firm is incredibly proud to win this prestigious award, which
The importance of staff cannot be underestimated, and as such Procurus are committed to ensuring that they always
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Best for 4PL Control Tower Solutions 2017
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, receive the training and support they need, as Bryn is keen to highlight. “From onset whether our staff are grown within or onboarded they are embraced by our driven family culture, they are provided not only the physical tools, but the soft skills and support to excel in what they do. We develop our staff to become effective managers and leaders which will drive our business forward to achieve our strategic goals. “Educating our staff through understanding the concept of culture and how it effects the organisation, we are creating motivated individuals to enable the organisation to flourish in such a dynamic environment, our strong culture aligns to the environment in which we work and allows for an adaptive cultural base. We thrive through inspirational leaders, managers and employees – traits of which we embrace are passion, loyalty, integrity, curiosity and multilateral thinking, this in turn allows our staff to perform to the best of their ability which is to the customer’s benefit.” “Leaders navigate and guide the organisation through transformation, and employees at every level have faith in the vision provided and thus follow the proven cultural change management systems in place.”
Remaining at the forefront of emerging industry developments is particularly crucial in the fast paced logistics market, and as such Procurus are fortunate to be in a position where they possess active memberships with numerous Chambers of Commerce, and cooperate with governmental organisations and international law offices, which provides the firm with access to future plans and pending laws applicable to our business, thus passing advance knowledge to our customers, allowing them to proactively aim off. Bryn explains how the organisation, which operates across Europe, is constantly seeking to ensure that clients receive cutting edge support and service. “As our name indicates Procurus Europa Ltd are not solely based in Germany, we have a pan European, CIS/RU seat and our Procurus USA Inc and Procurus Asia seating provides us with the comfort of knowing we can call on the larger geographical footing of the Harrison C White Holding to the benefit of the customers within. Our focus is our customer and thus adaptive to customer needs. “Germany is the leading European country per the World Development Indicator with a 4.54% market share of the Global Economic Chart to which Europe represents 21.37%. The Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) from the Zurich Insurance Group also perceives Germany as a low risk country which works to the benefit of our customers. Despite this stability, our market place is continuously evolving at an increasing speed, we recognise the need to ensure our own developments must maintain our place at the leading edge of supply chain logistics management, therefore we anticipate that our ongoing investments in ‘fit for purpose’ software combined with continual improvement and our drive for service excellence will enable us to remain at the forefront of supply chain logistics management. In addition, United States and the United Kingdom (Brexit) trade relations are
currently being heavily monitored however due to our geographical presence we are best seated to adapt. “Currently the demand for our services seem to be growing year on year (Est 13.5% on CAGR over next 5 years), however, we must not sit back on our previous achievements, but strive to deliver stronger, better and more efficient solutions for our clients. Our ambition is not only to be the market leader but to continue to raise the bar and exceed the boundaries for the benefit of our clients.” Alongside developing its service offering to meet the ever evolving needs of its clients, Bryn foresees an increased focus on sustainability moving forward which his organisation will be keen to focus on, as he proudly concludes. “Over the coming years we expect our corporate footprint to increase not only within the German landscape, fundamentally this is due to individuals slowly understanding what a 4PL can do for their organisation. “Procurus Europa Ltd’s strategy allows it to possess the agility and adaptability to adjust to the ever-changing landscape, our staff are creative in thought, they are given tools and are given access to information to create new insights and connected as cross functional teams to develop capabilities to ensure the customer has a competitive advantage. “When dealing with organisations from onset Procurus Europa Ltd view the effects and impact of change management and build this into our BC (Business Case) thus providing clarity not only on the scope of operations but work alongside and in line with our and the clients core values.”
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Company: Human Synergistics InterConnext GmbH Name: John Van Etten Email: info@humansynergistics.de Web Address: www1.humansynergistics.com Address: Krampenhausweg 1 D - 40882 Ratingen Germany Tel: +49 (0)2102 148 22 98
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A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words Human Synergistics InterConnext GmbH specialises in developing and providing tools, information, and proven change strategies that help enable individuals to reach their potential, groups to realise synergy and organisations to achieve sustainability. Managing Director, John Van Etten tells us more, following the firm’s success in winning the Best Organisation Development Company award.
Human Synergistics InterConnext GmbH can help you develop more effective leaders, innovative teams, and safer workplaces by measuring behavioural norms linked to these types of populations (leaders, teams, organizations) and their performance (effective, innovative, safe). In 40 years of quantitative research, HS has developed tools to measure culture (shared patterns of behaviour) and the statistical relationship between culture and business performance (customer focus, safety, adaptability, problem solving, profitability, etc.). This data-driven perspective allows HS not only to measure behavioural norms within organizations (i.e. culture) but it also creates the ability for clients to influence and develop the culture in informed ways. HS provides clients with the ability to ‘see’ not only whether employees are engaged and motivated, but more importantly why they are engaged and motivated and
thereby; how develop their culture to facilitate more highly engaged and motivated employees. If you agree with the adage that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, you’ll understand the beauty of the Human Synergistics Circumplex. With this practical visual device, you are able to: • ‘See’ the behavioural styles and patterns which are unpinning the performance of individuals, teams, and across the organisation. • Use a common language to quantify and discuss their own current and self-defined preferred cultures; clearly. • Measure, understand, plan and create real culture change. Managing Director of Human Synergistics InterConnext GmbH, John Van Etten is eager to reveal the firm’s remarkable track record of success, as well as their mission. “I believe the success of HS is not in the ability to measure
culture, but the ability to ‘show’ the culture and its´ influence upon performance. To ‘show’ the culture HS uses a model referred to as a ‘Circumplex’. This model has been used to illustrate behaviour, making it possible to understand and discuss culture using a shared model and language. Human Synergistics makes culture tangible.” When we measure behaviour and performance in individuals, teams, and organizations, we find patterns driving performance. The Circumplex illustrates these behaviourpatterns. Some behaviours (such as “planning ahead”) are satisfying and correlated with higher-levels of performance. While other behaviours (such as “procrastination”) are related with dissatisfaction and lower-levels of performance. Interestingly, this pattern is consistent across human-system “levels” (i.e. individuals, teams, organizations, etc.). In other words, “planning
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ahead” is not only satisfying and effective in individuals, but also in teams and organizations, and the members within. Therefore, we can use a single model, the Circumplex, to measure and interpret behaviour at each of these “levels”. The culture is measured using a survey called the “OCI” (Organizational Culture Inventory). This instrument provides feedback in measuring the actual current behavioural norms of the organization. Developed more than 30 years ago, the OCI has been applied and endorsed by millions of clients around the world - a true testament to its validity, relevance, and value. “The mission of Human Synergistics is to ‘change the world, one organisation at a time’. This is important to us because, culture within organisations not only influences the performance of the business, but it also impacts the satisfaction and wellbeing of all those who work within the business. Therefore, helping our clients to develop more constructive cultures is extremely rewarding.
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“By helping our clients to perform more highly as part of the business, we are also helping them to create a more constructive work environment, which benefits everyone.” John then explains the trends he is seeing in the wider industry today, including any key developments specific to Germany. “Organisational culture has recently become a ‘hot’ topic and while culture has always been important to the performance of organizations, the relationship between culture and performance is more widely understood today. As a result of this learning, we are seeing an increasing interest not only in culture, but in being able to quantitatively measure, understand, and influence it. “More of our clients are interested in understanding how they can create a culture which promotes high-performance and wellbeing in their organisations. Thankfully, both of these are closely linked. “As Europe continues to move closer together,
businesses need a culture which supports co-ordination and collaboration across borders. The ‘borders’ can be regional, functional, hierarchical, or structural, so the question becomes ‘how can we create a culture within our organisation, which enables and supports, so all leaders, teams, and employees to collaborate and coordinate across our various “borders”’. Because of this, leaders are increasingly interested in creating a culture which unifies their business, across borders. This is a common case for culture measurement and development.” John then highlights the firm’s internal culture and how all staff are equipped to provide the best possible service to clients. “The ‘secret’ to our success is really not a secret, it´s culture. We have an energetic, well trained, competent team who understands our goals and work collaboratively and adaptively to achieve those goals by serving our clients. How do we create this type of culture? We begin by using the OCI.
“I think we are well equipped to help our clients measure and develop their cultures, because we measure and develop ours as well. This is a large part of how we ensure that our staff can deliver results and projects on time, consistently, and in a format which helps our clients to understand and make a case for change. “Aside from culture, I believe we are functionally welldesigned as a business. For example, our territory includes the DACH as well as France, Belgium, Poland and the Czech Rep., and we have a team of project managers who speak native German, French, Dutch, Polish, Czech, and English. We are designed to serve our clients, with diverse capabilities to service the diversity of our clients”
my optimism; the more closely leaders look at their business performance, the more they find it linked with individual performance. The more we look at individual performance, the more we find it to be linked with individual wellbeing. As we look at the wellbeing of people in organizations, we find it closely linked with culture. “Therefore, the best ways to promote business performance, is to creating a culture which promotes the wellbeing, and thereby performance, of your people. This is a true ‘win/win’. This is what we create with our clients.”
Finally, John reveals the nature of the German corporate landscape today and any future developments he foresees. “I am very optimistic for the future, not only of our business, but the future of the business and employment in general. The reason for
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Voyage of Discovery
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Company: Mediterranean Shipping Company (U.K.) Ltd. Name: Mammy Ramarosahanina Email: uk.hello@msc.com Web Address: www.msc.com Address: Medite House, The Havens Ipswich, Suffolk IP3 9SJ UK Telephone: +44 (0)1473 277 777
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Voyage of Discovery Mediterranean Shipping Company (U.K.) Ltd. is a world leader in global container shipping. We interviewed the firm’s Mammy Ramarosahanina to discover more. Mediterranean Shipping Company (U.K.) Ltd. is a privately owned global organisation, operating a network of over 480 offices in 150 countries, employing a team of over 60,000 dedicated individuals. Mammy takes up the story further by telling us about the firm’s established presence in the freight industry and the crucial role of their seasoned professionals. “We have an established fleet of 460 container vessels, with an intake capacity of circa 2.75 million TEU. Our global sailing schedules cover 200 routes, calling at 315 ports, allowing us to deliver your cargo almost anywhere in the world. “Our sea freight offering is complemented by our integrated warehousing and haulage services, which enable us to offer a true door-to-door service. As a company, we believe in operating as independent national carriers, this means we’re able to offer you a global service with our unrivalled local knowledge. “We have trained, experienced experts available for our full range of services including reefer, out-of-gauge, breakbulk and each of our trade services – each operating in tandem with your business. This gives us the ability to uphold the personal service we’re globally recognised for - and offers you peace-ofmind - that we’ll be on-hand to help whenever you need us. Whatever you’re shipping, wherever your destination, we’d love to hear from you.” Wholly owned by Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., the firm operates as an independent
national carrier delivering the company’s global services locally to you throughout the UK. Mammy provides more details about the firm, including their presence in the UK and how they can assist you. “Our four regional offices are in Ipswich (MSC UK Head Office), London, Liverpool and Glasgow, housing over 500 dedicated team members. From here we can provide support, guidance and advice regarding your shipments, moving between the UK and any destination in the world. “MSC UK is proud to offer the widest UK port range of any carrier operating their own vessels, with nine local ports of call. Our comprehensive UK port range is complemented by our dedicated road and rail haulage resource and warehouse facilities; allowing us to tailor ideal solutions to every customer’s logistics needs. “If you’re moving cargo to or from the UK, whether it’s standard, reefer, breakbulk or any other cargo, our MSC UK team are here to help you.” Traditional values, modern thinking, unrivalled service and an enduring passion for the sea define the firm. Inspired by his family’s wealth of maritime history, Captain Gianluigi Aponte built the MSC Group from a single vessel operation in 1970, into the global business it is today. Mammy is keen to share more with us about the remarkable story behind the company and how its success has been driven by Captain Gianluigi Aponte and his family. “Over the last four decades, Captain Gianluigi Aponte and
his family have driven the unprecedented growth and diversification of the business. Today the MSC Group employs more than 60,000 people across a range of business activities and is a benchmark for customer service within the transportation industries. “During the early years of business, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company’s cargo operations captured the family’s values and respect for the sea. The culture of hospitality, drawn from the family’s roots in the Mediterranean, encouraged the business to venture into new territories, extending into the cruises arena. “Offering cargo services and cruise holidays, the MSC Group caters to both the B2B and B2C shipping industries, developing multiple subsidiary companies to complement both market leading businesses. MSC Group portfolio includes: MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A.; MSC Cruises and Terminal Investment Limited.” Culture & values First and last, MSC is a family. This sense of family feeds into everything they do, Mammy tells us, a point he is keen to develop further. “Building, developing and harnessing positive relationships, with customers and colleagues alike, is at the very heart of our commercial success. We will always endeavour to go that extra mile for you, taking an active interest in you and your business. “All around the world MSC’s teams share a pride, a passion and a belief in the company and the way we do business.
Channelling this passion is what enables us to deliver unrivalled customer service. MSC’s people take a personal interest in finding solutions to match each of our customers’ needs. Our dedicated team of more than 24,000 people will be happy to serve you in the best way possible for your business.” Mammy then highlights the firm’s views around social responsibility & human rights. “The UK Modern Slavery Act imposes to companies the publication of a statement on the steps taken to ensure that their activity and supply chain is free from slavery, human trafficking and other related offenses such as servitude, forced or compulsory labour, child labour, securing services by force, threats or deception. “It applies to both UK companies and foreign incorporated companies, that conduct at least part of their commercial activity within the UK and that have an annual turnover of £36 million or more. MSC is dedicated to conduct its business in a fair, ethical and responsible manner and is committed to fight slavery and to the respect of human rights.” In closing, Mammy places the spotlight on the firm’s culture and values in the UK and the challenge if achieving an efficient supply chain. “We are a solutions-focused business, committed to delivering world class customer service. At MSC UK, we talk a lot about offering services designed for the real world. We understand that while your cargo may be packed into neat, orderly boxes, the dayto-day experience of maintaining an efficient supply chain isn’t always so straightforward.”
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Facilitating Infrastructure Financing
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Company: PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (PERSERO) Name: Marina Novita Email: marina@ptsmi.co.id Web Address: www.ptsmi.co.id Address: Sahid Sudirman Center 48th Floor, Jl. Jend. Sudirman No.86, Jakarta 10220, Indonesia Telephone: +62 21 808 252 288
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Facilitating Infrastructure Financing PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (Persero) (PT SMI) is an AAA class (local corporate rating) infrastructure financing firm, established in 2009. It is 100% owned by the government of Indonesia, through the country’s Minister of Finance. As winner of the exclusive Best in Business 2017 – Indonesia award, we interviewed the firm’s Marina Novita to discover more. PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (Persero) (PT SMI) is a AAA class (local corporate rating) infrastructure financing firm, established on 26th February 2009 and is owned 100% by the government of Indonesia through the country’s Minister of Finance. PT SMI’s head office located in Jakarta, at the heart of capital city of Indonesia. The firm’s Marina Novita begins by detailing the role of the firm and the various sectors they support. “PT SMI plays active role in facilitating infrastructure financing, as well as project preparation and advisory services. PT SMI support the government’s infrastructure development agenda, through public-private partnership projects. As such, PT SMI serve as a catalyst in accelerating infrastructure development in Indonesia. “Eligible sectors that can be financed by PT SMI include: toll roads & bridges; transportation; oil & gas; telecommunication;
waste management; electricity; irrigation & waterway; water supply; social infrastructure (urban infrastructure, education facilities infrastructure, regional infrastructure, tourism infrastructure, health infrastructure and prison infrastructure), the expansion of electricity infrastructure includes energy efficiency and railway rolling stock.” “The total value of projects that we’ve been involved since 2009 is ~IDR 232 trillion, which is the equivalent to $17.4 billion.” Marina then underlines her reflections on winning the exclusive Best in Business 2017 – Indonesia award, plus something of the qualities the firm can offer to potential clients. “It was a mix of excitement and surprise to win this special award, as our hard work was recognised and has paid off. Behind any award is hard work and solid team work, plus a result-oriented group of people providing excellent service delivery and innovative products that meet the clients’ needs. Winning an award such as this also tells that
our firm is reaching a certain level, that could not be achieved by other. We are therefore very honoured that our stakeholders recognised all of this. “In addition, we believe that reliable human resources (HR) are an indispensable factor supporting the firm’s drive for excellence and sustainability. Therefore, management put great attention to the growth and the enhancement of our HR competencies, through: targeted recruitment, supervision, coaching, development programmes; providing opportunities for employees to develop competence via training; remuneration strategy to stay competitive in the market; paying attention to the achievement of performance and contributions based on employee promotion guidelines and providing a comfortable office environment to enhance comfortability as well as loyalty.” Marina then shifts the conversation towards the important role that innovation plays in the firm’s work, and their role as an industry-shaping and progressive business in Indonesia.
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Facilitating Infrastructure Financing
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, “As a catalyst for the acceleration of national infrastructure development, as a state-owned company under Ministry of Finance, we have an active role in financing infrastructure projects in Indonesia. We also assist with project preparation, through consultation services and development activities. As a firm, we have a mandate to support the acceleration of infrastructure development. One focus of this mandate is the government and the public-private partnership (PPP) programme, which involves various financial institutions, both private and multilateral. “Being aware of the need for large scaled infrastructure development, the firm has created some innovations through long-term financing schemes. In addition, we have been innovative where finance products are concerned by offering other financing schemes such as subordinated loans, mezzanine loans, cash deficiency support, convertible loan and equity investment (equity) that are complimentary with financing products offered by banks. By offering such product, the firm tries to close the gap to accelerate the financial close of infrastructure projects in Indonesia. “The firm also has established a corporate culture namely I-SPRINT (integrity, service excellence, partnership, resilience, innovation and trust). The implementation of a shared work culture is important for the firm to ensure employees’ ability to uphold and support the firm values, that also aligned with firm strategies and business activities.” Marina then turns the spotlight on what the Jakarta region offers a business such as PT SARANA MULTI INFRASTRUKTUR (PERSERO). “The $1.7 trillion infrastructure financing gap in Asia (based on Asian Development Bank projection) is said to be a ‘problem’ of the region’s success, which will require more facilities over the coming years. The bottleneck is coming up, simply because of the fast growth within the region, plus
improvements in living standards and sustained growth, all of which would raise new issues for these countries to handle. “In Indonesia for example, The National Medium Term Development Plan (2015- 2019), states that the infrastructure needed to support the increasing economic growth amounts to IDR4,796 trillion. The three highest sectors are electricity, road, and port respectively 20.8%, 15.3% and 12.3%. However, the government funds available in the state and local budgets to meet these needs, only amounts to IDR 1,978,6 trillion. The remaining amount is expected to be financed by SOEs, totalling IDR 1,066.2 trillion and private investors, of around IDR 1,751.5 trillion. “PT SMI was formed as part of the government’s strategy to overcome the obstacles of infrastructure development, especially to promote private investment in it by creating innovative products and services to close the gap of infrastructure needs.” In closing, Marina is keen to underline the firm’s hopes for the future. “Supporting sustainable development goals (SDG), by providing equality infrastructure development for both central and sub national level in several ways is our aim for the future. This includes providing unique financing products and municipal financing, as well as leveraging the balance sheet to explore various capital market instruments. We also want to optimise collaboration with multilateral and development banks, as well as bilateral agencies to enhance our capacity in terms of both financing and knowledge improvement. “We’ve covered a lot already, but I do want to mention once again thank you for this wonderful award. It will be a good recognition for us and a strong reason that we must do more and more and give the best contribution to the nation.”
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Ground-breaking Social Commerce Technology
Company: eKomi, Ltd. Name: Michael Ambros Email: info@ekomi.de Web Address: www.ekomi-us.com Address: MarkgrafenstraĂ&#x;e 11 10969 Berlin, Germany Telephone: +49 (0)30 2000 444 999
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Ground-breaking Social Commerce Technology eKomi, The Feedback Company is Europe’s premiere and largest independent provider of transaction-based reviews and ratings. As a proud winner of the German Business Excellence Award, we interviewed the company’s founder and CEO of eKomi Ltd., Michael Ambros to ascertain more.
eKomi, as a Google worldwide partner with over 250+ employees and headquartered in Berlin, Germany and Los Angeles, California with offices in London, Paris, Madrid, and San Francisco, eKomi has gathered and published over 40,000,000 reviews for customers. More than 14,000 companies leverage eKomi´s social commerce solution to enable trust, increase sales, reduce returns and drive organic traffic through selfperpetuating user-generatedcontent. The company’s founder and CEO of eKomi Ltd., Michael Ambros begins by telling us what they can do for you and the vital role of their executive leadership team. “eKomi´s ground-breaking social commerce technology enables online businesses to generate seller ratings, customer reviews, product reviews, social recommendations and create viral effects on websites, social media and search engines allowing for a successful revenue generating impact for businesses. “In terms of our executive leadership team, this combines much expertise and experience across industries, functions and geographies. Our executive leadership team fosters a common culture focused on
cooperation, responsiveness, and quality to ensure the best outcomes for our clients. Our goal together is to discover, implement and share ways of helping great businesses succeed online.” As the founder and CEO of eKomi Ltd., Michael Ambros is an ambitious, strategic entrepreneurial business pioneer and a strong leader. He is highly thought of as a forward-thinker and visionary, indeed during his studies in International Business in Regensburg, Germany and in La Rochelle, France, he began working on SEO. He goes on to tell his story in his own words. “In 2005, together with my close friend and business colleague Gunther Schmidt, I founded my first start-up company, SMS Lotse, which became one of the most far-reaching and successful telecommunications portals in Germany. In 2007, I was employed as an online marketing specialist at the European Founders Fund GmbH, where he was responsible for various portfolio companies. “In early 2008, I launched my second company, Medici Internet AG, an agency specialising in performance and affiliate marketing. To date, I currently serve on the board of directors at Medici Internet AG. Just six months later, in the summer of 2008, I founded eKomi, Europe’s premiere and
largest independent provider of transaction-based reviews and ratings. “My vast list of specialties includes product reviews, product ratings, shop ratings, seller ratings, customer feedback, social recommendations, SEM, SEO and more. I am also considered a proven social commerce expert, as well as being a frequent speaker at events on this very topic. I hold international awards in innovation by CeBIT, The Fraunhofer Institute and SME Initiative.
“Schmidt has been pivotal in bringing eKomi to the international leader in social commerce technologies that it is today. Coming from a vast internet marketing background involving organic search engine optimisation, e-commerce, conversion rate analysis, statistical analysis and affiliate marketing, eKomi relies on Schmidt’s wealth of experience and ingenuity. Schmidt began his career working in banking where he simultaneously launched his entrepreneurial pursuits in SEO and internet marketing.
“I’m also an active member of both the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and Young Entrepreneur Council. I spend my time internationally between eKomi’s hub city offices, where I spearhead global expansion, strategy, operations and the management of all eKomi’s enterprises.
“Prior to founding eKomi together with Michael Ambros, we both used our masterful knowledge of SEO to build our first start-up company SMS Lotse, in 2005. In 2007, Schmidt formed GoMobile Media GmbH and following in early 2008, he and I brought our second joint venture to life, Medici Internet AG.
Michael is keen to conclude, by telling us about the crucial role of the company’s co-founder and Managing Director, none other than Gunther Schmidt.
“In 2012, Schmidt ventured into the real estate industry and launched Medici Living, where he is currently also building up the global rollout of the business, as the CEO. As an acknowledged reputable online marketing authority, Schmidt’s expertise is frequently sought after, indeed he is a regular spokesperson on matters in this arena. Schmidt is also an active member of his professional community through his membership roles in Mensa International and the Global Entrepreneurs’ Organization.”
“Our co-founder and Managing Director, Gunther Schmidt, is both an innovative and a seasoned professional. He is also an entrepreneur and a start-up executive, responsible for growing strategic partnerships and developing new revenue channels for the company.
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Catering to Customer’s Mobile Needs
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Contact: B. Salomon N’DRI Email: infos@ediattah.com Company: Ediattah Conseils & Solutions Address: Abidjan Cocody Inades, Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 16 BP 1111 Abidjan 16 Ivory Coast Telephone: +225 22440251 Web Address: www.ediattah.com
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Catering to Customer’s Mobile Needs Dedicated to servicing the mobile value-added service industry with powerful state-of-theart technology, it is no wonder that EDIATTAH Conseils & Solutions is becoming the go-to company of choice for its customers. EDIATTAH Conseils & Solutions is a start-up company specializing in mobile value-added services and solutions. Created in October 2007, the company is headquartered in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) specifically in Abidjan, the economic capital. As a full telecom value-added service provider and enabler, the firm offers products over three core value-added service segments: Mobile value-added service Offering to carriers, content owners and SMS resellers a next generation service delivery platform that offers: • USSD and direct operator billing • Plug and play mobile content aggregations and monetization service to carriers • A plug and play content monetization system to content concepts owners • SMPP, HTTP, XML external applications interconnection protocols for international SMS transit business • Multilevel CAPEX free white label SMS reseller system Voice value-added service Over SIP protocol, the firm offers International long distance calls and DID voice gateway with pure CLI routes in Africa (47 countries), India, China, Hong Kong, France, Germany, UK, Italy, USA, Canada and Brazil.
Daily life apps • Remote phone management • Child security – Panic alert and parent localization via SMS over Android, iOS and Windows Mobile apps B. Salomon N’DRI of EDIATTAH Conseils & Solutions tells us more about the firm and its main client base. “We have two main categories of customers,” says Salomon. “These are businesses and individuals. For companies, our customers of choice are the mobile operators with whom we enter into strategic contracts to deliver Mobile Services Delivery platforms (M-SDP), Strategic solutions but we also have other companies like banks, financial institutions, market place owners, Educational institutions and insurance as customers. The second category represents the individuals, mostly students for whom we create employment by offering them free key-inhand SMS, Voice and Mobile VAS monetization white label platforms.” Salomon continues to explain what it is exactly that sets the company aside from competitors in its field of expertise.
Salomon continues to explain that many mobile operators do not believe in the skills of local companies and are always keen to give important strategic markets to Indian, Chinese and European firms. “It is this state of mind that we want to fight, revolutionize by offers in terms of platforms, services and solutions based on advanced technologies. “Our clients are amazed to know that local skills can offer services that compete and that are sometimes better than those offered by international firms because we know Africa local realities and our solutions are designed accordingly.” It is clear to see that the company is succeeding in this respect as it holds several great partnerships with large, world-renowned telecomms companies.
“We made a great partnership with the group ORANGE FRANCE TELECOM that permits us to launch any value-added service in the subsidiaries of group in MEA area; we are also currently finalizing a wonderful partnership of managed service with MTN CI, one of the giants in telecommunication in Africa.” The only limit of the Mobile Value-Added Services ecosystem EDIATTAH is operating in is the capability to think, imagine and innovate to address customers’ needs, states Salomon. “Considering this, we can say that opportunities are limitless and the sole challenge is powering new solutions that address the customer’s daily changing requirements. “It is high time that the entire world discovers the potentialities of Young Africa IT in terms of innovation and ingenuity through EDIATTAH’s innovations. Soon we will offer the world two services that will revolutionize their behaviour and vision of online shopping and social networking.”
“The proven competence of our management, sales and technical team enables us to develop state-of-the-art services and solutions that have nothing to envy the solutions proposed by large European, American and Asian companies.”
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1706WW04
A Perpetual Investment Opportunity
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Company: Runestone Capital Name: Rune Madsen Email: rune.madsen@runestonecap.com Web Address: runestonecap.com Address: 239 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6SN, UK Telephone: +44 207 316 3084
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A Perpetual Investment Opportunity Rune Madsen and Rasmus Andersen launched Runestone Capital Fund in May 2015, together leveraging their collective 28 years of investment experience. Following their success in winning the Asset Manager of the Year – UK award, we spoke to the firm’s Partner, Rune Madsen to learn more about their approach to investment. They have worked together since 2008 at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, London. Throughout their career, they have been exposed to a wide range of internal and self-created strategies. As Rune put it, “Professionally, we’ve always aimed to produce investment ideas with great risk/reward characteristics, which has often led to unconventional strategies. “In 2009, we started to trade more U.S. Equity Index Volatility both for clients and our own money as it became more liquid. Back then, it was an overlay strategy to other investments. Gradually, we became more systematic in the space and it became a standalone strategy as it was the most interesting and rewarding strategy we had ever experienced. This is because volatility is in constant movement, there are always opportunities for a non-biased volatility fund like ourselves; hence we perceive it to be a perpetual investment opportunity.” Rune and Rasmus manage the Runestone Capital Fund and the soon to be launched Runestone Capital U.S. Fund. Both funds will follow the same strategy. Greg Sperrazza is the Head of Sales and Marketing in the US. Peter Clarke, the former CEO of Man Group, is a senior advisor to Runestone Capital Ltd and an
investor in the Runestone Capital Fund. What is the Runestone Capital Fund? Runestone Capital Fund is an Absolute Return Fund that aims to generate more than 20% net annualized return over a cycle, regardless of market conditions. The strategy buys or sells U.S. equity index volatility based on statistical probabilities. It has been back tested from January 1st 2006 and been in fund format since 2015. The Fund is not a tail event or a short volatility fund as it is non-biased on being long or short volatility. It is designed to work over diverse market conditions. Why Now? The great advantage with volatility trading is that there is always opportunity as the asset class always has fluctuations. This means Runestone Capital Fund will never run out of opportunities. Their risk management framework has allowed them to avoid large drawdowns versus their upside potential and this is the key to long term success. Volatility funds are subject to increasing investor interest and Runestone Capital Fund is well positioned with industry leading performance. As the capital markets move further out on the valuation curve, the appeal of absolute return strategies should increase as risk/return for their
strategy is not hampered by a higher valuation in other markets. The firm anticipate the volatilitybased asset class is on the cusp of high growth going forward and the Runestone Capital Fund will be at the forefront of this with its unique strategy.
Fund emphasize the overall investment process rather than focusing on short-term results. This process has delivered strong results in both the back tests as well as the live period and they feel confident this will continue going forward.
The future of Runestone Looking ahead, Rune and Rasmus believe the Fund will achieve its performance goal as the strategy is well designed to work over a market cycle. Also, the Fund has shown similar results in the live period versus the back test. They are confident that this will continue. Positive results have occurred in equity markets that traded down, up and in choppy markets without a clear trend. The performance range during negative equity markets is wider than flat to up markets, but so is the average return during these market conditions.
As investment managers, both Rune and Ramus are fully invested in the strategy hence why the cannot afford for loses to escalate. In the volatility space, there are endless opportunities as there are movements each day. It is crucial to preserve capital when positions do not work out and focus on the next opportunity. Their confidence is so high in the strategy that they have left lucrative careers to start the company and Fund with their own capital. This confidence is even higher today than it was when they started.
Whilst Rune or Ramus cannot guarantee that performance will return to the same level as the historical average, both believe that Runestone Capital Fund’s strategy going forward will perform in accordance with their performance goals as structurally nothing has materially changed and the models are adaptive to change. Overall, market conditions in the future may be very different from today, last week or 3 years ago. Therefore, Runestone Capital
What differentiates Rune and Ramus from some of their competitors is that the strategy does not have a pre-set bias to be short-or long-volatility. Their positions are based on statistical probabilities. This has caused them to perform well in different market conditions. Also, the Firm’s culture is deeply rooted in questioning themselves and digging down until they get an answer. However, this does not mean they know each answer or that they try to put a reason behind every market move like many other industry professionals.
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Sweet Success
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Contact: Andrew Parker Email: Andrew.Parker@parkerspackaging.com Company: Parkers Packaging Limited Address: Millbrook Court, Knowsley, L34 9AS, UK Telephone: 0151 547 6700 Web Address: www.parkerspackaging.com
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Sweet Success Parkers Packaging Ltd was created and founded in 2004 by three members of the Parkers family who have a long-standing background in the print and packaging industry. We recently invited commercial director, Andrew Parker to tell us more about the company. Formed out of the original family business of TW Parker Ltd (which is still trading today), and was sold a few years ago. Parkers Packaging aim was to focus on small to medium sized clients in the dairy and ice-cream markets. Initially a predominantly wholesale based company working with a number of UK and European manufacturers in plastic and paper packaging, Parkers have invested over 4 million pounds to develop into one of the UKs leading manufacturers of injection moulded packaging and paper cups. Whilst still heavily associated with the ice-cream industry, Parkers have made strong inroads into other markets such as DIY, Pet foods and general retail food, as Andrew explains. “Our natural trading arena remains the ice-cream industry. This market is obviously heavily influenced by the weather but with the development of our production lines we have increased our flexibility. A result of this has been securing larger food service contracts which are more balanced throughout the year. Building on this more balanced approach to production Parkers have been able to approach other markets and after researching the different product and service requirements of this markets we have been able to work with these clients on a number of projects.” Parkers Packaging Ltd have had recent success in the Worldwide Business Review,
having been selected in the Best in Small Business Awards. Andrew exclaims his excitement about the win and praises the dedicated staff. “To have been chosen is really exciting. The team were thrilled to be told of the award and there is a real and tangible ‘buzz’ around the sites. It’s a real honour and culmination of hard work and an enduring commitment to meet and exceed our clients’ expectations. To have an acknowledgment of the efforts we make means our journey together is going in the right direction. “The main contributing factor in our success is down to our wonderful staff. We believe if you create a fun, respectful atmosphere in the work place and combine this with believing in and supporting your colleagues’ high points and sometimes low points the benefit back to the company is priceless. This is not the only success Parkers Packaging Ltd has had, from the past calendar year, as Andrew informs us.
“Overall, we have over 1000 clients all with unique businesses and demands. Whilst there will always be challenges for any business in the customer service area, over a year, our client satisfaction surveys that we send out always achieve a 97+%. To paraphrase recent testimonials, ‘Parkers are excellent, we have worked with them for over 20 years and found them innovative and quality driven at the right price’ (Solleys Farms Ice Cream), ‘The Parkers team gave us a great and professional service through the project’ (1ST Play Dietary Foods), ‘We are delighted with our packaging from Parkers which has given us an uplift in sales’ (Morrellis Foods, Northern Ireland).” Looking ahead, Andrew reflects on the firm’s growth and discusses the high hopes for the future of Parkers Packaging Ltd. “The growth for Parkers is planned on two main fronts. There is a phased purchase plan to add more injection moulded
lines with full automation along with the introduction of new product moulds. The second area will be the paper production side of the business. Currently, we have two sites in Knowsley and Merseyside. However, we are looking to either add a third site or ideally combine these sites into a larger purpose built site which will allow us to produce more paper products for the coffee and impulse markets. “As for our plans for the remainder of 2017, the main one is for the successful installation of a new injection mould line which will be the biggest yet for Parkers. This will give us extra capacity and introduce new products to the market. In 2018 we will be installing paper cup lines and converting some warehouse space to a new production area. “Long term we hope to be challenging in the coffee market and larger packaging markets and continuing to treat clients the way we would want to be treated.”
“We have launched a new 1 Litre Tamper Evident pack with full In Mould labels. Also, we have had to purchase a new larger tool to keep up with the demand for this product and this has seen our turnover surpass our forecasts.” As for what Parkers Packaging Ltd clients say about the work of the company, Andrew highlights the point that they are a family business and so their reputation is paramount to them.
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Advanced Wind Technology for Grid Integration ENERCON is a global Wind Energy Converter (WEC) manufacturer and is among top 5 WEC manufacturers in the world. We invited Ivana Majsec from ENERCON to tell us more about this dynamic manufacturer. ENERCON was founded in 1984 by Aloys Wobben in Aurich, Germany, and since 1998 has been present on Irish market. In 2005 ENERCON opens its first Service Station in Ireland and in 2010 a new Service Headquarters which led to opening the Sales office in Dublin in 2012. At the moment ENERCON has 11 Service Stations spread around the country, a Sales Office in Dublin and Head Service Office with a Main Warehouse in Tralee. Worldwide, ENERCON has 37 sales offices and 870.000 m² of production area with production sites in Germany, Canada, Brazil, Portugal Sweden, France, Turkey and Austria. What makes ENERCON unique is a high level of inhouse production, i.e. all main components of their WECs (from printed circuit boards, inverters, cast components and annular generators to rotor blades and towers) are produced at their own factories. This approach ensures optimal quality control, security of supply and high level of in-house technical expertise. When discussing what sets ENERCON apart from competitors, Ivana informs us
of ENERCON’s three major concepts.
well placed to meet these requirements in to the future.
“In addition to the high level of inhouse production and expertise, there are 3 major ENERCON concepts that differentiate us from our competitors: • Turbine efficiency and reliability • Grid Integration and Wind Farm Management • Industry gold standard comprehensive long-term service and maintenance package
“Finally, on the service side, we offer a comprehensive service package, known as the ENERCON PartnerKonzept (EPK), which ensures owners of our turbines benefit from the peace of mind of optimum WEC performance during the entire service life. Maintenance, service, repair and logistics of all components are covered in one package, which also includes a guaranteed technical availability of 97% with unlimited warranty compensation.
“Since 1996, our products have been characterized by direct drive generators, meaning a wind turbine without a gearbox, which provides more reliability and efficiency than conventional gearbox turbines. Combined with a huge focus on research and development and advanced manufacturing facilities, has been the backbone for our success. “Secondly, we see huge benefits in the grid integration of our products. In electrical terms, the WEC is completely decoupled from the grid. This feature is becoming more and more important as the share of wind energy on the network is increasing, meaning technical requirements of grid operators is also increasing and we are
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“We have also focused on our logistic, aiming for efficiency and low carbon footprint in all areas from our own train network to transport raw materials to our factories in Germany, to our own ship with its unique diesel electric wind generator which we use for transporting finished components around the globe.” ENERCON recently found success in Worldwide Business Review’s Ireland Business Excellence Awards. Ivana explains to us what this means for the firm and praises the talented staff at ENERCON. “It feels honourable to be among the companies which are
considered to be significant and exceptional in their work, and we are very proud of ENERCON accomplishments in Ireland, so we will continue to do our best and make even bigger contribution to Irish market. “To win the award for Business Excellence confirms that our great effort really pays off because it means that we are making a difference here in Ireland, and that our success is recognized, not only among the industry, but also in the wider Irish economy. “Our people play the most important role in our company. For us it is very essential to have a motivated team working on a big variety of responsibilities and tasks. An organization like ENERCON is offering the complete services from the manufacturing to installation and servicing of complex plant. This is why we are happy and proud to have such a motivated team here in Ireland that allows us to provide our services in the good quality our customers expect. At the moment, we have 225 people employed in Ireland and we are still expanding.” As for what opportunities and challenges that may lie ahead for both the firm and the industry
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that ENERCON operates within, Ivana states that planning without a doubt is a challenge for everyone in the onshore wind industry. “With the new planning guidelines and a strong robust community support schemes, we hope that the wind industry can demonstrate and ensure that the benefits of distributed wind energy are passed to and felt by all stakeholders.” Looking ahead, Ivana is keen to highlight just some of the exciting future plans for ENERCON. “As Ireland lead the way in Wind Energy penetration on the electricity network, ENERCON is proud to be part of that story. In fact, ENERCON has recently reached 1 GW of installed power on the Irish market, which makes us the first WEC manufacturer who passed that significant milestone on island, meaning 1 in 4 turbines in Ireland is an ENERCON turbine. Our current collaboration with Eirgird on the trial run of ENERCON’s System Services namely inertia emulation and fault ride through system services has been excellent. This trial run is a great opportunity to showcase the advanced grid capabilities of ENERCON Turbines and shows that Wind Energy can support the grid and can provide many of the capabilities of conventional power plants, and opens the door to additional revenue streams for our customers for providing real added value to the grid.”
Company: ENERCON Name: Ivana Majsec Web Address: www.enercon.de
Photo by Keith Arkins
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Preferred Supplier to Many Leading Organisations TouchStar Technologies is a market leader in enterprise mobile computing solutions with a global base of over 500,000 installations. Our solutions provide the ‘who, what, where’ data critical to every organisation, and deliver it when you need to know. We help capture, move, and manage critical information, providing businesses the means to access real-time information anytime and anywhere. Based in Manchester, TouchStar Technologies has become the preferred supplier to many leading organisations throughout the world. Loyalty shown by these customers is testimony to our commitment to in-house quality systems, on-going research and development, employee training and an overall customer-centred approach. TouchStar’s mobile solutions span a range of industries and applications, including: Warehouse and logistics TouchStar has over three decades of experience in the provision of high-tech supply chain data capture solutions, embracing mobile computing hardware, barcode/RFID/ voice recognition technologies, Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Point of Delivery (POD) software.
On-board retail TouchStar’s NovoStar product suite provides best in class on-board systems and all of the tools necessary to allow crew to deliver the best possible passenger experience. Proof of delivery TouchStar’s PODstar has been developed as a scalable solution for any size of business form SMEs to major blue-chip organisations. PODstar ensures optimisation of work scheduling, reduction of fuel costs and improvement of customer service levels. Fuel POD TouchStar supplies industry leading fuel POD solutions worldwide. As well as designing, creating and supporting both software and hardware (ATEX approved), TouchStar is also a market leader in metering and vehicle systems integration. Access control TouchStar’s range of access control solutions are not only able to capture and control actions but also provide the feedback that gives direction to improving organisational effectiveness. Our wide range of solutions help our customers to achieve their goals, whether those goals are installing new technology to
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improve warehouse processes, equipping drivers with the latest devices to remove paperwork and boost efficiency, or implementing access control solutions that will improve the security of a business and the experience of its customers. We are always keen to develop our offering in creative ways, and some of our most recent installations are a great example of this. We recently helped a major cricket club with installing an access control system into a 12,000-capacity ground that has hosted many international matches. As the club was an existing client of TouchStar, we were able to upgrade the solution so that once fans arrived at the ground the club could identify them through their ticket and then use that information to send a text message or digital voucher directly to that person offering an incentive, such as a free coffee. This process also improved security as tickets can’t be used twice – except by the same user who can go in and out, as longer cricket matches tend to see spectators come and go throughout the day. Another great example that shows the various ways TouchStar deploys new
technology is the recent implementation of our EPOD system by Fuel Transport Systems (FTS). The Cloud-based PODStar system offers a ‘Planning and Optimisation’ tool that automates existing manual processes. Using real time job information, clients are able to drag and drop jobs onto the relevant vehicles. Once a manifest has been created it is then automatically sent out to the drivers remotely in the field. To further enhance the efficiency, via a click of a button, jobs are automatically allocated vehicles in the most efficient order and display the route on a map saving FTS fuel and time on the road. Once downloaded the driver can receive their jobs and complete in real time. FTS drivers are equipped with TouchStar TS3100 in-cab computers with the unit device used for both proof of delivery / signature capture and tracking of the driver and vehicle location. The TS3100 provides full protection against dust, water and oil ingress and is fully compliant with the ATEX IECEx directive, allowing safe use in the potentially explosive fuel delivery environments encountered by FTS.
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Meanwhile, our knowledge of warehouse and logistics operations is helping warehouse managers to drastically reduce downtime – an expensive and inconvenient issue. Minimising downtime and increasing efficiency will rank highly on any warehouse manager’s wish list so choosing the right partner is crucial to provide the on-going support needed to deal with any downtime issues. Managers should look for UKbased support services with dedicated mobile engineering teams to ensure quality repairs and effective support. A partner should provide a range of support services to back the optimised running of your business operation, including 24/7 UK-based support helpdesks, E-portal online booking systems for instant, online support and rapid response call out from a team of qualified mobile engineers. As a company that strives to stay up to date with the latest developments in business technology, we have always read Worldwide Business Review with intrigue and we are excited to be recognised by the 2017 Consulting Elite Awards.
Contact: Mike Turner, Group Marketing Manager Email: mike.turner@touchstar.co.uk Company: Parkers Packaging Limited Address: Millbrook Court, Knowsley, L34 9AS, UK Telephone: 0151 547 6700 Web Address: www.touchstar.co.uk
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Scoop of Success
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Company: Beechdean Contact: Andrew Howard Email: farmhouse@beechdean.co.uk Address: Old House Farm, North Dean, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP14 4NL Telephone: 01494 563980 Web Address: beechdean.co.uk
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Scoop of Success Beechdean is a family owned business that is run by a group of incredibly hard working people who care deeply about the quality of the product they make. We invited Beechdean’s managing director, Andrew Howard to tell us more about the vibrant business. In 1989, both Andrew and Susie started making ice cream in a cow shed after attending a course. Their original equipment could manufacture only 24 litres per hour. Over the years, they’ve grown and developed and have built their customer base. Now, they produce over +200million portions of ice cream a year – making them the UKs 3rd biggest ice cream manufacturer. Andrew explains the journey the company has taken from inception till now. “Originally, we started out producing Beechdean Diary Ice Cream but have since expanded our product portfolio – we now make everything from the most luxurious, to high quality but great value everyday ice creams. Also, we make sorbets and ‘free-from’ ice creams; plus, have a number of well-known brands besides Beechdean including Loseley and Yorkshire Dales. “Our original factory is based in the heart of the Chiltern hills which has evolved since 1989, and we also have a state of the art and highly recommended purpose built factory in Cheshire. Currently, we are building a new factory in Cheshire which will combine the heart of our original factory with the technology and sophistication of our second family.
Recently, Andrew found success being awarded the title Managing Director of the Year in the 2017 Business Elite Awards. Speaking of his success, Andrew discusses what the win means for both himself and the firm, the talented team at Beechdean, the key to his success and what it is like being an MD. “Recognition by a publication that represents so many of my peers is a cool honour. It is a great acknowledgment of the team that works at Beechdean, and a validation of their hard work. Any MD is only as good as their team. Running your own business is one of the most scary and exciting things you can ever do. Being MD of that business is like being the captain of a ship - you stand at the helm pointing the direction of the ship but it really only works well and is successful with all the departments pulling in the same direction. An MDs role is about good management and organisation, but leadership is the most important part. “The single most important thing to achieve success is knowing your destination and working towards it. Also, being competitive, loving the product we make, and enjoying working with customers and staff makes it less of a job and more of a vocation. Of course, you must have great people to support you getting there.
“Staff are everything to Beechdean. You can have the best product in the world with the best factories but success will only come with the best people. At Beechdean, we are lucky to have such a dynamic and forward thinking group of people.” Reflecting on the challenges that lie ahead for the company, for example uncertainty within the industry, Andrew is most keen to highlight the opportunities on the horizon. Looking ahead, Andrew reveals some exciting future plans for Beechdean. “The key pressure on the business is the uncertainty surrounding Europe and the consequent impact on both currency and product prices. We are impacted vs. international competition. On the brighter side, there are always opportunities and in an ever-changing market place these arise on a regular basis. “An exciting evolution for Beechdean is that we intend to expand into non-ice cream (but related) areas. Recently, we have acquired a waffles and pancakes factory and have plans to continue with relevant manufacturing, and portfolio expansion, and potential acquisitions.”
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ehotel: Your Perfect Stay at Your Fingertips
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Company: ehotel AG Contact: ehotel Service Center Address: Greifswalder Strasse 208, Berlin, D-10405, Germany Phone: +49 30 473 73 245 Email: info@ehotel.com Website: www.ehotel.com
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ehotel: Your Perfect Stay at Your Fingertips ehotel® is an innovative online hotel booking agency. We invited Fritz Zerweck, CEO at ehotel to tell us more about the firm and the services it offers. Originally established as bedhunter GmbH in 1998, ehotel was created when the firm merged with the ehotel service in i:FAO AG (Cytric) in 2000. By then the independent hotel provider promptly specialized in cost efficient solutions for business travelers. Today ehotel® AG is a medium-sized German company, offering excellent service for private and corporate clients as a hotel consolidator. The technology leader and end-2-end-service provider developed a unique full integration of all relevant segments in the business travel sector, from the integrated company profile management system, accommodation search, to final billing in accordance with company specific accounting. Fritz Zerweck discusses the pioneering position from ehotel and its services in the context of the demands from corporate travel. “ehotel was always defined in shape of technological innovations supporting the needs of travellers worldwide. When the company was founded, online booking of hotel rooms was mainly a niche market. Most of the bookings were carried out by phone or fax and managed by classic travel agencies. Nevertheless, the upcoming possibilities online and via mobile appeared very promising to us. This is why we were one of the first providers enabling booking of hotel rooms on both, online and on mobile phones via WAP
(Wireless Application Protocol) technology in 2000.” “Offering flexible, fast, secure and extensive channels to book a hotel room is still only one important part among others in professional business travel. Companies that require a greater volume of travel seek for holistic solutions that optimize all kinds of processes within the travel sector. Especially the payment and its accounting are likely to be pricy due to long and individual billing procedures. Because of that, we set one of our focusses on reducing the cost and time for all post-booking activities. Already in 2006/2007, we set a standard within the sector by integrated payment and settlement solutions for the individual and event area, which were expanded with the ‘smart billing’ services independent of credit card companies in 2015. All expenses for accommodations on corporate travels are thereby standardised according to the companies accounting and settlement system and the customers defined travelling allowance. What is more, our smart billing services enable companies to stick to their chosen form of payment regardless of the hotels acceptance of credit cards. This year we could extent this offer also to the private customers enabling payment via PayPal.” Still, the range of hotel offers is central for online portals like ehotel, says Zerweck. With their own development of METASEARCH technology in 2015,
ehotel is the only hotel booking platform in the business travel sector that bundles offers from over 600 sources including all leading hotel agents, organizers and resellers in a single application with full service. From a total of almost 7 million hotel room offers, you can now filter your desired accommodation with several search filters. They take your individual requirements by criteria such as distance, stars, room category, guest ratings, preferred hotels, or individual travel expenses guidelines of the company in account for listing all available offers. The filter options also allow searching for status benefits for travellers with memberships in one of the worldwide automobile associations like AAA automobile, ADAC, ACE, or travellers with status senior citizens or employee in the public service. As such, users can look for less and find faster at their best price. Today, innovative booking channels like the app for iPhone and Apple Watch are replacing then-innovative WAP technology in 2000. Fritz Zerweck: “Of course, the endless diversity of selection is at the centre of ehotel next to our pre-and postbooking services to corporate customers. Regardless if you are booking your hotel for private or business reasons, flexibility and availability of offers are seen as the standard nowadays. Our apps for iPhone and Apple Watch bring most of our services on your wrist or in your pocket. Especially if you are looking for
a hotel room spontaneously, our apps will discover the best prices or values for accommodation just around you.” All in all, the ehotel value chain from META-SEARCH to innovative payment and settlement solutions as well as accounting services makes it as easy and efficient as possible to book the preferred hotel anywhere in the world. Looking into the future, ehotel will continue to set standards in service and technology Fritz Zerweck concludes: “Just like for example artificial intelligence takes a big part of the current discussion about how machines may help us individually in our all-day life, we set our focus on finding the right innovation for satisfying our customers. In addition to our recent service portfolio, we are working on further technological extensions in combination with personal customer service to provide easier and even more efficient processes to book hotel rooms worldwide.”
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Searching Print Questions Print Search; a bespoke print management provider, is part of DCB Group which includes; ABV Caspa, a Creative, Cross Media & Marketing Innovator and Aspen, an on-demand digital and litho printer that are all based in Trafford Park. To celebrate their inclusion in the Best in Small Business Awards, we invited the firm to profile their outstanding work. Since 1973, we have been trading. Working with our partners, we prefer this term to customers, to ensure they have the very best document management solution in place! We offer a full ‘one-stop’ service incorporating design, branding, product and campaign management, print, digital media, app development along with warehousing, fulfilment and logistics. Our partners demand the very best and include: Manchester United & Manchester City FC, Gleneagles Hotel, Carlsberg, Moto, A Plant, Timpsons, and NUS to name but a few. As a small business, we are very excited and honoured to be nominated for an award, and never miss an opportunity to have a party! We are very proud of what we do, who we work with and to receive external recognition is amazing and will put an extra spring in our step! What we do; we specialise in providing tailored solutions to multi-sited organisations and provide them with the expertise and knowledge required to reduce their costs, improve speed to market and provide a full audit trail. Whilst we have a number of clients based in Scotland, London and the Midlands we do focus on North
West based businesses and this has paid dividends. In the past 12 months, the group has achieved so much, including new contract wins with The Lowry Theatre, Mellors Catering, Explore Learning, Crawford Healthcare, Nite Site and Nocturna. In addition; we have started trading with Well Pharmacy, Park Lane Est, Wythenshawe Council, JCB, Johnsons Dry Cleaners, City Facilities, TFGM and we hope a few of these lead to exclusive contracts. To support our new business success, we retained both ISO 9001 and 14001, we are working towards 19001 and we were awarded Silver Investors in People. The real success of our business plan has been achieved through: ‘Excellence in Customer Service’, active and proactive sales and marketing, sector specific targeting and attracting, rewarding and retaining key personnel to drive the business forward. Our understanding of our partners’ requirements and the needs of their customers has been key to both customer retention and new business wins. But hey, don’t take our word for it! Please see below examples of how we have gone above and beyond (with a smile) for our partners. Their details are shown too; give them a call if you like!
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IRNV Group (Incorporating Nite Site, Nocturna and IRNV) We have only worked with IRNV for a year and boy, in that time have we delivered lots of value and exceptional service. Initially, the only part of the group which existed was Nite Site. We produced marketing collateral, packaging, creative services and promotional and exhibition pieces for them. They were so impressed with our understanding of their brand, their position in the market place and their business plan moving forward, that they tasked us with creating a brand new Identity for a new company they were launching for a new market place. Lots of research, head scratching and publication reading, brought them Nocturna. A new brand and company was born! Along with a new strapline, brand guidelines and media plan. We now have a creative lead (working with our internal customer service team and IRNV team) to produce all group marketing material, advertising material, exhibition stand design and execution, team uniforms, promotional items and even marketing consultancy – we’re the supplier that just keeps on giving (with a giggle and ginger nut!) we help steer the marketing ship by using our quarterly planner and already have q4 planned ready for go live Jan 3rd.”
Neil Spiers, International Sales Director Mellors Catering Services Mellors are a client with a master plan! They intend to double their business units in the next five years! Such ambitious plans mean that they need a pro-active partner. When we started working with Mellors, their marketing manager Helen was at the end of her tether with the creative and print partner they had been using. Missed deadlines, creative produced which didn’t fit the brand and no dedicated account manager (not to mention no out of hours’ support), she was a lady who needed help! We stepped in with actions rather than words. We worked around the clock to produce the much needed creative (on brand), caught up on the outstanding operational print elements Mellors was struggling to function without and did site visits to understand the different business units and the challenges of every site being a different footprint (critical to us to understand what POS to design, and produce and to put together a suite of ‘pick and mix’ for the business unit managers to choose from). Helen Roughley, Marketing Manager Carlsberg UK ‘Probably the best’ customer in the world deserves a team to match at DCB – to support
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Searching Print Questions
them with all things creative and print. We have had a long and fabulous relationship with Carlsberg UK and have worked together for over 8 years. Some of our dedicated team get giddy at Christmas, not so much Santa related more Carlsberg cuddly toy design/ produce/distribution! Over the years, we have produced an elephant, a squirrel and this year a goose, (try explaining what a goose looks like to our Chinese manufacturing partner!) – a duck we got many times. It’s just as well our Creative Director is a very patient chap, on the 12th day of Christmas he thought he may receive a duck, not the Golden Goose! Alas, our patience paid off and the goose of Caspa Creative got distributed and brought lots of festive cheer. Working with Carlsberg also has its perks! We get to see their new product lines before they go to market. Having to drink the beers whilst producing photography shoots in bars is a necessary part of the job – Carlsberg ‘Delivering More’. Adrian Rigby, Category Marketing Manager The future is looking bright for the business and we are currently awaiting decisions on a number sizable tenders that will ensure the recent growth continues through 2017 and beyond.
Company: Print Search Ltd Name: Victoria Hart Email: email@printsearch.co.uk Web Address: www.printsearch.co.uk Address: Westinghouse Road, Trafford Park Manchester, M17 1PJ UK Telephone: +44 (0)161 872 8921
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Supporting SMEs in Africa
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Company: Africa Guarantee Fund (AGF) Name: Felix A. Bikpo Chief Executive Officer, Web Address: www.africanguaranteefund.com Address: Main Office – Nairobi, Kenya 7th Floor Mayfair Centre, Ralph Bunche Road Nairobi, Kenya Telephone: +254 732 148 000
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Supporting SMEs in Africa Africa Guarantee Fund (AGF) aims to promote economic development, increase employment and reduce poverty in Africa. We interviewed Chief Executive Officer, Felix A. Bikpo to learn more about the firm’s financial products, specifically intended to support SMEs in Africa. Africa Guarantee Fund (AGF) was officially launched on 1st June 2012. AGF is a Pan-African nonbank financial institution, founded by the government of Denmark through the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the government of Spain through the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). Agence Française de Développement (AFD) joined AGF in 2015, followed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), in 2016. AGF aims to promote economic development, increase employment and reduce poverty in Africa by providing financial institutions with guarantees and other similar or related products, specifically intended to support SMEs in Africa AGF is guided by the following core values: • Integrity: in their relationships and transactions with clients and among each other, they are honest, trustworthy, reliable, transparent and accountable; • Customer first: they meet their internal and external customers’ expectations; • Creativity: they embrace new ideas and respond swiftly to changes in their environments; • Unity of purpose: they dedicate themselves to
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pursuing the agreed common goals; Right first time: they deliver on their commitments, both accurately and promptly.
Despite the internationally recognised importance of SMEs, African small businesses often have difficulties accessing financing for growth and innovation from the formal financial sector. Chief Executive Officer, Felix A. Bikpo begins be developing this interesting point. “SME financing is often considered by many financial sector players in Africa to be a risky activity as promoters quite often, fail to come up with the collateral levels required to secure bank facilities. Enterprises (SMEs) are widely recognised as big drivers of economic growth, innovation, regional development and job creation. A strong and vibrant SME sector provides a strong foundation to increase standards of living and to reduce poverty. “Studies done by the World Bank and other organisations have revealed very low levels of bank financing to SMEs in Africa compared to other developing countries. Apart from risk considerations, these studies have attributed low levels of bank financing to SMEs in Africa to among other reasons, relatively very low levels of SME banking capacity. “It is in response to the two
related challenges that AGF was created. Through its guarantee facility, AGF will assist financial institutions partially cover the risks associated with SME financing and thus enable them increase their portfolio in that asset class. Through its capacity development facility, AGF will assist financial institutions enhance their SME financing capabilities and thus can execute their growth strategies in that sector with ease. “A combination of AGF’s guarantee and capacity development facilities, will enable partner financial institutions bring their SME financing business to the required scale that would not only enable them bring down transaction costs significantly, but also increase returns on investment.” AGF is the missing link that will enable partner financial institutions execute their SME financing strategies effectively, while bringing their businesses to the required scale. This will enable SMEs to play their expected role in fostering African economic development, Felix underlines. “In terms of ownership and governance structures, AGF is a company limited by shares incorporated under the business laws of Mauritius. It is owned by the Government of Denmark through the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) and the Government of Spain
through the Spanish Agency for International Development Co-operation (aecid) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). Plans are underway to expand the shareholding base through the bringing on-board of other Multilateral and Bilateral development finance institutions. “By way of background, AGF was officially launched on June 2nd, 2012, in Arusha, Tanzania, by Dr. Donald Kaberuka, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), which together with the governments of Denmark (through Danida) and Spain (through aecid), are the founding shareholders. “AGF’s key mandate is to assist financial institutions increase their financing to African Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) through the provision of partial financial guarantees and capacity development assistance. The firm’s vision is to be the leading non-bank financial institution which meets Africa’s financing provider’s needs, effectively serving SMEs while maintaining our uncompromised principal as we grow.” AGF is committed to the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct. AGF’s Code of Ethics (the ‘Code of Ethics’ or the ‘Code’) provides basic guidelines of business practice, and professional and personal conduct, that every employee is expected to adopt and uphold.
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Supporting SMEs in Africa
Products offered AGF currently offers two product lines. Firstly, they offer financial guarantees in support of the following: • Loans made by PLIs to SMEs through a hybrid approach, on portfolio and individual basis; • Equity capital financing for SMEs and; • Resource mobilisation, that is the issuance of bonds/notes and lines of credit by PLIs, in support of SME financing activities. Secondly, AGF provides capacity development support to PLIs to enhance their SME financing capabilities, for SME business development support companies and SMEs themselves.
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Benefits associated with AGF’s products • Assisting PLIs scale up their SME lending activities, in situations where their target SME clients are unable to meet collateral threshold requirements; • Improving the solvency (regulatory capital) ratios of banking partners, thus enabling them to have a better leverage on their capital; • Enabling PLIs raise resources, for use in funding the long-term needs of their SME clients; • To enable PLIs scale-up equity capital financing of SMEs with promising outlook, but with relatively weak financial structures and those in the seed and start-up phase, mezzanine financing and/or risk capital operations; • Developing and strengthening the skills, management practices, strategies, systems, competencies and abilities of PLIs to effectively increase their SME financing business; • Assisting business development support services firms (BDS) enhance their capacity to assist SMEs improve their business management skills such as governance, general management, financial management & marketing and; • Assisting SMEs enhance their business managerial capabilities especially in areas which include among others, governance, human capital management, quality control, packaging, financial management and marketing.
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• • • • • •
They comply with various business laws and regulations wherever they operate; They act ethically; They care about one another; They manage risks effectively; They safeguard information; They protect the assets of the organisation and; They invest in their communities.
In early June, this year 5,000 micro, small and medium scale ‘development minerals’ operators will now have access to more affordable finance, because of a partnership between the African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Ltd (AGF), the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme. Felix is keen to reveal more about this encouraging recent initiative in his own words. “AGF will make available $12 million in credit guarantee facilities to financial institutions in Cameroon, Guinea (Conakry), Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia about loans provided by these to small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) working in the ‘development minerals’ sector, utilising the guarantee facilities. $12 million will in fact result in up to US$24 million in finance, as guarantees underpin 50% of each loan. The financing is expected to boost the livelihoods of approximately 25,000 people and their dependents across some of Africa’s most impoverished communities.
“The development of SMEs is one of the principal solutions to the growth challenges faced by African countries. These businesses are recognised as one of the key drivers of growth and job creation in every modern economy around the world. Unfortunately, African SMEs are not playing this role because of the constraints that they face. Among these constraints, the noted one is the lack of, or inadequate, access to financing. “AGF helps SMEs access finance by sharing potential risk with financial institutions. It also provides training to build their capacity. More than 4,000 SMEs have benefited from our loan guarantee facilities. AGF and the ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme will also invest $200,000 in training financial institutions and SMEs, to ensure funds are disbursed and spent effectively. Together, they will run trainings on credit and risk assessment for credit directors, risk managers and risk analysts in the participating countries. At the same time, the ACP-EU development minerals programme will work with such SMEs to improve their entrepreneurship skills, including accounting, marketing, sales promotion and purchasing.” In closing, it is worth noting that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development declares access to finance as a major challenge for SMEs and calls for developmentoriented policies, that encourage their growth and formalisation. The Africa Guarantee Fund (AGF) is certainly playing their part in supporting this endeavour.
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A Higher Purpose
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Company: SAP Ireland Ltd. & SAP Service and Support Centre, SAP Ireland Ltd. Name: Liane Israel Senior Account Executive Office of the CFO at SAP Email: liane.israel@sap.com Web Address: www.sap.com Address: 1012 - 1014 Kingswood Avenue Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24, Dublin, Ireland Telephone: +353 1 471 7000
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A Higher Purpose As the market leader in enterprise application software, SAP is at the centre of today’s business and technology revolution. Following SAP Ireland’s inclusion in our Ireland Business Excellence series, we interviewed the company’s senior account executive officer of the CFO at SAP, Liane Israel to learn more. SAP helps you streamline your processes, giving you the ability to use live data to predict customer trends – live and in the moment. Across your entire business. SAP innovations help 350,000 customers worldwide work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively. The company’s senior account executive officer of the CFO at SAP, Liane Israel explains the growth of the company from 1972 to the present and how they are improving lives through the work they carry out. “In 1972, five entrepreneurs in Germany had a vision for the business potential of technology. Starting with one customer and a handful of employees, SAP set out on a path that would not only transform the world of information technology, but also forever alter the way companies do business. Now 45 years and approximately 345,000 customers stronger, more than ever, SAP is fuelled by the pioneering spirit that inspired its founders to continually transform the IT industry. “SAP’s vision is to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. This is our enduring cause; our higher purpose. Our customers look to us to help them run simple – to seamlessly connect people and technology, real-time. We help them re-imagine business and life to drive meaningful impact globally. With SAP HANA as the great simplifier, our customers are creating breakthroughs that solve complex and intractable problems.”
SAP in Ireland Ireland is an exciting and energetic place to work. Customer focused, flexible and motivated, this workforce is also part of a wider SAP community. In Ireland, SAP has offices in Dublin and Galway and employs close to 1,700 people across 41 lines of business. Liane is eager to tell us about the company’s expert teams, in both Dublin and Galway. “In Dublin, our teams are responsible for service and support for our large customer base, sales, financial shared services, IT support and quality engineering for application and technology releases. Dublin is also home to SAP Business Objects’ research and development centre, which develops software applications for business analytics in our newly established AppHaus - a fast paced, agile, innovative space created for our engineers to promote collaboration, foster creativity and to provide the flexibility to adjust to changing needs of technology. “SAP’s operation in Galway is a multilingual service and support centre for SAP’s SME and Multinational enterprise sectors. It also has teams responsible for support, cloud services, it supports, technical writing, e-learning, translations, license auditing and partner services. It covers 29 languages and has colleagues from 50 nationalities.” Diversity and inclusion Creating a diverse, inclusive and bias-free culture makes for a better company Liane tells us. She lavishes more details to us regarding this specific
and important point and how it impacts upon the firm’s creative work. “Diversity fuels our innovation, enhances engagement with both customers and employees and helps drive business success in this rapidly changing, digital world. At SAP, we are dedicated to eliminating bias in the workplace, so we want to enable every individual to be recognised for what they must contribute and to have the freedom to be their authentic selves. “Our commitment to diversity and inclusion at SAP plays an integral role in our success. As a global organisation, with employees from more than 150 nationalities and all walks of life, we know that to perform at our best as a company our employees must feel free to be their authentic selves. The firm embraces and encourages different perspectives. We believe that we are made stronger by our unique combination of culture, race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental ability and work-life situations. “This culture of inclusion not only helps make us a great place to work, but also drives the success of our business. When people feel free to express who they are, the result is greater engagement and creativity. When teams reflect who, our customers are, we can better understand and meet their needs. When we collaborate with others who have different points of view, we come up with a greater mix of ideas and spur our innovation. Our diversity and inclusion strategy focuses on four key
areas: gender intelligence; crossgenerational intelligence; culture and identity as well as differently abled people.” Driven by innovation At SAP, they embrace an innovative culture throughout the entire company. Liane closes by telling us more about this, plus the importance of information security. “Our powerful network of interconnected programmes and entities, coves all dimensions of innovation, from research and development to customer implementation. With our flagship technology and product innovations powered by SAP HANA, we are helping society solve complex, intractable problems. “SAP innovations across our products, technologies and programmes are motivated by a desire to improve people’s lives, at scale. We use our unsurpassed global reach, relevance and relationships to drive positive change for individuals, organisations and societies. “One final point is that at SAP, information security is paramount. We have an excellent track record of safeguarding businesses against the evolving IT threat landscape. You can rest assured that your mission-critical data is well-protected from all types of attacks – whether you store it on premise or on the SAP Cloud. So, take advantage of robust data and IT security, built-in application security, cloud security and more.”
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A Wealth of Legal Experience
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Company: MC Law Offices Name: Shakeel Mohamed Email: info@mclawoffices.net Web Address: www.mclawoffices.net Address: 5th Floor, Sterling House, Lislet Geoffroy St, Port-Louis, Mauritius Telephone: +230 212 1155
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A Wealth of Legal Experience MC Law Offices, a Chambers of Barristers, was set up by Yousuf Mohamed, Senior Counsel (S.C.) in 1961. As proud winner of the Most Innovative African Law Firm accolade, we took the opportunity to interview the firm’s Partner, Shakeel Mohamed to get an insight into the firm’s legal work. Since its inception in 1961, MC Law Offices has grown into a busy practice, with a special focus on business and private clients developed strong local, national and international connections. MC Law Offices adopts a multidisciplinary approach, working in close collaboration with other professionals such as chartered accountants, management consultants and offshore management companies. Partner, Shakeel Mohamed begins by dishing up the unique qualities of the firm he founded and the specific approach of his lawyers, which is underpinned by strong ethical principles. “Being a chamber of a multilingual nature, MC Law Offices can provide its services to a broad spectrum of clients across the globe. With many clients based in Asia, Europe and Africa, MC Law Offices has provided services to its clients in English, French and Hindi/ Urdu amongst other languages to facilitate the needs of the clients. “Lawyers at MC Law Offices are recognised for their pro-active and innovative approach. They understand the importance of balancing legal costs with the need to find commercially sound and cost-effective solutions. MC Law Offices has maintained its collegial and client-focused
approach by remaining loyal to strong ethical principles.” MC Law Offices also acts in all forms of litigation — mediation and alternate dispute resolution, trials, appeals, arbitration panels and administrative tribunals. The firm’s team have a wealth of experience in efficiently and aggressively representing clients involved in business disputes of all types, Shakeel tells us. “We are of the view that alternative dispute resolution, i.e. negotiation, mediation and arbitration, is certainly of increasing importance both locally and internationally. The reasons for choosing such methods of dispute resolution range from enhanced confidentiality, to the power to choose arbitrators with subject-matter expertise, to the possibility of avoiding delays because of overcrowded court dockets and the ability for parties to choose procedural rules that meet their needs. “The team at MC Law Offices has the expertise to handle civil and commercial negotiation, mediation and arbitration. In addition, MC Law Offices is pleased to offer neutral, convenient, cost-effective equipped arbitration space at its Port-Louis office with all modern amenities including use of computers, internet and secretarial services. MC Law Offices is a member of LCIA-
MIAC and of the Chamber of Commerce of Mauritius, both institutions providing full fledge arbitration facilities in Mauritius.” The tax team at MC Law Offices is highly regarded locally and internationally. On the firm’s insolvency & restructuring services, Shakeel reveals more and briefly outlines the work of his mergers & acquisitions team. “We provide local and international tax planning, structuring of business transactions and litigate tax issues. Accounting firms seek the expertise of our tax team to serve their clients more effectively. We have been very successful in representing clients and in tax disputes that cannot be settled amicably, indeed our tax team represent clients’ in both courts and tribunals. “We provide you with highly qualified and experienced professionals to solve your tax issues. MC Law Offices tax team works with a network of international accounting consultants and our wealth of experience in cross-border transactions and tax structuring help to bring you tailor made solutions concerning all tax issues. “At MC Law Offices, we work with collaborators from our worldwide network of international law firms, to provide nothing but exceptional service to clients.
The MC Law Offices mergers & acquisitions team are involved in areas such as corporate and commercial law, corporate finance, real estate financial services and revenue law. We have also acted alongside leading international law firms in cross-border transactions.” In closing, Shakeel highlights the firm’s corporate and commercial work and urges us to check out their website to learn more about what they can provide. “Public and private companies seek our advice on the require strategic planning and immediate intervention on a range of matters, requiring both immediate action and long-term planning. MC Law Offices advises on all aspects of company law ranging from the establishment, to the running, through to the winding up (voluntary or otherwise) of companies. “We also advise companies regarding investing, including advice in relation to capital restructurings and group reorganisations, reductions of capital, schemes of arrangement, constitutional issues and statutory and regulatory compliance (including rules relating to listed companies). For more information on the other services we provide, please browse: mclawoffices.net/ expertise to see what MC Law Offices can do for you.”
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WUK17097
Tailoring Service to Clients’ Needs
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Company: Lochead Sandford Recruitment Name: Deborah Lochead Email: info@locheadsandford.co.uk Web Address: www.locheadsandford.co.uk Address: Caledonian Suite, Regent Court, 70 West Regent Street, Glasgow G2 2QZ Telephone: 0141 333 6606
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Tailoring Service to Clients’ Needs Building on over 20 years’ specialist experience in Accountancy Recruitment and Executive Search in the Practice Market. Founder of Lochead Sandford Recruitment, Deborah Lochead, discusses the committed force in the Accountancy Profession. Now in our eighth year, Lochead Sandford Recruitment was created to be a specialist, committed force in the Accountancy Profession. Based in Glasgow, the company was founded by Deborah Lochead, a graduate of Strathclyde University and Fellow of the Institute of Recruitment Professionals. Building on an unrivalled market knowledge, reputation and track record within the Accountancy Practice market in Scotland, the dedicated team of consultants ensure a personal, tailored and consultative approach working in partnership with both client and candidate alike. As Deborah explains. “With our extensive range of contacts, including the major accountancy bodies, our clients range from sole practitioners, through to medium/large independents to Big4/Top 20 firms of Chartered Accountants, as well as specialist boutique firms, throughout Scotland and Overseas. Adhering to the REC strict code of professional ethics and highest standards, we treat each client and candidate with the due care, trust and integrity we believe they should expect, offering innovative solutions for today’s ever changing and sometimes demanding recruitment market. At Lochead Sandford Recruitment, we recruit at all levels covering; audit, business services/advisory, tax, corporate recovery /insolvency, corporate finance, payroll/ book keeping
and general practice from Assistant to Director and Partner levels. Deborah commenced her career in management consultancy, previously working for two global financial recruitment consultancies ‘Heading’ both the practice and the accountancy finance industry/ commerce teams throughout Scotland. In addition, she has successfully assisted both Top 20 and Independent firms of Chartered Accountants on highly confidential assignments to acquire/sell blocks of fees or merge their practices. “My success, I believe, has always been based on fully understanding the practice market and its merits and opportunities. By truly knowing your clients and candidates and their specific requirements, you can best represent them and market them to each other ensuring a good match not only in experience, but in personality and culture.”
“On a personal note, I am also thrilled to have been personally awarded ‘Most Influential Woman in Recruitment Solutions – Scotland’. I set up Lochead Sandford Recruitment to focus solely on the practice market, enabling us to give the kind of service to our candidates and clients which is unencumbered by the commercial pressures which I noticed were so prevalent in other consultancies, which were multi-disciplined. “There is little point in taking Accountancy career advice from a firm who were dealing with Engineers that same morning. It is often too tempting for such firms to advise candidates to leave Practice and enter industry/ commerce, where salaries can be initially higher at newly qualified level, just to make an easier and higher fee. Sadly, some Accountants after taking poor advice, find out later that the change back to practice and its diverse work load and greater client focus, is not easily done.”
Recently, Lochead Sandford Recruitment were awarded the accolade ‘Best Accountancy Recruitment Consultancy – Scotland’. Speaking of the success, Deborah praises and thanks the team at Lochead Sandford Recruitment, as well as acknowledging her own recent accolade.
Going forward, the Accountancy Practice market continues to be extremely candidate driven both in Scotland and the UK, with tough competition to attract the same good people, particularly in audit and tax, requiring Firms therefore to ‘up their game’ to better sell themselves and their roles over one and other, Deborah concludes.
“As for the team at Lochead Sandford Recruitment, I would like to thank them for their continued efforts, professionalism and desire to deliver high quality service to all our candidates and clients.
“All research and data from the REC and other professional bodies show this trend is set to continue given near full employment figures. As we currently operate in a more uncertain time, with Brexit
looming over us and ongoing issues relating to possible Scottish independence again being raised, it is understandably for some a more difficult time to invest in significant expansion. However, from speaking to most of our independent Accountancy Firm clients in Scotland, they feel these changes will have little impact on their businesses. Most are doing well, generally looking forward to a more stable period for the UK economy, leading to a long period of sustained expansion of both firms and the wider economy. Our larger firm clients, who are national or internationally based, again report doing well in Scotland. Although, they feel they are more likely to be impacted by Brexit uncertainty, given their broader geographic reach, and have raised some worries over attitudes and concerns highlighted by some of their more international workforce working on visas in the UK. “Our philosophy is to listen, understand, advise and act with honesty and integrity- tailoring our service to our clients’ needs. “We know that moving to a new job or recruiting new individuals can be a stressful and time consuming process. We ensure that process runs as smoothly as possible, keeping you up to date and allowing you to focus on what you do best, by making sure we do what we do best. “Lochead Sandford Recruitment is here to add value, with competitive fees and a professional service. We hope our tailored service continues to distinguish our Firm from our competition.”
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Expert Care in the Community
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Company: Market Street Clinic Ltd. Email: clinic@marketstreetclinic.co.uk Web Address: marketstreetclinic.co.uk Address: 3 Tower Street, Launceston, Cornwall, PL15 8BQ UK Telephone: +44 (0)1566 777600
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Expert Care in the Community As winner of two awards, the Best Podiatry Clinic – Cornwall and the Excellence Award for Nail Surgery 2017, Market Street Clinic Ltd. focuses on providing the best possible foot care in a caring and compassionate environment. Much of this success is due to their continual development and improvement. We invited a spokesperson to tell us more about the clinic’s work and success. As market leader, Market Street Clinic are constantly at the forefront of podiatry. For instance, they were one of the first podiatry clinics in the UK to install Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) for pain relief. Most recently they have invested in Swift®, the pioneering new microwave therapy for verrucas. The spokesperson reveals what differentiates Market Street Clinic from their competitors, why foot health is becoming more prominent and what the North Cornwall region has to offer for such a clinic. “Far from being the embodiment of the old concept of a chiropody surgery, Market Street Clinic is the region’s leading podiatry clinic. We are well known for having the highest reputation of both quality and service. The whole team here are experts in their field, who are passionate about what they do, this along with the latest state-of-the-art technology, enables us to give patients the best possible results. People choose us, because they know that we will always go the extra mile and provide the very best care for their feet.” “Foot health is now becoming more prominent in the UK, as people are taking a greater interest in their wellbeing. This being so, there is always a place
for the highly-skilled and better trained practitioners to provide a first-class service.” “North Cornwall is among the top 10 most beautiful places in the world in numerous surveys. Who wouldn’t want to live and work here in the most charming and tranquil part of the country, with all the benefits that entails.” The spokesperson then draws our attention to the clinic’s internal culture, as well as wider industry developments on the horizon and how Brexit could affect the clinic. “The staff are very carefully selected for their skills and personality. They come out of university with three years’ experience of NHS work under their belt. They’re then retrained in the latest and specific techniques acquired through over 20 years of experience in the business. Further professional development is positively encouraged and provided.” “Being a service industry, any developments in the economy will of course affect us. However, if there is a downturn, due to Brexit, it will equally impact our competitors. Since we have a robust client base, we see ourselves better placed than others to take advantage of this and to come out stronger.”
The clinic’s spokesperson is keen to highlight the accolades they have won and what the future holds for their successful business. “For over 20 years, Market Street Clinic has been renowned for having the highest reputation for quality, service and patient care. We provide our patients with the latest podiatry treatments including nail surgery, biomechanics, orthotics, fungal nail treatment, sports injuries, wound care, diabetic care, Low Level Laser Therapy and Swift® microwave therapy for verrucas. Amongst other accolades, we were invited to appear as an expert for the Parliamentary Health Review 2016 by the Rt. Hon David Curry.” “At Market Street Clinic, we promote the dignity and selfworth of all our staff and strive to reward them with an excellent quality of life. We aim to provide jobs which not only provide sustenance for their families, but also encourage them to make a positive difference through their expert care in the community.” “Looking ahead, our aim is to continue to stay at the forefront of podiatry, provide the best possible service to our patients and remain a market leader of private foot health care in the UK. To further this and in line with our company ethos, at present we have several of our staff on foot related professional development courses.”
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WUK17095
Sales Mentoring – Sales Training, Sales Coaching & Ongoing Mentoring Sales Mentoring Ltd was set up by Daniel Cox in 2011. The firm recently received the Award for Excellence in Business to Business Sales Training 2017 (UK), as part of the UK Enterprise Awards. We interviewed the firm’s founder to find out more about why Sales Mentoring are becoming the UK’s favourite Sales Training Partner.
Sales Mentoring Ltd, set up by Daniel Cox in 2011, offers a blend of knowledge based skills training, on-the-job coaching & ongoing mentoring. Providing what he believes to be, the best ‘value proposition’ in the sales training arena today.
difference to every single salesperson I work with and give my clients return on their investment. I help salespeople to achieve improved and sustainable results, through strategic group training sessions, ‘one on one’ coaching sessions as well as ongoing mentoring for continued development.
Daniel Cox begins by revealing more about the firm’s business model, how it feels to have won the Award for Excellence in Business to Business Sales Training 2017 and the competition he faces.
“Many of my competitors still deliver sales training in an open format, filling up a room with anything from 10 – 30 salespeople (sometimes more), from different industries (in many cases) and most certainly those with different skill sets, attitudes, different understandings of sales, the process and what it really takes to be successful in sales.”
“I have worked on developing a business model that gives my clients the best chance of getting a return on their investment. I have personally worked with over 1,000 salespeople across a variety of industry sectors, which include: IT, recruitment, insurance, telecoms, managed print, property, software & advertising, to name but a few. My business is a complete specialist at delivering business to business sales training. “It feels fantastic to have won this award, I am over the moon that my work has been recognised! My business mission is very simple – to make a positive
Daniel then reveals how a company, such as his, can make a difference to those working in the sales industry today. “I believe the responsibility of a ‘sales training company’, is to make a positive difference to an individual’s sales performance, thus providing return on investment to the client. Sounds fair enough doesn’t it? That’s the point I’m making here. I don’t think that open sales training courses have a positive impact on a salespersons performance.
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In fact, every single business I have spoken with in the last six years, have told me just that, for the thousands of pounds they have invested in sending their sales people on an open sales training day(s). Any little difference they witnessed, faded within the blink of an eye, resulting in the salesperson doing exactly what they were doing before. “So, my business does not work in this way! Everything I do is delivered on-site with the client, meaning there is no need to send your salespeople anywhere – I come to you to make the magic happen, because that’s my responsibility! I work with each salesperson to establish what areas of their ‘game’ need developing and improving, indeed every single person is different, so my help, support & guidance is tailored around what each salesperson needs, and it differs every single time. “What also differentiates my firm is, the coaching modules I take each salesperson through, a strategic process that has taken years of developing, the modules touch on the key elements of what I believe it takes to be successful in sales – a winning attitude, the ability to adapt and
the importance of consistently performing the right actions. This can also be defined as the sales mentoring national curriculum. My aim is to have a running partnership with my clients. I take great pride in the personal service I deliver, to both salespeople and clients.” In closing, Daniel offers his thoughts on the future of Sales Mentoring. “The future is looking great for Sales Mentoring, we are fast becoming the UK’s favourite sales training partner. I would love to start a conversation with any business that has a genuine desire to invest in the development of their salespeople. “Sales is the cornerstone of any business and has the biggest impact on the bottom line, I have proven time and time again that Sales Mentoring delivers measurable and real-life results! My overall business objective is simple, to continue helping as many salespeople as humanly possible, I have well and truly laid the foundations to make that happen and cannot wait to see where the rest of the journey takes me.
g Sales Mentoring – Sales Training, Sales Coaching & Ongoing Mentoring ,
Sales Mentoring “Dan is a highly inspirational, motivated coach that always has a positive impact when around any sales team. In the time working with Dan, we have had nothing but great feedback from everyone involved. If you are considering adding a coaching resource to your sales team, engage with Dan Cox.” “We have engaged Daniel to focus upon and improve our telemarketing professionals, with a specific emphasis upon the quality of data gathered and appointments set. Dan ensures that all targets and performance measurements are pragmatic and provides a genuine ROI to our business, coupled with a demonstrable affect upon those he coaches. Further, he adds a genuine ‘buzz’ to the environment, with his infectious enthusiasm. I would happily recommend Dan to anyone seeking a ‘real world’ coach who has, not only been there and done it but has been there and done it with success.” “I can thoroughly recommend Daniels professional and in-depth approach to training. This is the first training I have engaged in which does more than just reiterate over inflated, book based sales techniques and unnecessary jargon. Daniel teaches from knowledge and experience. Training that will have long lasting benefit to any business.” “Many thanks Dan for your coaching today, just goes to show you can teach an old dog new tricks, some valuable lessons learnt!!”
Company: Sales Mentoring Name: Daniel Cox Email: daniel@sales-mentoring.co.uk Web Address: www.sales-mentoring.co.uk Telephone: 07518 360079
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IRB17031
Driven to Success Travelport, the UK-based, NYSE-listed B2B travel tech business, is a leading digital travel technology company whose platform combines state-of-the-art technology with industry leading solutions. As winner of the Best for Travel Commerce 2017 award, we enjoyed an indepth interview with the company’s Country Manager Travelport Ireland, Sinead Reilly to find out more. Travelport’s platform enables travel providers, travel agencies, corporations and developers to search, share, buy and sell travel. This increases profitability and drives commercial success for every customer in the B2B travel network. Country Manager Travelport Ireland, Sinead Reilly reveals how the company facilitates travel commerce. “We facilitate travel commerce by connecting the world’s leading travel providers, such as airlines and hotel chains with online and offline travel agencies, corporations and travellers. By providing distribution, technology, payment, mobile and other services for the global travel and tourism industry our agencies customers issued 117 million airline tickets, sold over 94 million car rental days and 65 million room nights in 2016. With a presence in approximately 180 countries and with 4,000 employees, the company processed $79bn worth of bookings in 2016 and had net revenue of $2.3bn. “We focus on enabling travel providers and their evolving technologies - to deliver the widest choice of relevant content for travel-buyers and consumers, giving them an even more personalised and enhanced service. Building on two acquisitions, Mobile Travel Technologies and Locomote, we created Travelport Digital with a
focus on improving the end-toend customer experience through the provision of innovative digital travel solutions. “Travelport delivered its highest level of net revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth over the last five years, as we continued to execute against our strategic objectives. We also achieved consistently strong growth in international regions and realised positive momentum in the United States, where we grew our reported segments by 3% during the fourth quarter. Our Travel Commerce Platform continues to expand, with Beyond Air growing by 18%, driven by our leading hospitality content and mobile solutions, as well as the ongoing strength of our commercial payments business, eNett, which grew net revenue by 64% in 2016.” Sinead then explains the company’s mission in terms of redefining travel. “Our vision is to redefine travel commerce by transforming the way travel is searched, shared, bought and sold. To do this, we have developed a Travel Commerce Platform, through which we are answering the unmet needs of the world’s travel industry, which is undergoing a fundamental shift as technology, consumer behaviour and travel options all evolve. Travelport is ahead of the curve thanks to decades of domain expertise, our leadership in technology and content and our unrivalled ability to connect with customers, at any time and in any place.
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“Redefining is a powerful word – it is about creating more choice, creating value, transforming and reinventing - taking new directions and leading from the front. That is exactly what we are doing. “By leveraging digital technologies, we are continually transforming our platform to drive more profitable interactions and better experiences for the global travel economy. From 2012 to 2016, we strategically invested over $1 billion in technology with a focus on redefining our Travel Commerce Platform to address the trends, inefficiencies and unmet needs of all components of the travel value chain. Air and Beyond Air included distribution and merchandising solutions for hotel, car rental, rail, cruise-line and tour operators, B2B travel payments, digital services, advertising and an array of additional platform services.” Sinead then highlights what differentiates Travelport from its competitors. “Travelport is a unique business. We processed approximately $79 billion of travel spending, signing a record number of new business in terms of travel agency wins in 2016, seeing us clearly differentiate in four key areas to become leaders in airline merchandising and personalisation, our capabilities in hotel, car rental, and Beyond Air distribution. We’re now leaders in mobile travel technology and commerce. “We aggregate travel content across approximately 68,000
travel agency locations, representing over 234,000 online and offline travel agency terminals worldwide, we serve millions of end consumers globally. Our leading global travel provider content helps attract more travel bookers, onto our platform by driving greater value for the travel providers and increasing their addressable customer base. “Some 400 airlines, including an industry-leading portfolio of low-cost carriers, are now fully bookable in our system. We pioneered enabling carriers to bring the same content they show on their websites, under the direct channels into the indirect channel. Over 220 airlines can show their full range of branded fares, to enable the upsell of ancillary products. As having content drives better revenue per seat, this presents more such opportunities for travel agencies. We have 650,000 hotel properties (of which over 550,000 are independents), over 37,000 car rental locations and sold over 65 million hotel room nights plus over 94 million car rental days in 2016.” Travelport’s cutting-edge technology drives travel performance, Sinead reveals, before developing this point further. “This year we will process well over 5 billion transactions a month using our Universal API. We don’t expect API volume for us or anyone else in the industry to slow down. In fact, just the opposite. This is why
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Company: Travelport Name: Sinead Reilly Country Manager Travelport Ireland Email: sinead.reilly@travelport.com Web Address: www.travelport.com Address: Axis One, Axis Park, 10 Hurricane Way, Langley, SL3 8AG UK Telephone: +353 1602 0444
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we continue to invest in pushing the envelope on creating easy to use, powerful APIs to unlock the power of our platform. API’s such as Travelport’s unique mobile-optimized API, Travelport Trip Services where we have improved the way we deliver lighter weight, easy to use APIs for our customers to consume content through Encompassing the speed of search, relevancy of response and accuracy of data.” “We have also expanded eNett, how travel agencies pay travel providers, beyond the core hospitality sector into air travel, including LCCs. eNett’s net revenue has grown from $2 million in 2011 to $150 million in 2016. “Travelport Locomote, a corporate travel platform has significantly strengthened our offering to both corporates and TMCs, from an end-toend customer experience perspective. Empowering travel managers to drive change and achieve efficiencies, can be done by creating seamless experiences and integrated solutions, from approval management to cost savings to duty of care.” Travelport also empower travel experiences, Sinead explains. “Travelport Digital solutions improve the end-to-end mobile travel experience and increase the value of every interaction with all customers, via sophisticated apps and mobile services. In addition to industry-leading travel apps, Travelport Digital provides advanced mobile services, including real-time mobile messaging, day-of-travel solutions and ancillary upsell opportunities. “Our platform captures over 4 billion travel messages a day. These can be utilised to provide rich and intelligent data. Serving up much more relevant content to mobile apps. Delivering content that matches the change in traveller shopping. Our travel intelligence data and analytics offer further opportunities to provide personalised
suggestions, based on individual travel preferences.” Sinead then steers the conversation towards the trends she is seeing in the travel industry currently, including developments specific to Ireland. “Looking at the digitally connected traveller and the growth of mobile, we believe that in the next three to five years, 70% of the activity that generates bookings in our system will originate from a mobile device. For Travelport and people in our space the shift to mobile means a massive investment, to make our search both more refined and faster and to deliver a change in our shopping, so we can serve up much more relevant content to mobile apps. “Our airline industry experience, superior solutions, travel focused product set, mobile expertise and user-centric design process all combine to create engaging and revenue generating multichannel services for airlines, that support their end-travellers across all touch points. One such example is the recently developed Travelport Resolve, a new product for airlines that puts the traveler first, automating the sourcing and distribution of hotel rooms, air rebooking and meal and transport needs into a single, seamless and paperless experience when flight are cancelled or delayed. Travelport Resolve enables airlines to react to disruptions with speed and accuracy, immediately communicating with passengers after an itinerary change so passengers can use their mobile device to quickly select and book their preferred hotel from available local accommodation options. With a few simple touches on their mobile device, Travelport Resolve helps disrupted passengers to bypass the frustration of hotel and meal voucher lines and quickly be on their way to a comfortable hotel room.” “This is an exciting area for Ireland, as Dublin is a HQ for Travelport Digital that delivers innovative digital travel solutions
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for airlines, TMCs and travel agencies. This enables airlines such as EasyJet to improve the traveller experience via an industry-leading, sophisticated mobile app. Only recently Travelport Digital introduced a new mobile product for airlines, Travelport Fusion, a robust and rich mobile app solution for airlines of all sizes that gives airlines end-to-end trip engagement via mobile, allowing them to develop more valuable and lasting relationships with their customers.” Sinead is eager to reveal the truly global reach of the company. “With operations on every continent, Travelport is a major force behind the world’s business and leisure travel industry. Through our global reach in approximately 180 countries and territories, distinct merchandising suite with capabilities for valueadded content and enhanced user experience. We offer a strong value proposition - not only to travel providers, travel agencies and corporations - but also to end travellers. Our sales, service and support offices, as well as product development facilities around the world, ensure that we keep a pulse on our customers’ business needs and deliver the diverse travel technology solutions they need, when they need them. “Having an office in Ireland allows our employees to engage with a multitude of customers at the local level, with expertise that is relevant to the opportunities and challenges of doing business in today’s highly competitive travel industry. Being there, in touch and face-to-face with our customers, enables us to listen, create and deliver the solutions they need to satisfy the distinct needs of travellers.” Sinead then draws out attention to the company’s internal culture, and how they ensure that the staff there give the best service possible to their clients. “At Travelport, we have a set of competitive strengths that steer our thinking and drive us to
success: Choice, collaboration, flexibility, innovation, reach, relevance and scale. Each strength reflects the traits and ambitions of people who thrive in our business. Travelport is committed to making a difference in the world, enabling employees to fulfil major commitments to the environment, the travel industry and the communities in which they live and work. “Travelport is constantly looking for ways to improve the world in which it operates. Through board seats on two non-profit organisations, designed to drive sustainability and responsibility, the company seeks specifically to, ‘develop human capital by promoting and supporting global education in travel and tourism and recognise and reward best practice in sustainable tourism’.” Sinead, in closing, tell us what the future holds for Travelport. “As the travel industry’s needs evolve, we continue to invest in our Travel Commerce Platform, developing new technology solutions to better serve our customers. We can do this by redefining the electronic distribution and merchandising of airline core and ancillary products, as well as extending our reach into the growing world of travel commerce beyond air, including to hotel, car rental, rail, cruise-line and tour operators. “We see several longerterm growth opportunities for Travelport, which has resulted in us increasing our investment levels commencing from the fourth quarter of 2016 and continuing throughout 2017, particularly in the areas of data and analytics, mobile solutions, payments and technology services. The remainder of 2017 will see raised capital investments plus a further approximately $20 million of incremental strategic expenditure which, together, will enable further innovation for our customers and support sustainable and profitable longterm growth.”
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Cutting-Edge Technology Chief Technology Officer at New Edge Technologies Ltd is Daniel Nyango Kiplimo. Following the firm’s success in achieving the CEO of the Year – Kenya accolade, we took the opportunity to interview Daniel about the firm’s valuable work.
Newedge Technologies is a Kenya based company incorporated in 2010, to offer high end heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) solutions to various ICT and telecom clientele. In 2010, it was incorporated into a limited company and is currently enjoying an expanded regional expansion to the entire East African market. Daniel Nyango Kiplimo reveals the firm’s specialist areas, plus their mission and the regional reach of their client base. “We specialise in electromechanical and civil engineering services, we also offer critical temperature management solutions, alongside design and fabrication of specialised projects in telecommunications and broadcasting. Support services are also included.
solutions. This includes small server rooms, low density data centres, medium density data centres and high density data centres, raised floor and airflow management for data centres.” Daniel is keen to reveal more of the firm’s marvellous work, including how they can assist you with clean room and medical solutions as well as electromechanical technologies. “When it comes to clean room solutions, it is true to say that laboratories and research centres require precise temperature and humidity controls. Our solutions meet any critical requirements and we work jointly with our manufacturers to deliver precisely for individual client requirements. We provide total solutions in this sphere including room insulations, ventilations air treatment and filtrations to required standards.”
“Our mission is to become a leader in provision of telecommunication support services and other customer oriented results in the fields of temperature management, electrical technology and other related engineering modalities alongside giving customer satisfaction plus value addition to any entrepreneurial set-up.
“In terms of medical cooling solutions, we deliver the most modern air conditioning plant technologies for entire medical set-ups. We understand the complete needs and plant philosophy, to deliver proper solution to any medical room whether you are looking for filtration, sterilisation ventilation without affecting the working operations of other rooms.
“We have delivered high data centre cooling solutions to clientele in Kenya, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda and Congo. Our key areas of specialisation include the design installation and commissioning of various data centre air-conditioning
“On electro-mechanical technologies, whether you are building a legacy site, upgrade or refurbishments our solutions will perfectly fit into your project. Here, we are thinking of DX units, chilled water solutions and free-cooling solutions. Do not
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hesitate to contact us for expert advice and the delivery of total solutions.” Datacentre Solutions Daniel is keen to highlight further aspects of the firm’s work, including air-conditioning room tuning expert implementation “Air-conditioning concept energy efficiency, cost, room size, noise level and climatic conditions determine the requirements for every data centre individual needs. Therefore, we carry out a detailed examination of heat loads, room design and distribution analysis. At Newedge, we have many selection resources at our disposal, to give every customer a tailor-made solution that fits into individual requirements “Our room tuning solutions help the customers to reduce energy consumption in their data centres. This includes the following assessments and configurations; hot and cold aisles; server rack positioning; raised floor assessments and room temperatures settings.
“Our expert implementation will ensure the lasting success of any investment in air-conditioning. Newedge has experience in turnkey air-conditioning systems for data centres. When you are ready to start up a data centre, contact us for a complete analysis of your heat load estimations, design selection, implementation and commissioning of your data centre. Technical support is always provided to our customers, together with well written documentation in our quality manuals.” In addition, the firm’s prefabricated systems are delivered on turnkey solutions Daniel underlines in closing. “This includes containerised systems used as: Our prefab systems are well suited for high end deployment with various key advantages: High thermal insulating; cost effective; custom made to sizes and requirements and easy and quickly deployed.”
Company: NewedgeTechnologies Name: Daniel N Kiplimo Email: info@newedgetechno.com Web Address: www.newedgetechno.com Address: Nairobi 01000, Kenya Telephone: +254 20 815 5667
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Global Network and Local Expertise Barons & Company is a well-established executive search firm in Hong Kong. We invited Managing Director, Jerry Chang to tell us more about the company. Established in 1999, Barons & Company is based in Hong Kong. They joined the IMSA international network in 2001 which extended their footprint to over 25 countries. The company has been providing professional executive search and management consulting services in the leadership talent area to many MNC and large regional corporations in Asia across countries like China, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Korea, etc. Recently, Barons & Company won Worldwide Business Review’s Executive Search Firm of the Year 2017. Jerry highlights what this success means for the firm and what he believes sets them apart from their competitors. “It’s good recognition for our company, and from this we will continue to provide best practices, professional insights and global research coverage for our very satisfied customers.
“Professionalism, professionalism & professionalism. Not only to our clients, but this is equally as important to our candidates. We provide joint global and local executive searches for our clients across different continents. Our consultants are very experienced with a wide range of industry experience.” When discussing any current trends or issues within the industry, Jerry highlights a few specific to his jurisdiction. “Technology has changed our platform and the way we identify top talent. For example, no firm is able to claim they have a larger network than LinkedIn, Xing, etc. Neither can a firm claim that their proprietary software is much better than the ‘off the shelf’ recruitment software (which is now a very mature HR software market). “Another change is how Skype has overcome our territorial barrier in research and enabled
interviews without flying. It provides more efficient use of time. However, at the end, the perceptiveness and professional judgment of our consultants in assessing the candidates’ fit for the roles cannot be replaced by technology. “Which is why, Barons has a global network to leverage technology and research to provide more efficient, effective and most professional way to deliver and service our clients. We call ourselves ‘Glocal’ – global network and local expertise.” It is no secret that behind every successful firm, is a remarkable team of insightful, dedicated individuals and that is exactly the case for Barons & Company, as Jerry praises the staff. “They are our most precious gem. At Barons & Company, all the consultants come with solid industry experience from global companies and equipped with
multi-cultural mindset to deliver best industry practices and outcome to our clients.” As for what the future holds for Barons & Company, Jerry highlights how the company will continue to expand, and reflects on the opportunities that are on the horizon. “Regarding the opportunities that lie ahead for Barons & Company, we will position ourselves as a global player with industry management experience, whilst leveraging technology to deliver incredible results expanding outside Greater China. Already, we are in active mode in countries like Singapore, Australia, Japan, Korea, Philippines and even as far as LATAM countries. “We plan to continue to expand our Asian network and IMSA partnerships in order to provide a larger platform to service our clients.”
Contact: Mr. Jerry Chang Email: jchang@barons-co.com Company: Barons & Company Address: Room 1102, Lee Garden One 33 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Telephone Number: +852 2721 5000 Web Address: www.barons-co.com
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Sailing Ahead of the Competition Ocean County College (OCC) endeavors to break the mould of the traditional community college. We profile this dedicated education provider, which has been named ‘Most Innovative Student Centre College’ by Worldwide Business Review Magazine, to find out more about how it aims to achieve this ambitious aim. Established in 1964, OCC offers courses and degrees in a wide variety of disciplines all geared either toward transfer to four-year schools or the job market and does so in modalities that make earning an education convenient. Courses are offering on campus, online, and through hybrid offerings. To ensure that they are fully supported the college is committed to meeting students wherever and whatever their needs may be which includes degrees and certificates as well
as a plethora of non-credit and training offerings. Additionally, OCC’s focus is in its own back yard, Ocean County New Jersey, but also extends to potential students throughout the United States and in many International areas like China, the Dominican Republic, and the Middle East/ Northern Africa region. Testimony to the quality of education and service that college provides, in 2016, OCC was ranked number one in online educational providers out of every New Jersey-based institution of higher education, including fouryear and graduate schools.
However, despite this success the college is eager not to rest on its laurels, as continuous development is vital in every industry, especially education. As students constantly face a plethora of choice when it comes to higher education and a great deal of competition in the workplace, OCC continues to fine tune the degrees offered to ensure that students headed into industry or to baccalaureategranting institutions have their needs met and exceeded. The college’s partnership with Thomas Edison State University is one shining example of the innovation and student-centered platform OCC sits upon. Through this partnership, OCC and TESU have developed a 3+1 transfer
agreement that allows students to earn 90 credits at OCC, and then to transfer these credits to TESU and complete the remaining 30 for a baccalaureate degree, all of which comes at a cost of around $20,000.00. This, and other partnerships and innovations ongoing at OCC certainly support growth. Growth and further development is the college’s ongoing focus as it looks towards a bright future, as OCC seeks to continue all efforts and initiatives based on its mission and vision statement. Through continuous improvement, in all areas, the college strives to support its students’ academic and experiential needs and this award reflects that ongoing effort.
Company: Ocean County College Address: College Drive, Toms River, New Jersey, 8754, USA Phone: 001 732-255-0400 x2071 Email: jkirsten@ocean.edu
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Leading Lights of Law Allbright Law Offices is one of the leading full-service law firms in China. Recently, we spoke with John Liu from Allbright Law Offices to tell us more. Established in 1999, Allbright was the product of three local law firms in Shanghai merging together. Allbright provide a comprehensive range of legal solutions and services to both domestic and international clients. With their headquarters in Shanghai, the firm also has 18 branch offices all over China, including Beijing and Hong Kong. Setting Allbright apart from their competitors is their tailored ‘hands on’ support, as John explains, “While we offer professional and reliable services to our clients – just as most of our friends do, we focus more on providing our clients with tailored ‘hands on’ support. At Allbright, we are always stepping into our clients’ shoes and making sure that our efficient and tactical services meet the needs of our clients.”
Recently Allbright Law Offices found success in the Worldwide Business Awards 2017 Legal Elite Awards. John informs us what it means for both him and the firm to win, as well as praising the remarkable staff. “It is my great honor, but it also gives me more motivation and responsibility to upgrade our services. The award can be a kind of recognition of our professional achievement from the market, but more importantly it gives us a new start point. My colleague and I, all together, will keep doing our outmost to offer better legal services to our clients. “One thing I am proud of is that our clients speak highly of us. They are very much satisfied that we have in-depth thorough understanding of their business and can always offer timely yet effective legal solutions. “While we cherish our clients, we do treasure our staff. At Allbright, we are a big family, in which
each individual contributes a lot to our success. Meanwhile, all of us grow up together to build up our business profile.” When discussing trends and issues currently within the industry Allbright operates in, John highlights China’s legal system and the general public’s better equipped basic legal knowledge. “As a civil law originated legal regime, China has a quite stable legal system. However, we do have some reforms and developments in our legal system. While more detailed legislations have been promulgated, these trends do not necessarily mean overregulation. By contrast, more efficient and user-friendly legal framework has been promoted. Meanwhile, the general public also has been better equipped with basic legal knowledge. Nevertheless, there is still some deficiency in the current legal framework and people do have to be vigilant to some pitfalls.” Looking ahead, John reflects on the opportunities and challenges within the industry that lie ahead. However, John is most keen to share future plans that are on the horizon for the firm.
“China is one of the most important emerging markets. Competition is everywhere. We do have challenges from members in our domestic legal community as well as from our respectable foreign fellow lawyers. While disputes in domestic matters can be complicated, transnational/ international disputes met by our clients are even more challenging. However, all these things bring us more opportunities as well - as clients are facing a more complicated business world, we can distinguish ourselves by offering more sophisticated and internationalized legal services. “It is important for both lawyers and clients to understand that legal services are actually far beyond simple application of law. Lawyers are not only troubleshooters, but also their clients’ business partners. Good lawyers do not only solve problems, more importantly, they help clients to prevent potential disputes from the very beginning, reduce cost (both transaction and enforcement costs), minimize risks, and optimize business strategies.”
Contact: John Liu Email: john.liu@allbrightlaw.com Company: Allbright Law Offices Address: 11, 12/F, Shanghai Tower, No.501, Yincheng Middle Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 200120, China Telephone: 00 (86 21) 2051 1000
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Outsourcing Manpower in India Aarvi was founded in 1987, with their head office located in Mumbai. Today, they have a strong presence across India and Middle East. As part of the India Business Excellence Awards, we invited the firm to profile their work in outsourcing manpower for the oil & gas industry. Aarvi Encon Pvt. Ltd is India’s largest manpower outsourcing company, specialising in the field of oil & gas. With more than 3500 engineers, the firm has a high degree of specialisation in the commissioning of refinery, operation, maintenance of Tank Terminal, and Pipeline as well as Project, Inspection and Construction Supervision of various projects. The company was set up in December 1987, by Shri. V. D. Sanghavi and has offices in the main cities of India, which are Delhi, Chennai, Baroda and functional offices at Jamnagar, Barmer, Bhatinda and Vishakhapatnam, where major works are happening.
We feel happy to be part of the India Business Excellence Awards. In 2012, we received the ‘STAR SME Award’ from Business Today and YES Bank, when it was rated by Thrompton, UK to be among the fastest growing 100,000 companies. We also received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2014, from the Late President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for ‘Fair Business Practices’. India Business Excellence Award will definitely increase Aarvi Encon Pvt. Ltd.’s international image and help us secure good business in the future. Our 100% subsidiary company at the Sharjah Export Zone, Aarvi Encon FZE, is doing well with a turnover no less than Rs. 70 million turnover. We are unlike our competitors, in that we concentrate on high-quality, highly experienced and reliable manpower to be outsourced for complicated jobs. We are the largest employer of 3D modellers in India and, our profit margins are way ahead of our competitors. A case study of our work around a shutdown experience, involved the provision of more than 300 engineers to Reliance IOCL, GNFC, ESSAR Oil and HPCL-Mittal (HMEL) refinery. We supplied the engineers at short notice. This shutdown involved the starting of plants,
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after the proper maintenance and necessary repairs were carried out. The work was supervised by our expert inspection, mechanical and instrumentation engineers. This trend of Contract Staffing is becoming increasingly common, as many refineries are laying cross country pipelines to transfer raw materials, as well as finished products. We carry out operation maintenance of such pipelines for HMEL, reliance and Cairn India and HPCL. Another trend is that we go and work in the renewable energy sector, for example at solar plants and windmills. We have expert engineers given to Vikram Solar, Waree Solar and international companies all over India.
success. Our staff are highly motivated and undergo regular training, so that they can take the ownership of a project when it comes to working with clients. I would also like to point out that there are a growing number opportunities, as the number of sectors in India are growing at a fast rate. These sectors include: renewable energy, automobile hub manufacturing and infrastructure. We are planning to go for a Public IPO, and achieve the status of being a Public Listed Company. By doing this, it will be easier to open offices worldwide and increase our business of manpower outsourcing, thus meeting requirement of any large projects.
In addition, our staff are highly committed to their work and play a tremendous part in the firm’s
Company: Aarvi Encon Pvt. Ltd. Name: Virendra D. Sanghavi Email: info@aarviencon.com Web Address: www.aarviencon.com Address: B-1/603, 6th Floor, Marathon Innova, G.K. Marg., Opp. Peninsula Park, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400013, India Telephone:+91 22 40499999
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How Do I Sell My Business and Retire? Lakes Business Group Inc is the leader in mergers and acquisitions and business valuations in the Midwest region of the United States. They assist business owners with their exit strategy planning and walk an owner through the complex process of selling their company. We invited Shareholder, Joe Braier to profile the firm’s work and how they can be helpful to you. Joe is a Mergers & Acquisition Advisor, as well as a CVA with the National Association of Certified Valuators & Analysts (NACVA). Joe helps business owners sell their business, as well as writing business valuation reports for buy/sell agreements, partnership disputes, divorce, bank financing, estate planning purposes and much more. At Lakes Business Group, we are a professional team Mergers & Acquisitions Advisors & business appraisers who develop Exit Strategy Plans for our clientele. Our firm was established in 2007 and have become the #1 M&A firm in the USA’S Midwest for the past several years. We believe that now is the best time to sell your business. Its currently a sellers’ market in the M&A world. This is due to the following reasons: • An abundance of buyers looking for acquisitions; • A lack of businesses for sale on the open market; • Financing is available via private investments and from banks for acquisitions; • Valuations are high and; • The national economy is doing well. However, this sellers’ market will not last forever. The next cycle is lurking and eventually, the baby boomer generation will decide to retire; creating supply to outweigh demand. There will be too many sellers and not enough buyers. Because of this, sellers are getting top dollar for their
business. But once the market flips from a sellers market to a buyers market, sellers will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars; and possibly millions, because they waited too long. We work with both sellers and buyers. Searching for businesses that would consider selling is one of the most challenging processes our buyers go through. This is due to the fact sellers do not want anyone to know they are thinking about selling. So, the privately held companies are not exploited to the open market, because everyone is trying to keep it a secret that the owner is looking to sell. Therefore, most of our buyers rely on Lakes Business Group to keep them informed on all the latest opportunities available for acquisition. In terms of our staff, an experienced team of administration and marketing professionals backs each seasoned M&A advisor. Both the advisor and the administration team are required to launch a business successfully and present it to the open market. With Lakes Business Group, you get the entire team, not just an individual.
Looking ahead and projecting M&A activity, the transition of demand and supply is certainly a challenge for us. As of now, businesses are being purchased quickly once they hit the open market if they are cash flowing and priced right. We expect this activity to continue for the next 6 months to a year. Again, this is mainly due to the fact there are several buyers looking to acquire businesses, but not enough opportunities. As the tidal wave of baby boomers comes to the shoreline of retirement, supply will begin to outweigh demand and the M&A activity will change. It is currently a sellers’ market, but eventually it will become a buyers’ market. Business owners need to prepare and know when the right time to execute their exit strategy is.
In closing, I would like to underline that we will continue to serve all business owners as they prepare for retirement. Selling your business is a huge decision and you get one shot to do it right. Our firm specializes in those businesses that fall within the manufacturing, distribution, professional services, medical and technology industries within the lower-middle market. It’s important as a business owner to plan ahead, know your options, and execute your plan accordingly.
Company: Lakes Business Group Inc Name: Joe Braier Email: joe@vrbizlakes.com Web Address: www.lakesbusinessgroup.com Address: W229 N1433 Westwood Drive, Waukesha, WI, 53186 Telephone: +1 (414) 429-3615 or +1(262) 955-6944
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Breaking the Mould Simoldes Plastic Division is a set of companies belonging to Simoldes Group, with headquarters in Oliveira de Azeméis, Portugal. As winner of the German Business Excellence Award, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to interview the firm’s Francisco Almeida to discover more. The mission of Simoldes Plastic Division is to be the preferred choice of their customers, employees and suppliers, contributing to a path of sustainable growth and satisfying their shareholders. Founded in 1959, group began exporting in 1961. Since 1968, Simoldes has been working for the automotive industry, indeed this sector contributes massively to the turnover of Simoldes. The firm’s Francisco Almeida reveals more about the firm’s background as well as both the people they serve and employ. “Simoldes Group – Plastic Division is divided in seven companies. Simoldes Plásticos created in 1981, Inplas in 1993, Plastaze in 1997, Simoldes Plásticos France in 1998, Simoldes Plásticos Brasil in 1996, Simoldes Plásticos Industria in 1996 and Simoldes Plásticos Polska in 2003. To support these manufacturing companies, Simoldes Plastic Division has its headquarters in Portugal and three technical / commercial sites in France, Germany and Spain. “Most customers are situated in Spain, France, Germany, UK and Poland. Simoldes is one of the few groups with capacity to support and produce for main OEMs like Renault, Volvo, VW, Audi, Nissan, Toyota, Porsche, Honda, Mercedes, GM, Mitsubishi, Bébéconfort and AmtrolAlfa.
“It is part of Simoldes Group culture to stimulate the participation and the involvement of all collaborators to reach the organisation goals, thus motivating the collaborators in the sense of making the convergence between individual goals and the company goals. In our opinion, people make the difference in the organisation. It is fundamental to attract, to conserve and to develop our collaborators, only in this way will it be possible to obtain success in the activities we develop, thus assuring the satisfaction of our customers and the motivation of our collaborators.” As a leader market company, the human culture of Simoldes has been developed throughout the years. This has allowed them to develop a profile, settled in a unique culture where people identify themselves with the values of the organisation, Francisco underlines. The values are: to be able to trust others; to be able to honour its commitments; to be excellent; to be innovative; to be honest; to have capacity for personal and professional development; to be a true leader or a candidate to be so; to be able to adapt to change and to be flexible and versatile. Francisco moves the conversation to the vital role that training and development play in the firm’s work. “In terms of training and development, we aim to equip all our staff with the qualifications, knowledge and
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abilities necessary for the correct performance of their own job roles. Simoldes Group seeks to invest strongly in training, which for us will continue to be a priority in the future, to ensure that high levels of performance are achieved by our staff. Simoldes will continue to mobilise all its collaborators to take part in continuous training.” Simoldes Group, with its history of success and with a fast growth in the market, reflects a strong power of attraction and retention of staff and young of high potential. Francisco expands this point and finally, he shares with us the details of their centralised purchasing organisation. “This situation of attractive and preferential company allowed to respond to the challenge of captivation and retention of human resources that are necessary to the expansion of its activities. Simoldes Group gives its collaborators advices so that they can manage its professional career conveniently: to be responsible for its own career; to improve its personal
abilities; to learn to communicate better; to adapt itself to changes; to be flexible and versatile; to bet in new technologies; to update knowledge; to know deeply the culture of the company; to invest more in itself. Simoldes Group intends to obtain the cooperation of the best professionals and the most promising students. “Simoldes Plastics Division also has a centralised purchasing organisation. The core team is based in Oliveira de Azeméis – Portugal. The purchasing team is divided in different product families, such as polymer raw materials, electrical, metallic, covering, insulation, fasteners and packaging materials. “Project purchasing is also centralised in our headquarters in terms of our tools, equipment and other devices as well as non-production related products and materials have centralised coordination, but local management. We work as a worldwide supply chain, but using common local processes.”
Company: Simoldes Plasticos Deutschland Engineering GmbH Name: Francisco Almeida Email: mail@simoldes.com Web Address: www.simoldes.com Address: Max-von-Laue-Weg 9, Wolfsburg-Vorsfelde, 38448 Germany Telephone: +49 5363 976 8023
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Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way Just Wills is the first independent company to offer professional will writing services for expats residing in the UAE. As winner of the Islamic Financial Service Awards 2017, we invited the firm’s Mohammad D. Marria to profile their interesting work. Drafting a will whilst alive is the most essential part of being responsible towards your family. Just Wills strongly supports succession planning in Dubai UAE. Our on-board succession planners, legal consultants and probate solicitors are always ready to guide you and consult you about how to keep your moveable or immovable assets secure. So, start your succession planning in Dubai with Just Wills today and don’t delay! If you are an expat residing in UAE with real estate investments then, it becomes necessary for you to have an expat will in UAE. Eliminate those dreadful consequences, that will or may arise for your family to face when you are gone, without a will. As wills specialists in UAE, we provide professional will writing services in Dubai for expatriates residing in Dubai. We help expats in planning ahead for the disposal of their assets held in the Emirates and in their home country. Just Wills is part of the Just Wills Group Plc, the largest independent estate planning group in the UK. Our team of seasoned experts are qualified and experienced to guide you through the mountainous and often tedious task of writing your will. They will help you in drafting legally
standing wills, in both Arabic and English. They will work on your instructions to see that your estate is disbursed as per your wishes. So, you can have a complete peace of mind, with the comfort that your family and loved ones will be taken care of and will benefit from your lifetime of hard work.
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All our experts are based in Dubai and we can create your will in the shortest possible time frame. You can trust us completely, as we have an outstanding commitment to secrecy and integrity, as well as always placing the greatest importance on open lines of communications. We also have an umbrella of professional indemnity insurance to protect your personal interests.
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So, in closing, why choose Just Wills? • Our expertise and experience in the field set us apart from the rest. We are one of the pioneers in drafting expatriate sills in the UAE. Plus, we are the first company in Dubai to offer complete will writing services. Just Wills are also part of the largest estate planning organisation in the UK; • Being an Islamic country, UAE follows Islamic Shariah Law, which is complex and can be confusing to nonMuslims. Just Wills has an in-
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depth understanding of these laws and the home laws of most countries, allowing us to offer superior will writing services; Just Wills is the first company in the UAE that has been awarded the license for will writing services, which includes succession planning; We offer comprehensive will writing services, including notarisation (approved by the courts) ; Just Wills offers professional executorship services, so clients can have a complete peace of mind, as we can also take care of the will execution; We are the first company to receive a certificate, from the Islamic Affairs Division to draft wills for Muslims; Our team of experts can help you draft legally standing wills, in both Arabic and English languages;
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Our strict quality standards and ethical values, coupled with years of legal experience help us to meet your needs, in disposing your property in a way that coincides with your wishes; We are governed by outstanding commitment to secrecy and integrity that our profession demands, so we always exalt the importance of sincere communication and information sharing; We employ a dedicated court liaison for all will matters and full-time lawyers on our team and; You also have the umbrella of professional indemnity insurance, to protect your personal interests.
Company: Just Wills Name: Mohammad D. Marria Email: online@just-wills.net Web Address: www.justwills.ae Address: PO BOX 75671, Dubai, UAE Telephone: +971 4 311 6592
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The Right Balance between Cost, Time and Quality Kelly & O’Callaghan Limited is a professional chartered quantity surveying practice, which over its 18 years of establishment, has remained a leading construction cost consultancy. Following their success in achieving the Best Quantity Surveying Company – Europe accolade, we interviewed the company’s Managing Director, Mark Kelly to learn more. Kelly and O’Callaghan Limited currently employs a quality team quantity surveyors, project managers, office administrators along with a financial controller. They carry out quantity surveying and project management services throughout Europe, with offices in Ireland, Germany and the UK. Mark Kelly reveals what makes the company tick, as well as highlighting the full range of services they provide. “We pride ourselves on our commitment to achieve value for money - which has been proven in continued repeat business from clients - this includes property developers, government bodies, banks, companies and private individuals.
“Our company has always offered a full range of services, from cost plans to final accounts. Our core activity is the preparation, production and maintenance of all documentation associated with quantity surveying. All requests are examined and undertaken with both care and accuracy. “We also liaise with subcontractors, main contractors and other professional companies in terms of quantity surveying. We would also like to note that we have an excellent track record of working well as part of various multi-disciplinary project teams.” Mark then tells us how it feels to have won the award plus the reasons behind the company’s success, plus their philosophy which is encompassed in their mission statement. “The cornerstones for Kelly & O’Callaghan Ltd.’s success, is that we will build relationships with our clients, employees and industry peers with the utmost trust, honesty, integrity and respect. It is on this foundation that all other values are built. Our approach on every client assignment, is to develop a customised solution to each unique challenge presented and ensure the client is satisfied with the results delivered. “As a service provider, Kelly & O’Callaghan Ltd.’s product is our people. We see innovation, collaboration and the opportunity to grow both personally and
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professionally in the company, as critical to maintaining an engaging work environment. In return, we require a commitment to excellent performance from our employees. “Kelly & O’Callaghan Ltd.’s primary goal is to provide all clients with the highest standard and quality of comprehensive quantity surveying services. We also aim to establish lasting relationships with clients, by exceeding their expectations and gaining their trust through the exceptional performance by every member of the team. We will also maintain the highest levels of professionalism, integrity, honesty and fairness in our relationships with clients.” In closing, Mark highlights the qualities the company offers, plus he provides a glimpse into their internal culture. “The key objective of Kelly & O’Callaghan Ltd is to provide a broad range of professional services, across various sectors
designed to support clients at any stage and at every scale, to ensure that they benefit not only from the services we provide to them, but also from the full range of professional and reliable expertise. We drive efficiency at every stage of our projects, constantly striking the right balance between cost, time and quality. “Culture and good values define who we are as a company. Everyone shares a common goal - there is an ongoing commitment to improve the client’s journey and to ensure that our services strategy is well defined. Kelly and O’Callaghan has a great set of core values and encourages both personal and professional growth. “My final point is that Kelly & O’Callaghan Ltd. places a focus on employee training and development, to help employees toward long-term career goals and to promote greater job satisfaction. This results in both a stronger and better equipped workforce, to carry out our mission and objectives. “
Company: Kelly & O’Callaghan Ltd Name: Mark Kelly Email: reception@kellyandocallaghan.com Web Address: www.kellyandocallaghan.com Address: Kirwan House, 195 North Circular Road, Dublin 7, D07 FWN06, Ireland Telephone: +353 1 838 1055
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A Vital Link in the Chain Building successful and sustainable brand partnerships for over 80 years, PRL Group’s focus on authentic partnership with their customers has positioned them as the market leader in the go-to-market brand experience. As winner of the Best Outsourced Supply Chain Solutions Provider 2017 award, we invited the firm’s Michael Finlay to profile the firm’s excellent work. PRL Group’s highlyengineered network of people, technology and infrastructural resources connects brands to the marketplace and consumers. We champion brands through world-class, innovative services and sustainable solutions, designed to help our customers improve productivity and reduce costs throughout their supply-chains, creating value for all. We offer a comprehensive range of intelligent supply-chain, outsourced sales and in-field solutions, tailored technical solutions and resource-planning services.
Experts in outsourcing Working in partnership with flagship brands across a variety of sectors including food and drink, pharmaceuticals, electronics, industrial and healthcare, we provide end-toend solutions encompassing freight, logistics, warehousing, inmarket sales, technical services, market research as well as insights and recruitment services. A local team with international reach Our network of strategic locations across Ireland and the UK means there is no quicker way to connect your brand to the marketplace. Connectivity
and agility are both key to a successful supply-chain that builds your brand and strengthens your business. Our established network of locations across Ireland and the UK, combined with strong partnerships with trusted international freight-forwarders, offers a single, efficient route to the marketplace.
enable rapid development, empowering our people to deliver a seamless, responsive and efficient experience across all our service segments. Our technology platforms and quality management programme are customised and delivered by professionals, dedicated to driving innovation for the benefit of our customers.
A refreshing approach Our passionate workforce of over 1,000 people, take pride in our high-performance culture built around the imperative of championing your brand to market and going the extra mile to achieve success at every opportunity, driving performance and creating value for all stakeholders.
With one dedicated team, our services are divided into three core areas: • PRL Logistics Solutions; • PRL In-Market Solutions and; • PRL Integrated Services.
Seamless connections We have built highly-scalable IT capabilities, which deliver world-class systemic integration with customer systems and
So, outsource your requirements to us and you will be partnering with a proven provider, who can help improve your market share. Whatever your project needs, you can be assured it will be managed and delivered by the most experienced, professional and dedicated team.
Company: PRL Group Name: Michael Finlay Email: michael.finlay@prl.ie Web Address: www.prl.ie Address: Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Dublin Ireland Telephone:+353 1257 1400
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Best Civil Law Firm 2017 & Excellence Award for Data Protection 2017 Studio Legale Fabiano is an Italian law firm supporting a wide range of clients across a number of practice areas. We invited Founding Partner Nicola Fabiano to tell us more about the firm and how it has come to achieve the success it enjoys today. Established in 1994, Studio Legale Fabiano draws on the vast experience and expertise of Founder Nicola, who has been a lawyer since 1993, and acts as a Civil Law Specialist and Counsel of the Italian High Courts and is currently responsible for the firm’s IT-Privacy sector. Alongside her work at the firm, Nicola is also a member of the Working Group of the FIIF (Fondazione Italiana per l’Innovazione Forense - Italian Foundation for the Forensic Innovation) of the CNF (Consiglio Nazionale Forense – National Bar Council). He is enrolled
in the list of the experts in Societal Security and Academic Member of the Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), belonging to the Law Research Unit and the Computer Research Unit. In 2017 Nicola Fabiano founded the Professional Network named “Legal Privacy Professional”. Nicola, who is incredibly proud of all her hard work, talks us through what marks her firm out as the best option for her clients. “Here at Studio Legale Fabiano we deal with both traditional Civil Law topics and Data Protection, Privacy, Security and Digital legal issues. Our view is to look much farther ahead, and we
believe in the Digital Innovation, Internet of Things, Blockchain and their applications. Our law firm is based on the human connections, and each member of the staff works in a close collaboration with the others and under the supervision of the Partners. This approach ensures that clients always receive the very highest standards of service and support at all times.”
“Moving forward there are many great projects which will help us to drive greater innovation and success. In Italy, there are already developments in the field of Digital innovation, and I think that in a short time it will be the primary concern to focus on. As such, we will continue to work seriously in this area and our commitment is to guarantee always a perfect level of professionalism.”
Looking to the future, Nicola has many exciting plans which will help her to build upon the current success of Studio Legale Fabiano, as she proudly concludes.
Company: Studio Legale Fabiano Contact: Nicola Fabiano Email: info@studiolegalefabiano.eu Address: Via Dante Alighieri, 5 - 71121 Foggia (Italy) 0039.0881.72472 Piazzale delle Medaglie d’Oro, 4, 20 - 00136 Roma (Italy) 0039.06.92918591 Website: www.studiolegalefabiano.eu
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Best Digital Advertising Tech Provider 2017 DotAndMedia is the leading provider of Adserving Technology in Italy working with the most important publishers and in-house sales companies in the local market. We invited Andrea Fiore to tell us more about the firm and the services it can offer, as well as its recent success. Founded in 2010 in Italy by the Software Engineer Andrea Fiore, DotAndMedia is one of the fastest growing technology companies in Europe. In the fast-changing digital ecosystem, there are big tech players having commercial interest themselves and offering solutions through black box technology. DotAndMedia competes being an independent player and providing advanced, customized and integrated adserving, big data and sales management technologies to meet the business goals of its clients. Offering a variety of services, the company’s main products include Dot&Ads, which is the first local multi-channel adserver in Italy supporting any creative format. The products are able to deliver advertising campaigns on the internet and via video player, msite, mobile apps, smart tv’s, set-top box, podcast, streaming radio and consoles. Its Dot&Sales product is the most complete platform for managing ad sales across all business processes and media platforms, via any sales methods both online and offline. Alongside those products, the firm also produces Dot&Insight, the new data management solutions to optimise advertising investments. Andrea describes to us how it feels to have won this award along with the reasons she believes are behind the firm’s recent success. “At DotAndMedia we believe there is no one size fits all mentality in the digital advertising industry. We work closely with the client day by day to understand their needs and work quickly so that we can satisfy them. The company aims to be a partner for
its clients, helping them to meet the business strategy through the use of technology. Within the firm, the R&D team works closely with the support team and is in constant communication with the client and team members, placing its focus on clients’ new demands. When clients opt for the independent and flexible solutions of DotAndMedia, they do so in order to better manage the digital operations; to understand and exploit at best technology.” Within the technology industry, the company works hard to attract the best clients and the best business. To do this, the firm must mark themselves out as the best possible option for clients. Andrea clarifies how staff at DotAndMedia have a strong knowledge of the Italian digital advertising market. The proprietary technology at the firm allows staff to be fast in implementing new features, and in offering full integration within the business ecosystem, as Andrea explains below. “The company’s proprietary technology allows staff to be fast in implementing new features, in performing deep customization and in offering full integration within the business ecosystem. Our highly-specialized tech team works close with clients, offering operative, technical and strategic support. Staff possess a strong knowledge of the Italian digital advertising market and what really differentiates us from our competitors is the completeness of our offer. Through our solutions we cover the entire process of selling/buying advertising: from the creation of proposal and orders to the optimization of the delivery of adv campaigns till the
performance of descriptive and predictive analysis”. Specific to Italy, Andrea discusses the trends that the company are seeing in the industry currently. The firm is working on a solution to allow its clients to choose the best programmatic partners for themselves. “The digital advertising market is asking for more transparency. For example, our solutions are already integrated with the main programmatic platforms, however we are working on our Header Bidding solution to allow our clients to choose the best programmatic partners for them.” Discussing the benefits of being based in Italy, Andrea also gives us an understanding of the internal culture within the firm. He explains how all of the staff are equipped to provide the best possible service for clients, emphasising the company’s belief in education. “Based in Milan, our office is well connected within Italy and Europe. The IT personnel are highly qualified and working costs are competitive. “DotAndMedia believes in the
sharing of information and goals among all its people. We believe in education and we offer our people the possibility to attend seminars, conferences and specific courses to be always up to date.” Outlining what the future has in store for DotAndMedia, Andrea details the firm’s future plans and projects, highlighting that the firm will continue to focus on providing clients with the best possible customer service and also introducing its products into the European Market. “As a digital technology provider in Italy we are offering our clients our abilities and solutions on Big Data; at the same time, we believe that enter the European market is a priority. We believe that introducing Dot&Sales, our complete platform for managing ad sales across all business processes and media platforms, could be the first move for DotAndMedia to successfully approach the European market. Dot&Sales can be customized ‘as you need it’ to effectively manage your operations across multiple properties and channels from a single system. It is already integrated with major adserving, CRM, and finance platforms on the digital market.”
Contact: Sara Micale Email: sara.micale@dotandmedia.com Company: DotAndMedia Address: Via A.M Ampere, 30-20131, Milano, 30-20131, Italy Phone: 0039 02 45390770 Website: www.dotandmedia.com
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Domestic Appliances Distribution in Ghana Ederick Ltd is the manufacturer’s representative for Whirlpool home appliances in Ghana. They also distribute for Taurus, Candy Hoover, Glemgas, Philips electronics and Smart TV’s. They can also proudly boast of their own brand – EDK. We spoke to Ederick Ltd’s President/ CEO, Mr. Frederick Sam to find out more about this long-established and successful firm. The company has been in existence for 30 years. They are based in Accra, Ghana and have over the years expanded to other regional capitals.
“We offer an unparalleled service to clients, by being attentive to their needs and bringing our service offer to them. We have remained highly customer focused over the years and are rivalled by none in the industry.
Mr. Frederick Sam reveals what sets the business apart from their competitors, points to how the business is succeeding and tells us about the type of clients they serve.
“The firm’s client base is very broad. It cuts across from discerning individuals, to financial institutions, diplomatic missions, restaurants, hotels and government agencies and private sector organisations. “
“Ederick Ltd is one of few wholly Ghanaian owned home appliance companies in the country. We offer a complete 360-degree service package. We install all our appliances and air conditioners and have a wellequipped service centre, that is adequately stocked with parts and well trained technicians for after sales service.
Frederick then highlights current trends in the wider industry, including ones that are specific to Ghana. “I believe that consumer behaviour has changed over the years. Price is now a major determining factor in buying decisions for household appliances. Consumers are less focused on brands and thus, brand loyalty which used to be a major pulling force, is now much more less so. China’s emergence has also changed the landscape, especially around exclusivity, meaning every business can now access a factory. There is now also a major shift to more energy efficient appliances. “The appliances industry is technology based, and this industry is fast paced. There are always new trends and technologies coming up, so it is important for us to keep up with
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these. Also, with the increasingly sophisticated lifestyles of clients, as well as the growing real estate industry, we are offered a huge market to tap into.” Frederick then turns the conversation towards people, in terms of both external and internal customers. “For 30 years now, we have built for ourselves a strong reputation, so far as the household appliances industry in Ghana is concerned. Clients are highly confident of the quality of the brands we carry and our unparalleled after sales service delivery.” “Ederick Ltd currently has a workforce of about 80 employees, who are very knowledgeable in all of our business activities. We always strive to ensure that customers have a memorable shopping experience with us.”
In closing, Frederick sheds light on the firm’s future hopes and plans. “Ederick Ltd’s goal is to expand into more regional capitals. For instance, we will be opening a new branch in Tamale next year, giving us the opportunity to reach both potential and perspective clients. “Our mission is to build a multinational company, providing services across a variety of products, whilst also ensuring it meets the expectations of its customers, shareholders and employees and to be the established leader in domestic appliances distribution in Ghana and the West Africa subregion.”
Company: Ederick Ltd Name: Frederick Sam Email: info@ederickltd.com Web Address: www.ederickltd.com Address: Head Office Ederick Place, Opposite LA General Hospital, Next to Goil fuel Station, LA, Accra, Ghana Telephone: +233(0)302 778126/28
Aaron & Son Transport Logistics
ankunene@hotmail.com 83 Tucker St, Belgravia Gauteng, City of Johannesburg 2001 South Africa
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