Magazine | BBR - March 2023

(NICARAGUA)

Dairy variety, flavor and nutrition through sustainable operations

Leading the digitization

UNO (CENTRAL AMERICA)

Wide presence for fuel, lubricants and convenience stores

HELICONIA AMAZON LODGE AND HOTEL

VICTORIA REGIA (PERU)

Your starting point and hosts for a unique journey

ALSO + Grupo Solid + Bizagi + Consubanco + Delphix

Editor’s letter

It is with great delight that once again we present you with some of the most outstanding companies in Latin America as we just finished Q1.

Central America keeps boasting prominent companies, including those that were created in the regions as well as those belonging to larger-scale operations which have been established within the territory. Lala Nicaragua is part of the latter, as the group of Mexican origin combined its know-how with strategic acquisitions to find themselves atop the country’s leadership in dairy products. On its behalf, their fuel purveyors from UNO Central America, originally a company from Honduras, has also grown its presence the same way, with more than 400 service stations for fuel and lubricants retail and also serving in the B2B modality.

From El Salvador, mainstay Productos

Alimenticios DIANA has held its head above water as one of the country’s pillar companies for economic recovery, and has recently been through a digitization process to maintain its leadership.

As spring hits the Northern Hemisphere, we thought of nothing else but the Southern Hemisphere, or at least barely, as Terraverde Hotels group displays its excellent service and warmth by welcoming visitors to the Amazonian jungle in Peru, offering lodging both at Iquitos as a starting point, as well as deep into the jungle, though not far from civilization through their outstanding properties: Hotel Victoria Regia and the Heliconia Amazon Lodge.

Would you like to tell your company’s story? Get in touch with us!

Thanks for reading and thanks for sharing The Boston Business Review...

Mateo Rafael Tablado, Editor in chief for The Boston Business Review

Email:

rafael.tablado@thebostonbr.com

WHO WE ARE

Managing Director

Jassen Pintado

Creative Director

Omar Rodríguez

Editor in Chief

Rafael Tablado

Editor for Brasil

Flavia Brancato

Translations

María Murgui

Finance Director

Christina Nichole

Social Media Director

Maria Elena Gastelum

Content Coordinator

Alicia Barrantes

Project Directors

Ana Macfarland

David Alarcon

Giuseppe Modenesi

Lucy Verde

Marcelo Modenesi

ONE OF A KIND

UNO is much more than an ally offering the best fuel and lubricants for business and consumers, but also becoming an outstanding force driving Central America

In an interview with Millie Cano, Brand Manager for UNO in Central America, we learned about the traits enabling the company to evolve toward becoming a more complete business, establishing a difference which results in obtaining leadership covering both the retail and B2B segments by supplying fuel and lubricants in the region.

WOULD YOU PLEASE BRIEFLY SHARE SOME DETAILS ABOUT UNO CENTRAL AMERICA?

HOW LONG HAS THE COMPANY BEEN RUNNING AND ANY OTHER FEATS OF RELEVANCE THROUGH ITS EXISTENCE?

UNO is part of UNO Corp., which has more than 1,600 service stations in Latin America, the company also manages the Shell brand in Guatemala, with 348 service stations, and Biomax in Colombia, with 859

locations. As UNO, we are a regional company running under a successful business model since its inception. The UNO brand was born in Honduras with its first service station, which opened in 2002; actually, the company operates in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua with more than 486 locations.

In UNO we create different employment opportunities, benefitting more than 13,000 individuals and their households in a direct and indirect way in all of Central America, resulting in a positive impact in their well-being and development. This figure includes more than 3,000 positions in Honduras.

Our leadership stands out for our operation in all of the value chain, from importing oil & gas byproducts, its storage, conveyance and distribution,

UNO belongs to all of the countries it operates in, our talent is local and carries within the passion of Central American naturals, also shared among our brand’s traits

up to the last mile delivery of different products to our clients.

UNO belongs to all of the countries it operates in, our talent is local and carries within the passion of Central American naturals, which is also shared among our brand’s traits.

Our effort and commitment has earned us the trust, heart and mind of consumers, which have turned us into becoming a beloved brand in all of Central America due to our innovative business model, centered on our customers.

Each visiting customer feels our warmth as soon as they come in, which is also another trait from Central Americans; and we are proud to say that our company was born in Honduras and is here to stay and go beyond borders.

WHICH ARE YOUR MAIN BUSINESS UNITS AND PRODUCTS? WHICH INDUSTRIES ARE ITS MAIN TARGET?

Our brand is under constant renovation in search of the highest standards in order to always remain

among the leaders in our business. All of our decisions and actions are aimed at searching continuous improvement not only to increase sales, but also in developing a long-term relationship with our current and future customers to earn their trust and make them feel at ease, knowing that in every visit they’ll be filling their tanks with worldclass quality products, always on the forefront of the market and with the latest technology. Actually, the goal is to create a real connection with proven credibility.

UNO is comprised by five business units: •

Our own line of lubricants covers every industrial sector with the best quality. From motor oil for passenger

vehicles, oil for heavy machinery and marine motors. For sale in UNO service stations and authorized retailers in all of Central America.

HOW HAS UNO SPREAD THROUGH CENTRAL AMERICA?

UNO’s presence in the region is a result of its acquisition business model. Throughout our history, we have expanded through Central

America with our UNO and Pronto brands with convenience stores and with fuel, lubricants and bitumen retail and storage.

WHICH STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS WERE EXECUTED TO GROW THE BRAND? WHICH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS TOOK YOU TO NEW MARKETS?

In 2008 the Copena station service chain was acquired in Honduras; in

2009 we acquired the Shell brand in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In 2011, the acquisition of the Rubis/Chevron brand was consolidated in Belize, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. In 2014, the Petrotica and Colono chains were acquired in Costa Rica. In 2015, the Pacific Oil chain was acquired, and four years later, also in Guatemala, we acquired the Formula 1 chain. Thanks

to these acquisitions we have the largest service station chain in Central America with 469 locations.

WHICH ADDITIVES ARE CONTAINED IN FUEL AND OTHER PRODUCTS OF THE UNO BRAND,

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE MARKET?

Our Dynamax Plus additive package has a boosted formula with a new element able to reduce motor friction, which improves performance with

thorough motor cleansing, removing carbon deposits, increasing efficiency.

After using UNO fuel with Dynamax Plus consistently, you’ll notice benefits such as: a thorough cleansing of the motor for optimal performance, driving up to your vehicle’s potential, more miles per gallon, improved efficiency and lesser costs for maintenance.

UNO with Dynamax Plus has a spreading detergent effect in fuel which helps to remove carbon deposits, reduce mechanical corrosion and promotes constant motor maintenance, contributing to

a longer life for your vehicle through essential functions: elimination of residuals, protection to injectors and combustion chambers, delivering more power, optimizing the performance of essential components and reduction of carbon monoxide emissions.

Also, our additive is designed for any light or heavy vehicles, from motorcycles to marine vessels. All of our fuels -Super, Regular and Diesel- contain the new Dynamax Plus additive, containing unmatched properties meeting the highest demands for top performance.

All of our decisions and actions are aimed at searching continuous, developing a long-term relationship with our current and future customers

WHICH MARKETING ACTIONS FROM UNO ARE RESULTING IN EARNING AND KEEPING CUSTOMERS’ PREFERENCE?

We became “número UNO” by optimizing every resource in our favor to obtain insights which contribute to decision making and designing new strategies that bring us closer and tighter to actual and potential customers and digital users, thus improving our brand’s positioning within the region.

We love to offer not only the best experience in our service stations, but also the best promotions. Every promotion is carefully designed to reward customer loyalty through new engagement strategies and coveted prizes; this way, everyone visiting UNO has the same chances to earn a prize.

Each step we take in marketing is part of a strong strategy consisting of a digital media plan, ATL channels and BTL activations which allow us to connect, relate and create emotions in every one of our customers, which we are able to evaluate before and after any promotion.

Year after year, our customers -in every single country we are atawait for our promotions: brand new cars, motorcycles, cell phones, TVs, tablets, video game systems, laptops, household appliances and, specially, a lot of gallons of the best fuel in the region, are just some of the hundreds

of giveaways that have been awarded to our customers throughout the years.

HOW HAS UNO CENTRAL AMERICA UNDERGONE ITS OWN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FACING THE MARKET AND ALSO INWARDS?

We are setting our wages for the future through the deployment of new technology, aiming to integrate new working methods enabling us to make the most from the potential of digitization, resulting in a company

culture evolving toward a rapid response within an ever changing environment.

Changes currently happening within UNO are undoubtedly driving forward an innovation culture, optimizing current processes’ efficiency, and also creating new business opportunities thanks to data analytics and improving customers’ experience and their relationship with our brand.

Our deployment plan considers

Changes currently happening within UNO are driving forward an innovation culture, optimizing current processes’ efficiency

every area in our company, this will benefit clients and customers from the different segments and channels we work for, among them: increased purchase visibility, a userfriendly interface, help from our ground personnel, and an unmatched customer experience, overall.

Thanks to such changes we will accomplish vertical integration to

other market segments and offer more services in our entire chain.

We aim to become a market leader evolving from a point of purchase for fuel to a multi-service station where customers can always find products that facilitate business transactions and, overall, provide a true purchase experience.

FOUNDED: 1996

INDUSTRY: Energy / Oil & Gas

CONTACT: www.uno-terra.com

Important data in the best hands

An innovative approach to data protection during the development, test management and interactions in multiple clouds processes also provides speed and value, which become a significant difference

Companies from different sectors that handle large amounts of data digitally are at a risk during the process, besides being obliged to adhere to strict regulations regarding possible access to this information, guaranteeing that third parties don’t have any access to users’ and customers’ data, avoiding misuse. Delphix has provided companies with support and has become the global leader in the data industry for processes such as DevOps, Test Data Management (TDM), and Data Masking, automating

Producido por Jassen Pintado

Written by Mateo Rafael Tablado

Translation by María Murgui

Creative Direction Omar

Rodríguez

Interviewee:

Bruna Bolorino, Vice-President and General Manager for Delphix in Latin America and the Caribbean

complex data operations which comply with privacy regulations.

The company was set up in 2008 in Menlo Park, California, and currently has a global presence, spreading throughout Latin America and Europe. It is operated by more than 700 direct employees, besides third parties from other companies. Delphix’s roster of clients include 30% of the companies on the Fortune 100 list.

Delphix’s presence in Latin America dates to 2013, when the first step was taken with the opening of the Sao Paulo (Brazil) office. The company is currently present in Argentina and Mexico, where it started operating in 2018.

The operations in Latin America mean 12% of Delphix’s endeavors worldwide. The company also relies on the work of 23 partners in the region. In Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile,

Jamaica, and Mexico, Delphix has presently more than 60 active clients in the region, among which companies like Consubanco, Invercap, Natura, and Office Depot are included.

Delphix facilitates the availability of data able to comply with protection regulations during the development process, thus decreasing idle time for developers, contributing to creating more productive environments, decreasing the wait for launch or release, and improving code quality, thus reducing costs and environmental impact.

“Delphix can be applied in every industry that handles large amounts of data, be it to accelerate their projects or to protect their environments, from data leaks to ransomware attacks,” added Bruna Bolorino, Vice-President and General Manager for Delphix in Latin America and the Caribbean.

LEADERSHIP IN CHARGE OF BUSINESS GROWTH

Bruna Bolorino graduated in Business Administration at ESPM (Higher School of Advertising and Marketing, in Sao Paulo, Brazil). Her 17-year experience in IT has taken Bolorino to companies such as Oracle,

SAP, Dell EMC, and IBM, among others, holding leadership roles.

The results she has achieved for Delphix in Brazil and Latin America have been recognized by the company at a global level, having received awards every year since she joined

Delphix. Besides, not only did she bring new business and sales, but also created operations from zero in different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

USEFUL SOLUTIONS FOR DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS

The solutions Delphix offers can be applied to all industries, mainly supporting financial sectors such as banking and insurance, the retail sector, and the education sector, among others.

The three main pillars on which Delphix solutions stand out are -undoubtedly- DevOps, Zero Trust environments, and Multi-Cloud structures:

• DevOps. Delphix optimizes the data delivery to testing environments, preparing brief data environments, and managing timing reduction for projects launch. The series of tools the company has allows the automation of different IT aspects and offers code management, infrastructure, implementation, and other processes.

- Bruna Bolorino, Vice-President and General Manager for Delphix in Latin America and the Caribbean

“Delphix can be applied to all the industries that handle large amounts of data, be it to accelerate their projects or to protect their environments”

• Zero Trust. Delphix provides protection to testing environments through the identification and elimination of all confidential data. This allows for solving compliance and security problems.

• Multi-Cloud. Delphix collaborates with moving large amounts of data from complex environments to the cloud, thus increasing the project’s viability and reducing costs with agility and security.

“Besides automation and drastically reducing the data handling time, we offer protection before delivery, which means we can find confidential data automatically and mask them in accordance with security regulations,” the executive commented.

THE ADVANTAGES OFFERED BY THE MOST COMPLETE PLATFORM

Delphix offers extremely valuable

advantages for companies, considering it can take hours, days, and even weeks to prepare the appropriate environment for a new project, thus devoting more time to data handling.

Delphix replies to key questions regarding the value companies can obtain when innovating with them, as well as the moment in which this innovation will mature to provide said value, considering that the capacity to access data rapidly usually implies delays in the applications development value chain. Delphix has got the capacity of adopting functionalities for Continuous Data (protecting continuous data flux) and Continuous Compliance. The first modality delivers data for internal use, as with TDM processes, recovery after disasters and integration with monitoring applications; whereas Continuous Compliance secures the protection

of data delivered for different internal use.

• It admits multiple data sources, from mainframe to modern databases, from installations to cloud, SaaS, PaaS, backup tools and cloning.

• It is a complete platform to handle data and can also be used for TDM, fast recovery, creation of

training environments and sandbox, identification of confidential data, data masking, migration, or data synchronization between multiple data centers (or clouds), protection against ransomware and other uses.

“There is no other competitor at the platform level offering all the benefits with the same license. We count on

a team devoted to supporting our clients to obtain the maximum value from their investment in our platform,” Bolorino pointed out.

SPREADING THROUGHOUT THE REGION VIA PARTNERSHIPS

Delphix’s development in Latin

America grows at giant steps, and,

at the end of 2022, the company registered a growth of 37% in new clients in the region. Only during the last quarter of 2022 did the company experience a 300% growth with respect to the same period of the previous year.

An important factor for the Delphix spread and growth all throughout

“Besides automation and drastically reducing the data handling time, we offer protection before delivery, which means we can find confidential data automatically and mask them in accordance with security regulations”

- Bruna Bolorino,

and General Manager for Delphix in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America is relying on proper partners, whose work has provided more than 90% of results for the company in the region. Currently, the team’s growth is getting close to 55% a year.

Besides having important clients in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia, Delphix is spreading its operations to more countries in South

America, Central America, and the Caribbean: Ecuador, Caiman Islands, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.

FAVORABLE EXPECTATIONS

There are precise purposes to fulfill in 2023 and beyond, as a strong standpoint in certain countries, the spreading of Delphix and its

Vice-President

products, and more results derived from its important partnerships with analysts such as Gartner and IDC are expected.

“We are investing not only spreading the word about Delphix, but also in building local teams with Delphix direct employees, and not just operating through partners.

From this year on we will have a local team inr Mexico. In 2023, the growth in Mexico will be greater than the growth in Latin America, regarding investment,” added Bruna Bolorino, Vice-President and General Manager at Delphix for Latin America and the Caribbean.

FOUNDED: 2008 INDUSTRY: Technology / Innovation CONTACT: www.delphix.com

ENABLING PROCESSES IN NO TIME!

Bizagi is a leading platform for processes automation and for the creation of low code applications to be used by different sectors. It offers easy-to-use automation tools, both for developers and for users in all business areas… All of it hosted in the cloud!

Produced by Jassen Pintado

Creative Direction

Omar Rodríguez

Translation by María Murgui

Bizagi contributes to the Digital Transformations of different organizations from different sectors through its processes automation platform, able to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics to optimize different processes, enabling launch in a short time as it orchestrates the client’s different working areas, delivering fully satisfying results for the end user. Besides its presence in Latin America,

Bizagi has brought its business to Germany, Singapore, the UK and the USA, to name a few countries, servicing entities from the banking and financial, insurance, public, manufacturing, retail, shipping and logistics, health, hotel, and tourism industries, among others.

WIDE FUNCTIONALITY

Bizagi is a leading company in the automation and management of

different business technologies and solutions such as legacy systems, RPA systems and AI, web services, existing databases, CRM, ERP, files management and storage systems, among others, acting as an orchestrator within the entity, thus organizing these systems simply and efficiently.

Its low-code solution for app development is intuitive, and it also offers an assistant to create applications in seven steps, which accelerates the app’s launch as well. This modality provides greater visibility and control over the resources, costs, and terms associated with the business processes, besides allowing the organization’s users as well as the IT department to collaborate in the processes’ standardization and improvement.

Being a low-code platform, it solves problems more quickly not

only for all the company’s users but also for developers.

Advanced users can choose among the assistant, expert, and experienced displays, relying on the whole development capability the platform offers, with the possibility of quickly covering core and strategic processes.

OPTIMIZING USER’S EXPERIENCE

Bizagi offers a module completely devoted to creating unique, modern, and customized experiences for different users.

This option allows the identification of the different people working within the applications, thus enabling the creation of totally customized and contextualized pages, menus, reports, lists, and other elements for each individual.

Bizagi understands the importance of making every user feel unique, and, for that reason, it offers different options to achieve it.

BIZAGI UNDERSTANDS THE IMPORTANCE OF MAKING EVERY USER FEEL UNIQUE, AND, FOR THAT REASON, IT OFFERS DIFFERENT OPTIONS TO ACHIEVE IT

MULTIPLE PRODUCTS WITHIN THE SAME PLATFORM

• Bizagi Modeler: Offers clients the chance of modeling, documenting, and simulating business processes by making use of BPMN 2.0 notation. It also allows the creation of value diagrams, the use of mining processes technology, and the

publication of the processes used for all the organization’s collaborators via a processes’ library.

• Bizagi Studio: it eases process automation and development. It can be adapted to the user’s needs, thus offering no-code and low-code automation tools even for expert

Bizagi

developers. Users can rely on an assistant to create modern and capable applications by only following seven simple steps.

• Bizagi Automation: This is where the applications developed with Bizagi Studio are displayed. Bizagi Automation is 100% hosted in the

Cloud, it is scalable and flexible, and it allows the creation of unique and modern experiences for several kinds of users.

KEY FEATURES

Bizagi’s features are provided by a mixture of easiness of use and the

BIZAGI IS A LEADING COMPANY IN THE AUTOMATION AND MANAGEMENT OF DIFFERENT BUSINESS

TECHNOLOGIESAND SOLUTIONS

capability to achieve the desired processes able to generate results in a short time.

• It is intuitive. Easy to use for any user without the need of owning specialized technical knowledge.

• Powerful. Bizagi can cope with automation from beginning to end, from simple working flow to complex processes.

• Unifying. Its ease of use not only does contribute to the promotion of the Citizen Developer initiative but also contributes to promoting fusion teams seeking specialized business users who work hand in hand with IT teams to achieve the expected results regarding functioning and user experience.

Bizagi also offers 130 process accelerators available, which include cross-business processes for different industries and markets, completely automized and ready to use. Besides,

it also has connectors that allow for the easy integration of several external tools, as well as widgets that can be used to customize the final user’s interfaces.

Being a 100% Cloud-native platform allows each development to grow according to its requirements without having problems with bandwidth use during peak traffic, thus decreasing the allocation of resources to maintenance and monitoring of hosting infrastructure and use.

PROVEN TRACK RECORD BEYOND BOUNDARIES AND CONTINENTS

Bizagi was started over 30 years ago to develop a project for the former Banco Cafetero, in Colombia, thus transforming processes to accelerate them. This meant an opportunity to develop tools that didn’t exist in the market, creating a platform able to automate the company’s processes that could be easily and quickly implemented.

BIZAGI HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS THE GLOBAL LEADING COMPANY IN PROCESS AUTOMATION

After this first step, Bizagi was brought to the European market, where it earned clients such as Adidas in a short time, among other feats which proved how important it was to rely on the solutions created by Bizagi. Later, it developed a Scala ERP system for Apple, and it also became one of the first Microsoft partners in Colombia, as well as a partner of the German company Novodata.

The company’s growth has earned it international recognition, thus competing in the global market for highly important projects.

Bizagi has been recognized as the

global leading company in process automation by Gartner and Forester.

A VISION WITH CLEAR STRATEGIES

Bizagi’s developments for 2023 and onward years rely on four strategic pillars:

• Modern apps. Building of modern apps powered by processes, thus considering processes as the axis of the application, so it can result in unique and customized experiences for each user.

• Orchestration at a company level. Creation of new options

that allow the integration of other interfaces, applications, and services within the Bizagi platform, thus offering high-quality services.

• Citizen Developers. Facing a lack of specialized personnel, Bizagi relies on the creation of environments and providing tools so those who don’t have web development knowledge become enabled to generate and optimize processes as fast as possible.

• Fast Value Delivery. The inclusion of functionalities with a value management console offers the possibility of visualizing the different processes a company may have and the stage of each of them (definition, development, delivery). This comes as a response to the need of offering the future of process optimization where using AI makes it possible to make automatic predictions and allocation of smart resources.

We invite you to download our eBook: The essential guide to modernizing banking operations

https://go.bizagi.com/Bizagi-Banking-Ebook.html

www.bizagi.com/en

DIGITAL CORPORATE CULTURE

WITH THE POWER TO TRANSFORM

The knowledge of available technology, its capabilities and deployment thrust

Productos Alimenticios DIANA into keeping leadership in its country and territory

Produced by Jassen Pintado

Creative Direction Omar Rodríguez

Interviewee Julio Salazar, CIO for Productos Alimenticios DIANA

The Poductos Alimenticios DIANA

food company has been a mainstay in El Salvador with a more than 70-year history. From its beginnings with a modest portfolio of handcrafted candy to growing beyond the border to become a leading food distribution company in El Salvador, Central America and the United States, DIANA has also established itself as one of the companies supporting its home country’s economic recovery.

Keeping a company such as DIANA not only with the head above the water, but also creating jobs and contributing to a country’s economy, encompasses efforts both within the company as well as in regards to external factors. It’s a must to keep up to date with demands from the way business is currently carried out, either through process digitization and automation, as well as with industry requirements, such as evolving demands from consumers.

“The way we defined success

yesterday is not the same as we know it today. For example, growth was the only goal in the past; nowadays, sustainability is essential,” commented Julio Salazar, CIO

for Productos Alimenticios DIANA.

SOLID RESULTS THROUGHOUT A PRODUCTIVE CAREER

Julio Salazar has been the main responsible in leading and making sure DIANA relies on the adequate technology, with it being used to its fullest potential, optimizing operations in every front.

Salazar has achieved a more-than 20-year experience in key executive IT-related positions for companies in different industries.

From Salazar’s education, his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the José Simeón

Cañas Central American University (in El Salvador), a master’s in finance from the same institution, as well as international certifications such as

- Julio Salazar, CIO for Productos Alimenticios DIANA

“WE’VE RECURRED TO CLOUD COMPUTING AND ANALYTICS AS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR TRANSFORMATION, every industry’s organization needs to increase the level of its digital maturity to achieve success and growth”

With 34 years of industry experience

Customer´s choice for integrated supply chain management software

Mobile App for Presales, Autosales, Delivery, Supervisor & Merchandisers

Dynamic Routing and Online monitoring

Online Orders Platform B2B2C

Sales Contact Center Software

Big Data and BI for analysis of KPIs

Backoffice module for management of commercial processes

the PMP professional credential from the Project Management Institute (US), e-commerce and the software development cycle, stand out.

His leadership has contributed to important results through a combination of innovation, knowledge, strategic relationships and setting in motion processes able to articulate the IT agenda in the short, mid- and long term with strategic business plans.

“My role is to create business value through tech and analytics, empowering companies to achieve results, transform corporate relations, making the most from the adequate technology and prioritize investments,” the executive pointed out.

DIGITAL STRATEGY WITH SOLID PREMISES AND CLEAR PURPOSES

Productos Alimenticios DIANA ventures toward the Industry 4.0 concept, increasing profitability in a sustainable way with an optimal use of today’s available resources, according to what the company requires.

With help from tools within the reach of any company, -such as AI, remote work apps and scalability in adoption velocity, among others-, different goals such as cost reduction and enabling employees to increase productivity have been accomplished, reaching digital maturity and the company’s fully-fledged potential.

DIANA’s digital strategy applies new technologies in existing business functions and is focused into enabling new digital capabilities, considering the following concepts as its pillars:

• Modern work: Up to date technology in aspects such as communication and its influence in company culture and strategy.

• Data and analytics

democratization: Increasing each individual’s abilities through data access and understanding.

• Big data and cloud computing: For recovery, storage and processing of high volumes of information.

- Julio Salazar, CIO for Productos Alimenticios DIANA

“THE COMPANY AIMS TOWARD AN ORGANIZATION ABLE TO EXPAND ITS DIVERSITY IN PERSONALITIES, SKILLS AND IDEAS, which are requirements to adopt new digital abilities being sustainable in our growth”

• AI: Deployment of intelligent agents in processes in which the chances to successfully achieve business goals become maximized.

• Automation, blockchain and IOT: Direct integration from the physical world to the computer-based world, resulting in efficiency improvements, economic benefits and reducing human effort.

TANGIBLE RESULTS IN A SHORT TIME

After arriving at DIANA during the COVID-19 pandemic, Salazar and his team wasted no time in establishing the goals for the company to reach the concepts of Industry 4.0, directing the company towards this accomplishment.

“We’ve recurred to cloud computing and analytics as the foundation of our transformation, every industry’s organization needs to increase the level of its digital maturity to achieve success and growth,” Salazar added.

Among the results obtained during this continuous process, the wide portfolio of successful brands, digital invoicing through every channel and considering data as an information asset certainly stand out, with data being not only a strategic resource, but one to committedly obtain the most of.

The double-digit increase in DIANA’s

revenue is -in great measure- a result of recent solutions deployed in the company’s processes, such as Powerstreet software for points of purchase, distribution and sales on delivery. Another key factor has been the analytic-driven creation of insights.

“The company aims toward an organization able to expand its diversity in personalities, skills and ideas, which are requirements to adopt new digital abilities being sustainable in our growth,” the executive commented.

PROCESS ACCELERATION BOTH INWARD AND OUTWARD

The digital transformation that Productos Alimenticios DIANA has been through has led to the deployment of processes that have achieved a positive impact in interactions with suppliers and strategic partners, besides clients and prospective clients, with whom a more agile business relationship is being perceived, as well as a decrease in the procure-to-pay cycles.

Key goals in these processes continuous development are:

• Acceleration of the sales cycle as the sales cost is reduced.

• Finding new, ready to purchase clients.

• Answering to RFPs/RFIs, sending proposals and negotiating contracts.

• Managing purchase orders, sending invoices and receiving payments.

• Knowing when a payment is to be collected and what that payment covers.

• Strengthening relations with clients and increasing client retention.

TOWARD THE EVOLUTION OF A DIGITAL CULTURE

During 2023, DIANA’s main task in digital matters is information unification through user-aimed automation programs, encouraging a culture able to keep devices connected, as well as a company

mentality rooted on flexibility and openness to new ideas, new tech and new digital capabilities.

The digital culture on a corporate level being implemented at DIANA will dictate what kind of processes, apps and algorithms will be required, besides developing its data citizens, enabling them to allow them to elaborate from the data they receive,

understand and process, thus developing new capabilities as they take this data into an understandable language.

“The commitment from the IT Department and myself is making technology fit to become part of our everyday lives. Information is being enriched to make better decisions,” finalized Julio Salazar, CIO for Productos Alimenticios DIANA.

FOUNDED: 1951

INDUSTRY:

Food & Beverages

CONTACT: www.diana.sv

- Julio Salazar, CIO for Productos Alimenticios DIANA

“The commitment from the IT Department and myself is making technology fit to become part of our everyday lives. INFORMATION IS BEING ENRICHED TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS”

Flavor

and nutrition for the Nicaraguan consumer

Produced by Jassen Pintado

Written by Mateo Rafael Tablado

Translation by María Murgui

Creative Direction

Omar Rodríguez

Interviewee

Marlon Rodas, Country Manager for Lala Nicaragua

Grupo Lala owns a more than70-year reputation in the dairy products market. Its history began in Mexico as one of the first producers and distributors of pasteurized milk in the country, to later include other dairy products in its production chain.

Grupo Lala entered Central America in 2008, first in Guatemala, and later the Nicaraguan market in 2014 by acquiring the “Eskimo” ice cream brand, a flagship brand in the country. The following year, Grupo Lala invested more than $50 million in the construction and setup of the San Benito factory, installing a production

center provided with high-end technology and thus guaranteeing the highest quality and food safety for the Nicaraguan consumer. The expansion went on in 2016 as the company acquired the milk, dairy and fruit juices brand “La Perfecta”, thus widening Grupo Lala’s portfolio in Nicaragua and becoming the country’s leader in the dairy products market. The company also owns a plant in Altagracia, Managua.

Besides its leadership in dairy products, Grupo Lala has provided the country with nutritional quality through its wide variety of products, it has

A strong portfolio, a working atmosphere able to drive staff members to fulfill their potential, and hand in hand development with suppliers are key factors that have led Lala Nicaragua to obtain and maintain the leadership in dairy products

become a key player in the country’s economy by generating jobs and contributing to a sustainable cattle industry.

Lala’s latest investments in Nicaragua have been focused on optimizing technology in its production plants and investing over $1 million

in the market’s points of purchase where they have coverage, deploying refrigeration and freezing equipment.

“Grupo Lala has been fulfilling its commitment to be a company in constant innovation and evolution. Lala Nicaragua, since it entered the Nicaraguan market, has kept

- Marlon Rodas, Country Manager for Lala Nicaragua

consistent with its mission,” commented Marlon Rodas, Country Manager for Lala Nicaragua.

CREDENTIALS AND EXPERIENCE TO LEAD OPERATIONS

Rodas obtained his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in Leon. Later, he got an MBA specializing in Digital Marketing and three other specializations in Leadership and Supply Chain Management awarded by the Harvard Business School, the Nicaragua

Chamber of Industry, and the National University of Engineering (also in Nicaragua), respectively.

Before joining Grupo Lala, Rodas worked in the Planning and Financing Control area at Grupo Pantaleón, where he later took over the coordination of the Procurement area. He then moved to Lácteos La Perfecta, where he held different positions, such as Purchasing Manager and Logistics and Distribution Manager before the company was acquired by Grupo Lala. At the latter, he held the position

“Grupo Lala has been fulfilling its commitment to be a company in constant innovation and evolution. LALA NICARAGUA HAS KEPT CONSISTENT WITH ITS MISSION”

of Country Manager for Costa Rica.

In Nicaragua, he has led the company’s growth with support obtained as a result of gathering a solid team, thus establishing a vision capable of integrating strategic processes and implementing a remarkable supply chain.

Under his leadership, the company

and all of Lala Nicaragua’s brands have earned awards and recognition, and have been positioned at the top of different rankings from specialized media, both national and regional. Rodas, on his behalf, won the Young Award for Excellence in Commerce in 2022 from the Nicaragua Chamber of Commerce and Services.

PROVIDING OPTIONS IN FLAVOR AND NUTRITION TO THE REGION

Throughout its presence in Nicaragua, Grupo Lala has brought a wide range of nutritional, well-balanced, and flavorful products -mainly dairy products- to Nicaraguan households, sorted out into twelve categories:

• Glu Glu and Eskimo Brand beverages

• La Perfecta and Nutri Lety sweet and sour creams

• Vidamás and Nutri Lety baby formulas

• Ice cream from the Lala and Nicaraguan mainstay

Eskimo brands

• La Perfecta premium juices and recently-launched Eskimo juice

• Eskimo and Lala UHT milk, sold in both bags and cardboard packaging

• La Perfecta and Eskimo brands butter

• Nutri Lety powder baby formula

• La Perfecta milk caramel spread and jello.

• La Perfecta and Lala natural and flavored yogurt, including the Lala Kids line, whose specialized packaging was designed for younglings.

These brands are distributed and commercialized in Nicaragua, and some of the products are being exported to Costa Rica and Guatemala.

“Our goal is that our products make their way into new markets as well as generating new development opportunities and new options of nutritious and healthy food for the whole region,” the executive pointed out.

ESKIMO, NICARAGUA’S FLAGSHIP BRAND

One of the first steps taken by Grupo Lala upon its arrival in Nicaragua and getting deep market knowledge was to acquire Eskimo, an ice cream household name.

Eskimo’s dates to 1942 when Mario Salvo Lazzari and Josefina Horvilleur came up with the idea of setting up a family business making ice cream and popsicles in their own house. The dividends this startup started to bear resulted in growth that allowed them to invest in infrastructure, machinery, personnel, and other elements that led Eskimo to be Nicaragua’s favorite ice cream brand.

That first chocolate popsicle became one of the most consumed products in Managua at the beginning of the 20th century, and it is still among the preferred ones, becoming a top of mind product, as any ice cream, either popsicle or cone, is known as Eskimo in Nicaragua.

Eskimo was acquired by Grupo Lala by mid-2014, keeping the brand’s domestic leadership and preference, and providing important investments in infrastructure, technology, constant personnel training, and innovative flavors.

“Eskimo is a synonym for pride

and tradition in Nicaragua. Currently, our purpose is clear, to become the favorite all throughout the region,” Rodas added.

PASSING ON KNOWLEDGE AND BETTER PRACTICES TO SUPPLIERS

Grupo Lala tries to establish and maintain close relationships with those who are part of its supply chain. It currently has a network of primary producers in Guatemala and Nicaragua consisting of more than 3,000 stock breeders, with whom they work closely to optimize different aspects of its production chain.

In 2018, Grupo Lala started the suppliers’ ResCA Project Nicaragua (Resilient Central America), which implements silvopasture systems and good practices for livestock before any consequences the stock breeders in the region may face.

The following year, The Nicaraguan Dairy Products Industry Development project was created, with the purpose of optimizing the quality of milk production and the producers’,

collectors’, and cooperatives’ profitability, as well as for Grupo Lala’s supply chain.

Both projects include 1,700 livestock farmers, 70 farms, 10 dairy products cooperatives, and 9 direct suppliers.

On the other hand, the Research & Development Department at Grupo Lala Central America works hand in hand with suppliers to generate efficiency and organize the “Innovation Day” annual event, where an exchange of the company’s most important needs and possible solutions are presented.

A RESPECTFUL WORKING ENVIRONMENT CAPABLE OF ENHANCING PERFORMANCE

Regarding its workforce, Lala Nicaragua applies, with all its convictions, policies that favor diversity as a base for its corporate culture, thus making the working environment egalitarian and inclusive, free of sexism and violence of any kind.

Besides respect and diversity, this

environment favors creativity and talent, thus giving room to innovation and different points of view capable of promoting collaboration. It is also a priority for Grupo Lala to provide its personnel with the necessary resources and knowledge to develop their operations in the best possible way. For that reason, it has nurtured itself with an array of programs for passing on technology and exchanging better practices.

“Our collaborators are our most

valued asset, we seek and foster their well-being, generate an environment in which we can grow, besides promoting environmental care and motivating our people to contribute to the communities where we operate,” the executive added.

A LEADERSHIP CAPABLE OF SPREADING ALL THROUGHOUT THE REGION

Lala Nicaragua has set as its main task to maintain its absolute leadership in Nicaragua’s dairy market

- Marlon Rodas, Country Manager for Lala Nicaragua

“ESKIMO IS A SYNONYM FOR PRIDE AND TRADITION IN NICARAGUA. Currently, our purpose is clear, to become the favorite all throughout the region”

Grupo Lala Nicaragua Food & Beverages

- Marlon Rodas, Director de País de Lala Nicaragua

“WE ARE POISED AT POSITIONING THE GROUP AT THE TOP NOT ONLY IN NICARAGUA , but also in all the different countries in which our products are sold”

Food & Beverages

so that it can develop as a production hub capable of providing the rest of the market in Central America and the Caribbean.

FOUNDED: 1950, 2014 in Nicaragua

INDUSTRY: Food & Beverages

CONTACT: marlon.rodas@grupolala.com

www.lala.com.mx/cam

Expedition to the Amazon rainforest from

a starting point and into a full experience

Produced by Jassen Pintado

Written by Mateo Rafael Tablado

Translation by by María Murgui

Creative Direction

Omar Rodríguez

LOCATED BETWEEN JUST A FEW MILES BETWEEN IQUITOS AND THE DENSE JUNGLE OF THE AMAZON RIVER, HOTELS VICTORIA REGIA AND HELICONIA AMAZON RIVER LODGE ARE THE STARTING POINT AND ABODE FOR THIS UNIQUE EXPERIENCE PERU HAS TO OFFER

THE FAMILY TRADITION OF HOSPITALITY IN A UNIQUE PLACE

Peru can captivate its visitors in different environments, either when going all over cities, visiting all the spots its coastal line can offer, or trekking to millenary settlements standing well above sea level.

Another interesting tourist attraction the country provides is the Peruvian Amazon, with all its natural beauty, which includes unique flora and fauna, as well as landscapes full of vegetation and life.

For several years Mr. Carlos Acosta Ros and his wife, Eudocia Gómez Vargas, operated the hotels Acosta I and II, in Iquitos -the capital city of the district bearing the same name and the largest city in the Peruvian Amazon-, very close to where the Amazon River rises, and tourist lodgings well inside the jungle.

The 1990s were hard in Peru, marked by a terrorist wave that thankfully didn’t reach this area, so the government authorized international flights between Iquitos and Miami and between Iquitos and other important domestic destinations. These measures resulted in an increase in tourism in the area, thus fostering the creation of the Zungarocha Amazon Lodge. During the same decade, the youngsters from the Acosta Gómez family joined the business, finished college, and founded the Grupo Terraverde Hotels, which evolved into the current Hotel Victoria Regia

and Hotel Acosta, in Iquitos, and the Heliconia Amazon River Lodge, located on the bed of the Amazon River, in a completely pacified Peru.

“Our concept is focused on providing the best service in hospitality and adventure, keeping the values of our jungle’s preservation and protection”, commented Carlos Acosta Gómez, COO for Terraverde Hotels.

THE HOSPITALITY BUSINESS’ KNOW-HOW AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO IT IN THE AREA

Acosta Gómez graduated in Business Management from Universidad Ricardo Palma (in Lima, Peru). He has a thorough knowledge of the family business and, besides his position at it, in recent years he has held executive positions within the tourist sector at organizations such as the Loreto Regional Tourism Chamber”, as president of the Peru Travel Agency and Tourism Association in Iquitos, and is currently the President of the Iquitos Conventions.

“Our concept is focused on providing the best service in hospitality and adventure, keeping the values of our jungle’s preservation and protection”

- Carlos Acosta Gómez, COO for Terraverde Hotels

“My aim is to keep on working to make Loreto a city with better conditions for tourists”, the executive added.

HOTEL VICTORIA REGIA, A STARTING POINT FOR MEMORABLE EXPEDITIONS

Iquitos could be considered the last point in civilized territory before venturing into the wilderness of the

Amazon jungle, thus serving as the home base before any expedition, either led by a tour guide or carried out by experienced travelers. Hotel Victoria Regia stands out as the host before a journey across the Amazon River. The service provided at its clean facilities, which are subject to constant maintenance, and the staff’s warmth are aspects that are taken care of. The building’s infrastructure is over

40 years old and is being constantly refurbished, so that its rooms and common areas, including the rooftop swimming pool and a recently opened restaurant, are styled in the Amazon rubber boom era.

PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS THAT TRANSCENDED THE PANDEMIC

In the last years, Peru has experienced an increase in the number of

visitors, reaching an average of 4 million tourists a year. These optimistic figures led to investment to expand and make improvements to Hotel Victoria Regia. After having appointed architect Augusto Acosta, a partner of the corporation, to oversee such project, these works were interrupted as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the gradual resumption

of activities, priority was given to concluding the swimming pool, located on the hotel’s third floor, followed by the completion of a new auditorium on the second floor, and it was only some months ago that the restaurant and the hotel’s new reception area were finished.

“It does not seem so long since the health crisis happened, but we looked ahead and were able to go on, taking

“My aim is to keep on working to make Loreto a city with better conditions for tourists”

- Carlos Acosta Gómez, COO for Terraverde Hotels

us to the prestigious position we deserve”, Acosta commented.

HELICONIA AMAZON LODGE: HOSPITALITY IN AN EXCEPTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

It is true that Iquitos is the largest city in the world where it is not possible to arrive by land, and it is also clear that it is difficult to arrive at any other location on the banks of the Amazon River by other means rather

than by boat. Not far away from the city center, one can reach Heliconia Amazon Lodge, which conveniently hosts visitors who wish to experience unmatched attractions, such as the sighting of pink river dolphins -an endemic species-, birds, and other animals exclusive to this habitat, the contact with native cultures in the area, stunning dawns, jungle hikes, and other activities.

Of course, all this is offered with the Terranova Hotels’ distinctive hallmark, which implies a guarantee regarding service and its optimal facilities even in the jungle.

PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED PERSONNEL WHO MEET THE STANDARDS

Terraverde Hotels relies on 83 employees to operate its proprieties. They are fully involved with the company, as a response to the commitment displayed not only regarding remuneration but also facilitating their working performance by providing them with the best systems in the industry. The staff is also subject to constant training.

The company hires its personnel carefully, as it does with the watchfulness that assures all the standards fulfillment.

HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NATURAL AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

Terraverde Hotels, and specifically Heliconia Amazon River Lodge, are involved in different initiatives with neighboring communities.

Throughout the years they have also worked with NGOs developing projects related to water and the construction of infrastructure in the area, such as schools and concrete pathways leading to them, so that children from the area avoid being bitten by snakes while going to and coming from school.

Along with the Yagua native community, a campaign for training in artisan skills has been developed for the handcrafting of souvenirs sold to visitors. In addition, a sensibilization campaign has been developed to facilitate the repopulation and preservation of freshwater taricaya turtles.

“We are one of the leading tourism companies in the region, offering the best experience in the Amazon Jungle”

- Carlos Acosta Gómez, COO for Terraverde Hotels

Over the decades of work in the area, the company has achieved a positive impact by improving these communities’ living conditions, who are a large part of the workforce that operates in both hotels, besides contributing to its economy by making them local suppliers of the food offered to hotel guests.

BETTER FACILITIES AND A WIDER ACTIVITIES ARRAY LEAD TO HIGHER VISIBILITY.

Hotel Regia Victoria’s future glimpses growth regarding both the property’s expansion and infrastructure, as well as continuing to improve each guest’s experience and increase its gastronomic offer.

On its behalf, Heliconia Amazon

Lodge will also grow in both aspects, developing infrastructure such as suspension bridges in its vicinity, among other improvements, as well as increasing its activities offer, adding fishing and holistic treatments, so specialized tourism can be attracted. These plans respond to the aim of increasing the national and international projection of the Terraverde Hotels’ properties.

We are one of the leading tourism companies in the Loreto region, our trajectory has allowed us to attend the most important trade fairs in the world offering the best experience in the Amazon Jungle”, concluded Carlos Acosta Gómez, COO for Terraverde Hotels.

COVERING every surface in the paints and coatings industry

From Guatemala, where it all began, Grupo Solid is taking over Latin America, growing its presence through different brands and strategies covering every aspect in paints, coatings and their application

Produced by Jassen Pintado

Written by Mateo Rafael Tablado

Creative Direction Omar Rodríguez

Interviewee

Ariel Koll-Nescher, Executive President of Grupo Solid

Grupo Solid Solid is the leading manufacturer in Central America for paint, coatings and accessories, operating more than 15 brands in the entire Central America territory through its own brands, a partnership with a global brand and also running franchises and stores where painting services are also offered.

Grupo Solid’s origins date back to 1955, when the first Pinturas Paleta store opened in Guatemala offering imported paints. During the early 1980s, Paleta acquired assets from different companies in Central America, as this marked the beginning of its expansion abroad. Soon after, Pinturas Corona was acquired, which back then was only a local, independent paint factory. Thus,

the company became its own paint manufacturer within the same territory. The brands, franchises and companies comprising Grupo Solid are run by more than 2,000 workers, resulting in the creation of more than 50,000 jobs in the region.

“We are based as a family business; actually, family members are shareholders and are only involved in the Board. We have transitioned into them being engaged in such a level as the company is run by a board in which shareholders and external directors take part, to the extent that the chairman is an external director with wide global experience in the paints and coatings business,” commented Ariel Koll-Nescher, Executive President of Grupo Solid.

ACCOMPLISHED AND RECOGNIZED LEADERSHIP

Panama-born Ariel Koll-Nescher relocated to Guatemala more than 30 years ago. He graduated as an industrial engineer at the Rafael Landívar University (in Guatemala); afterwards, Koll-Nescher earned an MBA from the INCAE Business School (Central American Institute of Business Administration).

After a five-year tenure at Banco Uno, where he was hired during college, he received a proposal to join Grupo Solid as a junior manager for the Paintbrush and Resale Products line; afterwards, he was named purchase manager, a position in which he lasted for a year, before taking over as CFO. In each of these positions, Koll-Nescher became familiar with the market, clients, the industry and each of the countries in which Grupo Solid had presence back then.

In 2005, Koll-Nescher became

executive vice-president, holding this position for eleven years, contributing to the group’s growth and expansion. His tenure as executive president began in 2016, and during this time he has led an aggressive expansion plan, increased points of purchase and acquired two new production facilities -in the Dominican Republic and Paraguay- aiming at growth in the Caribbean and South America, respectively.

Koll-Nescher has earned praise from different publications for being one of the most efficient executives in the region. Other accomplishments during his time at the head of Grupo Solid include the Superbia production plant being certified under the ISO 9001:2015 standard for resins and paint, as well as the Farbe paint accessories production plant; during his tenure, the group also transitioned from an ERP platform to an ERP SAP

- Ariel Koll-Nescher, Executive President of Grupo Solid

“We are based as a family business. We have transitioned into a board in which shareholders and external directors take part along with external directors with wide experience in the business”

leaders in tin plate cans for the food and paint markets. Our constant improvement and renewal of equipment to the latest technology guarantees the quality of our products.

The tin can has a long history and its versatility and confidence have transcended the years.

The good quality with which it preserves the products and its environmental friendliness have made it the preferred packaging for generations.

Grupo Comeca and its 42 years of history guarantee the supply of high-quality products. With plants from Canada to Argentina, it has operations in strategic points of the American continent, which give our clients confidence and certainty of a timely supply.

Hana system; heaters now run on biomass; the Pinturas Paleta retail chain has grown more than 50%, surpassing the 100-location mark in Guatemala, besides taking part in the high performance and marine coating business lines -the latter by partnering with the Transocean Coatings global brand- and also taking part in the automotive paint business along with Automotive Art. Other major feats include the Pinturas Modelo brand and franchises being taken to El Salvador and Panama, besides optimizing its branding in Nicaragua; and the automation of the Farbe production plant, increasing its productivity ten-

fold, among other goals.

SUPERBIA: A SUM OF EFFORTS BRINGING COLOR TO THE REGION

The Superbia paint factory, located just outside Escuintla (Guatemala), is the largest paint production facility in the Mesoamerican region, with an output of more than 45-million gallons, certified under ISO 9001:2105 standards for quality control processes.

The 2008 global crisis affected the financing for its final phase of construction. Fortunately, this was reverted when financing was obtained through the IFC.

We are a non-metallic mineral processing and micronizing company. We manufacture and supply raw materials for different industries, drilling fluids and radiological protection. 50 years of experience are the best guarantee of our products, services and technical advice to more than 400 clients in the region.

promisalatam.com ventas@promisa.biz

COVERING 360º IN PAINTS, COATINGS AND THEIR APPLICATION

Throughout its evolution, Grupo Solid has grouped everything paint-related, including waterproofing, coating, finishes, sealants, application and accessories such as brushes, appliers, adhesives, abrasives, masking tape, sprayers, thinners and diluents, etc., serving different sectors such as architectural and construction, high-performance, industrial, automotive, marine, and sprays and finishes for wood through different brands and franchises:

• Pinturas Paleta. The retail giant with more than 100 locations in Guatemala and other countries in Central America and the Dominican Republic. Besides paints and accessories, Paleta’s outstanding innovation is offering the paint application service, undoubtedly a key differentiator.

• Pinturas Corona. The brand’s target is hardware and large

department stores, besides relying on more than 300 franchise stores in all of Central America. Corona products are the top choice for painters, blacksmiths and other specialists. Including its franchise stores, Corona has added up to more than 10,000 points of purchase for its products, including the new territories in the Dominican Republic and Paraguay.

• Modelo. Leading paint brand in Nicaragua, with presence in the most important cities in the country.

• The Sytec line is engaged in the B2B segment, catering for different industries.

• The Transocean Coatings brand is operated through different manufacturing partners worldwide, leading the marine paint business as well as the industrial high-performance paint

sector. Transocean is produced in 22 facilities worldwide, shipped to 60 countries.

• Farbe Internacional. The only brush and applicator manufacturer in Central America and the Caribbean, offering a wide array of brushes, applicators, handles and other accessories.

• Grupo Solid also caters to the

B2B segment through turnkey projects for different industries, manufacturing store brands for retailers, including Color Place, for Walmart; National (Puerto Rico); Suprema, for EPA and El Fuerte, in Panama.

“Currently, our only imports are products from Automotive Art, a

specialty brand from Europe,” Koll-Nescher added.

A WORLD-CLASS COMPANY BEING OPTIMIZED

In order to face its brands’ steady growth, Grupo Solid has optimized its facilities and operations in every market, enabling the company to increase its efficiency in every front:

• Acquisition of two production

facilities in the Dominican Republic and Paraguay, to strengthen the group’s venture into the Caribbean and Mercosur (Southern Common Market), respectively

• Expansion and automation in the Farbe Brushes and Applicators Plant

• Expansion and automation in

SUPRA® is a range of aqueous pigment preparations manufactured in Mexico, designed for in-plant tinting of water-based coatings. Best in class tinting strength. Binder-free formulation, with polymeric dispersing and wetting agents, that are compatible with any water-based coating system. Zero VOC and APEO free. Wide range of highly chromatic tones

www.pyosa.com | info@pyosa.com

SPECIALISING IN PAINTS FOR THE MARINE, OFFSHORE AND PROTECTIVE COATINGS MARKET

• Worldwide network of independent paint producers

• Representation in more than 60 countries

Check www.transocean-coatings.com for information on our products or how to become a network partner.

Follow us

-

Ariel Koll-Nescher,

Executive President of Grupo Solid

“We strive to inspire passion and excitement among our team. We try to be close to our staff and clients”

the Resins and Emulsions Plant

• New spray paint production facilities

• Ongoing expansion process at distribution centers in Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Nicaragua

• Migration of ERP to SAP S/4

Hana via Cloud

• Deployment of SalesForce CRM

THE BEST FROM EACH MARKET’S SUPPLIER POOL

The development of a wide product portfolio to offer is a contribution shared by the company’s suppliers, considering the importance of global players in the chemical industry. That’s why Grupo Solid maintains intensive work plans with suppliers, engaging in two yearly evaluations and delivering feedback to develop support plans or suppliers’ growth.

During the group’s expansion, suppliers have joined the company in new territories in the same way in which new markets have led Grupo Solid to find new partners whose quality and performance earn them the opportunity of joining the company also in previously established territories.

Grupo Solid works consistently on the development of new products with suppliers whose contributions result in innovation.

“Without good suppliers, good product manufacturing isn’t possible. We open the doors to suppliers, turning our laboratories into their launching point to the market,” the executive explained.

COMPANY CULTURE: HAVING PRESENCE

Grupo Solid’s presence reaches beyond a commercial transaction by HAVING PRESENCE at critical times in the market.

During Nicaragua’s crisis in 2018, many companies cut the country’s credit line, limiting countrywide product supply. This prompted KollNescher to travel to Nicaragua, HAVING PRESENCE among clients just to let them know that Grupo Solid was extending their credit line and delivering its products. In more recent years, as Honduras was torn apart by hurricanes, Koll-Nescher traveled to the country, HAVING PRESENCE with clients and establishing the company’s contributions to recovery, after its own warehouses were flooded, too.

Everything that was experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic led to another critical moment in which the company announced there were not going to be any dismissals among its staff, HAVING PRESENCE along with its workforce during challenging times, as the group’s partners stepped up to keep paying workers’ salaries.

Grupo Solid is always HAVING

PRESENCE in the workforce’s wellbeing also by stimulating good results and adding an extra wages payment to staff members from countries in which sales targets are surpassed.

TERRITORIAL GROWTH AND INCREASED VALUE FOR CLIENTS

Grupo Solid looks forward to becoming one of the largest Muti-

Latin private companies in the paint industry. Each market is subject to an aggressive growth plan, increasing product portfolio and taking part in every segment in which paint and coating are required.

The company is involved in continuous endeavors to deliver new services and increasing value to its clients to differentiate from its competition, besides ensuring

professional and economic development to its personnel.

Territorial growth is a permanent topic that has met success, with the goal to paint from Mexico to Patagonia.

“We strive to inspire passion and excitement among our team. We try to be close to our staff and clients,” finalized Ariel Koll-Nescher, Executive President of Grupo Solid.

FOUNDED: 1955

INDUSTRY: Manufacturing

CONTACT: ariel.koll@gsolid.com

Consubanco undergoes a digital transformation to offer customer-centered financial services as part of its competitive strategy

Consubanco becomes a financial environment growing its customer base and offering value through a better use of its tech resources and its strategic partners network displaying strength in the loan and credit segment. Through its digital transformation strategy, the bank seeks to maintain its leadership and conquer other segments

Produced by Jassen Pintado

Creative Direction Omar Rodríguez

Interviewees

Alfredo Flores, CEO for Grupo Consupago; Ing. Fidel Vargas Londoño, Associate Executive Director of Digital Transformation for Consubanco

PURCHASES AND TRANSACTIONS MADE EASY, TO THE BEAT OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Consubanco’s story is related to the Grupo Comercial Chedraui corporation -which also owns the Chedraui retail chain operating in Mexico-, dating back

with the Sherman Financial Group, the private equity global firm, whose affiliate companies enabled Consupago to operate in a large scale in the consumer financial industry, also creating Banco Fácil, which began operations in 2007, when Consupago was authorized to work as a Limited Purpose Financial Society (SOFOL, under Mexican regulations).

to 2001, when Sergio Chedraui created Consupago, with the purpose of being closer to customers, offering them retail financing, creating the “Paguitos” (small payments) credit system, and afterwards -thanks to his vision and understanding of the Mexican working class- he also began offering payrolldeductible loans with delegated collection, thus starting an industry that has contributed significantly to financial inclusion in Mexico.

In 2006, a partnership was struck

In 2012, Grupo Consupago (in charge of Consupago and Banco Fácil) acquired OPCIPRES (a SOFOM ENR, a Multiple Purpose Financial Society - Non-regulated Entity), an important player in the payroll loan business; and Banco Fácil became Consubanco, capitalizing Consupago’s assets, which consolidated and boosted both companies.

Consubanco became one of Mexico’s 500 most important companies in 2014, according to Expansión, an established Mexican business magazine and website. In

2017, Consubanco reached no. 13 among the “46 best banks”, from the Mundo Ejecutivo magazine. In 2019, the Bankaya platform was developed along with a group of successful entrepreneurs, aligned with the company’s efforts in digitization and growing its engagement products portfolio; and in 2020, Grupo Consupago started its inorganic

growth strategy by acquiring part of FAMSA bank’s liquidated portfolio, which was Financiera Independencia’s payroll loan operation as well as the beginning of apex financing to other qualified financial entities.

“The successful development of Grupo Consupago has been achieved as a result of a permanent surveillance of the market’s opportunities, driven to

- Alfredo Flores, CEO for Grupo Consupago

“What we have built during years -talent, processes, tech and business strategies-, has allowed us to keep being competitive”

develop a high-value bond for our customers,” commented Alfredo Flores Ibarrola, CEO for Grupo Consupago.

WIDE EXPERIENCE IN THE FINANCIAL AND CREDIT SERVICES INDUSTRY

Flores Ibarrola graduated as an Industrial and Systems Engineer from ITESM (Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, in Mexico), and afterwards he earned an MBA from IPADE (PanAmerican Institute for High Business Management, also in Mexico).

He has led Grupo Consupago for more than ten years and also takes part in the board of directors. He is in charge of a bank and three other financial institutions, all of them among the leaders in the payroll loan industry in Mexico.

Flores Ibarrola has been around for more than 25 years creating

enterprises and holding C-level positions in finance. In 2008 he created OPCIPRES, acquired by Grupo Consupago in 2012, and has since been in charge of the latter.

Flores Ibarrola is also a shareholder of other successful companies in the financial and insurance sector, as well as in the real estate business.

SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS IN A SHORT TIME

In a short period of time, Consubanco has positioned itself as a solid, efficient entity towards its customership, after accomplishing synergies which have set a clear difference:

• Consubanco is the leading financial institution in the payroll loan business under the delegated collection scheme for retirees, pensioners and employees both in the public and private sectors, guaranteeing access and

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continuation to financial services for a population segment with little access to credit. Up to date, Grupo Consupago has opened credit lines to a population segment with little access to credit.

• It has become one of the banks with the best fixed-term investment offers, bringing customers the opportunity to increase their wealth safely with high-yield.

• Along its history, the bank has positioned itself as a properly capitalized institution with highliquidity indexes that have allowed for solid, significant growth of its assets since its founding.

KEY FACTORS TO SUCCESS

Consubanco grows and evolves according to solid principles resulting in a financial stability, complying with customers, partners and authorities.

Consubanco’s vision combines business and product strategies which have become a competitive advantage.

Permanent surveillance in the macroeconomic environment enables the bank to take the best decisions upon an ever-changing environment. Its shareholders and external consultant’s wide experience has become crucial to the group’s successful development.

“The payroll loan industry is going through a deep transformation, the demise of important players should push the urgence of regulations within the industry into the financial authorities’ agenda. There are relevant challenges about the organizations that should take part in such credit operations, improve the legal certainty of participants, but especially to improve user experience in this financial service. We perceive great opportunities to provide a better

“The main challenge for digital transformation isn’t technology, but rather creating empowerment and digital skills in individuals to solve business problems through technology”

- Fidel Vargas, Associate Executive Director of Digital Transformation for Consubanco

service to this market segment, and this is where our transformation strategy is set,” Flores Ibarrola pointed out.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOCUSED ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Consubanco began its digital transformation journey looking forward to delivering customized offers to its customers, resulting in a high value engagement through a deep knowledge of their needs, customs and behavior. This brought the decision to invest in optimizing tech infrastructure, in process and operation reconfiguring through a continual improvement program known as “SOAR” (which in Spanish stands for simplifying, optimizing, automation and enabling profitability) and launching a new company culture allowing such deep changes within the organization. The evolution of the digital

transformation will allow to keep key differentiators to maintain a leadership in the loans segment in which the brand has built prestige, and also in the creation of a financial products and services environment in which customers are able to interact in a dynamic and friendly way, finding a wholesome offer according to their needs.

This transformation is designed from the relaunching of the company’s vision, mission and values, and comes along with the deployment of a new streamline work methodology, which allows a proper alignment in the execution of set goals.

“I would summarize the success we have accomplished in our capacity to foresee change and our rapid adaptation to it. Our personnel’s talent has been essential in this journey,” commented Fidel Vargas, Associate Executive Director of Digital Transformation for Consubanco.

On the staff’s front, the transformation at Consubanco empowered employees, enabling them to develop up to their potential and placing them in the best position to successfully accomplish the tasks that result in the company reaching its goals.

The key aspects for Consubanco to work on, regarding recent technology are:

• Agility in processes

• Data analytics

• Journey to Cloud

• Tech evolution and modernization Vargas, originally from Colombia, arrived in Mexico to lead the bank’s digital transformation. The Bogotaborn computing and systems engineer is a specialist in software development and earned a master’s degree in IT architecture from Colombia’s University of The Andes. He’s widely experienced in digital transformation

and tech, having taken part in the transformation of important initiatives from the government in Colombia, as well as in companies such as Banco Falabella, Oracle and his recent experience in finance as Director of Strategy, Architecture and Tech Innovation in Grupo Bancolombia, Colombia’s largest financial group. Fidel Vargas arrived at Consubanco after his tenure in a startup with expertise on fidelity development systems to lead tech, analytic capabilities and bank operations.

THE VALUE OF ANALYTICS

Getting to know every customer becomes more valuable every day in every industry, and Consubanco is no exception.

In the company, decisions are taken based on data, which means analytics allows the creation and development of new relationship strategies with customers. Every

“Our plans are centered in our capability to deliver a higher value to our customers not only from a financial perspective, but also within the transformation of their lifestyle and helping them day-in and day-out”

- Alfredo Flores Ibarrola, CEO for Grupo Consupago

interaction is taken as an opportunity for the bank to get to know more about a customer, in a way that the bank can foresee their needs.

Some time ago the Datahub was deployed, and it became an essential resource for Consubanco. Datahub analyzes behaviors and validates value hypotheses in different fronts, such as experience and knowledge about a customer, operational

excellence, finance, cybersecurity and fraud, and compliance.

Even when these cover different aspects, they share data and models that offer larger support in decisionmaking,” Vargas added.

CONTRIBUTING PARTNERS

The structures enabling Consubanco to offer excellent financial services and products as it grows a customer

Mexican company founded in 2006 with the vision of improving the customer experience, preventing fraud and reducing operating costs, through the integration of innovative technologies

KOALA VSP PLATFORM

• Facial, fingerprint and voice biometrics

• Liveness check

• Digital signature and digital stamp (NOM-151) with legal validity

• Implementation on-premises, or in the cloud

• Mobile applications and BPO

“I

- Fidel Vargas, Associate Executive Director of Digital Transformation for Consubanco

would summarize the success we have accomplished in our capacity to foresee change and our rapid adaptation to it. Our personnel’s talent has been essential in this journey”

portfolio are a result, in a large scale, of the work of different strategic partners that provide different resources to develop solutions.

As a solid organization, Consubanco maintains the same high reputation with partners and purveyors as it does with customers, through clear and transparent agreements.

“Every area in the bank is concerned about our efficiency, competitiveness, being solid and maintaining a good

relationship with partners and purveyors,” Flores Ibarrola remarked.

ALIGNED TO PROVIDE A BETTER USER EXPERIENCE

After exponential growth during 2020 and 2021, Consubanco aims to boost its environment through the synergies created mainly with the Chedraui retail chain and the Bankaya app, as with other business lines and companies.

Consubanco’s focus remains in

placing the customer at the center of operations to sustain its growth, retention and profitability.

“Our plans are centered in our capability to deliver a higher value to our customers not only from a financial perspective, but also within the transformation of their lifestyle and helping them day-in and day-out”, finalized Alfredo Flores Ibarrola, CEO for Grupo Consupago.

FOUNDED: 2007 as Banco Fácil

INDUSTRY: Finance, loans and credit

CONTACT:

www.consubanco.com

afloresi@consubanco.com

fvargas@consubanco.com