Delivering unrivalled success to Colombia’s mining sector
Caterpillar’s dealer of choice in Colombia
Three years after embarking on a Colombian customer centric business RELIANZ continues to deliver success to the mining industry
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A
s a company that promises
values are built upon a simple founda-
to deliver the lowest cost per
tion of going above and beyond the
ton to mining companies by
customers expectation.
providing leading mining equipment,
“We need to be offering more than
RELIANZ has a clear goal to become
mining products to our customers,”
the preferred supplier of Caterpillar
says Martin Briggs, President of
solutions in Colombia.
RELIANZ, Colombia. “It has to be
To achieve this ambition, it requires a strong level of strategic direction
loading and hauling tools, we need
and leadership.
to deliver a full suite of services,
For RELIANZ, with a broad portfolio of mining customers across Colombia, the key to becoming the supplier of 91
about more than just traditional
product support and solutions for our customers here in Colombia.” As President, Briggs can call upon
choice is broken down into a number
a wealth of experience in the mining
of core strategic values.
industry, having worked with Caterpillar
The values of the business are:
dealers previously in Australia. In 2012
safety, integrity, excellence, reliability,
he took on the role of Vice President
adaptability and teamwork. These
of GECOLSA, the largest distributor
“we need to deliver a full suite of services, support and solutions for our customers here in Colombia” — Martin Briggs, President of RELIANZ, Colombia
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of Caterpillar equipment in Colombia and it was in 2015 that the company decided to centralise its mining services. This is where RELIANZ was born, assuming the operation of the company’s mining division and becoming the largest distributor of Caterpillar products to the Colombian mining industry. Briggs also made the move, taking on the role of President and leading the journey to become far more customer centric across Colombia. As the leading supplier of Caterpillar equipment, maintaining a strong collaborative relationship with their key supplier Caterpil-
“ We also want to be recognized as one of the leading Caterpillar mining dealers globally” — Martin Briggs, President of RELIANZ, Colombia
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lar is crucial in order to be the
and service that they would expect from any
supplier of choice.
Caterpillar dealer globally,”
Briggs recognises as much and
“They also recognise that there is an alliance
notes that the relationship the two
at play between ourselves, Caterpillar and the
companies share is “seamless.”
customer. All three components of this alliance
“We maintain a very strong and open relationship with Caterpillar,
have an obligation to each other to make the relationship a success.”
they are an integral part of both
The relationship with a global leader like
our success and our commitment
Caterpillar reinforces the ambition of RELIANZ
to the customer,” he says.
to be a far more customer centric business.
“Our customers see that. They
RELIANZ is guided by Caterpillar’s global
recognise that through our
strategy, but through its closeness to the
partnership, they can expect the
Colombian mining market it can navigate any
same high level of performance
local challenges and develop w w w. r e l i a n z c a t . c o m
a keen understanding of the particular market demands. This in turn allows RELIANZ to be almost entirely customer driven, providing the best possible service to the customer because it recognises what the customer needs. “It’s important to have dealers that are embedded in their territory,” says Briggs. “We have a long understanding of Colombia and working with local people, 95
local solutions and how best to implement the global solutions into the local market.” One such area in the mining industry that is changing and requires an agile understanding of, both on a global level and in Colombia, is technology. Technology is redefining the mining industry, which in turn is redefining the mining customer. Historically, technologies such as hauling equipment have been implemented in a way that is driven purely by uptime; production at any cost. But the mining industry is
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cyclical and while that has proven successful in the past, the changing market and challenges of sourcing and managing capital has changed the conversation significantly. “To put it simply, the last five years leading up to 2016/17 has seen a retracting market. This has made customers rethink their approach to our solutions,” says Briggs. “It’s now production at the lowest cost. It’s not just a change in mindset, it’s a change in 97
maintenance strategy, in repair strategy and operating strategy. “We as a dealer have to recognise that those changes are happening, the reasons behind them and we then must understand how we can adapt our business to meet the changing demands of the customer.” This is where the company’s core strategy around human capital plays a crucial role. RELIANZ provides extensive onsite solutions to assist with maintenance and repair as well as operation of the Caterpillar technology.
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Colombia is not isolated from the challenges
offer job security, a safe working
of the global mining industry and one of those
environment and creating a
key challenges has and will continue to be the
culture of drive and innovation.
availability of skilled labour. RELIANZ places
This doesn’t stop at our technical
a great deal of investment into creating
staff, right through the company
internal development training programs,
we create a strong sense of unity
training schools and continuously retraining
and this goes out to the compa-
its own employees.
nies that we work with too.”
This then “seeds” the labour pool as RELIANZ
Safety, and creating a safe
trains its customers in order to develop their
working environment, is one of
skillsets and capabilities to operate technology
the core values of RELIANZ. The
and improve efficiency at its site.
company makes its approach to
“We strive to be the employer of choice,”
safety visible at all levels of its
says Briggs. “So, we do everything we can to
strategic planning process and w w w. r e l i a n z c a t . c o m
“ We always have safety at the front of everybody’s mind” — Martin Briggs, President of RELIANZ, Colombia 99
ensures that safety is at the very
that be meaning starting every meeting that
forefront of the company culture.
we have with a safety share with the group
2017 represented a key year for
or starting every shift with a tool-box talk. We
this as RELIANZ can proudly point
always have safety
to completing one full year with
at the front of everybody’s mind,” he says.
zero lost time injuries (LTIs).
“There are also regular cross-functional
Briggs believes that the key to this
inspections into various and different work
success, has been the aligned
areas. To me this is essential, because a fresh
company approach to safety.
set of eyes often picks out something that
“We drive a culture of safety right from the top down, whether
people have overlooked in their workplace.” Briggs notes that this approach to safety
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is one of the key differentiators for the
from the company’s area of
business as customers can recognise that
influence, to investing in local
it is a business with them, their families and
schools and infrastructure,
their livelihoods at heart.
Briggs is proud of the role that
RELIANZ doesn’t simply want to be another company that has its safety processes in order,
RELIANZ plays in giving back to the community.
it wants to be the benchmark across Colombia.
“We work in collaboration with
This approach doesn’t end with safety.
our customers and work together
As a supplier to the mining industry, RELIANZ
to ensure that we are in alignment
recognises and invests into corporate social
with regards to our community
responsibility programmes. From employing
work,” he says. “Again, this w w w. r e l i a n z c a t . c o m
Specialists in
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shows that we are doing our very best
as a certified ‘Best in Class’ Mining
to promote and foster best practice in a
Dealer of the Future.
challenging industry. We support good
Despite this sustained growth,
mining, which develops trust from our
Briggs understands that it cannot rest
customers.”
on its laurels.
RELIANZ is only three years into this
“We want to be the clear leader in the
growth journey but it can already point
industry as well, but we also want to be
to considerable successes that it has
recognized as one of the leading Caterpil-
achieved along the way as proof that it
lar mining dealers globally,” he says. “We
is growing in the right direction.
will continue to push the boundaries and
It’s commitment to safety, human
better understand our customers’ needs.
capital and CSR, has enabled RELIANZ
“Were people to ask where are the
to develop into a trusted business and
Caterpillar dealers that are delivering
one that customers prefer and actively
the most value to our customers, I want
seek out to work with, becoming the
us to be in that top handful of dealers
first Caterpillar dealer to be recognised
that are achieving just that.”
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Cl. 30 #19-04, Soledad, Atlรกntico, Colombia T +57 5 3361200 www.relianzcat.com