Katoen Natie: maximising value through holistic transformation
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Katoen Natie: digital and operational transformation to drive value for the customer WRITTEN BY
MARCUS LAWRENCE PRODUCED BY
CHARLOTTE CLARKE
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Anton Colpaert, President and CEO at Katoen Natie Thailand, discusses how the logistics company is maximising the value of its services with holistic transformation and a people-led operational focus
K
atoen Natie, one of the world’s largest international logistics service providers, is resolutely ‘people first’ across its global
operations. In Thailand, a hub for the company’s 04
Asian presence, the focus on both employees and customers runs through the core of the firm’s reputation for maximising the value of its services. For Anton Colpaert, President and CEO at Katoen Natie Thailand, the push towards Industry 4.0 is a continuation of the company’s longstanding track record of innovation in the market. “If you look at how we changed the logistical approach in the petrochemical and chemical industry, you can see that we have already been bringing innovation for 25 years,” he explains. “We want to make sure that our customers continue to see that we value that continued effort within our company, and that we certainly want to stay ahead in that number one position.” Colpaert adds that digital transformation offers an opportunity to push the boundaries of Katoen Natie’s customer-centric ethos.
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“ We’re very decentralised, so if you can attract the right people you can create smaller, flourishing islands of operations”
“Digital transformation is certainly very
— Anton Colpaert, President and CEO, Katoen Natie Thailand
transformation takes its employees
important, but we are actually focusing on transformation as a whole. We’re adopting radical changes to try and reorient the organisation in a new direction and take it to a new level of effectiveness,” he says. This broad, holistic approach to transformation is ultimately grounded in the efficacy of its internal culture and change management. True to its motto, ‘our people make the difference’, Katoen Natie Thailand’s into account at every level. “The strategy has been, from an early stage, to avoid having a heavy corporate structure. We’re very decentralised, so if you can attract the right people you can create smaller, flourishing islands of operations where people can go wild with their ideas so long as they’ve proven to be adding to our efficiency, and adding to or creating that maximum value for our customers,” says Colpaert. This attitude, coupled with a pragmatic approach to modifying operations, helps to ensure that new technologies and strategies are applied with care, simultaneously minimising disruption and ensuring that the added value is maximised. “We should not forget the
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ENTER INTO THE WORLD OF KATOEN NATIE (THAILAND)’ 07 core and basics of what we do,”
important to make sure that the proof
explains Colpaert. “We try to empower
of concept is well thought out and well
our employees as much as possible,
tested, and that we are able to roll it
but often using these tools can let
out quickly. On top of that, we place
them forget the basics of their work.”
focus on testing and retesting, and
He stresses that this potential for
still auditing the system as well.”
cutting corners is counterintuitive to
An area where great strides have
the transformation process and
been made from a technological
purpose: if value added by technology
perspective is automation, particularly
is offset by lost value from employee
regarding administrative processes.
input, the transformation has failed.
For a company with clients as diverse
“We have to be very vigilant. Even if
as Katoen Natie, automating physical
you train them well, they can start to
logistics processes throws up big
rely on the system too much in which
questions about flexibility in terms
they think they can take shortcuts. It’s
of accommodating the continuous w w w.ka to e nna tie. com
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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘KATOEN NATIE SINGAPORE FIRST DRIVERLESS TRUCK’ 08 changes in product types, weights and
desks where truck drivers can check
dimensions. “From a pure automation
themselves in, and we’re pushing to be
point of view, that’s a big challenge,”
completely paperless in our warehouse
says Colpaert. “It’s a little bit easier if
operations,” says Colpaert. “We opened
you’re on a production site because
up a new terminal in the Rayong region
you have a very defined and under-
which is so small-scale that it offers
standable flow.” While these challenges
a controlled environment to apply and
are being addressed through the
test these new technologies.” Shifting
development of smart, artificial
to paperless operations offers a whole
intelligence (AI)-driven solutions,
host of benefits that range from greater
Katoen Natie has elected to take a
efficiency to a mitigated environmental
step-by-step approach to applying
impact. Not only will the company be
automation across its admin flows
able to significantly cut its paper waste,
and shifting to paperless operations.
but the fuel consumption and associated
“We’re working on automated reception
costs of sending and receiving paper
documentation are also brought down.
of solar panels and thereby generating
Paperless operations also slash the
more electricity than it uses. “In Thailand
margin of error of paper documentation,
we have more than 450,000 sq m of
improving safety, accuracy and quality.
roof surface, and at the moment we
Colpaert enthuses about Katoen
have only installed panels on around
Natie’s wider sustainability strategy,
10,000 sq m,” says Colpaert. “We are
particularly in terms of the progress
certainly open to further investment.
made with its solar panel initiative and
Once legislation changes, we should
its role in the Operation Clean Sweep
be able to put our solar-generated
programme. Thai legislation currently
electricity onto the grid.” With regards
limits the extent of the project as
to Operation Clean Sweep, an
surplus electricity cannot be offloaded
international effort to curb the amount
to the national grid, but Katoen Natie
of plastics entering the oceans, the
is nonetheless actively pursuing a
firm has been investing heavily in its
furthering of its recent 1MW installation
infrastructure to mitigate the volume
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Anton Colpaert, President and CEO Colpaert holds a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of BioScience at Ghent University. In 2004 he entered the Katoen Natie Management Trainee Programme, after which he joined the Supply Chain Engineering business unit where he acted consecutively as project manager, terminal manager, project director and VP engineering while working in four different countries. He also supported Katoen Natie’s ambitious growth and investment projects in North America. He then moved from Houston to Thailand to become the CEO and President of Katoen Natie Services (Thailand). He hopes to safeguard and contribute to the further expansion of the company while continuously raising the bar of the offered services.
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“ We should not forget the core of what we do and the basics of what we do” — Anton Colpaert, President and CEO, Katoen Natie Thailand
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13 of plastic spills and waste; and subsequent potential effluent this generates. Over the last few years, money has been pumped into redesigning a host of operational equipment, including sweeper trucks, wet cleaning devices, pellet skimmers/screens and more to reduce the amount of plastic spills.
â‚Ź2.bn
Approximate revenue (EUR)
1854
Year founded
Not only that, but Katoen Natie Thailand is also engaged in local initiatives such as beach clean-ups and recycling. Looking forward, Colpaert says that the firm’s next steps from a technological and transformational perspective
14,000+
Approximate number of employees
are rooted in the needs of the customer. w w w.ka to e nna tie. com
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“We do not produce anything; we generate a service for the customer and we can only ensure we are doing that in the best way by opening up and listening to them, understanding their needs and seeing how their – and consequently our – world is evolving,” he says. “It’s essential to keep track of that customer heartbeat and understand them fully.” Katoen Natie is aiming to ramp up its use of Big Data and advanced analytics to leverage customer insights in a more direct and actionable fashion. “At this 14
stage, we are trying to interlink programs across the company so that we can build a complete view of the information itself and maximise the data’s value,” explains Colpaert. Given the extent of Katoen Natie Thailand’s stellar customer centricity and internal culture, it will be very interesting to see how it pushes customer value to even greater heights through such innovations.
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Katoen Natie info@katoennatie.com www.katoennatie.com