Clariant April 2020

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN CHEMICALS IN ASSOCIATION WITH

CL ARIANT

DIGITAL REPORT 2020

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DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN CHEMICALS

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CLARIANT

HOW CLARIANT MASTERBATCHES IS USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE SPEED, EFFICIENCY, AND SUSTAINABILITY “

A

t Clariant Masterbatches we believe in a colourful world! Few people outside the plastics industry know what mas-

terbatches are. We are one of those obscure industries that are everywhere and in everything, yet no one knows of us,” says Chris Hansen, Head 04

of BU Masterbatches Asia Pacific. He, along with Gustavo Haruki Kume, Global Product Owner (InstaColr), and Sanjeev Sujan, Digital Program Leader for BU Masterbatches, are at the forefront of a digital transformation at the company.

“Our business develops and produces color and additive concentrates, which are used by producers of various plastic articles with the purpose of getting the right colour and functionality,” Hansen continues. Perhaps what most characterises the company is the complexity of its operations, serving over 20,000 customers across a range of industries, with products tailored to each customer’s specific requirements. Clariant Masterbatches at any point in time maintains more than 70,000 active products which are continually changing as customer’s

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CLARIANT

“ With InstaColr, we cut the lead time from weeks down to minutes in the best case” — Gustavo Haruki Kume, Global Product Owner (InstaColr), Clariant

update their products - from shampoo bottles to fabrics, smart phones and cars, they consequently request new colours and functionalities from Clariant. Clariant Masterbatches is very much revered for the breadth of its product portfolio and capabilities, the quality consistency, product stewardship and sustainability.

However, the business has traditionally struggled to be as fast as the many small local competitors. “This need to increase our speed and make

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it faster and easier for customers to

E X ECU T I VE P RO FI LE

Gustavo Kume Gustavo is the Product Owner and has overall responsibility for InstaColr in Clariant since 2019. He joined Clariant in 2002 in Brazil as a chemist in the Home Care application laboratory. He was then invited to take care of the LATAM Regional Marketing in 2010, where he for the first time engaged with the digital world by developing digital campaigns and tools for new product launches. In 2013, Gustavo went to Switzerland as Global Marketing Leader for Home Care and in 2017, following his passion for the digital world, he joined the Digital4Clariant initiative, developing web-based software for the Home Care industry until his transfer to Masterbatches Singapore and InstaColr in 2019.

The Beauty of Chemistry CLICK TO WATCH

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07 do business with us was the main

“InstaColr is a customer facing project,

inspiration to start our digital journey”,

where we intend to replace our exist-

reflects Hansen.

ing product development process, our

“There are two main projects con-

color matching process,” Kume says.

stituting Clariant Masterbatches’

“In our current process a salesperson

digital transformation efforts: InstaColr

goes to a customer, talks to them,

and Smart Factory”, Sujan explains.

collects some information about the

“Individually and collectively, these two

colour and performance character-

products will set us decisively apart

istics that the customer wants, then

from other players in our industry and

passes all this to our labs.” After this,

have the potential to revolutionise the

the lab starts working on matching the

way the masterbatches industry works.”

customer’s colour and other require-

InstaColr involves a completely

ments. This often takes more than a

new approach to meeting

week to be finalised, at which point

customer’s expectations.

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CLARIANT

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the customer. Not infrequently is there

the target color on the spot after which

the need to repeat the process, if the

the application engine develops up to

result is not entirely what the customer

three relevant and tailormade matches

wanted, or the requirements subse-

with associated price and specifica-

quently changed.

tions on the spot. Often, the customer

With InstaColr the company turns

just needs to know that we can do it

that process decisively upside down

and what will be the cost, so that he

and cuts the lead time from weeks

can quote his customer. This is now

down to minutes in the best case.

instantly possible. After the customer’s

“Via the InstaColr iPad app, our sales

choice, the underlying formulation

person collects all technical and

and other requirements is transferred

commercial requirements on the spot

immediately to a regional lab, which

and confirms the colour”, Kume says.

produces a corresponding sample for

“InstaColr allows the customer to adjust

the customer’s own sample production.

“ By optimising and synchronising process steps and resources via the Smart Scheduler, we will move much closer to a performance frontier and consequently reduce both lead times and cost” — Sanjeev Sujan, Digital Program Leader for BU Masterbatches, Clariant

This sample is with the customer within two to three days. The chief benefit is time saved, and time is money.”

InstaColr launched in the middle of last year in Southeast Asia. To date, 25 sales colleagues have undergone training and certification to become InstaColr Consultants. This process has been important, as the role of our sales representatives changes significantly with InstaColr. As indicated by their title, they go from selling to color consulting. “This binds us closer to our customers,” emphasizes Kume.

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Sanjeev Sujan Sanjeev is global Digital Program Leader for Clariant Masterbatches. An ardent technology lover, he has been with Clariant since 2013. He started as Clariant Production System Change Leader for Asia Pacific & IMEA. He subsequently took over Operations of IMEA before taking up his current role in Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Clariant, Sanjeev worked with McKinsey & Company from 2009 to 2013, working across oil and gas, manufacturing and technology, covering lean optimisation and strategy. Sanjeev holds a Master’s degree in Finance and IT & Operations from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, in India. w w w.c l a ri an t . com

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By leveraging Arcstone’s solutions, Clariant has been able to kickstart their digital transformation and is preparing to scale their efforts to be a leader in the data-driven manufacturing space across all their facilities globally.

“Complete manufacturing transparency across the entire supply chain is what Arcstone ultimately strives for. By digitalizing and integrating manufacturing operations from the shop f loor right to the hands of consumers, we aim to enable a more responsive, responsible, and sustainable manufacturing ecosystem for us all.”

Willson Deng, CEO

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CLARIANT

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The electronic capture of customer

is to roll it out to more than 50 sites

requirements has also allowed the

globally. Smart Factory spans every-

centralization of the sample produc-

thing from the receipt of customers’

tion into one regional lab, which allows

purchase orders to the final shipment

scale advantages and yet faster sam-

of the corresponding products to

ple delivery to customers throughout

the customer. “Our aim is to make

South East Asia. Clariant is now pre-

everything along this process smart

paring the roll-out of InstaColr to other

or smarter than today – thus the title

regions, which will commence over the

Smart Factory,” Says Sujan. “We

course of 2020 and 2021.

do this by digitising, streamlining

Where InstaColr ends, Clariant’s

and automating process steps. This

Smart Factory begins. Smart Factory

includes automating previously

is currently running as a pilot project

manual SAP processes as well as

in Singapore. Subsequently the plan

digitising the shop floor’s information

“ 2019 was the year where sustainability became a real topic for our customers” — Chris Hansen, Head of BU Masterbatches Asia Pacific, Clariant

flow by leveraging user-friendly tablet interfaces and linking up the back-end manufacturing execution system with the physical production equipment and programmable logic controllers.

We thus get data into and out of equipment, control the equipment and track material flows via Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).The transparency and insights are the basis for direct process improvements and support a more effective performance follow-up and corrective actions.”

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E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Chris Hansen Chris Hansen is Vice President and Head of Clariant Masterbatches in Asia Pacific since 2015. In addition, Chris is the global executive in charge of the digital strategy programme within Clariant Masterbatches. Chris has a passion for rethinking traditional approaches and driving impactful changes throughout the business. Chris joined Clariant in 2009. His first role was to build and roll-out a standardised Clariant Production System for the business unit’s more than 50 sites globally.

Prior to joining Clariant, Chris was an Associate Principal with McKinsey & Company. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Management from Aarhus University in Denmark. a s ia . b uwswin w.c e slsacrihie an tf.. ccom om

CLARIANT

ACCEN T U RE

“Accenture played a key role in the InstaColr development.

As a chemical company, we had never developed an iPad app before, or any software system. That’s why we decided to go with a reliable company like Accenture. They taught us how to develop the software and how to work in an agile way using scrum methodology.

“They came in with their developers, with a scrum master and with IT managers. We learned as much as possible from them before hiring our own developers, with a handover period where Accenture helped to stabilise the system.”

- Gustavo Haruki Kume, Global Product Owner (InstaColr), Clariant 14 ARCST O N E

“Arcstone is a Singapore-based company that we have been working with for the last two years now. They’ve played a major role in our Smart Factory development. Arcstone comes with an ecosystem of existing MES modules that it has been tailoring for us with specific processes. They’ve ensured that it works based on our specific requirements.

“Equally important is the fact that we work very closely in terms of collaboration. It’s not a vendor and a customer relationship in this case - we share our office space, as often as we can and, if not, they remain available to work remotely with us when we have any urgent issues.” - Sanjeev Sujan, Digital Program Leader for BU Masterbatches, Clariant

“The core engine of our Smart Factory is the Smart Scheduler,” Sujan says.

“The minimum viable product is already on the shop floor. In the next version we will be able to dynamically schedule all tasks, equipment and manpower for a synchronised and optimised end-toend workflow both within a site and across geographies. Also, the Smart Scheduler will allow us to quantify and thus decide on the specific trade-offs between service, cost and working capital on a continuous basis.”

“By optimising and synchronising process steps and resources via the Smart Scheduler, we will move much closer to a performance frontier and consequently reduce both lead times and cost,” emphasises Sujan. At the same time, the measures will further improve Clariant’s industry leading safety record by reducing firefighting and rushing stress levels amongst the staff.

Alongside the focus on technology, sustainability is a very central topic for Clariant and has been so for the last seven years at least, with many specific efforts and recognitions as a result. That’s due not only to a sense of moral responsibility, but because it w w w.c l a ri an t . com

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CLARIANT

is good for the business. “2019 was the year where sustainability became a real topic for our customers,” says Hansen.

“In the years before, it was often a final, courtesy agenda point at customer meetings. Now, it is more often than not the first and primary agenda point.”

There is huge pressure on the plastics industry from governments, consumers and NGOs. “Topics like the circular economy, recycled polymers and the whole issue of ocean plastic waste are very high on everybody’s agenda,” 16

Hansen explains. “This is our opportunity.

We have the capabilities and solutions to help our customers.”

Clariant backs up these words with actions. Specific projects undertaken in

again allows us to help our customers

the sustainability space include looking

very specifically on how to improve the

into achieving more consistent colours

sustainability of their products.

with recycled polymers, as well as

Developing and implementing digital

building sustainability options such as

solutions in a traditional manufacturing

recyclability and compostability into its

company is not an easy journey. Clariant

InstaColr app to help customers make

Masterbatches spent considerable

informed decisions. Clariant is also pilot-

effort in building up its in-house Digital

ing a recycling plant in Italy known as

Innovation Center team. “Initially, candi-

CycleWorks, as Hansen explains: “That

dates are skeptical, as our environment

plant is, for example, doing extensive

is very different from that of, for exam-

testing on how colourants and additives

ple, an IT company. What in the end

impact the recyclability of plastics. This

attracts and continues to excite people,

1995

Year founded

CHF4,399m Revenue in Swiss francs

17,000 Number of employees

though, is that we remain a small team

and takes away past flexibility and

where everyone plays a central role in

autonomy - either real or perceived.

trailblazing game-changing new ways

Our experience is that one needs a

of working in our business. People real-

lot of positive encouragement and

ize that they are having a real impact”,

support, but in cases also the threat

explains Hansen.

of consequences if people do not line

While it is a lot of work to develop the

up behind the new way of working,”

new digital solutions, the biggest effort

explains Sujan. This is all about change

and success is to actually make the

management and that is how InstaColr

organisation at large adopt and change

and Smart Factory is driving true

their way of working around the new

impact within Clariant Masterbatches.

solutions. “Digitalisation fundamentally changes previous ways of working w w w.c l a ri an t . com

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