ANZ EDITION AUGUST 20 19 anz.businesschief.com
DELIVERING GEOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS Pulling together for a digital-powered transformation
Improving access with digital transformation How the Platform+Agile model is benefiting Victorians Data solutions in ecommerce
City Focus
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FOREWORD
W
elcome to the August issue
We also take a look at Only About
of Business Chief ANZ!
Children (Oac), an early childhood
The Melbourne-based Victorian Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) features in this month’s Business Chief ANZ. Speaking with Dr Steve Hodgkinson, Chief Information Officer at the
learning company based in Sydney, to find out how its digital-powered transformation is benefitting children, families and team members thanks to a collaborative effort across the company.
government organisation,
In this month’s City Focus we
Business Chief discovers
take a look at Auckland,
the benefits inherent to
New Zealand’s largest
his conception of the
city, to uncover its
Platform+Agile model. “The Platform+Agile
Dr Steve Hodgkinson, Victorian Department of Health & Human Services
model is founded on two main ideas. Firstly, you can’t
role as a transport hub and detail the investment causing a boom in construction.
be agile unless you start with
Do you have a story to tell? If you
a robust, scalable and sustainable
would like to be featured in an
platform. Secondly, public cloud
upcoming issue of Business Chief
service platforms are faster, more
ANZ, get in touch at
secure, more affordable and simply
william.smith@bizclikmedia.com
better in all regards than anything a government agency could ever hope to build or own.”
Enjoy the issue! William Smith
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03
In this Transformative Age, convergence is driving the reimagination of industries to create limitless opportunities. ey.com/analytics/networkrevolution #BetterQuestions
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Does industry collision shatter or shape our future thinking?
ANZ EDITION
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C CO ON NT TE EN NT TS S
12 Approaching digital transformation with agility at the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
26
38 WHY CORPORATES SHOULD LOOK TO STARTUPS TO SPUR THEIR INNOVATION
48
WESPORTUS: HOW BUSINESS STRATEGY CAN REVOLUTIONISE SPORTS SCOUTING
56 THE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE
HOW CASCADES AND SAP PRIORITISE SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABILITY
64
City Focus
AUCKLAND
74
CONTENTS
90 Only About Children
108 126 Dole International
RSC Mining & Mineral Exploration
144 Cargo Services Far East
170 Ormond Group
188 156
Katoen Natie
206 OMD APAC
Procter & Gamble
12
WRITTEN BY
WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY
MIKE SADR
AUGUST 2019
13
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V I C T O R I A N D E PA R T M E N T O F H E A LT H & H U M A N S E R V I C E S
Dr Steve Hodgkinson, CIO of the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, details the work he and his team have done to digitally transform project delivery through the Platform+Agile model
O
The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is dedicated to ensuring the health and wellbeing of all
Victorians, providing a wide range of services 14
ranging from hospital and ambulance services to child protection and family violence programmes and beyond. The department is increasingly finding that digital solutions can offer communities improved services, whether that’s people with a disability being able to easily register for a companion card using its Companion Card System or those applying for public housing using the Housing Register Online Application system. Steve Hodgkinson is CIO at the department, presiding over an ongoing digital transformation alongside his leadership team. “These days, digital transformation is purely driven by your capacity to execute projects,” says Hodgkinson. “If you can’t execute projects then it’s all just talk. My executive leadership team is at the core of achieving that.” Detailing his team’s AUGUST 2019
15
$20.bn Approximate revenue
2015
Year founded
12,000
Approximate number of employees a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
V I C T O R I A N D E PA R T M E N T O F H E A LT H & H U M A N S E R V I C E S
“ The pace at which we can deliver digital transformation is now critical to the government’s ability to deliver its reform programs” — Steve Hodgkinson, CIO, The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
successful process, Hodgkinson says that it starts with Fiona Sparks, Assistant Director, Strategy & Design, who is integral to the upfront work required to mobilise and fund a large portfolio of projects. Ray Baird, Assistant Director, Systems Solutions, then leads development of the applications, creating the structure for delivery. Assistant Director, Solutions Engagement, John Henderson manages the project pipeline, liaising with businesses to ensure projects are steadily delivered. David Stephens is Chief Data Officer, responsible not only for data to do with projects but also the
16
broader logic around data collection and information management in a large department, and Liz Hughes, Directorate Manager, provides the support services that keep the branch operating.
PLATFORM+AGILE Alongside his team, Hodgkinson credits the rapid acceleration of the department’s digital transformation efforts to an approach he has pioneered known as Platform+Agile, building out of agile software development methods. “The Platform+Agile model is founded on two main ideas. Firstly, you can’t be agile unless you AUGUST 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘THE POWER OF CONTENT WITH STEVE HODGKINSON’ 17 start with a robust, scalable and
of the platform, says Hodgkinson.
sustainable platform. Secondly, public
“Each application is not unique, rather
cloud service platforms are faster,
it’s a variation of things that already
more secure, more affordable and
exist. That enables us to start projects
simply better in all regards than
quickly and cheaply, and then to
anything a government agency could
deliver a minimal viable product much
ever hope to build or own,” says
more rapidly than otherwise possible,
Hodgkinson. Platform+Agile is the
getting feedback from real users and
opposite of the usual government
iterating based on that. That simple
approach which sees each application
process is itself the most important
and system as a unique, one-off event.
accelerant of digital transformation.
“The fundamental mindset of
It is all about increasing the cadence of
Platform+Agile is that each application
project delivery to fuel a compounding
inherits as much as possible of the
organizational learning effect.”
standard and common functionality
By relying on platforms in the way a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
V I C T O R I A N D E PA R T M E N T O F H E A LT H & H U M A N S E R V I C E S
18
that DHHS does, it is important that
platforms is Microsoft cloud services
platforms are chosen for their
(Azure, Dynamics and Office365),
versatility and long-term sustainability.
which has the advantage of many
“You have to think of platforms
pre-existing synergies such as a
strategically as things that you invest
government-wide enterprise agreement,
in deeply. When the next use case
Microsoft’s necessary federal
comes along, the question is not how
government security certifications,
to solve this by going out to market
the department’s installed base of
and choosing a new technology and a
Microsoft applications, and skills in
new vendor, the question is how to
Microsoft’s development frameworks.
deliver this use case using our
The department also makes use of
strategic platform and the things we
other platforms for different use
have already built and have available.”
cases: Salesforce for CRM-style
One of the department’s strategic
applications; ServiceNow for service
AUGUST 2019
management; SAP’s SuccessFactors
for each application. Vendors need
for human capital management and
to understand that the game has
Oracle Cloud ERP for finance systems.
fundamentally changed. The Game
Hodgkinson observes that the
of Platforms is a long game based on
Platform+Agile approach is transforming
maintaining positive and deep strategic
the logic of technology procurement
relationships, not a transactional game
in his department. It is now a ‘Game of
based on winning tenders.”
Platforms’ as opposed to a more
To be able to scale-up projects to
traditional ‘Game of Tenders’. “Use
deliver new applications in these
cases are increasingly contested
cloud services platforms, DHHS has
across our platforms to select the
developed a procurement mechanism
best existing platform for a new
known as the Solution Delivery Panel.
application rather than in the past
Key vendors on the panel include
where we would have run a tender to
Terra Firma, Access Testing, CSC
select a new vendor and technology
DXC, Datacom, Dialog, DWS, Infosys,
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Steve Hodgkinson, CIO Steve has been DHHS CIO since 2014. He was previously Chief Analyst Public Sector for research & advisory firm Ovum. In earlier years he founded and sold an e-commerce company and worked in a range of executive and consulting roles in the government and utilities sectors in Europe and Australasia. In his university years he worked as a Search & Rescue mountaineer for Aoraki Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand. He has a doctorate in Management Studies from the University of Oxford and a First Class Honours Degree in Information Systems from the University of Otago.
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19
Business Change Digital Optimisation Cyber Security Looking beyond.
Delivering key business and technology initiatives that propel organisational performance and elevate our customers’ brand.
“ The agility of today’s platforms means the most important thing is to get started, deliver something and iterate upon it” — Steve Hodgkinson, CIO, The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
brought together a very fragmented application process for public housing and put it online in a form that could be used on a smartphone,” says Hodgkinson. “That whole process was a radical re-engineering and simplification of the way that people applied for public housing. The received wisdom was that the form and the process were far too complicated to work on a mobile phone. Using the Microsoft Azure framework that we had and its ability to work via smart-
Landell, Oakton, Plan IT, PM Partners,
phone applications, we launched
RXP, SMS – ASG Group, TDL/CNI and
the service and found that a large
Third Horizon.
percentage of clients thought that it
Streamlining the process for individ-
was much easier to use than the old
ual projects, the panel allows the de-
paper form process and more
partment to maintain strategic relation-
convenient to access on a mobile
ships with partners rather than relying
phone than a computer. This taught
on a project-by-project approach.
us how the functionality native in the platform can actually drive innovation
PROJECTS Hodgkinson and his team have
in citizen-centric service delivery.” Another project saw the creation
delivered and iteratively refined more
of the Client Incident Management
than 30 major new business systems,
System (CIMS), a unified system for
of which he points out a number of
collecting and managing incident
exemplary projects that demonstrate
reports from over 1,700 agencies in
the impact possible with the
fields such as disability, public housing
Platform+Agile approach. “The
and child protection. Again using
Housing Register Online Application
Microsoft Azure, the large number a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
21
V I C T O R I A N D E PA R T M E N T O F H E A LT H & H U M A N S E R V I C E S
of agencies and sensitive data involved proved the efficacy of the Platform+Agile approach, with the system in seamless operation for some 18 months. The architecture foundations and microservices laid down for that system were later reused, as Hodgkinson explains: “The Victorian Health Incident Management System (VHIMS) has only recently gone live for a cluster of around 50 health services. Previously, a dysfunctional version of that application had been in place for many years and had defied many attempts to replace it. Using the 22
fact that we had already developed a lot of basic functionality and platform features for CIMS, we were able to reuse much of the logic for VHIMS. The project was delivered on time and on budget and has been praised by nurses for reducing significantly the time taken to record incidents. It demonstrates the strength of platform thinking.” A recent development at DHHS is the launch of SafeScript, a new system for real time prescription monitoring between doctors and pharmacies, preventing the over-prescription of controlled drugs. “SafeScript is an example of the power of the Platform+Agile approach to break AUGUST 2019
through a Gordian knot,” says Hodgkinson. “A project had been running for many years to create a national real time prescription monitoring system, but it was stalling because of the complexity of getting all of the different stakeholders in Australia to agree on the requirements and how the project would be implemented. The Platform+Agile approach doesn’t bother with that. It’s about making the best call you can, implementing the solution and then relying on the fact that a solution provided as a public cloud service can easily scale and be consumed by other jurisdictions to become the national solution.” Since going live, the system has been acclaimed and is being picked up by other states to form the basis of a national system. As for future projects, Hodgkinson says: “We are still working through a pipeline of applications that need to be modernised or rebuilt. There’s very little that can be done without a digital solution now. The pace at which we can deliver digital transformation is now critical to the government’s ability to deliver its policy and service delivery reform programs.” a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
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V I C T O R I A N D E PA R T M E N T O F H E A LT H & H U M A N S E R V I C E S
C O M PA N Y FACT S
• The Client Incident Management System (CIMS) is a unified system for collecting and managing incident reports from over 1,700 agencies in fields such as disability, public housing and child protection
24
• Hodgkinson and his team have delivered and iteratively refined more than 30 major new business systems
AUGUST 2019
It’s clear that DHHS’s digital transformation approach has had a transformative impact on the ways Victorians can interact with the department and draw on its resources. For Hodgkinson, the role of the CIO as it pertains to digital transformation is that of the catalyst. “People have a propensity to want to try and solve the whole of the problem – until they can see a way to solve for the whole then they don’t even get started. The agility that is possible using today’s cloud services platforms means that, as long as you’ve got a sufficient awareness of the big picture and where it can go to, the most important thing is to get started, deliver something and iterate upon it as opposed to agonising forever over trying to solve for the whole integrated solution. I like to say that ‘startegy is usually the best strategy’. Getting started and learning fast is often better than spending too long strategising and failing to actually get around to doing.”
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LEADERSHIP
26
: Asia’s go-to digital transformation solutions provider Dmitri Chen, COO and VP of Specialty Sales at Dell EMC,APJ, speaks with Business Chief about regional digital transformation challenges and how Dell EMC is driving accelerated digital efficacy WRITTEN BY
AUGUST 2019
MARCUS LAWRENCE
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LEADERSHIP
T
oday, there is perhaps no better source for cutting-edge insights into the state of play in Asia than Dell EMC. Dmitri Chen, COO and VP
of Speciality Sales at Dell EMC, Asia Pacific and
Japan (APJ), summarises this view succinctly: “There’s never been a better time to be in technology. There’s never been a better time to be in the Asia region.” Formed through the merger of Dell Technologies and EMC Corp in 2016, the firm’s own recent experience of disruption, integration, adaptation and success have positioned it as an ideal digital transformation specialist. Not to mention its extensive offering, a holistic and dynamic 28
portfolio that can be tailored to clients from a range of industries at every stage of their transformation journeys. “We came together in one of the largest mergers in history over 24 months ago,” says Chen. “We integrated two large IT organisations while adding performance, capacity and resilience across multiple clouds. On top of that, we enhanced the level of commerce that we’re able to support for our partners and millions of customers.” The evolution of the merged companies’ offering is strengthened further by its adoption of an Agile software development methodology, echoing the approach taken by Pivotal Software, a firm in which Dell holds a 70% stake. VMWare, also majority-owned by Dell, has had a similarly profound effect upon Dell EMC’s capabilities. “We’ve extended our modern, hybrid AUGUST 2019
“ There’s never been a better time to be in technology. There’s never been a better time to be in the Asia region” — Dmitri Chen, COO and VP Speciality Sales, APJ, Dell EMC
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29
LEADERSHIP
multi-cloud environment with VMWare,” says Chen.” It gives us a single control plane across multiple clouds. Sometimes that means our own data centres, and we have about 19 of those globally.” These factors, as well as ongoing infrastructural evaluations geared towards accelerated value and time to market, have had a staggering impact on Dell EMC’s efficiency. “We’ve been able to lower our general infrastructure costs by about 40% since the merger, and we’ve reduced our provisioning costs by 80%. Our overall infrastructure utilisation rates
30
have improved by 10-30%, depending on the environment. That’s pretty substantial. We take a lot of these
“ To secure their digital future and progress with innovation, businesses must accelerate their transformation rather than slow down” — Amit Midha, President of APJ Commercial, Dell EMC
learnings and share them with customers.” This self-sufficient internal transformation provides the perfect use case for the firm’s clients. “The cool thing is that we’re able to demonstrate that our approach and portfolio really works, and can help with our customers’ biggest challenges,” enthuses Chen. The APJ market is no different to other regions in that the challenges it faces are manifold and complex, but nonetheless, Dell EMC takes
AUGUST 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : DMITRI CHEN AT DELL TECHNOLOGIES FORUM 31 a particularly tailored approach to
transformation is lagging across their
operations across Asian markets.
respective organisations and 35%
Dell Technologies’ Digital Transformation
worrying that they could be left behind
Index 2018, which surveyed 4,600
in the march towards fully digitalised
global leaders from mid-to-large-sized
industries. “In many respects, the Asia
companies across the region, found
Pacific, Japan and Greater China
that 95% of companies in APJ are
region is emerging as a source of
encountering roadblocks during their
innovation in the way it fosters new
digital transformations, particularly in
business models and embraces
terms of technological skills gaps. The
emerging technologies,” said Amit
consequence of these challenges is
Midha, President of APJ Commercial
highlighted by findings that only 6% of
at Dell EMC, according to the report’s
the region’s companies can be
press release. “This is a tremendous
considered ‘Digital Leaders’, with 84%
opportunity for the region – but it’s also
of respondents believing that digital
a determined period in time. To secure a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
LEADERSHIP
their digital future and progress with innovation, businesses must accelerate their transformation – rather than slow down.” Dell EMC is not only poised to enable capitalisation on this opportunity, but it already has a plethora of successes under its belt. Chen highlights KFC Singapore as one of the many customers that have been significantly impacted by Dell Technologies. “They had to go through a significant IT transformation, moving from traditional IT operations to a modern data centre approach,” he 32
explains. “They had to do that because they had an expectation from the business to transition their IT operation from a cost centre to a profit centre. The outcome, essentially, was that they improved their speed of data delivery across their infrastructure by around 57% and they’re now able to provision new server nodes in minutes instead of days.” As well as becoming significantly more efficient with their data storage and cutting down on associated costs, KFC Singapore has also achieved almost 100% uptime for its business-critical applications. “They did all that with the solutions from our portfolio, mainly centred around AUGUST 2019
33
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LEADERSHIP
34
“ If we focus on being patient and really understanding the customer’s business, we can help them to architect something that’s highly differentiated” — Dmitri Chen, COO and VP Speciality Sales, APJ, Dell EMC hyperconverged infrastructure and
they were able to cut their design load
data protection solutions,” says Chen.
times by 92%, and they’re also now
Another success story comes with
able to do desktop deployment.” In a
Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors, who wanted
company with as many engineers as
to develop a desktop virtualisation that
Mitsubishi, across multiple
would enable their engineers and
environments, the positive implications
production teams to access data more
of desktop deployment for productivity
easily and cut time spent managing
are huge. “They were able to cut the
various machines. “They essentially
deployment time from 80 hours to one,
established a new remote data access
whilst cutting the amount of data they
architecture for the workforce, and
needed to store by around 87%. They
essentially enhanced their design
achieved that through solutions from
processes from a digital standpoint:
Dell, such as PowerEdge rack servers
AUGUST 2019
35
and our XtremeIO flash storage arrays.” In sum, Dell EMC is not only well-
mean that a lot of the use cases are different, even within the same industry,
positioned to cater to myriad needs of
but it helps our customers maintain
enterprises in markets across APJ, but
their level of competitive edge within
it has the capacity to zero in on the
their respective vertical.”
specifics of individual customers and drive impactful digital transformations. “The good news for us is that, if we focus on being patient and really understanding the customer’s business, we can help them to architect something that’s highly differentiated,” says Chen. “It may a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
Covering every angle in the digital age The Business Chief platforms offer insight on the trends influencing C and V-level executives, telling the stories that matter
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TECHNOLOGY
38
WHY CORPORATES SHOULD LOOK TO STARTUPS TO SPUR THEIR INNOVATION Ritam Gandhi, Founder and Director, Studio Graphene, explores why traditional corporations should be inspired by startups if they want to keep up with the blistering rate of innovation WRITTEN BY
RITAM GANDHI
AUGUST 2019
39
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TECHNOLOGY
A
ccording to the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), only 60 of the Fortune 500 companies listed in 1955 still retain
their place amongst the business elite. While for some of these companies, the decline was inevitable, for many it reflects their reluctance to embrace disruptive trends that have radically transformed the business environment and the nature of consumer demands. In their wake has come a new generation of corporate titans including tech giants like Facebook, Amazon and Netflix who have rapidly become the dominant players in their 40
respective industries. While many of these companies had humble beginnings as startups, once they went public, they began to adopt a more corporate mentality in order to deliver regular profits for shareholders. Tesla Founder and CEO Elon Musk is a high-profile critic of this trend, saying that: “Being public puts enormous pressure on Tesla to make decisions that may be right for a given quarter, but not necessarily right in the long-term.� Indeed, part of what marks Elon Musk out as such a successful entrepreneur is that he has retained his entrepreneurial spirit despite Tesla now being one of the biggest companies in the world. Many of his contemporaries, visionary leaders who took their AUGUST 2019
41
“I believe that established companies would be wise to outsource innovation by partnering with young and dynamic startups” — Ritam Gandhi, Founder and Director, Studio Graphene
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TECHNOLOGY
companies from startup to the upper echelons of the Fortune 500, have long since been replaced by processoriented executives with corporate backgrounds. As someone who made the leap from the corporate world of management consultancy into the dynamic startup landscape, I know how difficult it is for companies to retain their dynamism as they transition from agile challenger to established incumbent. While many founders bemoan the lack of a level playing field when it comes 42
to the resources available to large corporates, being small can be an
“If large companies don’t take the necessary action to stay one step ahead, they’ll soon find themselves falling behind” — Ritam Gandhi, Founder and Director, Studio Graphene
advantage for innovative startups as they are neither too unwieldy nor too conservative to implement new ideas.
make for more cost-effective enterprises. As private entities, startups can
WHAT DO STARTUPS HAVE TO OFFER?
make decisions with the long-term in
So, if the balance of power is currently
mind as they don’t have to worry about
tipping away from large corporates it’s
the impact of quarterly performance
worth asking what about startups
on their share price.
makes them so innovative. Startups
In my work with startups, I’ve seen
generally consist of a small team
how the need to break new ground
which means they can remain respon-
affects the culture of many successful
sive to changes in the market. They
startups. Indeed, the most successful
also depend for their vitality on
see their lack of scale as a virtue
identifying new, more efficient
because it makes for clear-eyed
methods which means they usually
decision-making.
AUGUST 2019
43
However, even if corporates were to
successful that it will reshape the
acknowledge the merits of this
industry, making it less favourable
dynamic approach, they are fundamen-
to the company who developed it.
tally prevented by their size, structure startup mentality. Simply put, innova-
WHY DO BIG CORPORATES FAIL TO INNOVATE?
tion in the corporate world equates
 While large companies are too big
to risk. Risk of wasted resources,
and have too much on the line to be
both in terms of dollars and man-hours.
truly creative, total disregard for
Risk of reputational damage if a
innovation is not an option. These days,
creative project fails to bear fruit and
companies understand that they have
in exceptional cases, the risk that a
to continue innovating if they want to
new product or technology will be so
guard against the threat of dynamic
and priorities from truly adopting a
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TECHNOLOGY
new challengers. Of course, casting
between their work on existing
aside your traditional ways of working
projects and on developing new ideas.
comes with an immense amount of risk
Google’s ‘20% time’ is probably the
and so it’s understandable that many
most feted example as the company’s
executives are reluctant to whole-
policy of allowing engineers to devote
heartedly commit to new projects.
20% of their time to personal projects
Some companies reach a compro-
resulted in some of the company’s
mise that allows them to balance these
most successful products such as
competing objectives. For example,
Gmail, AdSense and Google Talks.
by implementing schemes that allow employees to strike a balance
While this can approach can be a fruitful one, it’s worth noting that many
44
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘RITAM GANDHI TALKS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUILDING A STARTUP THAT BUILDS OTHER STARTUPS’
AUGUST 2019
as they have become large global
WHY SHOULD LARGE CORPORATIONS LOOK TO COLLABORATE?
businesses. Corporates like Google now
The reality is that the corporate world
span too many sectors and jurisdictions
is being disrupted at an exciting pace.
to rely on such an ad hoc approach
Therefore, I believe that established
to innovation. Consequently, they need
companies would be wise to outsource
to find a framework that allows them
innovation by partnering with young
to continue pushing technological
and dynamic startups. Ultimately, these
boundaries while still focusing on
partnerships have the potential to
maximising the value of their major
create mutual value by granting the
revenue-generating products.
startup access to capital and distribution
companies have abandoned this model
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TECHNOLOGY
46
“ These partnerships have the potential to create mutual value by granting the startup access to capital and distribution networks while giving the corporate a chance to benefit from innovative new projects” — Ritam Gandhi, Founder and Director, Studio Graphene
AUGUST 2019
networks while giving the corporate a chance to benefit from innovative new projects. This change in corporate culture takes many forms including mentorship programmes and in-house tech incubators but strategic partnerships are gradually emerging as the most effective way of leveraging a startups’ disruptive potential. As corporations become larger and more results-oriented it makes it more difficult for innovative ideas to come to fruition. That’s why I believe forwardthinking companies are increasingly looking to collaboration with startups as the solution. After all, there’s nothing to suggest that corporates and startups have to co-exist as separate entities. In the digital age, size doesn’t guarantee future success. If large companies don’t take the necessary action to stay one step ahead, they’ll soon find themselves falling behind.
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47
PEOPLE
48
WeSportUs: how business strategy can revolutionise sports scouting Could blockchain decentralise talent-spotting and make it fairer? WeSportUs thinks so. Ex-Banker Latif Adéothy is applying business expertise to revolutionise sports scouting WRITTEN BY
AUGUST 2019
LATIF ADÉOTHY
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PEOPLE
B
usiness is often told to consider what it can learn from sport. But what about the other way around? What
could sport learn from business? Sport
focuses on winning, the team spirit and match analysis, but could it also learn how to focus on customers, empower teams and better use technology? Could technology disrupt sport and the talent-scouting process? I think it could definitely benefit from technologies that could decentralise decision-making. 50
I had an experience in Africa that convinced me to try and develop a solution. In Abidjan, a city on the southern Atlantic coast of Côte d’Ivoire, I came across a group of young footballers. Boys, with sandals on their feet, were playing on a field that looked more like scrub than a Premiership stadium. They let me join in for a little game. And we lost 10-0! Despite having never set foot in a training centre and playing in sandals, one young player scored 8 goals! It disappoints me that this boy’s raw talent could go unspotted due to a lack of resources and visibility. The sports world wouldn’t be the first entertainment industry to be challenged by technology. The music industry has had to reinvent itself by harnessing, rather than AUGUST 2019
51
“The benefit is twofold: to give more visibility to talent, and to facilitate their relationship with potential supporters” — Latif Adéothy, Founder, WeSportUs
a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
PEOPLE
continuing to fight, technology. So, the sports world could reinvent itself through digital to combine entertainment experience, performance, and the experiences of professional and amateur athletes. The benefit is twofold: to give more visibility to talent, and to facilitate their relationship with potential supporters. All this and an opportunity to restore sport’s positive image, which has been tarnished by numerous scandals. But how would this work when so many people play sports? In 2017, 52
two out of five people across Europe
AUGUST 2019
“ One young player scored 8 goals! It disappoints me that this boy’s raw talent could go unspotted due to a lack of resources and visibility” — Latif Adéothy, Founder, WeSportUs
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘WESPORTUS – APP PROMO’ 53 played at least one sport once a week;
countries. So we need a mechanism
three out of 10 also played in clubs.
which could enable young talent to
That’s nearly 155mn, not to mention the
truly emerge from the multitude of
amateurs who sometimes play several
amateur athletes around the world.
sports, in the park or at home. More
This is still difficult to imagine on social
than 600,000 hours of videos are
networks in their current format.
uploaded to YouTube every day. With
In asking myself how we could
so many people participating in sport, it
make sports-scouting less random,
is difficult to identify the new talent who
I started thinking about my experience of
could dominate their discipline.
business, banking and blockchain. Could
The solution would need to incorpo-
scouting benefit from blockchain; the
rate an innovative social network
disruptive technology that is disrupting
based on openness. Today, our talent
the business world? It is a decentralised
spotting system is focused on just a
and participatory system and so, through
few institutions located in the richest
its differentiating cultural and monetary a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
PEOPLE
value proposition, we could use blockchain to engage the social sports community in a different way. Why bet on the blockchain? Because the fundamentals of this technology are based on the very notion of transparency and information sharing. It is a technology that is open to almost everyone, is decentralised and transparent. As a result, each transaction belongs to both individuals and everyone at the same time, making the system completely democratic and robust. This technology gives us an opportu54
nity to bring fans back to the centre of sport. Using decentralisation, athletes can showcase themselves and fans can like them, raising their profiles to potential patrons, sponsors and clubs. They can even give new talent a boost by microfunding new boots or access to professional training grounds. In business terms, this clearly demonstrates how sport can better listen to their customers (fans) and empower them. Fan involvement could also bring their passion and sense of fair play back to the heart of the global sports community. I want us to imagine a sports social network model that integrates AUGUST 2019
“ I want us to imagine a sports social network model that integrates a cryptocurrency and gives power to the fan communities that will elect the young athletes of tomorrow” — Latif Adéothy, Founder, WeSportUs
55 a cryptocurrency and gives power to
the players never get scouted. We’re
the fan communities that will elect the
inventing a decentralised global talent
young athletes of tomorrow. It’s not a
detection platform, within the reach of
pipe dream. Social networks could take
sports professionals, which will promote
on their full meaning and we can move
champions from multiple horizons.
from a narcissistic vision to a holistic
What if new technology and business
approach, taking on the role of
nous could find, support and sponsor
revealing talent and creating a meritoc-
the next Usain Bolt or the future Kylian
racy. The world of sport is truly at the
Mbappé? That’s the plan at WeSportUs.
crossroads of funding innovations and the emergence of new media to reinvent the entertainment of tomorrow. At the moment, too much talent is never seen, never makes it out of the park game and into the arena, because a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
THE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE 56
HOW CASCADES AND SAP PRIORITISE SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABILITY Business Chief sits down with Xavier Duprat, Director of Logistics and Production Planning at Cascades, to learn how the business is putting sustainability at the forefront of its operations WRITTEN BY
AUGUST 2019
SOPHIE CHAPMAN
57
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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
A
ces Sustainability is quickly shifting from an idealistic preference to a missioncritical change in operations. Beyond
reduced waste and increased efficiency,
sustainability has emerged as a necessary way to do business to appeal to both partners and customers. Sustainable business practices are especially relevant in the packaging industry, historically one of the biggest contributors to supply-related waste with an estimated 30,000 tons rotting in landfills. Cascades, one of the top packaging manufacturers 58
in North America, is on the front lines of sustainable business practices through a streamlined supply chain. To hear about their story, we sat down with Xavier Duprat, Director of Logistics and Production Planning at Cascades. To get started, please tell us about Cascades and its core values? Cascades produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products that are composed mainly of recycled fibres. With 25 plants operating across Canada and the United States, we are the largest manufacturer of containerboard in Canada and the sixth-largest in North America. In line with our corporate mission to “improve the well-being of people, AUGUST 2019
“ WITH 25 PLANTS OPERATING ACROSS CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES, WE ARE THE LARGEST MANUFACTURER OF CONTAINERBOARD IN CANADA AND THE SIXTH-LARGEST IN NORTH AMERICA” — Xavier Duprat, Director of Logistics and Production Planning at Cascades
59
communities and the planet by providing sustainable and innovative solutions that create value,” and to optimise its supply chain, we realised that we needed more consistent planning processes, faster planning cycles and better user engagement in our supply chain strategy. Why did Cascades decide to address the issue of waste, and how are you doing so? We have evolved our business processes to address the a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
“ WE HAVE EVOLVED OUR BUSINESS PROCESSES TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF SUSTAINABILITY HEAD-ON, KNOWING THAT IT IS AN INDUSTRYWIDE CHALLENGE” — Xavier Duprat, Director of Logistics and Production Planning at Cascades
issue of sustainability head-on, knowing that it is an industry-wide challenge. We understand that sustainable business practices, like an efficient supply chain, are not only good for the planet but are also good for business. What sustainability challenges has your company faced? In order to get the business results we wanted, we knew that we had to make some changes. Working alongside supply chain leaders such as SAP, we determined that enabling fact-based decision making by increasing end-to-end
60
supply chain visibility and providing access to information from one place was something that we needed to address. There was no relationship between sales and operations and strategy and tactical operations, which was also causing issues. We knew that we needed to make some changes in order to facilitate faster planning cycles and consistent processes for sales and operations planning, while improving collaboration and user engagement across functions. What SAP technologies are you using to help with the project and what AUGUST 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING – CASCADES IS PART OF THE SOLUTION’ 61 impact is the project having on the
customers have come to rely on. With
rest of the business? We introduced
SAP, we now have a comprehensive
the SAP Integrated Business Planning
and transparent overview of our supply
solution to provide full support for
chain, helping us to be highly responsive
monthly and weekly planning processes
to customer needs.
and to enable easy collaboration and quick resolution of issues across
In the end, why did you select SAP
functions. The enhanced data and
and how is its technology helping
forecasting help our company make
with efficiency? Implementing SAP
smarter decisions. With our employees
Integrated Business Planning has
and sales teams able to focus on
helped us establish long-term
adding value, we were able to be more
partnerships with our most strategic
agile and responsive to our customers’
customers. These partnerships
needs, allowing us to continue to deliver
enable us to support our growth and
the innovative products that our
sustainability goals with our strong a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
focus on the supply chain. Since choosing SAP, we have seen valuedriven results, including: • Improved decision-making with the aid of more-accurate data and forecasts (up to 80% better forecasting accuracy • 90% less time needed for data collection • Reduced costs, due to increased visibility and improved collaboration • Improved planning security supporting sales to new markets • Greater efficiency with maximised 62
production capacity and faster access to relevant information for both internal and external users • Enhanced ability of employees and salespeople to focus on value-added tasks such as customer service What trends are you seeing within the packaging industry and how are you adapting to them? The containerboard industry is increasingly moving towards a “buyer’s market,” as more capacity and foreign investments are shifting the equilibrium of demand and supply in this direction. In the past, it might have been somewhat acceptable to operate and service customers with AUGUST 2019
63
a certain amount of backlog within
Where do you see Cascades going in
a “weekly” window, but I don’t think
the next five years? We need to have
that will be the case in the coming
a clear understanding of our global
months and years because of this new
supply chain and master new pro-
reality. Customers are becoming more
cesses in order to deliver and exceed
demanding – and rightfully so. In
customer expectations. True customer-
response, organisations need to shift
centricity will hinge on on-time delivery
their mindset to service the customer
as a critical differentiator, and in turn,
in a timely manner, focusing more
help organisations thrive in this new
rigorously on cost control, working
environment over the next five years.
capital and “just-in-time inventory” best practices. a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
CITY FOCUS
AUCKL AUCKL City Focus
64
Business Chief profiles Auckland, former capital and largest city in New Zealand, detailing its role as a gateway to the country and the construction boom changing the city’s skyline WRITTEN BY
AUGUST 2018
WILLIAM SMITH
KLAND – [ Tamaki ]
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65
CITY FOCUS | AUCKLAND
T
he capital of New Zealand until 1865,
when it was replaced by Wellington,
Auckland remains the largest urban area in the country. The city rests on an isthmus, only 2km across at
its smallest point. Such unique geography means that the city is one of very few to have ports on two bodies of water; the Pacific
Ocean and the Tasman Sea. As of the 2013 census, Statistics New Zealand gave the 66
population of the city as approximately 1,415,550, representing 33.4% of New Zealand’s total population. The same organisation said in 2018 that the city’s yearly GDP was NZ$101.4bn (US$66bn), equivalent to 37.5% of New Zealand’s total GDP. As chronicled by the website Emerging Auckland, the city is not resting on its laurels as New Zealand’s largest conurbation. Instead, the city is in the middle of a construction boom, with 2016 estimates suggesting NZ$10bn of investment is going into changing the city’s skyline. As reported by Stuff, private projects in the city include Commercial Bay, The Pacifica, Seascape and One Market Square. That private investment, focused in the central business AUGUST 2018
‘Auckland’s unique geography means that the city is one of very few to have ports on two bodies of water; the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea’ Queen Street (c.1889); painting by Jacques Carabain. Most of the buildings depicted were demolished during rampant modernisation in the 1970s
district (CBD), is complemented by investment from the Auckland council. Their Auckland City Centre Masterplan features urban renewal plans for the city up to 2030. The investment encompasses infrastructure also, with construction on New Zealand’s largest ever transport infrastructure project, the City Rail Link, beginning in 2015. A 3.45km twin-tunnel underground rail link, it is said the initiative will double capacity on the rail network once it opens in 2024. a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
67
CITY FOCUS | AUCKLAND
68
‘ The city is in the middle of a construction boom, with 2016 estimates suggesting NZ$10bn of investment is going into changing the city’s skyline’
AIR NEW ZEALAND Flag carrier of New Zealand as a whole, Air New Zealand is headquartered in the Wynyard Quarter of Auckland. The company has a rich history, having been founded in 1940 as Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), an airline dedicated to ferrying mail, passengers and cargo between Australia and New Zealand across the Tasman Sea. Today, the company says it flies approximately 17mn passengers a year from, to and within the country. Its primary hub is Auckland airport, though it also operates out of Christchurch and Wellington, and as of 30 April
Fonterra milk tanker at Te Rapa dairy factory
AUGUST 2018
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MANUKAU BUS STATION PROGRESS’ 69
2019, there were 115 operating aircraft.
a number of co-operatives, before the
The company reported its 2016 revenue
largest two of the remaining four New
as NZ$5.23bn (US$3.4bn).
Zealand co-operatives joined in 2001. The vast majority of its products are
FONTERRA
exported, with its brands such as Anchor,
Dairy co-operative Fonterra is New
Anmum, Anlene, NZMP and Farm
Zealand’s largest company. For the
Source going to over 140 countries.
financial year ending in 2017, the company reported its revenue as
BANK OF NEW ZEALAND
NZ$19.232bn (US$12.5bn). Though
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is one of
based in Auckland, as a co-operative,
the country’s big four banks, alongside
the company is diffuse and owned by
Australia and New Zealand Banking
around 10,000 farmers. It formed
Group, ASB Bank and Westpac. Since
from the continuing amalgamation of
1992, the bank has been a subsidiary of a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
CITY FOCUS | AUCKLAND
1.4mn+ Population of Auckland, representing 33.4% of NZ’s total population
c1350–
Year settled by Maori
70
1840
Year settled by Europeans
NZ$101.4bn
Auckland’s yearly GDP, equivalent to 37.5% of NZ’s total GDP
AUGUST 2018
Cargo cranes in Auckland Sea Port
71
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CITY FOCUS | AUCKLAND
‘ Auckland is renowned for its role as New Zealand’s busiest transport hub’
72
the National Australia Bank. Its revenue for FY18 was NZ$2.505bn (US$1.63bn). In 2018, the BNZ was awarded the title of ‘Small Business Bank of the Year 2018’ by Australian financial comparison firm Canstar, owing to its commitment of services and support to small businesses in New Zealand. Founded in 1861, its first office opened on Queen Street, Auckland in the same year.
TRANSPORTATION Auckland is renowned for its role as New Zealand’s busiest transport hub, AUGUST 2018
owing to its aforementioned ports, as well as its air links. As of March 2019, Auckland Airport said it had 75% of the share of international visitors to the country. Operating more than 178,000 flights each year, the airport saw 21mn yearly passengers and more than 187,000 tonnes of international freight. The city’s ports are collectively described by their operator, Ports of Auckland, as the busiest in New Zealand. The ports focus on the optimisation of the container terminal process, and consequently claim to be the most efficient in Australasia. Upcoming events in the city include
A government ban on single-use plastic bags came into effect on 1 July 2019 – a move fully supported by Auckland Council
the FMCG Business Marketing Summit 2019 on 21 August at the Ellerslie Event Centre, as well as the “The End of Plastic as We Know It”, a conference by the Sustainable Business Network on 26 August at ASB Waterfront Theatre. Often considered to be one of the world’s most liveable cities, Auckland has taken advantage of its unique geography to propel itself into its current position as a thriving, growing metropolis, successful in both business and human terms.
Looking east over the area that became Wynyard Quarter with the Auckland CBD in the middle distance, circa 1950s a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
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T O P 10
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AUGUST 2019
richest
people in Asia Business Chief counts down the top 10 richest people in Asia, according to Forbes’ 2019 Billionaires list of the world’s wealthiest people WRITTEN BY
WILLIAM SMITH
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75
THERE’S A NEW
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T O P 10
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Yang Huiyan [ $ 2 2 .1BN ] Yang Huiyan is Asia’s richest woman. She came in 42nd position worldwide on Forbes’ list, with a net worth of $22.1bn. A property developer, she inherited her majority share of Country Garden, a Chinese property development company, from her father and founder of the company, Yang Guoqiang. Forbes’ said Country Garden’s revenue totalled $56.7bn, thanks to its international property portfolio.
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T O P 10
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Tadashi Yanai [ $ 2 2 . 2BN ] Tadashi Yanai is the owner of holding company Fast Retailing. He is chairman, president and CEO of the company, whose primary subsidiary is clothing retailer Uniqlo. The company was founded by Yanai’s father in 1963. Fast Retailing’s revenue was $20bn, buoyed by his other brands including Theory and J Brand. With a personal net worth of $22.2bn, Tadashi Yanai is Japan’s richest man, and founded the first Uniqlo store in 1984.
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Wang Jianlin [ $ 2 2 .6BN ] Wang Jianlin is the founder of the largest real estate developer in China, Dalian Wanda. Serving as the company’s chairman. In recent years, the company has been investing in property outside of China. It is the majority shareholder of the world’s largest cinema chain, The US AMC Theatres and owner of media company Legendary Entertainment. Its revenue was $19.8bn according to Forbes, with Wang Jianlin’s personal wealth coming in at $22.6bn.
a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
Building an ecosystem? Connect the dots. “Your journey to cloud must navigate pitfalls and opportunities that are unique to your business. We support you in imagining and delivering your cloud journey and making it run�. Eric Meistermann, Deloitte Partner in charge of AXA Group
T O P 10
By World Economic Forum - Flickr: Energy Revolution in the Making: Azim H. Premj
81
Azim Premji [ $ 2 2 .6BN ] In joint 7th place on this list, Azim Premji is India’s second richest person, with a net worth of $22.6bn. He is the chairman of Wipro, a pioneering Indian software company. Despite its current reputation for IT, the firm was set up initially by Premji’s father as a vegetable and oil manufacturer known as Western India Vegetable Products Limited. With revenue of $8.4bn according to Forbes, the company reported more than 170,000 employees in 2019.
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By Tksteven - Own work, CC BY 3.0
Lee Shau-Kee [ $ 3 0.1BN ] The oldest person on this list at 91, Lee Shau-Kee is a real estate tycoon. Until 2019 he was the founder, chairman and managing director of Hong Kong’s Henderson Land Development, recently stepping down in favour of his sons Peter and Martin Lee. He founded the company in 1976, taking it public in the early 80s. Forbes gave the company’s revenue as $2.8bn, with Lee’s personal worth coming in at $30.1bn.
AUGUST 2019
By EdTech Stanford University School of Medicine
Li Ka-shing [ $ 3 1.7 BN ] Sir Ka-shing Li made his fortune in plastics before founding conglomerate Cheung Kong Holdings, the predecessor to CK Hutchison Holdings. The 90-year-old recently retired as chairman, though remains an advisor to the company which his son Victor Li now controls. Hong Kong’s richest man, he recently made global news thanks to his pledge to pay the tuition fees of Shantou University’s incoming 2019 class for up to five years, costing him $14.4mn annually. His net worth is approximately $31.7bn.
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Hui Ka Yan [ $ 3 6 . 2BN ] Real estate mogul Hui Ka Yun is founder and chairman of Chinese property developer Evergrande Group. Based in Guangdong province, the company operates throughout China and is more widely known thanks to its ownership of football club Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC. As reported by Forbes, its revenue was $71.7bn. 22nd on Forbes’ list, Hui Ka Yan is anticipated to have a net worth of $36.2bn.
AUGUST 2019
85
Jack Ma [ $ 3 7. 3BN ] Jack Ma is the founder and executive chairman of e-commerce company Alibaba. Founded in 1999, the company’s web portals quickly attracted investment. While C2C, B2C and B2B sales remain its focus, it has also branched out to services such as financial technology and cloud computing. Alibaba reported its FY19 revenue as $56.15bn, while Jack Ma’s net worth was $37.3bn. Ma recently announced his decision to step down from his role as executive chairman of Alibaba, designating CEO Daniel Zhang as his successor.
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T O P 10
Ma Huateng [ $ 3 8.8BN ] Ma Huateng is the founder, chairman and CEO of Tencent. With a net worth of $38.8bn, he is China’s richest man, and owing to the English translation of his last name as “Horse”, goes by the nickname Pony Ma. Tencent is a holding company, and through its subsidiaries and associates is active in a wealth of industries with a focus on technology. The company is 86
headquartered in Shenzhen, China, in twin skyscrapers known as Tencent Seafront Towers, and reported its 2018 revenue as $45.6bn.
AUGUST 2019
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© TIM GRIFFITH/NBBJ
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Mukesh Ambani [ $ 5 0BN ] Coming in 13th place worldwide on Forbes’ list, Mukesh Ambani is chairman and managing director of the Mumbai headquartered Reliance Industries. India’s 88
largest company by market capitalisation, the conglomerate and its subsidiaries are active in areas such as energy, retail, and telecommunications and had a 2019 revenue of $90bn. Worth $50bn personally, Ambani is known for owning the second most valuable residential property in the world after Buckingham Palace, the $2bn, 27-floor Antilia in South Mumbai.
By World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
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W R IT T E N B
Y
W IL L I A M S
90
PRODUCED
BY
MI T H
Embarking on a d e r e w o p digitaltransformation journey MIK E S A DR
AUGUST 2019
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O N LY A B O U T C H I L D R E N
Only About Children (Oac) CIO Andy Luiskandl details Oac’s digital-powered transformation benefitting children, families and team members and highlights the important role IT should play
T
he work of digital transformation is often said to be capable of rejuvenating a business, taking it from stuck-in-its-ways
adulthood to the dynamism of youth. Embodying the youthful side of this equation, Only About 92
Children (Oac) is an early learning and childcare provider with more than 70 campuses across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane catering for 0-6 year olds. Andy Luiskandl is Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the business, guiding Oac’s transformation journey at a time of rapid growth. “The business has grown substantially over the last 12 months, virtually doubling in size,” says Luiskandl. “When I arrived last year, we were halfway through onboarding 25 campuses, and since then another six have joined the group. At each campus we have a Campus Director, educators and team members who educate and care for the children. Oac has more than 11,000 children in its care. With parents and extended family as well, we have close to 100,000 people, give or take, who are engaging with Oac digitally.” AUGUST 2019
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O N LY A B O U T C H I L D R E N
“ Everything Oac does is to empower every child to reach their full potential through a passion for learning” — Anna Learmonth, CEO, Only About Children
In line with the breadth of change in the ever growing organisation, two major transformational initiatives went into full gear shortly after Luiskandl joined: the transition of Oac’s ERP system (QikKids) to the Cloud – including the rollout of new customer-facing apps – and the implementation of a Cloud-based workforce management system (Ento), as well as several smaller projects. From the outset it was clear that Oac’s digital transformation – or
94
‘digital-powered transformation’ as Luiskandl prefers to call it – would touch on everything Oac does, and that success would depend on several critical success factors including: 1. Ensuring organisational ownership and leadership across all levels, from the CEO down and from the educators caring for the children up; 2. A robust approach to project and change management, supported with good governance and assurance, and the timely acquisition of skills critical to successful execution; AUGUST 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘THE ROLE OF AN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR’ 95 3. IT stepping-up to take a broader
tations that Luiskandl also had to deal
role partnering with senior stakeholders
with in previous roles working on tight
and teams to navigate Oac through the
budgets. Overarching all the above
inevitable challenges, something that
was to make sure that the many
Luiskandl terms ‘transformation
changes were ultimately delivering
stewardship’;
on the promise to better scale and transform the ‘Oac Way’ – a set of core
4. Balancing the many demands of digital-powered transformation with the realities of ensuring quality
beliefs and a structured model to deliver inspired, high quality early education. Anna Learmonth, Oac’s CEO,
day-to-day operations and service
explains: “Everything Oac does is
delivery in parallel.
to empower every child to reach their full potential through a passion for
The transformation had to be delivered efficiently, quickly and smoothly, expec-
learning. This also goes beyond education and encompasses the a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
Agile delivery. Proven outcomes. Genisys is a leading Service Provider with expertise in delivering Secure Hybrid Cloud, Managed Services, Enterprise Connectivity, Data Centre and Disaster Recovery solutions for Australia’s leading organisations in the public and private sectors.
Learn More
www.genisys.com.au
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O N LY A B O U T C H I L D R E N
health and total wellbeing of every child in our care. Our transformation had to deliver on that promise. I am pleased to say that the team has achieved this and the benefits of our transformation are already measurable, and frankly impressive. Our people, programs and partnerships were all key to that.” As Oac’s transformation unfolded, existing and new technology vendor relationships had to scale-up, and fast. For example, to ensure a robust approach to transformation execution
98
and assurance, Oac engaged Quay Consulting to provide project and change management support. “Quay has in many ways been the ‘first amongst equals’ vendor relationship,” says Luiskandl. “The way they engaged with us proved successful.” Internal business improvements gained through transformation are only one side of the coin, and Oac has seized the opportunity to implement measures that improve the experience of children and their families. According to Kathryn Hutchins, Oac’s Customer GM: “An important part of Oac’s transformation was to upgrade our ERP AUGUST 2019
system, QikKids. Whilst the platform
streamlining the process. With Family
didn’t change too much, without down-
Lounge, parents can easily book chil-
playing the complexity transitioning
dren in for unscheduled care. “Families
a heavily-customised and internally-
are able to book what we call ‘casual
hosted ERP system to a more vanilla
days’,” Kathryn explains. “For example,
Cloud one, we used the opportunity
as a parent you may need to enrol
to roll-out new family apps to improve
your child for an extra day. With Family
the customer experience, namely Enrol,
Lounge, if a place is available you can
Family Lounge and Storypark.” With
book it digitally using the app. And with
Enrol, the process to enrol a child at
Storypark, our educators can engage
an Oac campus is facilitated digitally,
in two-way communications with
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Andy Luiskandl, Chief Information Officer Andy Luiskandl has served in CIO roles at several sector-leading Australian commercial and social enterprises that are providing services and care to the community: The Smith Family (a wellknown Australian children’s charity), InvoCare (an ASX 200-listed company that services families to celebrate and memorialise lives), Primary Health Network (a government-funded local health reform enterprise) and Only About Children. His area of expertise is to power the transformation and growth of enterprises with technology. Prior, he worked in the fast-moving consumer goods industry spearheading digital and e-commerce at Coca-Cola and Dairy Farmers (the latter award-winning). Andy also founded and run an award-winning Cloud software business that serviced larger enterprises incl. Unisys, Campbell Arnott’s and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
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O N LY A B O U T C H I L D R E N
100
AUGUST 2019
AU $175mn Approximate revenue
2002
Year founded
2,000+
Approximate number of employees 101
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O N LY A B O U T C H I L D R E N
“ It’s not good enough for just IT or another team to walk that journey or answer for it, everybody needs to” — Andy Luiskandl, CIO, Only About Children
102
families, sharing children’s learning ex-
Genysis, Oac was able to expand
periences and more. The uptake of all
and improve the performance of the
these new capabilities has exceeded
network that connects Oac’s 70 plus
expectations, our educators now have
campuses, including VoIP-based
the tools they need, and we are raising
telecommunications. “Modern digital
the bar.”
networks can be thought of as a
Then there is Microsoft, Telstra
human nervous system,” says
and Genysis that supported Oac
Luiskandl. “We all know how constraining
to scale-up its ‘bread and butter’
it can be if our Internet at home is slow
technology foundations. Working with
or not working at all, and the adverse
AUGUST 2019
103
impact in an organisational context
foundations. We are now using
is greater of course – especially if
Microsoft’s Office 365 platform to
customers are impacted.” Turning
better collaborate with tools like
to Microsoft, Oac rapidly-scaled the
SharePoint, and we also pushed
availability of Microsoft Office 365
the envelope when it comes to data
from 150 to over 2,000 users, whilst
analysis and visualisation using
Telstra scaled Oac’s mobile network
Microsoft PowerBI.”
and coverage with 4G. “There is more
Finally, there is Ento, a new vendor
to do,” Luiskandl reflects, “but we now
relationship for Oac. Craig Talberg,
have got a better network and stronger
Oac’s Operations GM explains: “Our a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
O N LY A B O U T C H I L D R E N
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AUGUST 2019
Ento workforce management initiative touches pretty much everything workforce-wise. Rostering and scheduling, time and attendance, workflows such as onboarding and more, all supported with a mobile app on iPads at all campuses and smartphone access for all team members. Ento also supports facial recognition to make things easier and faster for people, also considering how busy work can be at a campus. As well, the use of AI capability is enabling our business to align and operate more closely with the children, so we are better able to provide outstanding education and care. We are on a good journey.� This sense of a journey informs the culture Luiskandl strived to nurture as the transformation unfolded. “Oac has historically been innovative when it comes to technology, and the business will continue to innovate to better deliver on its customer promise and meet stakeholder expectations. As CIOs we are temporary stewards who support people as the digital-powered transformation journey unfolds. Our responsibility is ultimately to those that will take over from us, making sure the business is in the best possible a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
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O N LY A B O U T C H I L D R E N
condition – certainly when it comes to technology.” Another plank of the transformation was cybersecurity, maintaining ‘business as usual’ and – last but not least – developing the IT Team. “Cybersecurity-wise we have come a long way, and we are now beating several industry benchmarks. For example, our Microsoft Secure Score has quadrupled and is now double the industry average,” says Andy. “In respect to ‘business as usual’, we 106
have redoubled field servicing to make sure campuses are better looked after IT-wise, with a sixfold increase in user satisfaction (based
“ As CIOs we are temporary stewards who support people as the digital-powered transformation journey unfolds” — Andy Luiskandl, CIO, Only About Children
on user feedback). And we are not resting on our laurels.“ As for the IT team, Scott Bennett, Oac’s longestserving IT team member, reflects: “We have never been in a better position than now. The last 12 months were quite a ride, and we have landed in a good place.” In his role as CIO, Luiskandl sees the opportunity to leverage transformation to guide wider improvements across an enterprise, and to raise the bar for people coming together to
AUGUST 2019
107
achieve results. “When I was on-boarded
enough for just IT or another team
there was an opportunity to better
to walk that journey or answer for it,
align the IT Team with the rest of the
everybody needs to.”
business, and vice versa. The conversa-
Oac’s digital transformation journey
tion became: ‘let's work together and
gives Luiskandl’s sentiments credence.
support each other to make this a
Two major initiatives succeeded in
success’.” Ultimately, Luiskandl sees a
positively touching the experiences
successful transformation as requiring
of many, capability advanced all
the collaboration
around and measurable results were
of every part of a business. “Everybody
delivered smoothly, all within a short
has to work together to succeed. IT
timeframe and on a tight budget.
can and should play a stewardship role provided the whole organisation walks the journey together. It's not good a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
RSC 108
COMING OUT ON TOP AFTER A LONG INDUSTRY DOWNTURN IN A CROWDED MARKET PLACE WRITTEN BY
DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY
RICHARD DEANE
AUGUST 2019
109
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110
RSC MINING & MINERAL EXPLORATION HAS DELIVERED GEOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS FOR OVER A DECADE. MANAGING DIRECTOR RENÉ STERK REVEALS HOW THE COMPANY HAS GAINED TRACTION IN A CROWDED MARKET AUGUST 2019
111
W
hen Managing Director René
Sterk. “I had a consulting offer on the
Sterk launched RSC back
table, but it needed a 24-hour decision,
in 2008 it was a one-man
so I designed a logo, registered the
band triggered by his disillusionment
company in New Zealand and headed
with the big-company approach. “I was
out to South Africa to provide technical
looking for more exposure to different
support at a small gold mine in South
projects and different commodities,
Africa.” It was this go-getting attitude
and to be able to have a more direct
and passion for geology that saw the
impact on the bottom line”, recalls
company grow. a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
R S C M I N I N G & M I N E R A L E X P L O R AT I O N
“ WE’RE ONE OF THE VERY FEW GROUPS WORKING IN THE SEABED MINING ENVIRONMENT. OUR BREADTH OF EXPERIENCE IN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, SEABED SAMPLING EXPERTISE, AND ABILITY TO COME UP WITH INNOVATIVE APPROACHES REALLY ADDS VALUE HERE” 112
— René Sterk, Managing Director, RSC
Today, RSC boasts a 72-strong team comprising consultants, project and logistics managers, data management professionals, contract geologists and savvy technical personnel with experience spanning the mining cycle. Based around the world and with offices in Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Canada, the company runs projects from early stage exploration through to resource development, feasibility studies, mining operations, project close-out and sustainable environmental remediation. Navigating the challenges of the industry downturn has seen RSC dig deep to succeed by doing things differently. “As consultants and service providers we aim to get our clients on board and to buy in to what we can offer,” says Sterk. “We really want to add value, not just do the job and send the invoice. I have sleepless nights if we’re facing a challenge to deliver on schedule, or if things don’t work out as planned. In this very conventional and crowded mining-service space, that journey, as a point of difference, is important to us. We have a top to bottom structure which is very flat, so
AUGUST 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘KONONGO GOLD MINE – GHANA 3D FLY-THROUGH VIDEO’ 113 we all equally engage with our clients.”
latest machine learning research as
RSC strives to be on the cutting
we aim to offer our clients the total
edge of industry developments, with
package,” he pledges. Sterk notes that
technology part of the success of its
RSC is big on forging alliances in order
offering. “Most of the time people are
to broaden its offering. “For example,
looking for a very conventional product.
we work closely together with Olympus
They simply want our geologists to
which has turned us into one of the
come out to assist with a drilling
major rental outlets of portable XRF
program and we just work within the
analysers – capable of delivering
client’s constraints,” says Sterk.
multi-element geochemical data via
However, he is keen for RSC to be part
X-ray fluorescence – in Australasia,”
of the conversation and to stay relevant
reveals Sterk. “We also have strong
as early adopters. “We’re excited about
alliances with companies who push the
a brand new alliance with our partners
software envelope. Phinar Software,
in the US, giving us access to the very
which creates the data-analytical a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
R S C M I N I N G & M I N E R A L E X P L O R AT I O N
114
package X-10, are creating functional-
of this is done in international waters.
ity and user experiences that nobody
Our breadth of experience in resource
else out there are offering, at great
development, seabed sampling
value, making our resource estimation
expertise, and ability to come up with
work so much easier, and offering
innovative approaches really adds
a higher-value product to our clients.
value here. We have done high-level
“Alternatively, we provide high-level
work for several large international
consulting advice in unconventional
consortiums and governments with
markets. For instance, we’re one of the
interests in this space,” Sterk adds.
very few groups working in the seabed
RSC is also a strong supporter of
mining environment. It’s a secretive
questing junior explorers. “We get the
space with overlaps with the oil and
biggest kick out of helping small
gas environment, and without public
companies that have dreams but not
reporting requirements because a lot
the teams to develop those dreams,”
AUGUST 2019
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
René Sterk, Managing Director, RSC “I’ve always loved starting new things”, says serial entrepreneur René Sterk. “Confidence is everything: being able to deliver on what you promise, and knowing that you can, is key. You’ve got to learn from your mistakes and learn to identify your own strengths and weaknesses. In order to set up a successful company, you have to hire people who are better at the things you are not good at. I’m only a geologist because I love rocks and have a passion for the outdoors, not because I wanted to find fortune; I would have become a banker instead! From an entrepreneurial point of view, I find the competitive nature of the mining industry really interesting. It’s a very crowded space, but it’s been far easier than I thought at the beginning to start a company and find a niche.” Sterk has delivered resource evaluation, training and geological consulting throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania in a wide variety of geological settings and commodities. He has led numerous exploration and mine geology teams in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Philippines, Mongolia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Ghana, Sweden and Mali. He is a Director, Fellow and Chartered Professional with the Australian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy, a Member and Registered Professional Geologist with the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, and holds a master’s degree in Structural Geology and Tectonics. He established RSC in 2008, employing up to 75 technical staff around the globe, and specialises in exploration management for gold and base metals, with a strong added skill set in resource modelling, grade control, reconciliation, QA/QC and successful sampling. a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
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R S C M I N I N G & M I N E R A L E X P L O R AT I O N
2008
Year founded
65
Approximate number of employees
116
AUGUST 2019
117
a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
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Sterk. “At the end of the day, as geologists our primary goal is to find deposits and these guys have a really prospective stretch of ground, but on a budget without the arms and legs to undertake the work. We’ve got exploration managers in the field developing programmes getting results and then we’ll advise on how to structure the portfolio. It’s an area where we excel. says Sterk. “They have ambition to
Finding a big deposit is not only great
get into the mining game. They’ve put
for the client’s shareholders, but it
a framework together; they’ve got
makes us look good as well.”
a board and raised some money, but
The challenge for RSC is to remain
they’ve got nobody to help them
flexible and keep resources in place in
execute. We like helping those guys
what Sterk terms “such a competitive
from cradle to grave. It’s the front end;
and crowded market”. Being able to
all the exploration management on
react to demand is vital. “Our planning
the ground, but also the marketing,
and governance is based on quarterly
design, road shows and compliance.”
budgets,” he explains. “That’s how
To that end, one of the various juniors
short-term the demand in the service
RSC is currently working with is
industry is. Resourcing appropriately
Sydney-based Gold Mountain in Papua
and taking on just enough risk to
New Guinea. “It’s a fantastic project,
be ready when demand spikes is key.”
with amazing potential,” enthuses
Sterk maintains that RSC always a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
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R S C M I N I N G & M I N E R A L E X P L O R AT I O N
positions itself to be able to say yes to clients and to consistently deliver the high standards they have come to expect. RSC is agile and well-tuned to react to industry trends. Among those, Sterk highlights the shifting geography of demand that can move from North America to Africa. “Clients aren’t necessarily looking for different solutions, but they do need different structures to how we offer them, so right now we’re doing a lot of campaign 120
work, specifically for mid-tiers and larger companies. The liability of an overfull team of full-time geologists is still fresh in their mind from the previous downturn, so we’re supporting them with turnkey solutions. It’s a way for them to mitigate risk,” reasons Sterk, who sees this development as indicative of a shift in the wider industry. The company has managed several of Barrick’s drilling campaigns and assisted with its exploration and feasibility programmes in Western Australia. Its turnkey AUGUST 2019
CO M PAN Y FACT S
RSC originally analysed listed mining company announcements to support its own marketing efforts. Through its work in the public reporting compliance space, RSC then began offering a free service allowing users to view and download published reports, with the main aim of improving the quality of global public reporting standards. Its most popular product is a weekly list in which all globally announced drilling results are converted to an Au-equivalent result and ranked against each other, producing tables of the top intersections by stock exchange listing in different time periods. Opaxe was formed in March of 2019 to take over the existing operations of RSC’s Mineral Intelligence service and to continue to develop and expand the subscriptionbased service. Its clients include mining professionals, investors and brokers, mining companies and the media
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AUGUST 2019
“ WE GET THE BIGGEST KICK OUT OF HELPING SMALL COMPANIES THAT HAVE DREAMS BUT NOT THE TEAMS TO DEVELOP THOSE DREAMS” — René Sterk, Managing Director, RSC
full-project solutions are in demand, with RSC recently picking up a big project with Evolution Mining which has assets across New South Wales and Western Australia. “Working on great exploration projects like these is a feather in our cap,” adds Sterk. Sterk believes that being a service company is not RSC’s final destination; the organisation is capable of much more. “We’ve developed a number of other products that will ultimately diversify our company,” he confirms. RSC added oil and gas services to its portfolio in 2016, and has picked up soil remediation and other environmental work in New Zealand. “However, diversification for us is also about a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
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R S C M I N I N G & M I N E R A L E X P L O R AT I O N
“ WE’RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT COMBINING OUR MACHINE LEARNING EXPERIENCE AND RESEARCH WITH BETTER WAYS TO DO DATA ANALYTICS IN A PUBLIC REPORTING SPACE. THAT’S WHERE OPAXE COMES IN” — René Sterk, Managing Director, RSC
124 coming up with novel ideas. One of the things we’ve developed is a resource intelligence product that’s become very popular. We’ve recently spun that off into a daughter company called
Sterk recently took on a Director role
Opaxe, providing mineral intelligence
at the Australian Institute of Minerals
to mining professionals and investors.
and Metallurgy (AusIMM) where he
The data analytics space is where the
hopes to contribute at board level for
industry is looking for new solutions
three years. Why is he so keen to give
with things like big data and machine
back to the community that has
learning. We’re very excited about
supported his business endeavours?
combining our machine learning
“We need to encourage the next
experience and research with better
generation to enter the mining industry,”
ways to do data analytics in a public
he argues. “It’s critical to build a strong
reporting space. That’s where Opaxe
industry and AusIMM allows profes-
comes in.” www.opaxe.com
sionals to come together to find ways
AUGUST 2019
125 to improve it. I’m passionate about getting more young people on education pathways into the industry. I’m eager for the institute to be innovative, think about what the future looks like in 20-30 years’ time, and ask how we position it to provide a place for the millennials and then the Gen Zs.” Energised by finding new ways to make miners mineral dreams come true by helping them realise the value of their assets, Sterk and RSC aren’t ready to pass the torch just yet.
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Strategic deployment of technology for procurement transformation
AUGUST 2019
WRITTEN BY
WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY
CHARLOTTE CLARKE
127
a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
D O L E I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Arindam Sengupta,VP Strategic Sourcing & Procurement at Dole International, details the strategic and technological solutions powering supply chain innovation in the agribusiness industry
A
s Vice President for Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at fruit and vegetable giant Dole International, Arindam Sengupta
sees the potential for a revolution in the way sourcing and procurement in agribusiness are carried out. “Traditionally the agribusiness sector 128
has been behind in terms of procurement practices,” he explains. “Partly that’s due to its complexity, but also to the fact that new technologies, digitalisation and everything else which has been applied in other industries has not been as developed on the agribusiness side.”
A WINNING STRATEGY With this in mind, Dole has implemented a number of strategies geared towards improving efficiency and benefitting the bottom line at the business. Such an approach is vital given the nature of the industry. “Strategic procurement is critically important for Dole’s bottom line,” says Sengupta. “Essentially, we are a commodity business where we buy commodities and then process them to sell as branded products. Given the fact that 70% of AUGUST 2019
129
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D O L E A S I A H O L D I N G S ( P T E ) LT D
our costs lie in procurement, we have to be competitive and make sure that our supply chains are very affordable.” One such measure has seen the exploitation of seasonal differences around the world. “The peaches that we buy are typically from Greece and China,” says Sengupta. “The problem is that they have similar seasons in the same hemisphere. Peach season is between one and one and a half months, so we had to buy a whole year’s supply in that time, placing
130
a constraint on quality and a risk with climate. Now we look at different hemispheres strategically. Typically, the same fruit is grown in the northern hemisphere in a different season
“ Using technology we can much better predict the volumes and the pricing of our crops” — Arindam Sengupta, VP Strategic Sourcing & Procurement
compared to the southern hemisphere, so we’ve gone out to South America and South Africa to locate, identify and develop new sources to mitigate that risk.” Another development has been the streamlining of Dole’s procurement structure, supported by its procurement excellence team. “We are moving from a very decentralised procurement structure with a lot of buyers to a much
AUGUST 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : DOLE - GROWING PINEAPPLES 131 more centralised, centre of excellence
both a moral and a business perspec-
model. That’s ensuring the different
tive. “How do we make our procure-
Dole entities have a standardised
ment organisation fit for the future?
approach, while still maintaining
It’s clear the sustainability agenda
flexibility at the local level for all the
looms large in the minds of our consum-
operational and tactical buying.” Dole
ers. Focusing on sustainability will
is also implementing a category
affect how much customers
management approach. “Our category
are willing to pay for our
managers think strategically to develop
products compared
new products and ways of buying using
to our competitors.
the external resources of suppliers and
To achieve that
partners, developing our business
we’re going to
for the future.”
need to build
Sustainability, too, has become a critical part of Dole’s strategy, from
close links with new product a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
Meeting today's packaging needs.
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Adding value through sustainable packaging Hypac has been supplying its range of barrier packaging materials to Dole since 2000. For almost two decades, the organisations have enjoyed not just a supplier/customer relationship but a true partnership built to last. Hypac Packaging Pte Ltd was established in 1992 and pioneered the supply of high barrier multilayer films. Today it caters to high-profile clients in the pharmaceutical and food companies like Dole. The motto of the business are “honesty, quality, consistent price competitiveness and excellent after sales service”. As a dynamic packaging solutions Company, conscious of its responsibility to its customers and the environment, Hypac is also currently working with Dole in the development of biodegradable pouches and films in order to align with the company’s 2025 sustainability and plastic waste reduction goals. “Sustainability is a big focus as we build relationships with external partners and suppliers, and as we head into the future and a new generation of buyers and consumers, it’s going to become more and more important,” says Arindam Sengupta, Global VP Strategic Sourcing & Procurement at Dole International. Hypac builds trusting relationships with clients by offering an array of important
aspects including a competitive price guarantee and price stability based on contracts signed. It is also always striving to create best value for partners such as Dole with cost down opportunities together with a volume loyalty incentive program. In addition, with just-in-time supply chains vital to the food industry, Hypac offers short lead time delivery perfect for such cases. Much more than just a vendor, Hypac offers sales and technical support to many of its clients. In order to operate sustainably and encourage more consumers to purchase Dole products, Sengupta acknowledges it’s vital to work end-to-end with marketing and sales organisations to stay ahead of the curve. With packaging as the fifth ‘P’ in the marketing mix, relationships with organisations like Hypac and the added value it offers are vital. Hypac looks to add value by assisting customers in the development of packaging rather than just supplying it, and takes pride in the tailor-made solutions it offers to meet specific packaging needs.
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D O L E A S I A H O L D I N G S ( P T E ) LT D
134
allotments and new marketing agendas,
and a new generation of buyers and
and work end to end with marketing and
consumers, it’s going to become more
sales organisations to stay ahead of the
and more important.”
curve.” Sengupta is clear that a sustainable approach can add value to Dole’s
TECHNOLOGY
business by acting as a selling point for
To achieve the potential sourcing and
customers. “Consumers are more likely
procurement efficiencies identified
to buy products from companies who
by Sengupta, the company has put
have sustainable practices,” says
to work numerous technological
Sengupta. “That’s in terms of how they
solutions. Sengupta gives the concrete
source, make or package things.
example of pineapple, which like other
Sustainability is a big focus as we build
commodities operates on a boom
relationships with external partners and
and bust cycle. “When prices are high,
suppliers, and as we head into the future
farmers rush to grow the crop in larger
AUGUST 2019
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Arindam Sengupta, VP Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Sengupta joined Dole in 2018 with a mandate to lead and transform its global procurement organisation and make it ‘Fit for the future�. He is responsible for leading procurement across four factories and multiple co-packer locations globally and leading a team of 100 procurement professionals with a multi billion dollar spend.His previous background has been at Royal Dutch Shell, where he demonstrated extensive Procurement leadership and business impact over the past 13 years with a proven track record of performance. His previous leadership role at Shell was as Global Procurement leader for their Multibillion annual procurement of Materials, Equipment, Fabrication and EPC services businesses. Sengupta worked with diverse teams and over 30 significant suppliers globally to lead strategic transformation initiatives, manage procurement strategy development, innovation, benchmarking, procurement implementation and maintain market beating pricing for the categories in scope. Prior to working at Shell, Sengupta had extensive International Leadership experience across multiple organ-isations at a regional and global level, and has lived in seven countries across three continents. Sengupta holds a MBA degree in Finance & Strategy with Distinction from University of Oxford, an MBA degree in Marketing from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a Bachelor Degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur.
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135
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www.wfscorp.com
D O L E A S I A H O L D I N G S ( P T E ) LT D
£ 2.5bn+ Approximate revenue
2012
Year founded
20,000
Approximate number of employees 138
AUGUST 2019
volumes, depleting other crops. When prices are low due to demand or oversupply, then they shift to other crops because they’re not getting enough profitability from their farms.” To manage this, Dole has implemented advanced predictive models that help it to better understand supply and demand of a particular commodity. “To come up with a predictive model of demand and supply patterns globally and regionally is always a challenge. We have recently been working to develop a much more sophisticated model which not only uses historical data but incorporates many other factors. That includes farmer behaviour, demand in the market, inventory being held in different locations and markets, and how trends are changing in the industry in terms of consumption and crop growing, et cetera.” To collect the data that is put in to the models, Dole is pioneering yet more digital solutions. Future technology investments will look at using drones to replace physical surveys, using AI for better demand forecasting from the field and implementing more modern practices in farm management and irrigation. a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
139
“ Creating the right talent, having the right mindset and the right approach with empowered and motivated people will drive the organisation forward” — Arindam Sengupta, VP Strategic Sourcing & Procurement
different legacy systems. One of the first things that we decided, which has already been rolled out, is a single ERP from agri to marketing – end to end. That will enable us to capture and make visible data on what we are doing, where we are spending and what we are and aren’t doing correctly.” The more decentralised nature of agribusiness compared to other industries makes the inherent scalability of
Software solutions have also been implemented across the business. Such unified
software solutions attractive, as has been the case with digital purchasing at Dole.
systems have brought
“On the back of ERP, we are also
increased clarity and
implementing new procurement
understanding of busi-
software from Ivalua. Ivalua is very
ness operations. “We took
suitable for us, very flexible and
the decision to roll out a
caters to our needs. What we are
brand new enterprise resource
trying to do is not only digitalisa-
planning (ERP) system across the
tion and analysis of the entire experi-
entire supply chain, which enables us
ence of interaction with suppliers,
to have critical visibility on data,” says
vendors and partners, but also the
Sengupta. “Data is one of the most
development of an eMarketplace.
important factors behind making
The dream is to move towards a
decisions, but that was one of our weak
more Amazon-like user experience
points. Our data was very segmented,
for the end users, who are our end
mostly very manual and driven by
customers internally, where they can a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
141
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seamlessly input the items that they want, the standards and specifications, and then have a list of fruit suppliers.� With clear strategies guiding the deployment of technology to fulfil its aims, Dole is in the midst of a purposeful and effective digital transformation of its supply chain functions. Having presided over these developments, Sengupta is clear about just what it takes to deliver on the promise inherent in a properly managed supply chain. “There are four pillars of sustainable advantage to empower strategic sourcing and procurement AUGUST 2019
C OM PA N Y FACT S
• 70% of Dole’s costs lie in the cost of procurement • Dole uses AI, better forecasting models, technology driven surveys and modern farm & irrigation technologies to deliver a higher predictability of supply
in any organisation. The first one is affordability: we have to continuously improve – if we are just standing still, even if we are ahead we will be caught up to. Second is sustainability: all of our supply chains, all of our activities, all of our products, everything should be sustainable at the end. That’s key for the future, from a regulatory, environment and consumer point of view. Third is reliability: do we have the alternative sources we need? We have to have reliability in our supply chains, meaning that we have to provide our customers and our consumers with products no matter any adversity in the supply chain. The fourth part is people: that is always the most important thing because anything can be done if you have the right people. Creating the right talent, having the right mindset and the right approach with empowered and motivated people will drive the organisation forward. With these factors in mind, the procurement and sourcing function at Dole can deliver a sustainable, predictable & profitable growth.”
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Digital transformation of supply chain solutions WRITTEN BY
144
MARCUS LAWRENCE
AUGUST 2019
PRODUCED BY
CHARLOTTE CLARKE
145
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C A R G O S E RV I C E S FA R E A S T
Josephine Lee, Deputy Chief Process Officer at Cargo Services Far East, discusses the innovative and pioneering digital transformation of the company’s supply chain solutions
C
argo Services Far East (CSFE) has become a leading integrated logistics solutions provider since its founding by John Lau
in 1990. Taking command of the wider Cargo Services Group’s operations in the Far East with strong operational footprints in China, Hong Kong, 146
Singapore, the UK, the US, Australia and more besides, CSFE combines an extensive offering with a culture of customer-centricity that has historically driven enhancement of its operations. In the age of digital transformation, the firm is taking the opportunity to maximise the suitability of its supply chain services to a broad range of industries and customer types like never before, placing focus on visibility and transparency while optimising its internal operations and implementing automation. Josephine Lee, Deputy Process Officer at CSFE, says the qualities of the industry make for a challenging but exciting prospect when it comes to overhauling operations through disruptive technological solutions. “Because of the uniqueness of the industry, quite a lot of operations across projects involve a range of different parties,” AUGUST 2019
147
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she says. “Supply chains consist of
Purchase Order (PO) Management
big, global contracts, and every party
Visibility solution have been enhanced
needs to be connected together.
in response to the aforementioned
It involves a lot of interaction. In the
customer demand for increased
past, most of these interactions would
visibility. “LIMA gets all the parties
take place by telephone or fax or
together in a single platform to see all
similar channels. Nowadays, everyone
of the shipments with the same level
is looking for transparency and
of transparency. With it, every check-
visibility. We have to transform
point from a shipment’s origin to
ourselves from the traditional way to
destination is tracked by LIMA,” she
the modern way.” Lee notes that CSFE
says. The scope for CSFE’s transpar-
has placed a particular focus on
ency across the supply chain goes
incorporating best-in-class solutions,
beyond the status of a shipment,
with LIMA being one such example.
with Lee adding that the product
The outset of the firm’s digital transfor-
lifecycle management (PLM) software
mation was marked by LIMA’s imple-
in place spans from sourcing through
mentation, and the capabilities of the
to shelf. “All parties are able to view a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
149
C A R G O S E RV I C E S FA R E A S T
$1.2bn Approximate revenue
1990
Year founded
6,000
Approximate number of employees 150
AUGUST 2019
151
“ The number one concern is how to change the culture effectively, because people are the most critical element” — Josephine Lee, Deputy Chief Process Officer, Cargo Services Far East
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every detail of the shipment before
our customers, and using it to help
it arrives at customs. As a logistics
them analyse business patterns and
operator in Asia, incorporating LIMA
behaviours from past years.
at the beginning of our transformation,
We developed our own data analysis
offering customers and shippers a high
capabilities using Microsoft’s data
level of transparency, was a very
solutions,” says Lee. AI is being applied
pioneering approach.”
to enhance this analytical offering,
CSFE is also leveraging Big Data
tailoring the insights to the respective
and artificial intelligence (AI) to
company’s own business patterns and
augment the information presented
offering an intelligent perspective for
with predictive and analytical solutions
their strategies. “By leveraging AI
that can elucidate the true value of
technology, we empower our role
the supply chain’s data. “From 2016,
as a freight manager for our customers.
we have been gathering all of our
In the supply chain process, the freight
business data with the consent of
manager helps the customer to
AUGUST 2019
coordinate and monitor the shipments
Ensuring the benefits of these fresh
from end to end. We can provide them
technologies are realised in full, CSFE
with insight, predictions for potential
has placed a significant focus on
hurdles between shipments and how
managing its internal culture. “The
we can overcome those hurdles,
number one concern is how to change
as well as using that historical data
the culture effectively, because people
to prevent future problems,” explains
are the most critical element,” says
Lee. “The two major areas of benefit
Lee. “Initially, it was challenging
to the customer are in managing data
because people found it difficult to
efficiency and reducing costs.”
see how they could help us to conduct
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Josephine Lee, Deputy Chief Process Officer Lee has been with Cargo Services Group since 2017. In her current role, she leads corporate functions of Global Process and Information Technology for digital transformation, process automation and operational efficiency through cutting-edge solutions and technological knowhow. Internal Audit, Quality Assurance and Claims come under her remit to ensure effective corporate governance. With over 20 years’ professional experience, Lee has held executive positions as VP of HR and Administration with CFL, and as General Manager of Sage Consulting. Lee holds a Masters degree in Human Resources Development and Training for the University of Technology, Sydney.
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C A R G O S E RV I C E S FA R E A S T
154
“ As a logistics operator in Asia, incorporating LIMA at the beginning of our transformation, offering customers and shippers a high level of transparency, was a very pioneering approach” — Josephine Lee, Deputy Chief Process Officer, Cargo Services Far East
the transformation and achieve a positive result. People are pretty conventional; they are generally much more willing to follow instructions rather than be part of the change or innovation.” To rise to this challenge, CSFE has incorporated a culture of open communication between upper management and the rest of the organisation. “We understand that communication is the most crucial part of change management,” says Lee. “Our chairman has been personally involved in this. He spends time
AUGUST 2019
in the West, and we always hear it is the best practice.” Looking forward, Lee says automation is a key area that the company is set to explore. It has already introduced a robust warehouse management system that has been developed in-house, known as eCWMS, for its customers, along with radio frequency technology to maximise the efficiency of inventory management and cargo delivery. However, Lee stresses that CSFE is always looking for the next way to innovate for its customers. “I would say that around 70% of the operations are still very manual,” she devising workshops, sharing sessions
says. “The digitalisation and automa-
and management briefings to help staff
tion of these processes is a key part
at all levels appreciate the benefits of
of our plan for the next five years, and
the transformation.” Lee adds that this
we will also adopt more Big Data and
work represents a break from tradition-
other electronic data interchange (EDI)
al managerial methods in the region,
solutions.” Along with shifting more
replicating a model that has been
processes over to the cloud to increase
effective in Western organisations.
operational flexibility, Lee is confident
“In the East, particularly in China, it is
the company will continue to be
not common practice for a chairman
a pioneering leader in the industry.
to come out and deliver a workshop and directly share their vision for the company,” she says. “This type of communication is much more common a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
155
156
Katoen Natie: digital and operational transformation to drive value for the customer WRITTEN BY
MARCUS LAWRENCE PRODUCED BY
CHARLOTTE CLARKE
AUGUST 2019
157
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K AT O E N N AT I E
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 158
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. AUGUST 2019
159
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K AT O E N N AT I E
160
“ 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
AUGUST 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ENTER INTO THE WORLD OF KATOEN NATIE (THAILAND)’ 161 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 a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
K AT O E N N AT I E
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘KATOEN NATIE SINGAPORE FIRST DRIVERLESS TRUCK’ 162 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
AUGUST 2019
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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163
K AT O E N N AT I E
164
“ 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
AUGUST 2019
165
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K AT O E N N AT I E
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167 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. a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
K AT O E N N AT I E
“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 168
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.
AUGUST 2019
“ 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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169
170
Transforming the guest experience at Ormond Group’s hotels WRITTEN BY
WILLIAM SMITH PRODUCED BY
KRISTOFER PALMER
AUGUST 2019
171
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ORMOND GROUP
Ormond Group’s CTO Julian Wong guides us through the technological solutions being implemented in the group’s hotels and the benefits that guests are enjoying
I
n recent times, one-size-fits-all hotels are facing competition by locations that can cater to a specific type of customer.
Ormond Group is a Malaysia-based hospitality business which operates 13 hotels under its Tune 172
brand. With locations in Malaysia and the UK, its business model has undergone a change in response to an evolving market, taking it from a no-frills budget hotel chain where most amenities were add-ons to a more inclusive basic hotel model. Accompanying this change in its existing properties, the organisation is launching two new hotel brands in the coming months: MoMo’s, a social hotel brand featuring micro-rooms and fun communal spaces, and Ormond Hotels - its flagship boutique brand for the contemporary traveler looking for simplified luxury. Following the debut of both brands at the end of 2019, The Ormond Hotel will open in Dublin in 2021 while a MoMo’s and Ormond will open on a dual brand site on Flinders Street in Melbourne in 2022. Julian Wong, Chief Technology Officer for Ormond Group, has overseen the digital transformation AUGUST 2019
173
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SABRE HOSPITALITY SOLUTIONS: TECHNOLOGY FUELS EVERYTHING WE DO Ormond Group’s comprehensive digital transformation required the expertise and technology from established solution providers and chose to leverage on Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ industry-leading SynXis platform to propel their brand into the future. Built with evolution in mind, the platform generates a comprehensive overview of the traveler, allowing hoteliers to create a more personalized experience, and enabling revenue optimization at every touchpoint during the guest’s journey. This was exactly what Ormond Group was looking for, making their partnership with Sabre a natural fit.
EMPOWERED BY INNOVATION Migrating towards cloud technology was central to Ormond Group’s strategy, and Sabre’s innovative SynXis Central reservation systems (CRS) provides Ormond Group a single source of cloud-based solutions to put their unique distribution strategy into action. Reaching the broadest points of distribution in the industry, the versatile and scalable CRS now provides Ormond Group with the capability to drive higher direct bookings with SynXis Booking Engine and MetaConnect. A sound technology transformation also requires an optimal distribution strategy. Impressed with Sabre’s unparalleled connectivity with online travel agencies (OTAs), linking them to over 450 online channels across the globe, SynXis provides Ormond Group with a robust and reliable solution to support their operations, and ensure their rooms are available to the world’s leading OTAs. With SynXis CRS, Ormond group is also able to manage rates, inventories and descriptions on the Sabre’s Global Distribution System (GDS), enabling them to sell rooms to travel agencies worldwide.
ONE PLATFORM “Sabre’s SynXis platform is the technology partner hoteliers rely on to optimize distribution
and deliver millions of personalized experiences that maximize revenue with one hospitality platform,” said Frank Trampert, Managing Director & Chief Commercial Officer, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, APAC. “To this end, SynXis seamlessly connects with 120 property management systems as well as revenue, content and customer relationship systems. Because of this, data can be shared easily and simply, taking advantage of synergies and reducing costs,” he added.
PROVEN RECORD Serving more than 40,000 hotels, resorts and chains across 174 countries, Sabre Hospitality has pedigree in the hospitality industry. Having facilitated over 130m total annual bookings, driving room revenue of $25.2bn, Sabre Hospitality is trusted by Ormond Group and firms large and small to maximize value and optimize the process of hospitality distribution. Sabre Hospitality’s SynXis is the platform of choice for hospitality properties undergoing a digital transformation. “We partnered with Sabre Hospitality Solutions for their leading SynXis platform,” said Julian Wong, CTO of Ormond Group. “This forms the core of our hotel systems, working hand in hand with PMS and CRM to drive our business strategy – increasing direct bookings, enabling personalization, streamlining our operations and providing a superior guest experience.”
FRANK TRAMPERT
Managing Director & Chief Commercial Officer Sabre Hospitality Solutions
ORMOND GROUP
“As a group, we want to provide what is essential to our guests and look at ways of optimising the human touch, not removing it” — Julian Wong, Group Chief Technology Officer
176
AUGUST 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ORMOND GROUP’ 177 taking place across its current and
Tune is a limited service hotel, focused on
future locations.
the 5 essentials – a 5-star bed, hot power shower, cleanliness, 24-hour security
INFRASTRUCTURE
and finally high-speed wifi. Therefore we
For modern hotel guests, technology is
really needed to ensure that our WiFi
often the first thing that comes to mind
infrastructure could stand up to that
upon their arrival. “We realise that the
promise. After review, Ormond Group
most important priority for any guest is
employed the services of Ruckus
reliable and fast wifi,” says Wong. “That’s
Networks to provide a high quality,
normally the first thing that guests ask for
reliable service to its guests. “Ruckus
when they check into a hotel. ‘What is the
is a proven technology and the support is
wifi password? How do I log in?’” Owing
excellent,” says Wong. “In terms of speed,
to that, one of Wong’s first tasks was
our results show that Ruckus is the best
ensuring that network infrastructure was
option. It gives us peace of mind for the
fit for purpose in Ormond’s hotels. “As
next five, six, seven years.” a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
ORMOND GROUP
178
Forming good relationships with
requirements is key to providing great
guests is vital in the hospitality industry,
service.” To manage its room bookings,
and Wong has implemented customer
Ormond Group partners with Sabre
relationship management (CRM)
Hospitality to leverage its SynXis Central
systems to better understand Ormond
Reservations system. Completing a trio
Group’s guests. “We went through
of core hotel systems is the property
a lengthy evaluation for all our systems,
management system (PMS), vital for
and picked Cendyn CRM,” he explains.
organising things such as maintenance
“One of the most important parts of our
and personnel. For its PMS systems,
data collection is knowing our guests.
Ormond Group relies on Opera by
In the hospitality industry, understand-
Oracle. “Every question that we asked
ing our guests’ needs, wants and
Oracle with regards to Opera, they
AUGUST 2019
responded back very quickly. They even took the trouble to come onsite to do workshops with us to ensure that we utilize fully all of Opera’s features. We’ll continue to work closely with Oracle to ensure Opera’s implementation in our new brand hotels.” Operating in unison, the three systems help to implement the group’s goals, such as increasing direct bookings, better understanding guests and streamlining hotel operations. To complement its food and beverage operations, Ormond Group deploys the Agilysys InfoGenesis point of sale (POS) system across its various hotels, interfacing with PMS and allowing
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Julian Wong Julian joined the hospitality industry when he was hired as IT Manager for the pre-opening of Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. He was promoted to Regional Director of IT for Southeast Asia at hotel chain Starwood Hotels and Resorts, where he had over 45 hotels and resorts under his stewardship. Julian moved on to join Tune Hotels Group, which, as of August 2017, is now known as Ormond Group following completion of the Marriott/Starwood merger.
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179
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181
guests to seamlessly perform a room
include phones in rooms, leading to many
charge directly to their room folios.
of our guests having to go to the front desk for any basic information required.
EXPERIENCE
Now our guests can do so in the comfort
Aside from ensuring the smooth oper-
of their room, via a chatbot. Providing this
ation of its hotels, Ormond Group has
basic information via a chatbot also
found numerous opportunities to trans-
means we will never require manpower
form the experience of guests through
resources to man phones – allowing the
technology. One such initiative has
hotel ro run a lot more cost efficiently. To
resulted in the ongoing trial of an AI
date, on average, we’re getting about
chatbot. “We’ve been trialing the system
30 to 40 chats a day from guests, and
for six months in our airport hotel. As
if an unusual question is asked, staff can
a limited service, short stay hotel, the
take over the conversation in real time.
very bold decision was made to not
It helps improve our guest experience.” a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
ORMOND GROUP
C O M PA N Y FACT S
• Ormond Group has 13 hotels under its Tune brand, with locations in Kuala Lumpur, India and the UK • Ormond Group is launching two new hotel brands in the coming months: MoMo’s and Ormond Hotels
182
AUGUST 2019
183
a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
ORMOND GROUP
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185 Wong faced some challenges in
especially to a company based in
making sure that the benefits of digital
Southeast Asia and at the mercy of
transformation were understood
currency fluctuations. “When it comes
throughout the organisation. “It’s very
to Malaysia, for example, the cost is
hard to show an immediate return on
four times more than it is in America
investment with IT systems – it’s different
once you factor in forex rates. This puts
from selling rooms,” says Wong. “If I sell
some things out of our reach. Based on
a room at $200 and my cost is $100,
the challenges that we have dealing
my ROI is $100. It takes a long time to
with vendors in terms of cost, we have
realise the value of putting, say, $1mn
evaluated the cost of hiring developers
into an IT system.” Wong is clear that
in Asia, developing a system and getting
such investments do bear fruit, even if
it up and running and it would still be
their effect is not immediately obvious.
cheaper than buying from Europe,” he
It can be the case, however, that some
comments. “We would love to look into
solutions are prohibitively expensive,
any possibilities of developing our own a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
ORMOND GROUP
186
“ In the hospitality industry, understanding our guests’ needs, wants and requirements is key to providing great service” — Julian Wong, Group Chief Technology Officer
AUGUST 2019
hospitality tech in the near future to overcome the various challenges we have, especially when it comes to cost feasibility.” It is clear that Ormond Group is a company with both ambition and a clear idea of the technological solutions needed to achieve its goals. Under the stewardship of Wong, there is a sense that Ormond Group’s digital transformation journey is far from over. Equally, however, as the company embarks upon the opening of its new brands, it is the pride the company takes in the hospitality it provides that is propelling it onwards: “As a group, we want to provide what is essential to our guests and look at ways of optimising the human touch, not removing it,” says Wong. “Our strategy isn’t to invest in hardware that can date quickly, but to stay focused on software that can enhance our guests’ experience rather than distract from them.”
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Pampers: Finding data solutions with a snug fit WRITTEN BY
DAN BRIGHTMORE PRODUCED BY
KRISTOFER PALMER
AUGUST 2019
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PROCTER & GAMBLE
Pampers is pushing to innovate and join its customers in a digital domain where e-commerce channels are intertwined with entertainment. Digital transformation leads the way
E
-commerce has different stages of maturity in Asia where Pampers, one of Procter & Gamble’s biggest brands,
is seeing the natural evolution towards online ordering of bigger packs. It provides the perfect 190
destination for customers to browse products, utilise reviews and find deals - without having to struggle home from a store with a bulky purchase. Antoine Tyan, Associated Brand Director, Head of Data, Digital Transformation and E-Commerce for Pampers APAC, sees huge diversity across the region. “You have countries such as the Philippines which have a low salience of e-commerce under 5%, and others over 80% like Korea where almost every sale of diapers happens online,” he reveals. “From a solution standpoint, we have to cater for all these different stages of maturity and of the retailers that we play with, so in a country with low salience, our focus will be mainly on commercial offers. In mature markets, we have an increased need for brand building, interactive e-content and social media marketing.” AUGUST 2019
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“ Mindset can be the biggest cue. Even at a large company with many years’ experience and proven practices in place, sometimes you have to unlearn to relearn”
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— Antoine Tyan, Associate Director, Head of Data, Digital Transformation and E-commerce for Pampers APAC, Procter & Gamble
Tyan maintains that e-commerce pages are now showrooms. Inspired by content in the food and beverage sector, Pampers is adopting a sensorial approach with more advanced imagery and video. “We look at the channel and find ways to stand out,” he adds. “The role of branding is often questioned because customers can instantly compare prices and access consumer reviews. However, it becomes even more critical to differentiate from other brands. This is where we step in creating exclusive events to delight our customers with a unique experience. For instance, we worked with Lazada (Southeast Asia’s number one online retailer) to develop an event around baby play by organising a virtual baby marathon that was a perfect fit for that e-commerce platform.”
AUGUST 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘WHAT IS GROWTH HACKING AND HOW CAN YOU USE IT IN YOUR LIFE?’ 193 Procter & Gamble boasts a massive
and reapplying is also key and, in
range of household name brands but
e-commerce, is something supported
they can still operate autonomously
through bi-annual Asian summits
to meet specific business challenges.
to share learnings, applications and
“We also synergise our efforts,” adds
use cases.
Tyan. “Strategies happen at global,
Change management is a constant
regional and local level – for the total
challenge for brands that want to excel
corporation as well as for the brand.
in the digital space. Tyan believes
At a macro level we need to make sure
it must be supported by top down
we pull in the same direction. As a group,
leadership from experts in their field.
we share systems such as suppliers,
“At a data focused organisation like
technologies and platforms, along
ours, digital transformation can only
with centres of expertise like IT and
happen if the strategy is clear for
multimedia which flow across brands.”
everyone and leaders can assess and
Tyan believes the mindset of sharing
quantify the added business value a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
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PROCTER & GAMBLE
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of investing in new programmes”
what’s actually possible. This is where
he confirms. “Mindset can be the
technology and data can be massive
biggest cue. Even at a large company
amplifiers and why I feel modern
with many years’ experience and
marketers have the responsibility
proven practices in place, sometimes
to really own that conversation and
you have to unlearn to relearn.”
become more tech savvy.”
Tyan notes the importance of
The necessity of identifying methods
departments partnering on projects
that enhance the ability to meet the
and not simply working blinkered
needs of the market is even more
in silos. “Instead of starting with the
pressing for a brand with an extremely
technology or data solution, we address
narrow audience. “Baby care is a
the business challenge with IT at the
unique category for many reasons,”
outset, to define what’s needed. Then
explains Tyan. “Every three years your
you can have a conversation about
entire base renews so you need the
AUGUST 2019
right strategies to lead customers into
countries, we launched our own app
the Pampers brand and retain them, all
to support and reward moms,” adds
in a very short window.” It’s a very
Tyan. “In others, we adapted to
specific business
customer habits, opting for email
challenge where there
automation or focusing on events
are 50 purchases over
days supported by social media.”
a customer lifespan that
Harvesting data is the key
Pampers aims to win.
to unlocking insights from this
Hence its technology
diverse range of marketing
choices are geared
activity. Tyan reveals that the
towards hyper-personalisa-
Pampers brand is experimenting
tion to communicate product offers
with machine learning to further
with supporting content. “In some
analyse the psychology 197
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Antoine Tyan Having spent more than a decade with Procter & Gamble, Tyan feels like “an all-rounder and a specialist at the same time” who believes passionately in future proofing the Pampers brand with a coherent digital strategy. “I’ve gone from upstream design work, on projects with mad scientists seeking innovation to the logistics of day to day delivery,” says the man responsible for the brand’s approach to data. “I feel like I’ve seen the whole funnel, and that helps me in my strategic thinking, as well as in creating end to end design solutions.” That wealth of experience in a variety of roles across brand management with Pampers has made Tyan a strong marketeer who has kept in step with the digital revolution; a vital key to the future strength of his brand.
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PROCTER & GAMBLE
$66.83bn Approximate revenue
1837
Year founded
95,000
Approximate number of employees 198
AUGUST 2019
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“ Every three years your entire base renews so you need the right strategies to lead customers into the Pampers brand and retain them, all in a very short window” — Antoine Tyan, Associate Director, Head of Data, Digital Transformation and E-commerce for Pampers APAC, Procter & Gamble
“It’s one thing to observe behaviours, but you need to understand the deeper consumer motives,” stresses Tyan, who is also excited about the possibilities for new forms of customer engagement fueled by personalisation. “We’re going beyond the value of a diaper, and really starting to impact moms’ and babies’ lives and overall experience throughout their journeys together.” Alleviating the impact on the planet is also a key goal for Pampers globally. “At Procter & Gamble we aspire to be a force for good and a force for growth. This was always the case for
of consumer behaviour and
Pampers. We have
ultimately meet their needs.
a history of being
“We’re developing the ability
socially responsible
to identify and analyse very
working with organisa-
targeted audiences that
tions like UNICEF to
have a high propensity
eliminate neonatal
of engaging with or
tetanus. We also work
buying our product.”
on other areas where
Achieving insights into what drives consumer behaviour has been integral to the success of Procter & Gamble’s brands for nearly 200 years.
we can make a big impact, including driving gender equality internally in the workplace and externally through our brand campaigns and a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
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PROCTER & GAMBLE
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AUGUST 2019
advocacy efforts with partners like UN Women,” says Tyan. “We also want to make a positive impact on the planet. I’m really excited about something Pampers is leading globally. We’re piloting diaper recycling technology in Europe where we’re collecting waste in a city like Amsterdam, not only for Pampers, but for all diapers and wipes.” Across APAC, partners like AIMIA (allied with Microsoft and AWS) are key to growing the ecosystem to reach out to customers and personalise their experience with the brand. “As a loyalty program specialist, they have been a long-time partner of our rewards program, the Pampers Club, in charge of overall operations. The premise of the Club is to reward moms for their loyalty by offering them points for every purchase that they can redeem for catalog gifts. In Japan they are providing services from data management and analytics, to campaign and marketing automation,” confirms Tyan. “Across media we have strong partnerships with heavy hitters like Google and Facebook, and select partners based on their capabilities in a given country. For example, a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
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PROCTER & GAMBLE
we work with Dentsu in Japan on advanced programmatic solutions.” Pampers also employs the digital marketing talents of yellowHEAD a performance marketing agency that is a global partner for the brand. “Our work together is primarily to optimise our cost of acquisition to our CRM, notably through fast iteration cycles,” adds Tyan. Tyan stresses that e-commerce is “growing at the speed of light”, supercharged by the linkage from 204
social media. “Consumers are very receptive to key influencers. The link is becoming more prevalent as we
“ We’re going beyond the value of a diaper, and really starting to impact moms’ and babies’ lives and overall experience throughout their journeys together” — Antoine Tyan, Associate Director, Head of Data, Digital Transformation and E-commerce for Pampers APAC, Procter & Gamble AUGUST 2019
move towards social commerce. Customisation is another key trend, we all want something that is relevant to us as consumers and ignore generic messages. This leads e-commerce to personalise platforms at a user level, which is a challenge,” he says. “As a brand trying to excel in search, and optimise its virtual shelf, a personalised world means that you don’t have as much control over customer experience. How do you win in such a fast-changing environment? There’s a clear expecta-
205
tion from our customers. We have
experience online is transforming
to step up, adapt to that and to the
consumer habits. “It’s exciting for
new technologies our retailer
Pampers to look at how we continue
partners are putting in place.” E-com-
to innovate, insert ourselves into that
merce as a channel is embracing
environment and provide value.”
disruption and becoming a form of entertainment in its own right. “The malls in Asia are like playgrounds for shoppers, buying becomes an activity in itself, as a family weekend outing. Online malls are popularizing that behavior anytime, anywhere’” notes Tyan of the way the shopping a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
Data-driven, impactful advertising across APAC
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WRITTEN BY
OLIVIA MINNOCK PRODUCED BY
KRISTOFER PALMER
AUGUST 2019
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O M D A PA C
OMD APAC uses data to provide insights on customers and markets for big name clients such as McDonald’s and Unilever. COO Rochelle Chhaya tells us more
“I
n today’s world, it’s hard to get five minutes of the consumer that is completely undivided. You are competing not just with
different brands, but with cute dogs running to their owners when they get home, with children throwing tantrums,” says Rochelle Chhaya, Chief Operating 208
Officer (COO) at OMD APAC. “You’re competing for the consumer to remember you; for share of mind. The only way you can do that is to ensure you know who that customer is and tell them a compelling story.” The media agency, part of Omnicom Media Group (OMG), has excelled by taking on the challenge of marketing its clients’ brands in an increasingly digital age. Working with some of the world’s largest companies operating in Asia, its clients include McDonald’s, Nissan and Pepsi. “OMD is a media agency – but to truly talk about what we do, I would say we are marketing consultants and partners. We work with clients on the business objective they want to achieve,” explains Chhaya, who joined the company in 2007.
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O M D A PA C
“ You’re competing for the consumer to remember you; for share of mind” — Rochelle Chhaya, COO, OMD APAC
Initially, Chhaya was brought in to introduce digital for the region, and in over a decade at the company she has led digital services for a range of clients in a variety of markets including Thailand and Singapore. “It was extremely eye opening from a digital and business building perspective, as well as in terms of managing people and cultures effectively. Thailand is one of the few markets in Asia that has never been colonised, so they have a very distinct culture, language and a strong sense of pride, with their own unique
210
way of doing things.” An element of OMD’s ability to help its clients reach their regional business goals involves managing cultural sensitivities and putting this knowledge into practice through SLAs, templates, and digital products. An understanding of the increasing role of technology is vital. “Digital has become part of life. It is a part of a consumer’s journey: we as marketers can’t keep looking at it in silo.” Beyond operating as an advertising agency, OMD provides a truly tailored service by working to understand wider business strategies as well as the AUGUST 2019
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘OMD APAC – TODAY’S CONSUMER’
market in which a client wishes to
saying ‘here’s what we need to do’
succeed. “Every country is rightly
and us reacting to it.”
unique and at different stages of
Chhaya cites McDonald’s as a key
digital adoption,” says Chhaya. You’re
example of how OMD understands
expected to be ahead of the curve
business objectives and fosters
compared to your clients. Local market
growth through partnership. The key
knowledge and resources are vital,
objective is to sell burgers, of course,
but they may lack that global level
but nowadays this is done offline as
of aptitude, so it’s a challenge to find
well as online through McDelivery.
the right talent and make sure we train,
OMD examines the goals market by
upskill and ensure clients trust our
market: “Sometimes, in a small market
staff’s knowledge and expertise.
like Singapore, we even go store by
We need to make sure we are truly
store,” notes Chhaya. “What are the
driving the client, rather than the client
KPIs, what are the goals they need a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
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to achieve in terms of scale?” Through
the product, or change from a competi-
asking the right questions, OMD
tor’s product. That’s our cross section
combines an awareness of the client’s
where we talk about ideation: what are
target audience and desired business
the different things we can do to make
outcomes with its own deep, market-
the change possible? How can we
specific understanding of customers.
drive efficiency in what we’re doing?”
“We put ourselves in the shoes of the
For McDonald’s, the challenge is
consumer and understand who the
to adapt to the local market and thrive
core target audience is. We try to
in an omnichannel arena – fulfilling both
understand the consumer from a
online and offline orders from the same
demography and psychography
kitchen. “At some point, demand will
perspective. We then look at, based
exceed capability to match it with supply,”
on the client’s ambitions, what change
says Chhaya. OMD has developed a
in behaviour they need from the
technology-driven platform which
consumer for them to want to consume
analyses kitchen capacity and uses
AUGUST 2019
an algorithm to show waiting times
media and digital work in tandem to
in each McDonald’s throughout
drive growth. “Where exactly should
Singapore. “The system automatically
they be seen? How exactly should they
starts a media campaign to drive
measure ROI, measure success?” asks
burger sales, or pauses the ad campaign.
Chhaya. The agency partners with
If waiting time is above 10 minutes,
technology giants such as Google and
we can pause all delivery ads for that
Facebook to accrue local insights on
location because we have enough
a global scale so businesses can learn
demand,” Chhaya explains.
how to advertise appropriately and
Clearly, this is more than running an
measure the success of their cam-
ad campaign – it’s understanding how
paigns as well as areas for improve-
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
213
Rochelle Chhaya, COO A marketing and communications specialist with 13 years of experience in both digital and investment capabilities, Rochelle Chhaya has a passion for creating new digital solutions that integrate multiple touchpoints and deliver holistic consumer experiences for brands. As Chief Operating Officer of OMD APAC, Chhaya is tasked with mapping out what the future client-centric, digitally powered and data-led agency model will look like for the network. Formerly the Chief Digital Officer for Omnicom Media Group APAC, Chhaya has comprehensive knowledge and experience to tackle the operational challenges and opportunities that arise when developing an agency model for the future. Chhaya also shares her experience and knowledge with the industry, serving as a Board Member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) SEA & India. a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
O M D A PA C
ment. “We speak with Google and Facebook regularly about how we can innovate further for our clients and make sure we really push the envelope for their businesses.” That way, OMD can combine global insights from a plethora of companies and consumers that even a giant like McDonald’s could only dream of on its own. OMD and Google have launched around 200 new technology features in APAC over the past year and many have been expanded across multiple 214
clients. A strong example is TV to online attribution: clients often struggle to gauge the efficacy of TV adverts. “We sat down with Google and, using Bayesian inference, created an
Global Media Agency
1996
Year founded
10,000+
Approximate number of employees
AUGUST 2019
215
“ We put ourselves in the shoes of the consumer and understand who the core target audience is” — Rochelle Chhaya, COO, OMD APAC
algorithm and baseline of brand search terms. 20 minutes prior and 20 minutes post the TV advert, we can track spikes in search terms to infer whether the TV campaign had genuinely impacted search trends.” “Everything we do today starts and ends with technology,” says Chhaya. Omnicom is set to continue leveraging digital solutions to provide local insights whilst maintaining best practice through strict guidelines and talent development. “We have an online program, face to face training a nz .busi ne ssc h ief. com
O M D A PA C
“ We work with our clients on the business objective they want to achieve” — Rochelle Chhaya, COO, OMD APAC
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AUGUST 2019
and a mentoring programme. We also have Omnicom University, which has training courses for the more senior staff. Each market has its own localised training agenda.” Looking to the future, OMD aims to stay ahead of the curve in an evolving industry. “For the next three years our goal is future proofing our business as well as our clients’, making sure we’re all ready for the key trends and technological improvements we see coming up,” says Chhaya. “We will ensure we have the right people in place to be able to lead in the future, the right processes in place to be agile, change and adapt, and the right partners in place so we can constantly develop new products to deliver better solutions to our clients.”
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