Business Chief Canada — April 2019

CANADA EDITION APRIL 20 19 canada.businesschief.com

INNOVATION IN CLIMATE ACTION

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF PROCUREMENT

CYBERSECURITY EXCELLENCE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION Chief Information Security Officer Suzie Smibert on the importance of collaboration and partnerships CSR leadership in fast fashion

City Focus

HAMILTON

Rejuvenating retail from Ontario

FOREWORD

W

elcome to the April issue of

Mutual Insurance, to find out how

Business Chief Canada.

the business has created a business intelligence (BI) and advanced

Our cover star this month is Finning

analytics entity in order to remain

International: the world’s largest

the best in class.

Caterpillar dealer, which has been delivering unrivalled service

This month’s City Focus zooms in

for more than 80 years.

on Hamilton, Ontario, a city

Chief Information

with a proud history of

Security Officer Suzie

industry, and at local

Smibert has been

resident Doug Putman,

leading the company’s cybersecurity

Suzie Smibert, CIS Officer, Finning Int.

transformation, as it

who is being hailed as the savior of another historic industry: vinyl.

looks towards its long-term vision and digital strategy.

Enjoy the magazine, and feel free to join in the conversation on Twitter: @Business_Chief

Meanwhile, businesses are looking to become increasingly agile and

Enjoy the issue!

unlock further value. This month,

Harry Menear

Laura Mullan sat down with Jamie

harry.menear@bizclikmedia.com

McDougall, Vice President, Business Intelligence & Analytics at Gore

w w w. b u s i n e s s c h i e f. c o m

03

CANADA EDITION EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

HARRY MENEAR MANAGING EDITOR

OLIVIA MINNOCK

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CONTENTS

12 FINNING INTERNATIONAL:

A digitally–led cybersecurity transformation

32

44

Americas: The 5G future

THE DIGITAL DISRUPTION OF DELIGHT

54 Equality, diversity and respect: How Marian Salzman is defining the business conversation

PEOPLE POWERED: SIX THINGS I LEARNT FROM CREATING A SUSTAINABLE SOURCING MODEL

64

74 HAMILTON City Focus

86

CONTENTS

Gore Mutual Insurance Company

100

132 City of Richmond

118

Ardene

150 Cirque du Soleil

190 T-Mobile

164 RagingWire Data Centers

206 SAP

228 WestGUARD Insurance Company

240 Plymouth Rock Assurance

254 Glidewell Dental

268 SGK

FINNING INTERNATIONAL 12

A DIGITALLY–LED CYBERSECURITY TRANSFORMATION WRIT TEN BY

CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY

JA K E MEGE ARY

APRIL 2019

TECHNOLOGY

13

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F I N N I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Finning International has transformed its cybersecurity efforts, built strong partnerships and created a culture built on collaboration – Chief Information Security Officer Suzie Smibert tells us more

I

ndustry 4.0 is changing the game for the traditional industrial sector. New technologies and innovations have seen original

equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers turn towards new solutions to ensure greater efficiency, 14

improve safety, meet compliance requirements and guarantee substantial savings. However, such advances come with additional risks that can threaten the security of consumer and machine data, with breaches found to be the most costly in the United States and Canada by the Ponemon Institute.

With firm routes in Canada, Finning International now amasses an impressive global footprint, spanning three geographies. Employing more than 13,000 people worldwide, the business has accrued a world class network of product support services across British Columbia, Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and a portion of Nunavut, as well as the United Kingdom, Ireland and South America. Its formidable reputation in industrial markets, such as mining, construction and agriculture, has enabled the company to become a key figure APRIL 2019

TECHNOLOGY

15

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F I N N I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L

16

“ We’re seeing a lot more digitization, connected assets and abilities to enhance performance solutions” — Suzie Smibert, Chief Information Security Officer

in working with customers to achieve the lowest equipment owning and operating costs while maximizing uptime across their operations.

However, to counteract the growing threat of cybercrime across Finning’s international footprint and remain ahead of the curve, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Suzie Smibert has looked to place security at the forefront of every employee’s mind. Demonstrating effective leadership as Finning looks towards its long-term vision and digital strategy, Smibert has been key in transforming its image of a sole reseller and service provider to that of an innovative, technology led company.

“My background is primarily in information security, which knows no sector boundaries. Finning was an interesting company to me when it was presented as an employment option as it was an industry I had never been part of previously. It’s an organization with impressive reach with of the potential to transform how heavy machinery is used on a global scale,” says Smibert.

“One of the things that gets me the most excited about this company is that we are not afraid of thinking outside of the box, creating technology, thinking of

APRIL 2019

TECHNOLOGY

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘FINNING PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS’ 17 how can we optimize our customers’

2021, it has been essential for a leading

fleets and how we can provide custom-

company such as Finning to take

ers with the best equipment,” she adds.

a closer look at updating its systems,

“When you are a CISO, oftentimes you

remove redundancies and streamline

have your recipe that you use in one

its operations, which will filter into

organization, move on to the next and

its long-term aim to promote digital

use the same recipe with slight modifi-

innovation and engage further with its

cations for that specific business. As

diverse customer base.

Finning represented an industry I’d never

“In information security there is a lot

worked in, I didn’t know if my recipe

of convergence happening. Currently

would work. So, it was more exciting

there are an unsustainable number of

not to just ‘rinse and repeat’, but push

products and tools on the market which

myself towards something new.”

make it difficult to manage budgets,

With damage related to cybercrime projected to hit US$6trn annually by

complexity and maintain the skills to manage, in some cases as many as 50 w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

F I N N I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L

18 platforms at a company. I’m also seeing

ing data.” The monetization of data is

tools that are providing the right amount

being seen across every industry, yet

of security, but could be better utilized

Smibert is driven, and rightly so, to ensure

and leveraged, whether inside of outside

that the business remains pedantic

of the security portfolio, across multiple

around how data is used, whether the

stress factors,” explains Smibert.

right level of consent has been granted,

“At Finning, our customers are evolving.

and whether the correct contractual

We are seeing a lot more digitization,

agreements are in place, all to guaran-

connected assets and abilities to

tee consumer trust and transparency.

enhance performance solutions for

“Security, compliance and regulation

how our customers manage fleets and

can be a necessary evil. It can take

utilize our equipment,” she adds. “An

time to explain and demonstrate that

example of this is, instead of just having

having security controls to protect our

a driver unit, now we can optimize how

customer data, employees’ data, meet

the machine is functioning by leverag-

privacy regulations wherever we are

APRIL 2019

TECHNOLOGY

operating,” she reflects.

going elsewhere.”

“Internally, it takes a lot of relationship building amongst teams to help them

ROBUST SECURITY

realize that we’re not going to slow

The establishment of the General Data

them down or prevent a product from

Protection Regulation (GDPR) across

being launched. We’re going to make

its European operations has seen

sure a product is not recalled because

Finning join the UK government’s Cyber

it was secured at the engineering stage

Essentials scheme which supports

and conception stage, as opposed to

businesses in protecting themselves

when it goes live. Reassurance that our

against common cyber threats. However,

role is not a showstopper to business,

most importantly, it works to ensure that

but is a enabler and can help us win

the business adheres to what Smibert

more business by demonstrating to our

coins as “the most stringent” framework,

customers that we are serious about

where the business has mapped each

their data, their privacy, and are taking

control it needs to follow, and has

control that is above the industry

selected the hardest to achieve, applying

standard. Having these controls in

this to its operations not just in Europe,

place is an incentive for our customers

but worldwide.

to consider us as a provider rather than

“We figure that if we set the bar high

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Suzie Smibert Suzie is a security practitioner with more than 18 years of experience and is currently Finning International Chief Information Security Officer. Working with the leadership team, Suzie provides leadership, vision, strategy and experience for all things security. She and her team are responsible for managing information security risks, protecting information and technology resources globally for Finning.

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19

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TECHNOLOGY

“ Our role is not a showstopper to business, but is an enabler and can help us win more business” — Suzie Smibert, Chief Information Security Officer

simplifying Finning’s digital infrastructure, Smibert has looked to promote cross-collaboration and rework in-region management teams. Hiring “tremendous talent” predominately from Calgary, she has been leading the transformation of Finning’s security and enterprise architecture services and embedded next generation multi-tool sets, allowing the business to improve its response, detection and management capabilities.

“We have security individuals assigned to squads in the DevOps team. While they don’t sit in DevOps, they do report

and require ourselves to meet the most

into the management team and exist as

stringent requirements everywhere, and

a service provider to that group, and

by transforming our behavior, thought

continue to report into my organization.

process and policies, we will be able to

“We do security as code. A lot of our tasks

tell our users the same story wherever

and requests are automated, when they

they work in the world,” states Smibert.

are deemed low risk, it goes straight

“I travel to our operating regions frequent-

into code.”

ly, and many of my coworkers are also nomads, working from every one of our

PROMOTING COLLABORATION

facilities, different regions, different

As the business continually evaluates

countries. We can’t expect them to know

emerging products and technologies

which behavior to adopt wherever they

which could drive greater value, Smibert

travel. If we tell them one set of behaviors,

explains that the business undertakes

one set of policies to meet, it makes our

whole-market evaluations in advance

job easier in the back end, and makes it

of a product’s shelf life in order to remain

much easier on our workforce.”

resilient, and looks not only to long-

By harmonizing, centralizing and

standing players in the market, but also w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

21

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APRIL 2019

LEARN MORE

TECHNOLOGY

23

to innovative startups that can bring

further growth across the business

something unique to the table. “Many big

and strengthen its security operations.

companies only work with organizations

Collaborating with cybersecurity leader

that are tried and tested. At Finning, we

CrowdStrike, for example, has allowed

take well-calculated risks and work with

the business to embed next-generation

startups, or we consider open source

antiviruses across all of its digital

products after careful evaluation so that

environments, and gain chip intelligence,

we can get the best return on invest-

security protection and detection at all

ment and efficiency in our protection

of its endpoints. Not only that, it has also

and detection capabilities,� she says.

helped Finning practice better internal

Partnering with established players,

collaboration with broader technology

as well as pioneering startups, is

teams, identify applications or software

something to which Finning remains

that are no longer used and manage

thoroughly committed, in order to drive

its license with more efficiency. w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

F I N N I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L

“We were able to not impact the end user, give them the visibility and tools they needed, but in the back end, save a significant amount of money not only with our security portfolio, but our data science team, employee productivity services team and networking teams. It’s been quite powerful for us. CrowdStrike’s main play is security, but we’re using it outside of what it’s normally known for.”

WELCOMING DIVERSE TALENT Additionally, observing technology as an enabler and not a sole tool in the creation 24

of a thriving collaborative culture, Smibert has worked alongside the communications team and change management group as the business continues on its transformation journey, providing exceptional support to employees as well as ample opportunities for personal and professional development.

“As part of our awareness program, we’ve enlisted a psychiatrist to help us define how our people learn and how they retain information. Instead of having an article on our webpage every couple of months, we have videos, face-to-face, gamification, and a variety of approaches to reach and engage our employees. Not everybody learns in the same way, so APRIL 2019

TECHNOLOGY

C O M PAN Y FACT S

• Finning has accrued a world-class network of product support services across Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South America.

• Embedding next generation multi-tool sets has seen the business to improve its response, detection and management capabilities.

• Finning looks not only to longstanding players, but towards start-ups that can bring something unique to the table.

• Collaborating with CrowdStrike has allowed Finning to gain chip intelligence, security protection and detection across its endpoints.

with change management and psychology, we’ve transformed our communication to craft a message in a way that is not too techy, rather it is approachable and relatable,” she explains.

At Finning, Smibert is keen to stress that its employees are its strongest assets, and so upskilling its workforce will not only benefit employees but will also protect the organization, leading the business to avoid common cultural pitfalls across its various geographies.

“We are in different countries in South America, and for someone that’s not going very frequently, they might think

a Chilean and an Argentinian think the same and both speak Spanish, so everything should then be the same. w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

25

F I N N I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L

1933

Year founded

12,000+

Approximate number of employees

26

In reality, it’s not,” she states. “There

a number of charitable causes, but one

are subtleties, even if they both speak

key focus has been behind the delivery

the same language, operate and retain

of science, technology, engineering

data. Our communications groups were

and mathematics (STEM) education.

fantastic in helping us avoid addressing

Across each of its operating regions,

employees or teams in a way that would

the business has sought to inspire the

not resonate with them. When you think

innovators of tomorrow by supporting

of awareness and how you can really

the growth in STEM-based roles.

reach and influence your employees, it

Partnering with leading STEM outreach

gives you massive return on investment.”

organization, Actua in Canada, Finning provides financial support, volunteering

LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITIES

and hands-on opportunities to those

With such a global footprint, Finning

interested in areas such as program-

remains committed to contributing to

ming and coding.

APRIL 2019

TECHNOLOGY

27

“Finning wants to see more influx of

a power systems engineer might do, so

inclusive and diverse talent in the field

that they get attracted into the culture

of STEM, so we partnered with Actua,

and the field of STEM.”

which is a camp for students and young

Looking at further opportunities, the

children, hosting engagement events

business has also recently acquired

on university campuses. I volunteer to

100% of 4Refuel Canada and 4Refuel

help students understand the world

US. As a leading mobile on-site refueling

of technology and the world of cyber

company supporting customers across

security. In the past year, we did exercis-

the construction, transportation, power

es involving coding machines, allowing

generation and oil and gas sectors, it will

them exposure to technology,” says

provide a multitude of advantages for

Smibert. “Some of my coworkers have

Finning, as more than 95% of 4Refuel’s

invited students to come into a branch

profitability is generated in Canada.

to see the heavy equipment and what

“By having 4Refuel join us to serve w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

F I N N I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L

customers across the different geographies where our customers operate, we’re going to reduce their potential downtime because they will have access to fuel to keep their operation going, as opposed to having to wait for delivery, or having a site that might not have all of the fuel capacity that they need.

This is definitely one element where this acquisition will help us ensure our customers are up and running as much as they want, allowing them to be more nimble and at the end of the day, profitable,” says Smibert.

28

“Additionally, having 4Refuel will allow us to expand in some of our customer fleets where we might not have a service contract, primarily non-Caterpillar equipment. This will give us visibility in terms of the other

and how they’re utilizing the other

assets that are used by our customers,

equipment. It is our hope that by

“ I volunteer to help students understand the world of tech– nology and the world of cyber security” — Suzie Smibert, Chief Information Security Officer APRIL 2019

providing holistic service that customers will think of us as the first place to buy their next piece of equipment.”

Finning’s continued drive to fully expand its product and service offerings across Canada will see the business work towards a goal of acquiring 100% connected assets to deliver further support, and allow its data science and analytics teams identify business

TECHNOLOGY

29

opportunities to partner with its

ourselves in uncomfortable positions

vendors and customers and create

to achieve greater good, and do better

long-term opportunities.

for our customers, is something I’ve not

“Our next aim is to connect everything

seen elsewhere. It’s an inspiring part

and create new technologies that are

of our culture and a big part of what

going to transform and empower our

keeps me engaged in working here.”

customers and their partners to build and power a better world,” adds Smibert.

In many places, once you have your initial transformation things slow down.

The leadership at Finning hasbeen tremendous, and the willingness to put w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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LEADERSHIP

Americas: The 5G future

32

We talk to Andrew Morawski, President and Country Chairman at Vodafone Americas about the wide reaching and disruptive implications of 5G for telecommunications, IoT, drones, self-driving cars, virtual reality and medicine WRITTEN BY

APRIL 2019

HARRY MENE AR

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LEADERSHIP

L

ooking back on a career in communications spanning the past twoand-a-half decades, the President

and Country Chairman of Vodafone

Americas, Andrew Morawski discovered a passion for technology and its applications in the space early on.

From communications pioneer Nortel Networks, Morawski’s career has also seen him work for Telstra International and Cable & Wireless Worldwide, which have provided him “with a global view of business 34

that has been key to [his] role at Vodafone. Vodafone is truly a global company and we are working to help businesses that are based in the Americas region connect globally,” he says.

Worldwide, Vodafone, which employs over 110,000 people across 25 countries and reported a net revenue of US$48.2bn in 2018, “is sitting at the heart of how technology is changing the world and we have the opportunity to help shape how businesses succeed in the digital world,” according to Morawski. In the Americas, Vodafone employs approximately 300 people and its customers are “some of the APRIL 2019

leading global brands with significant operations in the US,” he explains, “and I am able to bridge my experience in operations with my passion for technology.” Business Chief spoke with Morawski about the next paradigm shift already beginning to reshape both the telecommunications space and technology as a whole: the mass adoption of 5G. We found out about the myriad far-reaching applications and implications of the next big step in Industry 4.0, and got Morawski’s take on the operational challenges and technological opportunities on the horizon.

5G refers to the next generation of mobile communications. The technology promises faster data download and upload speeds, as well as wider currency, more reliable connections, and reductions in latency to basically nil. 5G is made possible by better use of the radio spectrum through which data is transmitted, according to a BBC report, which in addition to faster connections, will allow far more devices to access the mobile internet simultaneously. In addition to the way people download, upload and browse content over the internet, 5G is expected to w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

35

LEADERSHIP

have far-reaching consequences for the field of artificial intelligence (AI), drones, autonomous vehicles, robotics and a host of other cutting-edge technologies. Above all, perhaps, the rise of 5G coverage will elevate the Internet of Things (IoT) to new levels.

“IoT is an area I’m very passionate about. It is a game-changer for businesses across every industry as it offers

36

$46bn Approximate revenue

Vodafone Americas provides services to

70%

of Fortune 500 companies

access to real-time data, which enables increased efficiency, better customer experience and improved visibility into performance,” says Morawski. “In my opinion, IoT is the catalyst for other emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning, so I predict each to continue to grow in importance across businesses.” The ability for more devices to access mobile internet at greater speeds that 5G provides will, he predicts, empower other emerging technologies. “AI, machine learning, and data analytics

111,000+

Approximate number of employees APRIL 2019

gain value when fed with businesscritical data. With more devices and endpoints in the business connected to networks via IoT, more data becomes available that can be analyzed through

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘5G COULD IMPROVE PATIENT CARE’ 37

“ Drones will become a more common sight, delivering everything from gifts to medical supplies” — Andrew Morawski, President and Country Chairman, Vodafone Americas

AI, machine learning, and data analytics instances.”

Although Morawski admits that, “it’s hard to see the full impact of 5G so soon, given that we expect it to be around for a decade, we can already see some elements that could have a significant societal impact.” Still, he predicts that “drones will become a much more common sight delivering everything from gifts to important medical supplies.” Back in 2016, Ericsson and China Mobile began testing drones operating over 5G networks. w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

LEADERSHIP

The potential for end-to-end low latency over high-traffic networks that 5G delivers will allow larger numbers of drones to operate in urban and rural areas, with massive implications for logistics and transportation. On the subject of mobility, according to Morawski, “an integrated transport system, with more connected vehicles (both autonomous and driven) can make roads safer, less congested and change the nature of commuting.” He also speculates that, “in the more distant 38

future, remote healthcare could make a significant impact, enabling specialist doctors to treat patients wherever they are in the world,” as instantaneous data monitoring and consistently low latency could make specialist knowledge and skills readily available from the other side of the world.

5G will also, Morawski expects, have a dramatic effect on the US and global workforce. “5G is set to be as much as 100 times faster than existing 4G networks. This would give us the ability to download a full HD movie in under 10 seconds on a 5G network instead of 10 minutes with 4G. This will be game changing for how we share and consume APRIL 2019

“ At Vodafone, we see telecoms as the center of digital transformation efforts for our customers” — Andrew Morawski, President and Country Chairman, Vodafone Americas

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LEADERSHIP

“ There is a direct connection between cybersecurity practices and business success” — Andrew Morawski, President and Country Chairman, Vodafone Americas CYBERSECURITY

With the number of devices and digital traffic set to explode thanks to 5G, having the cybersecurity measures to protect that data is more important than ever.

40

•8 6% of high-growth companies believe that having strong cyber security enables new business opportunities • 2 4% is the increase in financial benefits IoT adopters expect to see from having strong cyber security

APRIL 2019

•9 1% of under 35 year old decisionmakers expect cyber security budgets will need to rise over the next three years to meet toughening challenges • 89% of businesses said that improving their cyber security would enhance customer loyalty and trust

digital content. [The technology] will improve efficiencies and facilitate the use of virtual and augmented reality, which we expect enterprises to start using to provide training and remote worker and customer support.

We will even see the speed, reliability and low latency of 5G potentially used in smart factories and other enterprises such as hospitals to support new connected applications.”

For Vodafone’s operations in the Americas, Morawski reveals that the mass-adoption of 5G could have significant, but manageable consequences. “At Vodafone, we see telecoms as the center of digital transformation efforts for our customers, as digital transformation continues to be a main priority for enterprises. In terms of what still needs to be done, we are in the process of transforming our Vodafone owned networks to be able to take on 5G,” he says. “We believe 5G will enable a major shift in our customer’s experience, yet it probably won’t cause significant changes in customer behavior like the jump to 4G did. 4G ushered in the significant shift in the consumption of video and streaming services through w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

41

LEADERSHIP

“ Vodafone is truly a global company and we are working to help businesses connect globally” — Andrew Morawski, President and Country Chairman, Vodafone Americas 42

APRIL 2019

devices at a rapid pace. 5G won’t change that behavior, but it will greatly improve that experience.” He also notes that “as much as we would like it to, change doesn’t happen overnight. Change management is a core part of my role at Vodafone as we ensure we can meet the needs of our customers both today and for the future. To me, it is important to set objectives that align with necessary changes and provide clear directions on where and how we make those changes.”

“When looking to the future of Vodafone in a 5G world, Morawski says: “The past few years at Vodafone have been some of the most exciting, challenging, and rewarding years of my career and I do not see it slowing down any time soon.”

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TECHNOLOGY

44

THE DIGITAL DISRUPTION OF DELIGHT Business Chief sits down with CEO Vinod Muthukrishnan to explore the ways in which his startup CloudCherry is using predictive data and analytics to disrupt the customer relationship management space WRITTEN BY

APRIL 2019

HARRY MENE AR

45

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TECHNOLOGY

T

here aren’t many CEOs that can look back on as eclectic a career as Vinod Muthukrishnan, the man at the helm of

consumer experience startup CloudCherry.

From nine years in the Merchant Navy, where he served as a navigation officer, he pivoted to Market Simplified, a fintech startup providing mobile solutions to financial institutions worldwide. He founded CloudCherry in 2014, which has since grown into a disruptive, Cisco-backed customer experience management company.

CloudCherry is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with offices in Singapore, Dubai, Bengaluru and Chennai.

46

Muthukrishnan, reflecting on the challenges and benefits of moving from sector to sector, notes that “a fresh perspective shows you things that being stuck in the weeds for the last six months doesn’t.” Conversely, “there’s nothing that compensates for a deep awareness of a domain,” he says. “Every time I’ve been in an alien environment, I’ve done two things: initially, I have taken a first principles approach to the problem. Then I surround myself with people who know that domain really well.” The combination of expert advice and fresh eyes is, he maintains, a winning strategy. “It gives you an advantage because you’re not weighed down by the baggage you accumulate when you’ve been in a domain for 20 years.” In retrospect, he says: “I’ve always APRIL 2019

47

chased problems I believed were worth solving.” Today at CloudCherry, Muthukrishnan is using data analytics and machine learning to disrupt the customer relationship space on behalf of a diverse roster of brands spread across multiple markets.

The genesis of CloudCherry was a conversation between Muthukrishnan and several of the company’s founding team. “We tried to count on two hands how many brands we loved and would never leave,” he says. “And we realized that we were generally having fairly w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

TECHNOLOGY

“ We tried to count on two hands how many brands we loved and would never leave, and we realised we were generally having subpar 48 customer experiences” — Vinod Muthukrishnan, CEO & Co-Founder, CloudCherry

subpar customer experiences.”

Muthukrishna and CloudCherry’s other founders saw this as puzzling, given the emphasis placed on customer experience by so many leading brands. “Like true techies, we believe that there’s a software to solve every problem in the world.” Muthukrishna was certain the issue lay with the technology being used to process and analyse customer data, which was resulting in the efforts of companies and the needs of the customer becoming lost in translation. He laughs, “We naively assumed there was no software that truly helped brands understand the customer experience.

Obviously, down the line, we realized that such software was out there, but the problem persisted.” The two issues remaining, they realized, were that the

APRIL 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘B2B CJM GENERAL’ 49 majority of customer data was gath-

experience is all about journeys; it’s not

ered through surveys, and that, once

just a point-in-time survey or an app

customer data was collected, compa-

store review. A deep understanding of

nies had little guidance to act upon it

customer journeys, understanding

efficiently without engaging expensive

where customers are coming from,

consulting firms. Now, in 2019, Cloud-

where they’ve been and where they’re

Cherry specializes in both the collection

going is at the heart of understanding

and analysis of customer data, turning

customer experiences. So CloudCherry

it into efficient, actionable insights for

offers complete customer journey

the client company. “Our whole quest

understanding for a brand.” Secondly,

is to find the causal relationship

Muthukrishnan stresses the idea that

between factors,” says Muthukrishnan.

the customer’s journey is a subjective

“There are three very simple ideas

experience. “It’s very important that we

upon which CloudCherry is built,”

know what happened on a customer’s

he continues. “One: the customer

journey,” he says, explaining that “if you w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

TECHNOLOGY

50 were to go to a store, it’s very important

utilization of cutting-edge technology

to know how often you come in, how

comes to the fore. “We put a lot of

much you usually spend, what products

emphasis on our machine learning to

you like, who you are. Often, all this

make sure that we’re actually able to

data sits in siloed systems throughout

tell brands ahead of time what they’re

a company.” By bringing together all

supposed to do,” he says.

available data on its clients’ customers,

Despite the data-driven precision

CloudCherry can create a complete

with which customer behaviour is dis-

picture of its customers’ habits and

sected by CloudCherry, Muthukrishnan

wants, which can then be turned into

insists that, far from reducing them to

solutions. The company’s third core

a collection of inputs, “digital is supposed

tenet, Muthukrishnan explains, was to

to make the interaction more human.

“move away from a retrospective way

I actually believe we’re going back to

of looking at data towards a more pre-

the times where experiences, because

dictive, proactive approach.” This third

of the lack of technology, used to be

pillar is where a lot of the company’s

personal. Businesses used to make

APRIL 2019

eye contact. They used to call you by your name because you were one of their 100 customers. They knew you.”

By using machine learning, bots, numerous data inputs he suggests, modern brands are recreating that “back to basics” service, but at scale.

Of course, different markets value different elements of service, and the needs of customers vary on a case by case basis. Between markets, Muthukrishna demonstrates, different technologies might be key to providing good service. “In Malaysia, QR codes are a huge hit. In North America, they are not. In Singapore, reliability and predictability are very important to

“ All of our focus and energies are on making sure our predictive analytics are ahead of the curve” — Vinod Muthukrishnan, CEO & Co-Founder, CloudCherry

customers, whereas, in India, customers want to be wowed.” Helping Muthukrishnan and CloudCherry navigate these global markets is the

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51

TECHNOLOGY

52

“ We put a lot of emphasis on our machine learning to make sure that we’re actually able to tell brands ahead of time what they’re supposed to do” — Vinod Muthukrishnan, CEO & Co-Founder, CloudCherry

APRIL 2019

company’s diverse cast of investors. “We have Pelion Ventures from Salt Lake. We have The Chennai Angels from India, Vertex Ventures from Singapore and obviously Cisco,” he says.

“Cisco is very interesting because they are a strategic investor. They’re hands on. They understand what’s happening. At the same time, they have great respect for who runs the business.” Within their own region, each investor brings a different skillset to the table. For example, our Singapore business has hugely benefited from the introductions that Vertex has made for us. They’re a very well-known name in the region.”

Looking to the future, Muthukrishnan is excited about both the rising tide of the customer experience market and the course CloudCherry has plotted. “All of our focus and energies are on making sure our predictive analytics are ahead of the curve,” he says, noting that, more and more, we are heading for a survey-less world. “What do you do in a world where the customer isn’t really telling you what they want directly? We’re optimizing for a world where the standards of customer listening are going to be radically different.”

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53

PEOPLE

54

Equality, diversity and respect: How Marian Salzman is defining the business conversation MARIAN SAL ZMAN, SENIOR VP OF COMMUNICATIONS AT PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL DISCUSSES CONVERSATIONAL CURRENCY, THE BATTLE FOR EQUAL PAY AND RESPECT, AND THE FUTURE OF PHILIP MORRIS AS A SMOKE-FREE COMPANY WRITTEN BY

APRIL 2019

HARRY MENE AR

55

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PEOPLE

M

arian Salzman, Senior Vice President of Communica-

tions at Philip Morris, the world’s largest tobacco company, doesn’t smoke. As a veteran of three decades at the highest level of PR and marketing, Salzman has shaped the lens through which the world perceives some of its most iconic brands. From

Apple’s ‘Think Different’ campaign to the digitalisation of Rolling Stone Magazine, and from the popularisation 56

of the word ‘metrosexual’, to her latest role in transitioning the world’s largest cigarette manufacturer into a smokefree future, she has always been a bold wielder of conversational currency.

and then Chief Marketing Officer. And then I worked at Havas for almost 15

“I’ve led a marketing communications

years.” Since April 2018, Salzman has

and PR life,” says Salzman. “I’ve had

served as the Senior Vice President of

something like 38 job titles over the

Communications at Philip Morris

years, but very few employers. I had my

International and she can look back on

own company, which sold to Chiat\Day,

a career spent at the highest levels of

which became Omnicom. I worked at

media communications and public

Omnicom twice over the course of

relations, the battle for equal pay and

six or seven years. I worked at WPP,

equal respect, and the future of Philip

I worked at Y&R as their first in-house

Morris as a smoke-free company.

Futurist, and then later on worked at J. Walter Thompson as Chief of Staff APRIL 2019

“I think Philip Morris spent a long time searching for somebody who had my

57

“I’ve led a marketing communications and PR life… There aren’t many people out there who have a combination of global PR and bigger budget experience” — Marian Salzman, Senior Vice President of Communications, Philip Morris International w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

PEOPLE

“I have never seen a company that cares more about getting it right on this topic of inclusion and diversity” — Marian Salzman, Senior Vice President of Communications, Philip Morris International 58

kind of background, and there aren’t many people out there who have a combination of global PR and bigger budget experience,” says Salzman.

“It’s easy in the PR world to do a lot on a budget, it’s only at the CEO level where you’re going to have enough experience with big budgets – and obviously Philip Morris has the luxury of working with big budgets.” In 2017, the US Federal Trade Commission reported that marketing and promotional spending by the nation’s largest tobacco companies was just shy of US$1mn per hour. From her role as the CEO of global PR firm Havas, Salzman certainly has the necessary experience.

On the other hand, Salzman is no

APRIL 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL – CREATING A SMOKE-FREE FUTURE’ 59

stranger to creating cultural paradigm

and the rise of designer vodkas for

shifts on a budget. Philip Morris was

men.” Salzman found the word in use

also interested in the fact that she had

by the New Zealand media. Armed with

“done a lot of things that had gone viral”.

a research piece entitled The Future-

“I wanted to prove that you didn’t need

less Gender, Salzman was featured on

money to make news,” she says. “You

the front page of the UK newspaper

needed conversational currency.”

The Daily Telegraph explaining the

Salzman proved that point in 2003

term. In 2003, the American Dialect

during a campaign for beverage giant

Society named metrosexual its word of

Miller Beer. “I was the person who

the year, “and the rest is sort of buzz

publicised and promoted the word

marketing history”. While her success

metrosexual. It was 2003, and we

as the propagator of metrosexual is an

needed a place for Peroni to live in the

undeniable demonstration of Salzman’s

market in adjacency to Stella Artois

ability to shape the global conversation w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

PEOPLE

$29.6bn Approximate revenue

1847

Year Philip Morris was founded

along with equal pay comes equal respect and recognition and notes the challenge of being a top-level female executive at the firm: “I’ve never really been iconic. I’ve always just been someone who worked hard.

I feel now, as one of two women on our Global Executive Committee, an extraordinary burden on behalf of all women to get it right.” In addition to

80,600+

60

Approximate number of employees

fighting for women in the boardroom, Salzman is applying her ideals to the business of cigarettes. “One of the things I’m most passionate about is that we need to do a better job making sure women get information about

– on a budget no less – she emphasises:

harm reduction,” she explains. “Because

“I’ve spent the last 15 years of my life

of regulatory restrictions on things you

trying to come up with something to

can and can’t do with women in media,

wipe that off my tombstone.”

it’s tougher to bring smoke-free

In her new role at Philip Morris

information to that demographic.”

International, Salzman believes she

Philip Morris is currently organising

has found exactly that. “I have never

a women’s initiative in order to mitigate

seen a company that cares more about

the health risks placed upon half the

getting it right on this topic of inclusion

world’s population. “You’ll see us

and diversity,” she says. Philip Morris

launch communications campaigns,

International is an Equal-Salary compa-

over the course of the next several

ny, ensuring that it remains committed

months that will include women who

to equal pay for men and women.

quit, woman who smoked themselves,

Salzman is devoted to ensuring that

and make themselves into role models

APRIL 2019

“The fact men are becoming smoke-free at a much higher rate than women makes it a feminist issue” — Marian Salzman, Senior Vice President of Communications, Philip Morris International

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61

PEOPLE

as a consequence.” However, the creation of a smoke-free world is more than a gendered issue for both Salzman and Philip Morris.

“We are a company committed to dramatic transformation; we’re taking people from combustible cigarettes, either to quitting or to move over to something in our smoke-free portfolio,” Salzman says. According to Philip Morris, 6.6mn people have already begun using the company’s flagship 62

smoke-free device. The IQOS heats tobacco up to 350°C (in comparison to the often-higher than 600°C produced by combustible cigarettes). As a result, “the levels of harmful chemicals are significantly reduced compared to cigarette smoke”. Salzman’s experience at the helm of companies and PR campaigns with high budgets will, she expects, prepare her to orchestrate this monumental shift in strategy for the company that owns Marlboro, Chesterfield, Benson & Hedges, Virginia Slims and L&M, a collection of some of the most iconic cigarette brands in the world. “This year is the APRIL 2019

“I hope my tombstone says: ‘She helped the planet become a land of nonsmokers” — Marian Salzman, Senior Vice President of Communications, Philip Morris International

year we re-enter civil society with a smile,” Salzman says. “I hope we will be able to turn the conversation towards getting people to give up their conventional combustible tobacco and move towards safer alternatives.”

Looking to the future, Salzman believes that 2019 is going to be the year she helps lead Philip Morris into the next phase of its evolution. “This is the year I champion more women being hired in more roles where they can make a difference for the company, and then for themselves and their families. By the time we get to 2025, I think the most important job of someone in my position is to be sure I have a successor, and that she is ready to step in and lead.” Salzman can look back across a career filled with hard work and undeniable results.

She concludes: “I hope my tombstone says: ‘She helped the planet become a land of non-smokers’.”

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63

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

PEOPLE POWERED: SIX THINGS I LEARNT FROM CREATING A SUSTAINABLE SOURCING MODEL 64

As sustainability becomes a pertinent topic in boardrooms across the globe, Suranga Herath, CEO of English Tea Shop, examines how businesses can create a more sustainable sourcing model SURANGA HERATH, CEO of English Tea Shop

WRITTEN BY

APRIL 2019

65

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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

66

T

oday more, than 1.66mn farmers

While a proactive commitment to

and workers are in Fairtrade-

sustainable sourcing is to be applaud-

certified producer organizations.

ed, setting up an entirely new sourcing

In my view, no other organization has

model – and doing it well – is no mean

done more to make consumers stop,

feat. I speak from experience of

consider and care where their food,

converting English Tea Shop to run

drink, clothes and jewelry come from

on a Creating Shared Value model

than Fairtrade.

throughout our supply chain from

Inspired by Fairtrade and consumer

seed to cup. The impact of creating

demand for ethically-sourced products,

and implementing our own sourcing

there is an emerging trend for manufac-

model has been profound not only for

turers to develop their own sustainable

the farmers but for our business and

sourcing models – even the likes of Tesco

all those in our community, or our

and Sainsbury’s are following suit.

Prajāva as we like to call it.

APRIL 2019

“While a proactive commitment to sustainable sourcing is to be applauded, setting up an entirely new sourcing model – and doing it well – is no mean feat” — Suranga Herath, CEO of English Tea Shop

67

So, based on my experience over

because ethical sourcing is important

the years, I wanted to share some of

to your customers? Is it to be better for

the key things I’ve learnt about setting

the environment? Is it all of the above?

up a sourcing model.

What’s important is considering what long-term outcomes you want to achieve,

1. BE CLEAR ON YOUR MOTIVATIONS.

both for your business, and for those

The very first step should be asking

in the supply chain.

yourself why you’re setting off on this path. Is it to help support and share

2. START SMALL AND SCALE UP.

value with those in your supply chain?

Unless you’re starting a new business,

Is it to improve transparency? Is it to

it’s probably best to take a long-term

have a more secure and reliable supply

approach to sourcing. Having direct

chain? Is it so you can source increas-

relationships with producers is both

ingly high-quality produce? Is it

essential and time-consuming, and w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

wrong thing when trying to do the right thing. That’s why close relationships are so important – you have to have an innate understanding of what people want and need, rather than just doing what you think they need.

The stronger your Prajāva, the better placed you will be.

4.BUILD A BUSINESS OF BUSINESS PEOPLE. This is one of the absolute best ways of sharing value through your supply chain. For us, this means helping our

68

farmers to improve the quality and quantity of their yield through support building close relationships even more

education and a trusted route to

so. It may be best to start working with

market rather than just paying a

one producer or co-operative under

minimum price. For those who work in

your model, or on one project, and to

our factories, we have a profit-sharing

grow from there.

initiative called ‘Big Game’ which involves them in programmes such as

3.YOUR BUSINESS MODEL IS ONLY EVER AS STRONG AS YOUR PRAJAVA.

sharing and budget games with the

Prajāva is the Sri Lankan word for

goal of making English Tea Shop a

community and taking a wide view of

significantly employee-owned

who this includes is vital. Creating

business. This ultimately drives

shared value throughout a supply

employee engagement and increases

chain takes a great deal of thought

productivity too – there has now been

– and it’s surprisingly easy to do the

a 31% increase in value added per

APRIL 2019

open book management, knowledge

69

“Unless you’re starting a new business, it’s probably best to take a long-term approach to sourcing — Suranga Herath, CEO of English Tea Shop

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S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

“The impact of creating and implementing our own sourcing model has been profound not only for the farmers but for our business and all those in our community” — Suranga Herath, CEO of English Tea Shop 70

employee since the Big Game

This could involve developing a

initiative was introduced. Without

framework for measuring social and

wanting to be too trite about it, helping

economic impact for your investments

people help themselves is much more

and efforts and then tracking how

sustainable and powerful.

business is directly and indirectly impacted as a result of such social

5.FIGURE OUT THE MEASURING AND MONITORING SYSTEM.

progress.

If you’re going it alone, you need to

6.MAINTAIN A LASER FOCUS ON CREATING SHARED VALUE.

find a robust way of benchmarking the outcomes of your model. Failing to do

Creating a sourcing model is not

so could cause more harm than good.

without its ups and downs and there

APRIL 2019

are times when commercial realities come knocking that can put you in difficult positions. My advice would be to focus your sourcing model on creating shared value that is, value for people throughout your supply chain, but also for your business. For me, this is what makes a model truly sustainable in that it is then protected from short-termism during leaner periods.

As our society becomes even more ethically-minded, it will soon be the norm for businesses to adopt and drive growth through sustainable sourcing models. We’ve already seen a good selection of early adopters make their mark, and I hope that the fruitful results produced will encourage others to take a leap of faith.

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71

April 29-30, 2019

The Ritz Carlton, Atlan

nta | Atlanta, GA

CITY FOCUS

HAMIL City Focus

74

Business Chief explores Hamilton, Ontario, a historic city of steel currently at the heart of the vinyl revolution WRITTEN BY

APRIL 2019

HARRY MENEAR

ILTON ILTON w w w. b u s i n e s s c h i e f. c o m

C I T Y F O C U S | H A M I LT O N

L

ocated at the westernmost tip of Lake Ontario, immediately below Mississauga and Toronto, Hamilton is home to approxi-

mately 750,000 people. In addition to its proud history of industry and manufacturing — responsible for its nickname of ‘Steeltown’ — the city is also home to the country’s largest botanical garden, which covers an impressive 980 hectares. To this day, the city is home to some of the country’s largest steel compa76

nies, including National Steel Car, Canada’s largest manufacturer of rolling stock.

Founded in 1912 by a group of wealthy Hamiltonian investors, National Steel Car today creates 12,500 rolling stock units each year under the leadership of CEO and chairman Gregory J. Aziz. The town is also home to Stelco Holdings, another of Canada’s oldest manufacturers of steel. Although the company filed for bankruptcy in 2007, it was bought by US Steel, taken public and today operates in a diminished capacity refining rolled steel. While Canadian steel production plummeted during the 2007 financial crisis, dropping to less than half of its pre-crash output, according to Trading Economics research, the industry has made strides in the past decade, approaching if not reclaiming the grandeur of one of Canada’s oldest and proudest industries.

APRIL 2019

‘ Hamilton has a proud historyof industry and manufacturing — responsible for its nickname of a country’s largest botanical garden’

w w w. b u s i n e s s c h i e f. c o m

77

C I T Y F O C U S | H A M I LT O N

1846

Official city status

750,000 Population

78

Nearest airport

14km

John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport Another Hamilton-born businessperson investing in the potential financial returns of the past is Doug Putman, the man hailed by some in both Canada and the United Kingdom as the savior of physical entertainment and the independent record store. From the purchase of local record chain Sunrise Records in 2014, Putman has built a media empire stretching across 82 Canadian locations and, in February, APRIL 2019

79

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C I T Y F O C U S | H A M I LT O N

he saved 100 of HMV’s UK locations as the company went into administration for the second time in the last six years. Sunshine records is the only national record chain in Canada, succeeding where so many, including Sam the Record Man, Music World and A & A Records have passed into history.

CAPITALISING ON THE CANADIAN VINYL MARKET Born in Ancaster, a suburb of Hamilton, the 34-year-old Putman gambled on the success of physical entertainment 80

in 2014, capitalizing on the worldwide, decade-long resurgence of the vinyl market. According to Statista, vinyl sales in the United States rose from 1mn units in 2007 to 16.8mn last year.

Following the growth of his Canadian music empire to 82 stores with the pur-

how he saw the opportunity to turn his

chase of failed HMV Canada locations,

own passion for vinyl as a medium into

Putman told Music Week in February

a profitable pursuit. “I like the warmer

2019 that Sunrise Records’ operations

sound of vinyl and I feel there is a huge

were profitable at a time when brick and

passion out there for physical content,”

mortar retail is a shrinking industry, and

he said. “People think the younger gen-

the majority of the world’s population

eration is all about digital. But the reality

consumes audio media through stream-

is that digital is all they knew growing up

ing services like Spotify and Apple Music.

and now they are finding vinyl and they

In an interview with the Hamilton

love the collecting piece of it. They just

Spectator in 2017, Putman explained

didn’t have that experience before. And

APRIL 2019

81

now that they have it, they are becoming hooked and absolutely love it.”

The collecting element is a large part of Putman’s operating model for Sunrise. In his Canada stores, he reportedly allows his managers to alter their purchasing decisions based on local demand and preference. In an interview with BBC Radio 4, he explained that “people love to come into a store, have an experience, talk with someone who

“ People love to come into a store, have an experience, talk with someone who understands and loves music” — Doug Putman, CEO, Sunrise Records

w w w. b u s i n e s s c h i e f. c o m

C I T Y F O C U S | H A M I LT O N

understands music, loves music, loves

customer’s desire for a deeper, guided

video and entertainment. If you think

experience when shopping for music

online is the only future, I just think

that independent stores were provid-

that’s not going to be the case. There’s

ing but larger chains were not. While

so much you get from coming to a store

most record shops, he explained,

that you just can’t get online.”

would probably stock a Fleetwood Mac greatest hits album and a copy of

82

A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC EXPERIENCE

the band’s iconic album Rumours (Put-

The Sunrise model also brings a

man’s favorite LP), he ensures that

touch of the esoteric to its in-store

Sunrise Records offers a more in-

experience. In an interview with Spill

depth collection. “Rather than having

Magazine, Putman talked about the

what I call the ‘basics’, we would offer

“I like the warmer sound of vinyl and I feel there is a huge passion out there for physical content” — Doug Putman, CEO, Sunrise Records

APRIL 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘HMV.COM TALKS TO DOUG PUTMAN’ 83 Tusk and Tango In The Night. It takes it

urb is his other venture, Everest Toys,

deeper and it gives the customer that

one of the largest toys and games dis-

assortment in the store.”

tributors in North America, according

Regarding his purchase of 100 HMV

to the Guardian.

stores in the UK, he also noted that “it’s

Hamilton has a long and illustrious

all about listening to what the custom-

history of business leaders from Jack

ers want. I think HMV was so used to

Kent Cooke, legendary sports execu-

handling things the same way for years

tive and owner of the NHL’s Los Angeles

that they didn’t want to change, but we

Kings, the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers

knew going into this that it would be

and the NFL’s Washington Redskins,

quite the task, so our only option was

to Stephen Elop, the first non-Finnish

to do things differently.”

president and CEO of Nokia. Now,

Sunrise Records has its headquarters

Doug Putman is well on the way to

in Putman’s home district of Ancaster.

carving out a place for himself among

Also headquartered in the small sub-

the city’s most celebrated sons. w w w. b u s i n e s s c h i e f. c o m

April 23-26, 2019 • JW Marriott Pa

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T O P 10

86

APRIL 2019

TOP 10 Franchises in the USA Business Chief lists the top 10 franchises in the US, according to Franchise Direct. With headquarters ranging from Massachusetts to Kentucky, the franchises sit within the food, hospitality and convenience store sectors WRITTEN BY

SOPHIE CHAPMAN

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87

T O P 10

88

10

Baskin-Robbins Est. 1953

The ice cream and cake restaurant chain, Baskin-Robbins, is based in Canton, Massachusetts. Having launched in 1953, the company now manages 700 stores and carries 1,200 flavors. The firm holds a Guinness World Record for the largest cup of ice cream, and has employed celebrities and politicians such as Barack Obama, Julia Roberts and Randy Quaid. As of December 2018, the company’s total revenue was valued at US$24.3mn.

APRIL 2019

89

09

Domino’s Est. 1960

“Like most corporate success stories, Domino’s started out small – with just one store in 1960. However, in 1978 the 200th Domino’s store opened, and things really began to cook,” the firm claims. As of the third quarter of last year, the company operated a network of 15,300 franchises in more than 85 markets. “Domino’s has built its 50+ year success around its franchisees – independent business owners with a common vision and mission to be the number one pizza company in the world. Much of this success has come from our franchise business model, which is primarily an internally-based franchise system.”

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T O P 10

90

08

Subway

Est. 1965

The Connecticut-based sandwich shop chain was launched in the 1960s to pay for Fred DeLuca’s school tuition. Peter Buck financed the project with $1,000 to open the first shop – the company now operates in more than 100 countries across the world. DeLuca and Buck decided to start franchising in 1974 when they realized they would not meet their goal of opening 32 stores. “Today, the SUBWAY® brand is the world’s largest submarine sandwich chain with more than 40,000 locations around the world,” the company says.

APRIL 2019

91

07

7-Eleven

Est. 1927 [as Tote’m Stores]

The founder of 7-Eleven, Joe C. Thompson Jr, stated: “Give the customers what they want, when and where they want it.” The franchise is the largest chain convenience store in the US, and is owned by Japan’s Seven & I Holdings. The business is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. As of December 2018, the company operated, franchised, and licensed 67,480 stores across 17 nations. “In our 24-hour world, today’s consumers are busier than ever and want more from one location, whenever they want it. The U.S. convenience store industry is feeding this 24/7 consumer demand, taking in approximately $680bn in sales every year,” claims 7-Eleven.

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06

Dunkin’ Donuts Est. 1950

“With over 3,100 stores in over 30 countries outside of the US, Dunkin’ Donuts has been serving loyal customers around the world for over 60 years,” states the company. The brand was established

by William Rosenberg in 1950, and now serves on average 5mn customers per day. The company owns Baskin-Robbins, and so Dunkin Donuts claims to have “almost 120 years of combined franchising experience and more than 17,400 points of distribution in nearly 60 countries worldwide.”

APRIL 2019

‘ T he firm’s first franchise was in 1952, and by 1963 there were 600 restaurants across the US — making KFC the largest fast food operation in the nation at the time’

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05

KFC

Est. 1937

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Harland Sanders founded his first restaurant in 1937 under the name Sanders Court & Café. The firm’s first franchise was in 1952, and by 1963 there were 600 restaurants across the US – making KFC the largest fast food chain in the nation at the time. The company claims to be “one of the few brands in America that can boast a rich, decades-long history of success and innovation.” The business established the KFC Foundation in 2015, which has provided $18mn in funding to more than 6,400 of its employees and students to help with education and personal finance.

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04

Marriott International Est. 1927

Founded in Washington in 1927 and now based in Maryland, the hotel franchise owns 30 brands. In 2017, the company recorded having almost 1.3mn hotels. The company has five core values: putting people first, pursuing excellence, embracing change, acting with integrity, and serving the world. Following their food and drink business, the Marriott family opened its first hotel in 1957 in Arlington, Virginia.

The company is currently the largest hotel chain in the world.

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95

03

Pizza Hut Est. 1958

Pizza Hut was established by two brothers who studied at the Wichita State University in 1958. The second store opened six months after the first, and six months after that they had opened an additional four locations. The Yum! Brands-owned company operates more than 16,900 stores across the globe. Kentucky-based Yum! Brands also owns KFC and Taco Bell. In the fourth quarter of 2018, Pizza Hut saw its worldwide system sales increase by 2%. 97 of the brands’ stores were refranchised throughout the year.

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02

Burger King Est. 1954

“Every day, more than 11mn guests visit Burger King restaurants around the world.

Founded in 1954, Burger King is the secondlargest fast food hamburger chain in the world,” states the firm. The Miami-based company was acquired by 3G Capital in 2010, making it a privately held business. In 2018, Burger King’s system-wide sales increased by 7.4%, while it saw net restaurant growth of 5.5%. The company’s revenue sits at more than $4bn.

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01

McDonald’s Est. 1940

Known as the largest franchise in the world, McDonald’s has grown from a single store in

98

San Bernardino to a franchise of more than 37,000 restaurants. The company was founded in 1940, and since its revenue has hit $22bn. “McDonald’s continues to be recognized as a premier franchising company around the world. More than 90% of our restaurants in the U.S. are owned and operated by our Franchisees,” claims the company.

APRIL 2019

‘ K nown as the largest franchise in the world, McDonald’s has grown from a single store in San Bernardino to a franchise of more than 37,000 restaurants’

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DIGITALLY DISRUPTING THE CANADIAN INSURANCE SPACE WRIT TEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY

JA K E MEGE ARY

APRIL 2019

101

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GORE MUTUAL INSURANCE

Gore Mutual Insurance may be Canada’s oldest property and casualty insurance firm but thanks to its latest digital transformation it’s more agile than ever 102

F

ounded in 1839 – 28 years before the founding of modern Canada – Gore Mutual Insurance is defined by its rich

history. The insurer has borne witness to two world wars, having pledged $50,000 and $100,000 to support the Canadian war effort in WWI and WWII respectively. The Canadian insurance company has also seen the advent of automobiles, offering automobile insurance for the first time in its centennial year, and then went on to help the victims of the catastrophic Grand River Flood.

Later, in 2015, when new legislation offered the chance to demutualize, the firm decided against this, harking back to its long held desire to help communities in their times of need. Rooted in a tradition of courage and cooperation, Gore Mutual may be Canada’s oldest property and casualty (P&C) insurer but it isn’t bound by its historic legacy.

APRIL 2019

Gore Mutual employees on site

103

In fact, in many ways, it has always been at the forefront of innovation.

With almost two decades of experience at Gore Mutual, Jamie McDougall, Vice President, Business Intelligence & Analytics, has had a lasting impact on the firm’s digital and insurance footprint. Marrying his innate knowledge of the claims and underwriting business with a zeal for technology, he affirms that digitisation is helping the company “enable our broker partners in an increasingly digital world”. “We are using the c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

Impacting Business Results For almost two decades, Earnix data scientists, financial experts, and software engineers have worked to create a comprehensive analytics software solution that solves some of the most difficult product, pricing and channel challenges faced by financial institutions. With Earnix insurers, lenders, and other financial institutions can now incorporate into their product, risk, and delivery systems the same advanced analytics that make personalization possible for the tech giants.

www.earnix.com

Follow Us:

Gore Mutual Insurance Partners with Earnix to Improve Analytic Agility and Speed Time to Market Gore Mutual, a Canadian mutual insurance company that has provided community protection to personal and business customers for over 175 years, has partnered with Earnix to provide the best service possible to their broker network and customers. As part of an initiative to better understand their end customers and improve responsiveness to a constantly changing market, Gore has partnered with Earnix to continually improve analytical processes and better operationalize the speed of rate deployment to the marketplace.

Analytical Process Improvement.

Gore traditionally has done risk and demand modeling, in order to understand customer propensities and exposure and determine the appropriate costs of risk transfer. As Gore has advanced to managing this modeling process holistically, through the use of an end to end data management, analytics, and pricing platform, they have realized the ability to understand their customers at an even deeper level. Gore utilizes predictive analytics to derive insight from the information that they receive, and in turn support the effective underwriting of risk accepted. Understanding and applying risk and demand thresholds to customer segments enables a more effective insurance transaction for all stakeholders.

Speed Rate Deployment.

Managing the rate deployment process at organizations like Gore requires accounting for many variables. Price changes must be made, approval and governance of changes must be received, and proposed changes must then be deployed to the market. Gore knew that only an end to end system with real time rating engine capabilities, integration to touchpoints such as core and policy admin systems, and the ability to monitor rate change performance would be the best solution for them.

Gore has turned to Earnix as a partner to provide an end to end pricing and personaliza-

tion platform, which takes their operationalization of analytics to the next level. Earnix will provide a real time rating engine that is connected to all of Gore’s core platforms – including policy admin systems in the back office, and customer interaction systems in the front office. The ability to develop, execute, monitor, and refine multiple pricing structures and strategies with high performance and reliability allows for improved governance and control. For Gore, the capability to deploy rates and rate changes in real time allows the pricing process to be operationalized very quickly.

As Gore works to distribute these analytic and time to market improvements across the business, many other future advancements are being considered as well. Machine learning tools and capabilities are being researched, as a way to automate processes and understand their customer base even further. Being able to use the Earnix rating engine capabilities to take any analytical model developed by any tool and use it in a real time manner is also an exciting possibility. The partnership between Earnix and Gore is creating a strong foundation for future advancements, including the use of analytics and personalization in every project that Gore undertakes.

GORE MUTUAL INSURANCE

1839

Year founded

500

Approximate number of employees

106

explosive developments in digitization

the aim of making its use more

data, business intelligence (BI),

pervasive in the business, Gore Mutual

self-service analytics, machine

established BI and analytics as a sepa-

learning (ML) and artificial intelligence

rate entity and asked McDougall to

(AI) to enable a mature business

take on the role of Vice President of

transformation that is both genuine

Business Intelligence and Analytics. In

and thoughtful,” he explains.

doing so, Gore Mutual has sought to

The handling of data is nothing new

put more meaningful data, analytics,

for the insurance industry, but disrup-

insights and information at its leaders’

tive technologies are helping to

fingertips so that they can make better

uncover endless new opportunities.

decisions whilst enabling conversa-

Gore Mutual Insurance has identified

tions across the business. “Ongoing

BI and analytics as one such innova-

advances in data analytics allow us to

tion which is a “strategic priority”. With

be more agile and gather insights in

APRIL 2019

Gore Mutual employees assessing fire damage E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Jamie McDougall Jamie McDougall is responsible for advancing Gore Mutual’s business intelligence, analytics and actuarial capability, which are central to the company’s ability to continue providing leading products and solutions to its customers. His previous experience as Gore Mutual’s Vice President of Claims and Vice President of Personal Insurance are key to his current role, which also involves leadership in the implementation of major data and systems transformation across all lines of business. Prior to joining Gore Mutual, he spent several years as a Management Consultant in process improvement and performance management with a boutique consulting firm and completed his MBA with the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary.

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TRANSFORMING THE INSURANCE WORLD

Visit our Site

FROM INFORMATION TO INSIGHT What gives Opta Information Intelligence a competitive edge in the market? What makes it unique?

I believe our number one competitive edge is that our people possess an extraordinary amount of information about the Canadian market and specifically the Canadian insurance industry. In addition to this, we’ve also amassed the largest property data set in commercialized property. By utilizing the wealth of our dataset and our analytical capabilities, as well as our ability to understand the Canadian insurance market we have a unique perspective in the market.

What advantages does the company’s technology offer? What outcomes can customers expect?

We offer superior property information intelligence for underwriting purposes. Canada is the second largest country in the world; there are varying degrees of elevation, areas where there is floodplains or unprotected fire zones and then there are urban centres which have their own risks. We understand the Canadian geography and are the number one data provider to help organizations turn this into actionable insights.

How has Opta Information Intelligence supported Gore Mutual Insurance in its latest digital transformation?

Gore Mutual Insurance has been a very strong partner and believer in Opta’s solution. The company has also been a very helpful co-development partner in services that we’ve brought the Canadian market such as iClarify, which is the number one personalized property under-

writing quoting tool in the country. With Gore’s digital transformation, I believe that we were able to understand its unique position in the Canadian market place and respond with solutions in a customized fashion that help improve efficiency and drive improved underwriting results.

Could you provide another example where Opta Information Intelligence has helped to enable digital transformation?

When the Fort McMurray fire happened in Canada, nobody was able to really understand which properties were total loses and damaged or which ones weren’t. This was because you weren’t able to get on site for weeks after the fire. We were able to utilize advanced artificial intelligence (AI), satellite imagery and train computers to recognize which homes were lost and how much those losses would be. We hired a satellite to go over the area and within days of the fire, we were able to deliver a solution which demonstrated to a lot of insurers, the power of artificial intelligence, the potential of data and the realm of the possible.

What does the future hold for Opta Information Intelligence? Are there any upcoming developments we should watch out for?

We’re exploring opportunities within Fintech and Municipal markets within Canada. Our massive amount of data and professional attributes can offer new insights to different markets but ultimately our number one goal is to always be a relevant and meaningful partner to our Canadian insurance customers.

GORE MUTUAL INSURANCE

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘GORE MUTUAL’S DISCOVERY CONCOURSE TOUR’ 110 the business,” says McDougall. “It

digital transformation efforts. “We’re

helps us improve our broker experi-

heavily focused on creating curated,

ence and the experience of our

quality data assets to build trust in the

consumers. We’re becoming more

information,” says McDougall. Forging

proactive and not just reactive. We are

a promising partnership with Informa-

driving improved claims and underwrit-

tion Builders, the Canadian business

ing operations,” he adds. “The new

has worked hard to master its data

entity is ensuring clarity of focus. It

and build quality data assets. “We

indicates to the organization that this

utilized their platform as a way to

is an enabling set of technologies and

distribute information and insights to

we recognize their value in the

the appropriate individuals so that we

insurance space.”

can make better and more informed

Good BI requires good data – and

business decisions,” he adds. “It has

this was top of the agenda for Gore

absolutely delivered concrete value to

Mutual as it embarked upon its latest

our consumers, to our brokers and to

APRIL 2019

our business.” This has allowed Gore Mutual to provide more sophisticated pricing to the market, whether offering auto insurance or even flood and earthquake insurance. Gore Mutual has also developed close ties with integrated software company Earnix, using its software to further empower the organization.

In the fast-moving world of technology, close collaboration is everything. Championing this spirit, last year Gore Mutual built its

“ We’re becoming more proactive and not just reactive. We are driving improved claims and underwriting operations” — Jamie McDougall, Vice President of Business Intelligence and Analytics, Gore Mutual Insurance

Discovery Concourse in its campus

Gore Mutual – Innovation Lab

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111

“More than just another pretty dashboard...”

Achieve profitable growth using trusted data and dashboards that use all of your P&C data.

Underwriting gets all history, with current and go-forward views, to manage risk

Actuaries get granular pricing and reserving data to be more accurate and faster

Claims knows where to cut leakage, tighten steps, and improve service

Information Builders can help.

We bring clear, actionable, and complete data – fast – to your executives, brokers, managers, and underwriters.

With one unified, historical view of your business, you can drill down to address risk, pricing, and market segmentation. Shift from product-centric to customer-centric views of your business – giving a unique view to insured parties, brokers, policies, underwriters, assets, and claims.

Just like that, your entire team can leverage all of your data to manage your book of business more effectively.

See the impact we’ve made for other P&C companies informationbuilders.com/omni-insurance

“ In our business, responsiveness to the consumers’ needs is critical: we want to be there when they need us” — Jamie McDougall, Vice President of Business Intelligence and Analytics, Gore Mutual Insurance

to transform with it, not only to remain commercially viable but also to protect customers. “In our business, responsiveness to the consumers’ needs is critical: we want to be there when they need us,” notes McDougall. “If we know that a dramatic storm is coming or a forest fire is burning, we can be proactive and identify the exposure, policies, and those consumers at risk.

At times we have proactively called brokers, identified the consumers in their portfolio that are at risk and then proactively contacted them to ensure that they’re okay and that they didn’t

in Cambridge, Ontario. This is a spot

experience loss. This data offers

where continuous innovation seems to

transformative value that we can bring

be in the air and where the hands-on

to the business.” As well as using its

creation of insurance solutions is

own analytics, Gore Mutual has

commonplace. Featuring a high-tech

worked shoulder to shoulder with Aon

innovation lab, McDougall says this

to try and understand the “complexity

area acts as a hub where “brokers,

of catastrophic loss protection” when

insurtechs, reinsurers, technology

creating models for flood or earth-

partners and Gore Mutual employees

quake risk. The firm has also forged

from different departments can

ties with DMTI for detailed location

collaborate on solutions to solve

information, which McDougall

industry issues”.

describes as “a quality data provider”.

This proactive stance is a must in the

Another key insurance industry data

insurance world. The nature of risk is

partner, OPTA Information Intelligence,

ever-changing – and insurance needs

has enabled Gore Mutual to improve c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

113

GORE MUTUAL INSURANCE

Gore Mutual – Discovery Concourse

Model with confidence in Canada Impact Forecasting’s enhanced flood model for Canada, covering both fluvial and pluvial flood perils, enables insurers to delve into the latest scientific data to support both primary underwriting and portfolio risk management. Moreover, high resolution flood hazard and risk maps provide detailed and methodologically-consistent insights into flood risk across populated Canada. How can YOU benefit from partnering with Impact Forecasting to tackle risk assessment for this increasingly important peril?

NEW! We are working on an earthquake model in collaboration with Global Earthquake Model foundation to leverage the state-of-the-art local science and data to complement our suite of products available for Canada – watch this space!

If you would like to demo our catastrophe modelling solutions and risk mapping products, please contact sarka.cerna@aon.com

115 its assessment of risk through advanced information tools as well as through OPTA’s developing of advanced analytics and modelling. Gore Mutual’s openness to enhancing its abilities through quality partnerships is a credit to the insurer and a recognition that in advanced analytics there are many paths to success.

As well as industry partnerships, McDougall is keen to shout about Gore Mutual’s remarkable network of brokers as well as its internal team.

Attracting and retaining talent may be a challenge for some businesses, but

“ Our value proposition for attracting and retaining talent is about creating a very complete and holistic value proposition for employees” — Jamie McDougall, Vice President of Business Intelligence and Analytics, Gore Mutual Insurance c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

GORE MUTUAL INSURANCE

at Gore Mutual McDougall asserts that individuals seeking “breadth of scope, accountability and ownership” are easily attracted to the firm. “We’re large enough to be dynamic and creative,” he adds. “Our value proposition for attracting and retaining talent is about creating a very complete and holistic value proposition for employees.” McDougall has evidence to back up this claim: last year Gore Mutual was awarded for being a ‘Best Workplace in Canada’ and also 116

recognized as a ‘Best Workplace in Financial Services and Insurance’ by

“ I’m confident that Gore Mutual will continue to evolve to become an increasingly analytic yet always human business” — Jamie McDougall, Vice President of Business Intelligence and Analytics, Gore Mutual Insurance

APRIL 2019

Gore Mutual – Cambridge Campus the Best Workplaces Award and Great Place to Work® Canada respectively.

In February 2019, the business was named an ‘Employee Recommended Workplace’ for putting employees’ health, wellness and workplace experience at the forefront of its operations. McDougall is confident that 2019 will remain a banner year for the firm as there has been a “resurgence or recognition of the mutual proposition”.

On the road ahead, Gore Mutual is set to keep its finger on the pulse of the

117

latest technology trends as it constant-

“We continue to grow and invest in our

ly evolves and grows into a leading

people, our business and our commu-

mid-market modern mutual insurance

nities. I’m confident that Gore Mutual

company. Yet it’s clear that despite this

will continue to evolve to become an

bright future, the firm won’t forget its

increasingly analytic yet always

historic legacy any time soon. “Gore

human business.”

Mutual will be 180 years old this year and we’re very proud of our history,” concludes McDougall. “The organization started as a district mutual fire insurance company and has become ingrained in the communities where we live and work – it’s part of our story.”

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118

APRIL 2019

A journey toward CSR leadership in the fast fashion industry WRIT TEN BY

HARRY MENE AR PRODUCED BY

CR AIG KILLINGBACK

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119

ARDENE

Canadian fashion retailer Ardene is on a journey to become a corporate social responsibility leader through greenhouse gas mapping, supply chain accountability and innovation

E

very business faces the constant challenge of remaining true to its core values, particularly when growing at

speed. Over the past 37 years, Canadian apparel retailer Ardene has grown from a single 500 sq ft 120

accessories and jewelry store in Montreal to a network of over 375 stores across North America and beyond. Since the company’s inception, Ardene has had one key principle in mind: to “do good business, while also doing good in the world.”

Today, Ardene is working harder than ever to ensure it is a leader in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainable supply chain practices.

In addition to waste reduction strategies, community outreach initiatives and health and wellness programs for its employees, Ardene is currently embarking on an ambitious project to completely map its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in order to more effectively understand the next phase of its sustainability journey.

We spoke with representatives of Ardene’s CSR team to explore the company’s core APRIL 2019

121

sustainability goals: complete GHG mapping, increase supply chain accountability, product innovation and, most importantly, sharing Ardene’s message about a sustainable future.

“As a family company with a young workforce, upholding ethical practices is part of our DNA; it is important for us to take care of our people, our customers, and of course the world we live in,” says a representative of Ardene’s CSR team.

With all of the company’s sustainable initiatives rebranded under the name c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ARDENE IS A FAMILY-OWNED CANADIAN VALUE FASHION RETAILER BASED IN MONTREAL, QUEBEC’ 123 Ardene Collective, the company’s CSR team is emphasizing the fact that sustainability “will not be a simple effort, but will require that we all continue to shift our frame of mind and daily thinking as one collective team”.

Ardene organizes its sustainability initiatives into four pillars: People, which includes the wellness of its workforce, including extended partners; Planet, which covers recycling, waste, energy and water; Product, which deals with merchandise, packaging and supply chain efforts; and Policies, which includes compliance and certifications.

‘Sustainability will not be a simple effort, but will require that we all continue to shift our frame of mind and daily thinking as one collective team’ c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

ARDENE

ARD E N E F O U N DAT I O N

The Ardene Foundation is the company’s dedicated charitable organization, dedicated to enacting its corporate social responsibility and community goals. To date, the foundation has donated over 1mn articles of clothing and footwear, and raised more than $4mn for non profits.

124

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$4mn

Raised for non-profits

1mn

Articles of clothing and footwear donated

125

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

ARDENE

‘In areas of empowerment, poverty, education and health, we leverage the strength of our communities and try hard to shape a better world’

Congratulations to Ardene on your world class Sustainability Transformation and CSR efforts.

We are proud to be your Partner.

Visit our Site

127 “Because of our presence and brand awareness, we have the opportunity to bring about big changes with regard to

chain to be more sustainable and efficient.

“In the past it was very easy, especial-

sustainability,” says Ardene’s repre-

ly in the fashion world: you need it, you

sentative. “We already have programs

ship it. Today, one of our first thoughts

we’re proud of, like community engage-

is: ‘How can we do this better? How

ment, our garden, the end of single use

can we create fewer emissions from

plastic and Styrofoam, store hanger

our transportation?’” explains Ardene’s

re-use programs and more. But we’re

representative. “We’ve already scaled

ready to make an even bigger impact.”

back and consolidated all our ship-

These changes range from small-scale

ments in order to optimize the move-

steps, like replacing plastic water

ment of merchandise. Now our

bottles with boxed water in stores and

products move as directly as possible

offices, to large-scale operations like

from the source to the end store, and

analysing the company’s entire supply

we have dedicated weekly shipping c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

ARDENE

‘Because of our footprint and brand awareness, we have the opportunity to bring about big changes’

128

reducing the company’s carbon emissions.

In order to fully understand and further reduce its carbon footprint today, Ardene is mapping its GHG emissions according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, a set of standards days. Air freight has also been de-

employed by 90% of Fortune 500

creased tremendously through smarter

companies. Ardene believes that full

planning, as well as vessel shipments

knowledge of its supply chain will help

and trucking.” Furthermore, all of

combat the unsustainable elements

Ardene’s international shipments now

inherent in the apparel industry.

travel directly from the company’s vendors to their destinations, drastically APRIL 2019

Additionally, the company has partnered with the Sustainable Apparel

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ARDENE FOUNDATION IS ARDENE’S DEDICATED CHARITY ORGANIZATION’ 129 Coalition (SAC), a global alliance of

there hasn’t been a lot of progress in

retailers, brands, suppliers, advocacy

the process of garment construction,

groups, labour unions and academics

which still tends to be very resource-

that aims to mitigate the environmental

and labour-intensive work. In the past,

impact of the industry. “This alliance

many companies didn’t have any social

can help us make real change in our

or environmental record of what

company and our supply chain. The

vendors overseas were doing. Now,

SAC offers tools, such as the HIGG

Ardene has systems in place to ensure

Index, that enable brands, retailers and

our factories are socially and environ-

facilities of all sizes – at every stage in

mentally compliant, and we continue to

their sustainability journey – to accu-

improve these through our partner-

rately measure and score a company or

ships with the SAC and others. We have

product’s sustainability performance,”

a code of conduct and conduct audits,”

says Ardene’s representative.

says Ardene’s representative. “Next,

“If you go back even a hundred years,

we’re looking at raw materials and c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

ARDENE

4,500+

Approximate number of employees

1982

Year founded

375

Number of stores worldwide 130

packaging too. We have begun the

organizations both at home and abroad

process of product and packaging

to ensure our customers and staff

innovation, whether in the fabrics and

understand that giving back and doing

material choices we make or the way

good is a hands-on part of our culture.

we package goods.”

Whether it be in areas of empowerment,

Ardene also works to ensure its

poverty, education and health, we

positive impact on the world through

leverage the strength of our communi-

the Ardene Foundation, a division of the

ties and try hard to shape a better

brand dedicated to enacting positive

world,” says Ardene’s representative. In

change across the globe. Ardene has

select stores and through its site,

donated over 1mn units of apparel and

Ardene sells its line of biodegradable,

footwear and raised over CA$4mn for

eco-friendly shoes, which are made

various charitable organizations.

from antibacterial, moisture-wicking

“We work with multiple charitable APRIL 2019

and pesticide-free bamboo rayon. The

that turn used merchandise into raw material to be re-used, further decreasing waste.

Looking back over the past decade, Ardene has made great strides along its sustainability journey. Looking forward to the future, the company is hitting the ground running. Ardene’s representative concludes: “Our sustainability and CSR efforts are an ongoing journey. In the short term, we will continue with our new and existing initiatives, the largest being our greenhouse gas emissions mapping and reduction, and our efforts in supply chain accountability, product innovacompany continues to grow its selection

tion and education. In the future, we

of sustainable products under the name

foresee more sustainable raw materials

Ardene Collective.

in our products, a closed loop through

Ardene recently launched a donation

increased upcycling initiatives, sustain-

box program in select stores, where

able building initiatives and more. We

customers can ensure gently used

are optimistic about the future.”

clothing and shoes avoid landfills. The business also continues its policy of refusing to incinerate post-season clothing and continually donates used products to charities at home and abroad. According to a CSR representative, the company’s next steps are to partner with upcycling organizations c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

131

132

Results-oriented leaders embracing technology to address climate threats WRIT TEN BY

SE AN GA LE A-PACE PRODUCED BY

CR AIG KILLINGBACK

APRIL 2019

133

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CITY OF RICHMOND

134

Mayor Malcolm Brodie of the City of Richmond, British Columbia, and City staff, Peter Russell, Senior Manager of Sustainability, and Alen Postolka, District Energy Manager, discuss how the City’s climate actions are transforming Richmond.

A

city with its sights firmly set on becoming a leader in the field of sustainability,

Richmond, British Columbia, has not only delivered outstanding results but also advanced a novel and replicable model for developing municipal district energy systems. Mayor Malcolm Brodie believes that taking action on climate change is vital due to Richmond’s location as an island city that is one metre above sea level.

“Farmers started building dikes over 100 years ago and we’ve continued

APRIL 2019

135

that program. Since then, the City

Peter Russell, Senior Manager,

implemented a flood protection

Sustainability & District Energy.

strategy and a dike master plan to

“Our climate change mitigation work

respond to climate change impacts,”

is just as important as our work in

explains Brodie. “We’re one of the few

climate adaptation. We invest heavily

cities in our province that owns and

in our district energy program, now

operates a diking and drainage utility

bringing many benefits to our city.”

which provides secure funding for new capital projects.”

“Every year, we collect money from

INTRODUCING OLD TECHNOLOGY IN AN EXPANDED CAPACITY

residents specifically for the utility

Richmond’s first investment in district

and that allows us to invest an average

energy, the Alexandra District Energy

of around US$13mn annually in

Utility, employs geo-exchange

infrastructure improvements,” adds

technology which uses the earth’s c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

CITY OF RICHMOND

E XECU T I VE P RO FI LE

Malcolm Brodie, Mayor of Richmond

136

Malcolm Brodie has been a member of Richmond City Council since 1996. Following a by-election, he was sworn in as Mayor on October 29, 2001 and was re-elected in 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, and most recently in October 2018. Mayor Brodie has represented Richmond on the Board of Directors of Metro Vancouver since taking office in 2001. He currently serves on their Water Committee, Performance & Audit Committee, Finance & Intergovernmental Committee, Mayors’ Committee, and the Industrial Lands Strategy Task Force. He has represented Metro Vancouver on the Municipal Finance Authority and the National Zero Waste Council, and is currently the Chair of both these organizations. He is also a member of the TransLink Council of Mayors. Before election to Council, Mayor Brodie was a practising lawyer and had a long record of service to Richmond in the volunteer community. In honor of his contributions and achievements in the community, Mayor Brodie is a recipient of the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the Canada 150th Anniversary Medal.

APRIL 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SUSTAINABILITY IN ACTION’ 137 geothermal energy from deep below

polyethylene pipe loop in the

the surface to provide domestic hot

boreholes,” says Postolka. “The water

water, space heating and cooling

is circulated through the loops with

services to buildings in the service

the water going through the ground,

area. With over 700 boreholes, the

extracting the heat.” You can find

City has utilized the technology on a

further information on how the

larger scale than ever before, affirms

geothermal system works here.

Alen Postolka, District Energy

www.luluislandenergy.ca/videos

Manager. “Geo-Exchange is a very

Richmond has now won 15 awards

simple technology and has existed

for its district energy work to date,

for over 30 years on a smaller scale.

including the 2016 System of the Year

We’ve implemented it in a much

award from the International District

bigger way. It works by drilling a

Energy Association for the work

borehole into the ground around 250

completed at the Alexandra District

feet deep and inserting high-density

Energy Utility. Richmond has led the c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

CITY OF RICHMOND

138

“ The Olympics opened many doors for the City, including the expansion of rapid transit in our city centre, now called the Canada Line.”

— Malcolm Brodie, Mayor, City of Richmond

APRIL 2019

139

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SECTOR

way for other cities to follow in its

information and are all willing to

footsteps, says Russell. “Our awards

cooperate and support each other’s

are proof that we are doing the right

work. It’s led to us presenting our

thing, it’s important ‘third party

unique model at conferences and

validation’ that we are achieving the

being profiled in articles with interna-

City Council’s goals for climate action

tional distribution.”

and liveability. As a result of our success, we’ve experienced a high

EXPANDING DISTRICT ENERGY SERVICES

level of interest in our district energy

An early opportunity emerged to get

program from cities like Edmonton,

district energy planning work going in

Halifax and other utility companies.

Richmond’s City Centre. As a host city

We are now seeing those cities invest

for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games,

in similar technology,” says Russell.

the City committed to constructing a

“This is how cities work, we share

premier venue for the games: the 141

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Peter Russell is the Senior Manager, Sustainability and District Energy for the City of Richmond, B.C.; his team focuses on community, corporate and district energy programs and environmental protection. He is a trained environmental engineer, an award-winning professional planner and an experienced sustainability manager, having worked with the cities of Vancouver and Surrey, B.C., prior to Richmond. Russell also worked with cities across B.C. as a consulting planner for 10 years, developing sustainability, land-use and energy plans.

Russell holds a Bachelor degree of applied science in environmental engineering and a Master degree in science in community and regional planning.

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

CITY OF RICHMOND

Richmond Olympic Oval for speed skating events. To raise a portion of the funds to build the venue, the City leveraged a number of consolidated waterfront sites in 2006, selling some of the land to a multi-family residential developer, while retaining a major parcel in the centre on which to construct the Oval. Significant residual funds raised from the disposition were used to replenish and further grow the City’s land inventory. The City then entered into a Memorandum of Understanding 142

(MOU) with the developer to assess the viability of district energy in the area. “The Olympics opened many doors for the City, including the expansion of rapid transit in our city centre, now called the Canada Line,” says Brodie. “The Canada Line bolstered our City Centre Area Plan by creating a lot of interest for developing in our downtown; staff saw the opportunity to ‘get ahead’ of development and they presented the Council with a business case that included a focus on renewable energy and competitive customer rates.”

This foundational work led to the establishment of the City’s 2nd district APRIL 2019

143

“ Every year we collect money from residents specifically for the utility and that allows us to invest an average of around US$13mn annually in infrastructure improvements.”

— Peter Russell, Senior Manager, Sustainability & District Energy c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

CITY OF RICHMOND

144

E XECU T I VE P RO FI LE

Alen Postolka is the District Energy Manager with the Lulu Island Energy Company responsible for advancing the development of district energy systems in the City of Richmond, BC. He is a professional engineer, a certified energy manager and certified professional with 25 years of experience in mechanical engineering, building science and project management.

Postolka holds degree a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Zagreb.

APRIL 2019

145

energy service area, now called the

“We were already expanding our

Oval Village District Energy Utility that

infrastructure in Alexandra District

provides space heating and hot water

Energy Utility system, which had

services. The City also established

examined different options for how to

the Lulu Island Energy Company as a

finance, manage and deliver expand-

wholly-owned municipal corporation

ed services in city centre. This work

to manage the all district energy

led to our senior management and

initiatives on behalf of the City. The

City Council to direct us to procure an

first building was connected in 2014

operating partner with the necessary

and the system now serves over

experience and resources,� explains

1.9mn sq ft buildings, which are

Postolka. “Following a rigorous

primarily multi-family residential.

procurement process, Corix Utilities c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

CITY OF RICHMOND

$541mn Approximate revenue

1879

Year founded

2,250

Approximate number of employees

APRIL 2019

was selected and we started to negotiate and look at how they can help us to deliver this project,” added Postolka.

Corix is a privately held corporation, principally owned by the British Columbia Investment Management Corp., with offices in Vancouver, B.C., and Wauwatosa, Wis. Both parties would enter into an MOU to define roles and responsibilities in 2011, a process for working together and a compensation commitment to Corix should an agreement not be reached.

The process for working together included two distinct stages: first, a due diligence phase that included infrastructure, business and financial planning, and, finally, development and execution of a long-term concession agreement. In 2014, Corix and the Lulu Island Energy Company executed a concession agreement that will see Corix design, build, finance and operate the system over 30 years, while Lulu Island Energy Company would manage the infrastructure.

Richmond City Council is the regulator of utility rates. “Corix has been a great partner.

We have a great working relationship with their team; they’ve served our customers well and have delivered our capital projects on time and on budget, in fact, often under budget,” says Russell.

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

147

CITY OF RICHMOND

FUTURE PLANS With a vision in mind for the future of the city, Postolka believes Richmond must adhere to its business plan to accelerate its growth in renewable energy. “We expect growth to continue,” he says. “We’re making sure that buildings outside of the current district energy system service areas that we can’t economically connect yet are built to be ‘district energy-ready’. This approach ensures the buildings are designed to be connectable in the future. They have in-building energy 148

£1.5bn+ Approximate revenue

2002

Year founded

1,800

Approximate number of employees

systems but that when our pipe comes to their front door, we can easily connect them to our low carbon district

“ Geo-Exchange is a very simple technology and has existed for over 30 years on a smaller scale. We’ve implemented it in a much bigger way” — Alen Postolka, District Energy Manager

APRIL 2019

energy system.” The City’s work is consistent with its 2041 Official Community Plan which defines Richmond’s land use and development, social, economic, and sustainability policies over the upcoming decades.

Russell believes the city will continue to grow and develop in key areas.

Through the plan, the City aims to add another 80,000 people throughout the city, with the vast majority being directed to the city’s high density, mixed use City Centre. “The city is

149

experiencing sustained investments,

provide customer service excellence

in new multi-family residential buildings,

and competitive rates using low-car-

transit, and infrastructure improve-

bon energy systems. “When it comes

ments,” says Russel. “We intend to

to our climate action work, there is an

do the same for district energy.”

expression that ‘nations talk and cities

The City of Richmond benefited from a

act’… our approach is really important

unique starting point: a city centre area

because we have to be poised to take

ripe for redevelopment and a support-

our position in the 21st century as

ive City Council. Today, supplied with

opposed to being stuck back in the

thermal energy from the City’s wholly

20th century,” concludes Brodie.

owned Lulu Island Energy Company, district energy customers benefit from Richmond City Council’s mandate to c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

150

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: BREAKING THE SILOS WITH DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WRIT TEN BY

SOPHIE CHAPM AN PRODUCED BY

ARRON R A MPLING

APRIL 2019

151

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

With her team of costumers and operational buyers, Fulya Oguz reveals to Business Chief how Cirque du Soleil manages unique procurement on its digital transformation journey

W

hat we do is very unique,” reveals Fulya Oguz Operational Procurement Manager, Supply Chain at Cirque

du Soleil. “On a day-to-day basis I might be talking with an operational buyer about a lift 152

that will pull up a 25-ton tent in one corner of the world, and then move on to discussing the lingerie required for our Zumanity show.”

The Canadian entertainment company was established in Montreal, Quebec, in 1984.

In the past 35 years the business has expanded on a global-scale, having offered shows to more than - 200mn viewers globally across 450 cities.

Due to the colorful nature of the performances, the procurement team is often required to source non-conventional products in order to achieve the high-quality productions promised in its reputation.

“Our goal is to invoke imagination, provoke fantasies, and evoke emotions. In order to enable that APRIL 2019

153

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CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

“ Operationally we have to be efficient and operationally we have to be on time” — Fulya Oguz, Operational Procurement Manager, Supply Chain at Cirque du Soleil

154

APRIL 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘BEAUTIFUL, INTRICATE COSTUME DESIGNS AND MATERIALS OF CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’ 155 we buy extremely specialized and

is to ensure all internal business units

unique, custom-made products,” says

are supported with solid contracts,

Fulya.

efficient procurement processes, and

Fulya manages the operational pro-

good risk management. For Cirque du

curement team within the company’s

Soleil, efficiency is important in ensuring

supply chain operations, which focuses

all the customer-facing aspects of the

on strategic sourcing, travel manage-

company function perfectly. “Operation-

ment, customs and logistics. “My team

ally we have to be efficient and we have

consists of project managers and oper-

to be on time,” Fulya explains. The live

ational buyers that specialize in different

shows require reliable equipment and

commodities. Essentially, my team sup-

bold sets and costumes, and without

ports all the Cirque units, including

efficiency from the procurement team

studios, buildings, IT, touring shows,

these may not be readily available.

production and of course costumes

Innovation is a key driving force behind

workshops,” she states. Her mandate

functions. With growth influencing operc a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

156

ations, the team is introducing new

do we have to do it even more efficient-

technologies to manage procurement

ly and effectively,” explains Fulya. With

and ensure vital efficiency. “As our

growing demand, the team is focusing

President Daniel Lamarre has said ‘At

on introducing new, creative solutions:

Cirque du Soleil we don’t talk about

“It’s a creativity-driven business. We try

diversity, we live it every day with diff-

to acquire the best and brightest talent

erent nationalities influencing our

in the field of procurement, while capit-

growth.’ I think it is very important as

alizing on the highest technological

we’re a worldwide company and our

advancement and tools available.”

global presence has increased con-

In order to introduce new technolo-

siderably over the years. And, of

gies, Cirque du Soleil began by ques-

course, this growth influences and

tioning how it conducted business. By

impacts all of its business units and

addressing what could be eliminated

their operations. So, everything we

from everyday operations, it could then

APRIL 2019

157

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Fulya Oguz Fulya Oguz joined Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group in May 2011 as the Operational and Costume Procurement Manager.

Fulya leverages her more than 20 years of industry knowledge and experience to lead the charge on countless projects across the world. As a leader within the rapidly growing company, she manages critical relationships throughout all internal divisions of the business, in support of operational procurement. Fulya helps support many of Cirque’s largest shows, handling pivotal enterprise processes for negotiation, budgeting, purchasing, inventory logistics, operation management and vendor intelligence. Having worked within the IT, retail and online spaces like Oracle, Ice.com and Diamond.com, she brings a unique and vital business and technological perspective to Cirque’s continued growth.

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decide where to start investing. “To

also found that the solutions enabled

support our supply chain transformation,

statistic tracking, analysis and trace-

we invested in an e-sourcing cloud

ability, while connecting different

platform, shortly followed by an e-pro-

departments. “We can invite different

curement cloud platform. The e-sourc-

partners within the same tool – it breaks

ing platform was introduced with the

the silos. Everyone can participate,”

intention of streamlining our communi-

Fulya continues.

cations. As a buyer, we receive requests

Innovation is not the only priority for

in all forms – from emails to verbal.”

Fulya, with Cirque du Soleil also ensuring

Cirque du Soleil has been able to process

it sources its products in the most sust-

an increased volume without increasing

ainable ways. “As a citizen of the world

the team. The cloud has enabled time-

we have to value sustainable methods

efficient operations, allowing Cirque

and watch our footprint. We have to

du Soleil to communicate globally and

integrate these principles in our procur-

shorten its response time. The team

ement practices,” says Fulya. “Today

1984

Year founded

4,500

Approximate number of employees

159

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

160

“ As a citizen of the world we have to value sustainable methods and watch our footprint.We have to integrate these principles in our procurement practices” — Fulya Oguz, Operational Procurement Manager, Supply Chain at Cirque du Soleil

Photo © Cirque du Soleil – Suspended Pole act from the show CORTEOD APRIL 2019

161

Photo © Cirque du Soleil – Hoop Diving from LUZIA Photographer © Matt Beard

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘A BOOST OF ENERGY WITH...VOLTA | OFFICIAL 2018 CIRQUE DU SOLEIL SHOW TRAILER’ 162 we have performances all over the world and we have to showcase unique products, meaning the fabrics and props we use are not readily available or reachable.” In 2017, the company transported fabrics from France to Canada on the Avontuur sailboat. The successful journey emitted zero carbon as the engineless boat required no fuel.

This led to the firm committing to making at least five journeys through this method by 2020 in order to reduce its environmental damage when acquiring its specialized materials. When creating the LUZIA show, the firm used 6,000 litres APRIL 2019

of water per performance. In order to offset the huge quantities used, Cirque du Soleil would ensure that every liter would be recycled during the duration of a stay in a given city. “When we say sustainability and the environment are very important to Cirque, we really mean it,” Fulya adds.

Since joining the company eight years ago, Fulya has helped transform the operational procurement team. As she continues to break the silos and be a part in ensuring the company’s shows

Photo © Cirque du Soleil

are staged on time, the head of the operational department aims to ensure the solutions – allowing this to happen – are implemented across the world. “In regards to technology, we have already decided what we’re going to use and we’re working on it. The next step is making sure the cloud platforms are accessible all over the world,” states Fulya.

“That’s an extraordinary responsibility in a magical environment.”

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

163

RAGINGWIRE MISSION-CRITICAL DATA CENTERS FOR HYPERSCALE CLOUD AND LARGE ENTERPRISES

164

WRIT TEN BY

JOHN O’HANLON PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

APRIL 2019

RagingWire Sacramento CA3 Data Center Skywalk

165

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

R A G I N G W I R E D ATA C E N T E R S

166

As part of NTT, RagingWire is one of the largest data center providers in the world, connecting customers to a global network of more than 140 data centers in 20 countries and regions

T

o say the world is facing an

RagingWire was one of the early

unprecedented explosion of

start-ups that helped create the data

information may be a cliché,

center colocation industry back in the

but it’s true. Globally, the data center

early 2000s. Since then, the company

market is estimated to reach revenues

has steadily grown its presence across

of around US$174bn by 2023, largely

the US, with campuses in the top data

driven by the massive growth in cloud

center markets of Ashburn, Virginia,

computing and the migration of large

Dallas, Texas, Silicon Valley, Chicago,

enterprises from in-house data centers

Illinois, and Sacramento, California.

to colocation facilities. These are the

In Ashburn, the #1 data center market

fundamentals behind the strategy of

in the world which is known as “Data

RagingWire Data Centers.

Center Alley” for its large concentration

APRIL 2019

167

RagingWire Ashburn VA3 Data Center – Security checkpoint of colocation data centers, RagingWire

data center campus which is home to

operates a 78-acre, securely fenced

a marquee 16 MW facility. Four more

campus with room for seven large data

large data centers are planned for the

center facilities, one of which is opened

campus, which would bring the campus

and two of which are under construc-

total to 144 MW of critical IT load.

tion now. Combined with two other data

In Sacramento, California, about

centers RagingWire previously opened

90 miles east of San Francisco and

in Ashburn, the company owns space

outside the earthquake zone of the

for a total of nine Ashburn data centers

Bay Area, RagingWire built three

which could offer a total of 236 MW of

data centers with a total of 53 MW

critical power.

of critical power, all running on 100%

In Dallas, RagingWire owns a 42-acre

renewable energy. c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

R A G I N G W I R E D ATA C E N T E R S

Recently, RagingWire announced

increasingly outsource data center

plans to build new data centers on

capacity to take advantage of greater

coveted land in Silicon Valley (Santa

economies of scale, efficiencies,

Clara to be exact), and in Chicago.

speed to market, security, space and

These new locations complete Raging-

reliability than they would have if they

Wire’s portfolio in the most popular U.S.

housed their mission-critical comput-

data center locations, but the compa-

ers at their own facilities.

ny is also planning developments in other emerging markets as well.

In January 2014, NTT acquired an 80% equity stake in RagingWire. Four years later in January 2018, having

168

NTT BRINGS GLOBAL CONNECTIVITY TO RAGINGWIRE CUSTOMERS

doubled RagingWire’s capacity, NTT

Today RagingWire is focused on

remaining shares.

meeting the demands of large enterprises and cloud providers which

exercised its option to purchase the By joining the NTT family, RagingWire became the platform for NTT’s

E XECU T I VE P RO FI LE

Joe Goldsmith Joe Goldsmith is Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer at RagingWire Data Centers, responsible for all aspects of go-to-market strategy and execution including: sales, marketing, product management, business development, channels, and sales operations.

Goldsmith is a proven sales executive with more than 25 years of experience, including more than a decade in the data center industry.

APRIL 2019

“ Hybrid IT is the new world order and I don’t think you will find any CIO in America who has not contemplated or executed a cloud component to their overall strategy” — Joe Goldsmith, Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer at RagingWire

RagingWire Dallas TX1 Data Center – Lobby c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

169

R A G I N G W I R E D ATA C E N T E R S

“ The new data centers have to be super reliable of course, and scalable, but the one big consideration for hyper­scalers is speed to market” 170 — Kevin Dalton, Senior Vice President of Construction and Critical Facilities Engineering and Design (CFED) at RagingWire

RagingWire Sacramento CA3 Data Center – Lobby

data center business throughout the

huge market for the cloud and software-

Americas, and became part of one of

as-a-service (SaaS) providers, it’s not

the largest data center companies in

one in which most of the US-based

the world with strong financial backing

cloud service providers have deep

and more than 140 facilities in over 20

infrastructure. Being able to support

countries and regions.

them in the European and Asian

RagingWire’s customers value the

markets is really powerful for us.”

global reach enabled by NTT. Accorddent and Chief Revenue Officer Joe

EVERYTHING HYPERSCALE PLAYERS NEED, AND NOTHING THEY DON’T

Goldsmith, “Though Asia represents a

It makes less and less sense for

ing to RagingWire Senior Vice Presi-

APRIL 2019

171 E X E CU T I VE P RO FI LE

Kevin Dalton Kevin Dalton is Senior Vice President of Construction and Critical Facilities Engineering and Design (CFED) at RagingWire Data Centers, responsible for leading the team that designs and delivers world-class data centers.

Kevin is an expert in leveraging supply chain optimization and modular pre-fabricated construction techniques to drive rapid growth, improved quality, and speed to market.

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173

RagingWire Dallas TX1 Data Center hyperscale cloud providers like Google,

include bringing their operating

Amazon, Alibaba or Microsoft to take

expenses down through more efficient

the time and expense to build the

cooling, better management of energy

capacity they require in a data center.

and the like,” Dalton says. “The new

The hyperscale players are driving

data centers have to be super reliable

the market right now, says Kevin

of course, and scalable, but the one

Dalton, Senior Vice President of

big consideration for hyperscalers is

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to organizations like RagingWire.”

We are in the early stages of a tech

As Goldsmith puts it: “The hyperscale players’ core strength lies in building

boom driven by huge opportunities

and developing software, infrastructure

with the Internet of Things (IoT),

and cloud services. There are many

artificial intelligence (AI) and big data,

markets where they simply don’t have

and nobody doubts that soon self-driv-

the ability to catch up with the demand.

ing vehicles and smart cities will

That’s where they can turn to a third

create new demands for data centers

party like us that can help them achieve

and the servers, storage, and network-

their business objectives by fulfilling

ing devices that live there. Combine

their data capacity requirement.”

these new and emerging demands

Goldsmith mentioned that enterpris-

with continued growth in enterprise

es like insurance companies, banks or

computing and the future looks bright

large manufacturers may still have

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175

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“ We have been innovating in the area of modular design and supply chain, to both shorten construction lead times and to lower costs” — Kevin Dalton, Senior Vice President of Construction and Critical Facilities Engineering and Design (CFED) at RagingWire

To do this, he and Joe Goldsmith work closely with customers to understand their business plans and capacity requirements. “This is an iterative process for us in collaboration with our customers,” says Dalton. “Clearly, without access to reliable, cost-effective power and fiber connectivity you can’t have a data center. Cost of land and labor are other challenges.”

But these are secondary to being in the right location at the right time.

RagingWire is constructing, for example, a new four-story data center, SV1, in Santa Clara, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. The 160,000 sq. ft. facility

center, but most are executing a hybrid

is going up on a 3.3 acre site, with 64,000

strategy that includes legacy applica-

sq. ft of data floor space and 16 MW of

tions, proprietary systems, private

scalable, critical IT power and will be

cloud, and public cloud.

operational in 2020.

“Hybrid IT is the new world order

New data center space in Santa

and I don’t think you will find any CIO in

Clara is rare. The vacancy rate among

America who has not contemplated or

at least 30 data centers in the area is

executed a cloud component to their

under 8%. There will be no lack of

overall strategy,” Goldsmith said.

takers for RagingWire’s new facility.

To be prepared for the ground-shaking

BUILDING DATA CENTERS BIGGER, SMARTER, FASTER

that is characteristic of the Bay Area,

Kevin Dalton’s job is to locate, design

a seismic-stability system used by NTT

and construct new data center space.

in its data center in Japan, a location

RagingWire’s SV1 Data Center will feature

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R A G I N G W I R E D ATA C E N T E R S

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RagingWire Ashburn VA3 Data Center APRIL 2019

NTT (RAGINGWIRE’S PA R E N T C O M PA N Y )

$118bn+ Approximate revenue

283,000

Approximate number of employees

140

Data centers worldwide

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

179

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prone to earthquakes. A subterranean

area of modular design and supply

pendulum isolation system protects

chain, to both shorten construction

the building from the ground moving

lead times and to lower costs,” Dalton

below it. Using the same system, NTT’s

says. “There are huge advantages in

Tokyo facilities were unharmed by the

having standard designs where we

catastrophic 9.1 magnitude earthquake

can pretty much drop in electrical and

and tsunami that devastated eastern

mechanical modules at any location

Japan in 2011.

around the country. Time to market is

This is a great illustration of one of

vital to the cloud providers.”

the advantages that RagingWire gains

With this approach, the equipment

from its parent group, however Dalton

for an electrical room can be reduced

returns to the agility RagingWire offers

to a couple of elements that fit on a

as the main differentiator across the

flatbed truck for delivery to a core and

USA. “We have been innovating in the

shell at any location in the country. c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

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BUILDING BETTER

MODULAR ELECTRICAL SOLUTIONS FOR DATA CENTERS

www.fibrebond.com

“ Most of our customers have green policies so being able to offer them renewable energy helps them maintain those green credentials” — Kevin Dalton, Senior Vice President of Construction and Critical Facilities Engineering and Design (CFED) at RagingWire

are in place, installing the infrastructure should take no more than a few months. Purchasing agreements with global equipment manufacturers lead to volume discounts that can be passed on to customers.

“We do as much work in advance as possible to procure the equipment and ship it to the integrator so they can put it together for us, test it and hold it as inventory ready to ship,” Dalton explains.

It’s all about consistency in design, so that customers can deploy systems and RagingWire and their NTT colleagues can manage data centers worldwide.

Design drives operational synergy. The modular approach allows RagingWire to

Another advantage of partnering with

replicate facilities in different markets

vendors, he adds, is that they are willing

while tailoring the data centers to take

to hold an inventory of fully functioning

advantage of the unique characteristics

and tested modules – the old way of

of the geography.

build to order takes too long to meet hyperscale cycle times.

Close management of the supply

REDUCING TCO WHILE INCREASING RENEWABLE ENERGY

chain, allied to sophisticated forecast-

In a market that is expanding at the

ing, means that much of the construc-

rate of the cloud, total cost of owner-

tion can be done ahead of time.

ship (TCO) is a major consideration for

Customers need to know exactly when

providers when building a business

their facility will be up and running.

case. RagingWire is addressing TCO

Once the core and shell of the building

at every level. Power represents the c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

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R A G I N G W I R E D ATA C E N T E R S

biggest operational cost, and mechan-

now is to find affordable and reliable

ical systems such as cooling are the

renewable energy sources. RagingWire

largest consumers of power. In the

has taken a proactive approach to

data center industry, the ratio between

renewable energy at its three data

mechanical systems and computing

centers in Sacramento, Calif., which

equipment is assessed using the

together offer 680,000 sq. ft. with 53

power usage effectiveness (PUE)

MW of critical IT power. In Sacramento,

metric. “Efficient cooling systems lead

RagingWire now offers 100% renew-

to efficient data centers that reduce

able power that is 100% available and

your operating expense and ultimately

backed by a 100% uptime service level

lower the total cost of ownership for

agreement (SLA) to customers.

the customer,” explains Goldsmith.

Over the years, data center designs 184

have become highly efficient. The quest

APRIL 2019

Sustainability is a major priority for customers, emphasizes Kevin Dalton.

“Most of our customers have green

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘RAGINGWIRE DALLAS TX1 DATA CENTER VIRTUAL TOUR’

RagingWire Dallas TX1 Data Center – Lobby c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

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R A G I N G W I R E D ATA C E N T E R S

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APRIL 2019

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policies so being able to offer them renewable energy helps them maintain those green credentials. In Sacramento, we work with our utility partner, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), to ensure that our energy utilization is a combination of wind and hydro, solar and biomass. We are also working with energy providers in all of our locations to develop renewable energy options for our customers.”

Recycled concrete and repurposed steel are other ways he cites to reduce the amount of material sent to landfills.

EARNING A REPUTATION AS A TRUSTED, STABLE PROVIDER For Joe Goldsmith, a big benefit of being under the NTT umbrella is that the parent represents a single, stable, and substantial source of capital.

“Unlike a lot of the data center providers in the market today, especially the private-equity backed companies, we have a single source of capital,” Goldsmith says. “We don’t have to go from bank to bank when we want to come into a new market, raise debt, raid equity, look for investment partners, or manage to restrictive covenants. This

“ Efficient cooling systems lead to efficient data centers that reduce your operating expense and ultimately lower the total cost of ownership for the customer” — Joe Goldsmith, Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer at RagingWire RagingWire Dallas TX1 Data Center – Data Floor c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

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R A G I N G W I R E D ATA C E N T E R S

“ Unlike a lot of the data center providers in the market today, we have a single source of capital.

We don’t have to go from bank to bank when we want to come into a new market, raise debt, raid equity, look for investment partners, or manage to restrictive covenants” — Joe Goldsmith, Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer at RagingWire

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RagingWire Ashburn VA3 Data Center – Showcase Conference Room 189 takes uncertainty out of the equation,

service. Customers don’t want the

and that is something the hyperscale

volatility that comes with new owners,

players really appreciate.”

new contracts, new pricing, and new

RagingWire’s capital plan is re-

operations. They like to know that the

freshed annually, and this gives its

site will be operated in a proven and

clients confidence that their future

consistent way by people they know

plans don’t depend on a company that

and trust.”

might run into difficulties. “Another thing in our favor is that we are not subject to the consolidation that is going on right now in the data center market,” Goldsmith says. “It’s too easy for a data center start-up to be more interested in their exit strategy than their growth strategy and customer c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

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Customer centricity at the heart of digital transformation WRIT TEN BY

M ARCUS L AWRENCE

APRIL 2019

191

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T- M O B I L E

T-Mobile, the Uncarrier network, has incorporated disruptive technologies to overhaul its internal operations and online presence to maximise customer centricity

B

ased in Bellevue, Washington, T-Mobile US has undergone a significant digital transformation process over the past

five years, in tandem with a drastic overhaul of 192

its business model. CEO John Legere, who took office in 2012, has reenvisoned the company’s operations by focusing on customer centricity.

Now known as the ‘Uncarrier’ network, T-Mobile has become wholly concentrated on maximising customer freedom, rewarding customers for choosing T-Mobile and showing appreciation for their continued loyalty through ongoing offers. The move has seen a series of departures from standard industry practice, with a level of success that has gradually molded the sector around T-Mobile’s vision. Mandatory fixed-term contracts, limited early upgrade options, international usage fees, contract termination fees and more have been upended at T-Mobile, both to the benefit of its customers and the growth of its subscriber base.

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The feeling you get following your vendor’s ERP roadmap…

Sometimes, it’s hard to see how IT teams can deliver game-changing initiatives when a significant amount of their budget and resources are spent on a vendor-dictated roadmap … a never-ending journey with costly software maintenance, mandatory updates and upgrades and ultimately a rip-andreplace move to the cloud.

In the end, funding their roadmap could mean not funding yours. Don’t lose sight of your options. Learn how Rimini Street can help.

Get your free software support assessment today.

It’s Your Roadmap.

Powering digital transformation with a Business-Driven Roadmap

By Glenn Cahaly

I spend most of my time talking to Oracle and SAP customers and the conversation is essentially the same these days: “To change the game, our company needs to put users first and technology second. The good news: Our leadership team has identified what we need to compete and grow the business, and we understand the IT initiatives required. The bad news: we have very little capacity for innovation because we spend the majority of our budget and time on vendordictated ERP roadmaps, which can include risky updates, costly upgrades and rip-and-replace projects to move to their cloud solutions prematurely.”

Whether you are a CFO, a CIO, an IT leader, Procurement or IT Asset Manager, these words probably sound familiar. The vendor’s product roadmap should be an input into your strategy; it shouldn’t be your strategy. Yet ERP applications are such an important component of the IT you use to run your business that it can be easy to fall into the pattern of letting your vendor call the shots. If you don’t upgrade, you can fall out of compliance. And regardless of how much you pay, you get progressively less value from each upgrade. All the while, the vendor is shifting its R&D investments away from the products it sold you and giving you seemingly no option but to continue to move. Unlike a vendor-dictated approach, a Business-Driven Roadmap starts with an organization's 3-to-5 year business strategy and then defines the game-changing IT initiatives that will support it.

Rimini Street accelerates clients' to adopt a Business-Driven Roadmap strategy by providing capacity that accelerates their ability to innovate and reduces vendor lock-in, allows them the flexibility to design a roadmap based on their unique requirements, and provides the agility to take an orchestrated approach to their technology strategy. When clients move to a Business-Driven Roadmap approach powered by Rimini Street, they are liberated from the vendor-dictated roadmap and enabled to take control of their IT destiny and future-proof their investment to accommodate continuous change.

Get your free roadmap assessment today

1

Learn More

Gartner - “IT Key Metrics Data 2018: Executive Summary” December 11, 2017

Free up IT capacity: According to Gartner1, as much as 90percent of the IT budget goes to ongoing operations (“keeping the lights on”).

That leaves a measly 10percent to invest in game- changing initiatives. Organizations becoming trapped in an endless cycle of enterprise software upgrades is a big reason why. If you’ve customized your ERP and integrated it with other software, you don’t dare upgrade without extensive testing. Free yourself from this busywork, and you can get back to making technology investments that make a difference.

Extend the lifespan of existing investments: Most enterprises have spent years implementing, integrating and customizing their ERP to meet business needs — only to have their vendors tell them it’s time to abandon all that in favor of a “new and improved” but immature platform. Vendors want to establish new revenue streams and reposition themselves for the cloud.

That roadmap serves vendors’ needs, not those of enterprises seeking to build on investments they have already made.

That’s why you need a Business-Driven Roadmap approach that includes third-party support for your ERP. Innovate with flexibility: Cloud computing should give you more options, not fewer.

Your ERP vendor has a roadmap to take you to the cloud — specifically, to its proprietary corner of the cloud. Fortunately for those wary of even deeper vendor lock-in, open cloud options exist to improve the cost and performance of your ERP operations while keeping you in control. You won’t find many on the vendor’s technology roadmap; you need to follow your own and we can help you get there.

Design with your future enterprise in mind: How are you rationalizing your software decisions? You won’t find the answer exclusively on one vendor’s roadmap, unless you’re convinced it has the best product in every category.

Born-in-the cloud software represents some of the greatest innovations in enterprise technology. The best of them come with APIs that allow you to connect them to other APIs and to your installed base of software. Rather than struggling with laborious integrations, you have the opportunity to orchestrate software around the use cases that matter most to your business.

Learn why over 2,600 clients chose Rimini Street’s ultraresponsive service, breaking free from the burden of vendor support so they can focus IT resources on initiatives that support their Business-Driven Roadmap strategy.

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Drive digital strategies.

Deliver competitive advantage.

The future of procurement awaits.

Turn disruption into opportunity by innovating procurement with digital capabilities, advanced analytics, agile operations, and optimal experiences for customers, suppliers and employees. Learn more at read.kpmg.us/FutureProcurement

Anticipate tomorrow. Deliver today.

©2019 KPMG LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership and the U.S. member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. Some of the services or offerings provided by KPMG LLP are not permissible for its audit clients or affiliates or related entities. 181205

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘T-MOBILE – HOW WILL 5G CHANGE EVERYTHING?’

Nielsen Mobile Insights reported in

subscriber base continues to boom.

early 2017 that T-Mobile had ranked

In January 2019, T-Mobile’s Q4 2018

first in customer service satisfaction

report highlighted the net addition of

through the entirety of 2016. In the

2.4mn subscribers to its network, mak-

company’s press release at the time,

ing the quarter its best ever for acquir-

Legere said: “We have the best care

ing new customers. Since 2013, at

team in the business – at this point,

the advent of the Uncarrier marketing

that’s not even up for debate. But, like

strategy, T-Mobile’s customer base has

everyone else at this company, our

rocketed upwards by 46mn, bringing

care team takes ‘we won’t stop’ pretty

the total to 79.7mn at the end of 2018.

literally. They’ve got their sights on

In the same report, T-Mobile noted:

being the #1 care team in any industry,

“Not only are customers coming to

anywhere – not just wireless.” T-Mobile

T-Mobile, but they are also staying

has made good on this promise as its

longer. T-Mobile posted its bestw w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

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ever fourth quarter branded post-

past five years, with its Lightning and

paid phone churn result this quarter

Pardot platforms aiding significantly in

showing the power of the company’s

the automation and personalisation of

value proposition.”

the online customer experience. In a

The digital transformation that has

Dreamforce 2017 interview with John

accompanied and facilitated this

Carney, SVP of Communications and

drastic change of operations, and

Media at Salesforce, T-Mobile’s EVP of

subsequent success, has seen the

Marketing and Experience, Nick Drake,

incorporation of a host of exciting,

described the firm’s use of the Sales-

disruptive technologies that focus on

force platforms in driving the innova-

maximising the quality of T-Mobile’s

tive operations from an internal base.

service offering. Salesforce has been

“We are now incredibly excited about

a key partner for T-Mobile over the

the implementation of Lightning that’s w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

Rewiring the T-Mobile Supply Chain with Digital Technology platform

Whilst the idea was to shatter the architectural monolith, the efforts were centered around “ Small and RoI-driven” bets among the others which include Inventory serialization, reverse logistics serialization, IMEI tracking, and applications that were delivered successfully through 100% agile mode of execution.

T-Mobile is known for its resolute pursuits and unwavering focus on customer experience. Digital Transformation was the preferred strategy and supply chain was one of the chosen areas for transformation in order to build foundational capabilities. The tenets of the Digital Supply chain transformation included Customer Centricity, Real-time Inventory visibility and Asset traceability, Time to market and integration with other partner ecosystems.

The resulting KPI’s were higher NPS, reduced time to market, reduced inventory cycle time and better control over operating costs. The next time a customer connects with any T-Mobile touch point and is able to access real-time inventory, check product availability, trade-off an old phone for a new one in a frictionless manner, it is the Digital transformation in action, enabled by a robust T-Mobile - Tech Mahindra partnership.

Tech Mahindra, #15 in the Forbes Digital 100 ranking 2018, collaborated with T-Mobile to take up the challenge of going beyond the brief through architectural simplifications and automation through a co-created framework for transformation.

Tech Mahindra’s ability to deliver value to the business with a state-of-the-art digital platform and transforming the culture of the operations has helped T-Mobile achieve digital maturity in a record time.

To learn more visit us at, https://www.techmahindra.com/cwce.html

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just occurred, as we’re seeing radical

“ We have the best damn care team in the business – at this point, that’s not even up for debate” — John Legere, CEO at T-Mobile

efficiency appearing in our business,” Drake said. “From a lead generation perspective, we’re using Pardot to prioritise who we should be contacting, Einstein is going in in the near future to help us become more intuitive and predictive about who we should be calling and what our most qualified leads are,” he continued. “It’s enabling our teams to put the next natural customer experience step into place.” Lightning has enabled T-Mobile to personalise the w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

T- M O B I L E

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T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray, second left, and executives including Executive Vice President of Communications and Community Engagement Janice Kapner President Mike Sievert, center, CEO John Legere, second from left, and CFO Braxton Carter

C O M PA N Y FACT S

• T-Mobile’s customer base has increased by 46mn since 2013, reaching 79.7mn at the end of 2018

Salesforce CRM platform to its brand, as well as significantly increasing the efficiency with which its representatives can manage pipelines through a deeply intuitive user interface. Pardot,

• T-Mobile added 2.4mn subscribers to its network in Q4 2018, its best quarter ever

Salesforce’s CRM-integrated B2B

• T-Mobile has tripled its 4G LTE coverage since 2015

launch, and manage campaigns and

• Revolutionary CEO John Legere took office in 2012

marketing automation solution, enables T-Mobile’s marketers to create, initiatives with ease, ramping up their lead generation rates.

This technological focus on the customer, coupled with T-Mobile’s

APRIL 2019

203

pioneering subscription strategies and offers, is further strengthened by its asynchronous messaging capabilities launched in 2016. Provided by LivePerson, a market leader in conversational commerce solutions, T-Mobile’s Team of Experts service enables its customers to continue through each stage of their digital journey with the same representative, providing a continuity of service that is often sorely lacking across other live chat services. In a September 2018 press release from

$40bn+ Approximate revenue

2002

Year founded

44,000

Approximate number of employees w w w.busi ne ssc hief. com

T- M O B I L E

LivePerson, Drake said: “The frustration of endless robotic phone menus and transfers from rep to rep can ruin a customer’s experience – so we ended it. Now with T-Mobile’s Team of Experts, our customers can get assistance when and how they want to – including via messaging.”

In Drake’s interview with John Carney, he noted that the decision to introduce this service was driven by an understanding of modern smartphone usage, particularly the focus on messaging 204

and video streaming. Today, the commitment to T-Mobile customers’ love for watching video on their smartphones has seen the firm launch a free Netflix subscription with its T-Mobile ONE family package. This attention to detail can be traced back to John Legere’s influence as CEO, who has reportedly instructed each of the company’s executives to speak to customers every day, thereby instilling the laudable culture of customer-centricity through consulting with those customers about what they want from their network provider.

T-Mobile’s next major step in its digital journey is no secret: the muchAPRIL 2019

anticipated leap to 5G. Not only has the firm tripled its 4G LTE coverage since 2015, it has been working hard to ensure it is one of the first to market with its own 5G network. The firm has laid out its 5G Vision, promising the gigabit-speed network standard for everyone, everywhere. Industry experts anticipate that 5G will be one of the most transformative leaps in wireless technology’s history, and T-Mobile says it is the only carrier in the US capable of establishing a strong and well-distributed 5G network in the early years of its release. With T-Mobile set to launch its 5G coverage this year, it says that the network will not only offer significantly faster download and upload speeds but that it will also enable it to offer lower prices per gigabyte for its customers. Highlighting this promise of bringing down its prices is emblematic of T-Mobile’s bold strategy since Legere took the reins, knowing and proving that investing in customers will continue to draw subscribers like never before.

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206

INTELLIGENT DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ON A GLOBAL SCALE WRIT TEN BY

JOHN O’HANLON PRODUCED BY

CR AIG DANIEL S

APRIL 2019

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SAP

A comparatively recent strategy of inorganic growth at scale has significantly expanded SAP’s markets and furthered its ownership of the intelligent enterprise. We speak to the strategy’s architect Arlen Shenkman, Executive Vice President for Global Business Development and Ecosystems at SAP

S

AP is the defining enterprise software company of our time. Industry leaders in almost every sector, private and

public, were getting to grips with the concept 208

of enterprise resource planning (ERP) back in the 1990s when, in the face of determined competition, SAP succeeded in adapting to the rapid evolution that was taking place at the turn of the century. Not only did it expand its platform to embrace additional functionality, but it started to prepare itself for the exodus from on-premise enterprise software to the as-a-service model that resides in the cloud today. SAP’s is the fastest growing business cloud by a wide margin.

At its inception, the company had a strategy of having regional resellers but today it is reaping the benefits of having decided very early on that it was going to be a global company. It entered China in the early 1990s and now China is its fastest growing market APRIL 2019

209

in defiance of any gloom around its slowing growth. “We are not having challenges in China — we are doubling down in China,” declared SAP’s CEO Bill McDermott as recently as January 29th.

Arlen Shenkman’s association with SAP spans 15 years and in that time, he has helped evolve the company’s global growth strategy in a number of important ways. Trained in corporate law and corporate finance he brought with him broad experience with large international firms, much of it to do with mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

JOIN THE BEST. Discover your path to digital transformation.

Around the world, leading companies and organizations are using cutting-edge technologies to transform their business, drive innovation, and win in an increasingly digital economy. These businesses are a cut above their competitors in many ways, but what sets them apart the most are the technologies they use to support themselves, as well as their industries and customers.

Platform technologies are helping these businesses reach their goals and discover new ones, regardless of the industry. Take a look at just some of the industries where leading companies are leaping ahead in innovative ways.

Manufacturing In a high-pressure, competitive industry like manufacturing, companies must make use of every possible measure to keep costs low and efficiency high.

Aligning its strategy with digital transformation processes, Bosch Group is focusing on innovative, service-based business models and the Internet of Things (IoT). To achieve this, Bosch deployed the SAP HANA in-memory database using SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications on IBM Power. As a result, they streamlined SAP HANA operations and support, and maximized availability and business continuity of SAP HANA environments through innovative technology solutions.

To produce and distribute tires and rubber auto parts to a wide range of customers all around the world, JK Tyre required efficient manufacturing processes and low-friction methods of coordinating with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), as well as dealers and distribution networks. In the race to stay ahead of its competitors, JK Tyre decided to make the move to SAP HANA and SUSE Linux Enterprise for SAP Applications. JK Tyre boosts productivity by up to 30% and will now migrate to S/4HANA. Retail/Wholesales Companies in the retail/wholesale industry must offer great value and a seamless shopping experience.

Further, they need to give managers real-time insight into customer purchasing habits, profit margins and stock levels.

CarrefourSA decided to refresh its entire enterprise application landscape, introducing an integrated suite of SAP ERP solutions, together with SAP Business Warehouse (BW) powered by SAP HANA for ultra-fast analytics and reporting. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications provides a reliable platform to support constantly growing operations at CarrefourSA and delivers consistently high levels of performance for even the most demanding SAP workloads.

As a major player in the wholesale business, Galexis wants to offer digital, real-time services to complement its logistics operations, as well as Alloga’s pre-wholesale operations. Galexis decided to implement SAP S/4HANA powered by SAP HANA running on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications. Galexis improved business continuity with 50% faster, fully automated failover process.

High Tech Innovation also happens at the intersection of industries. Hosting provider FIS-ASP wanted to seize new business opportunities and broaden its service offering to address the evolving requirements of its customers, while also increasing efficiency. Previously, when FIS-ASP was managing systems manually, it typically took between 40 and 60 man-days to set up complex landscapes for customers, such as those featuring SAP S/4HANA applications, SAP Fiori, SAP Hybris and SAP Business Warehouse. By taking advantage of SUSE OpenStack Cloud, FISASP can now complete the same kinds of deployments in just five or ten days.

Can you win with a digital platform?

Companies across industries are using platform technologies to thrive in their industries – or transcend beyond their boundaries. Find more success stories on www.suse.com/c/success/.

About SUSE SUSE is the trusted and preferred open source platform for SAP customers who want to unlock data intelligence, drive innovation and run with the best. • Trusted: SAP’s in-house implementation platform • Open and Flexible: World’s largest independent open source provider, promising customers retain control and flexibility • Innovative: SAP co-innovation partner, enabling customers to run with the best.

SAP

212

APRIL 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SAP BUSINESS WOMEN’S NETWORK – DEFINE THE WAY’ 213 2005, he was invited by SAP’s then

activity at the center of future develop-

CFO Werner Brandt to build out an

ment. “Our objective was to do trans-

M&A practise for the company. Before

formative acquisitions. We really started

then, though it had made a number of

down that road in 2007 with the acquisi-

smaller acquisitions, SAP’s growth had

tion of BusinessObjects in the analytics

been largely organic and by strategic

space, and that expanded our address-

partnerships with technology compa-

able markets considerably.” The $6.78bn

nies, notably IBM.

acquisition of BusinessObjects was a watershed moment for the company

TRANSFORMATIVE ACQUISITION AT SCALE

commitment and because it brought

Brandt however recognized that to meet

business intelligence tools to SAP’s back

the challenges of the market and the

office transactional systems.

limitless potential presented by data it would be necessary to place M&A

both on account of the major financial

By 2010, SAP was ready to make its next transformational jump with the c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

Cisco and SAP Empowering intelligent enterprises everywhere.

Bring intelligent experiences to your customers on premise or in the cloud.

Cisco is the best choice for deploying the complete SAP solution with infrastructure that is built in concert with SAP. This includes world-class hardware and software solutions within Data Centers, Cloud, Collaboration, and products like AppDynamics, DNA Spaces, and more.

Core Benefits: Dependable infrastructure Connect SAP applications and users across the enterprise with the best foundation for a modern, flexible, and efficient SAP environment Adaptable platforms Ensure SAP environments are deployed, managed, and optimized for enhanced functionality across the entire data management suite Continuous innovation Take advantage of world-class R&D that consistently finds new ways to innovate, drive business agility, and do more with your data.

For enterprise businesses looking to maximize value and build the best foundation for a modern, flexible, and efficient SAP environment, Cisco connects SAP applications and users with adaptable platforms and dependable infrastructure. With enhanced functionality across the entire data management suite, Cisco ensures modern, flexible, and efficient SAP environments are easily deployed, managed, and optimized. Supported by world-class R&D and armed with a comprehensive approach to modernization and continuous innovation, Cisco consistently delivers new ways to innovate, drive business agility, and do more with data.

Cisco helps you maximize the value of your existing SAP investment and add valuable new cloud native capabilities to help your business thrive now and into the future.

Together, Cisco and SAP are empowering intelligent enterprises everywhere.

Click here to learn more

SAP

216

$5.8bn acquisition of Sybase, which

Concur, SAP is the undisputed business

gave SAP users the option of running

network company. We are redefining

their operations from mobile devices,

how businesses conduct commerce

paving the way for real-time analytics

across goods and services, contingent

and removing barriers between business

workforces, travel and entertainment.

applications and business intelligence,

With the SAP HANA platform, the pos-

says Shenkman. “We then went on with

sibilities to innovate new business

a series of acquisitions to expand our

models around Concur and the network

cloud capabilities, ranging from Success-

are limitless.”

Factors to Ariba and Fieldglass and

Following the successful completion

the travel and expense management

of this phase of strategic M&A activity

services company Concur.”

Shenkman served for two years as

The $8.3bn Concur deal in 2014

CFO of SAP in its largest market, the

coincided with the launch of the latest

USA, before being invited by the CEO

version of the S/4 HANA business

to work directly with him in the newly

suite. As Bill McDermott observed at

created role of Executive Vice President,

the time: “With Ariba, Fieldglass and

Global Business Development and

APRIL 2019

Ecosystems in May, 2017. His job, he explains, is to help the company get to grips with the opportunities it has to grow externally. “We tend to define that as inorganic growth: oftentimes that can be a new strategic partnership or an acquisition or a strategic investment, but in essence our charter is really to help the company put its arms around strategic initiatives with global partners. We’re looking for initiatives that enable us to expand our portfolio and continue to help our customers and our ecosystem with the digital transformation that most of them are going through.”

“ Data only has value when it helps you make better decisions and makes employees, customers and product users have a better experience with you” — Arlen Shenkman, Executive Vice President for Global Business Development & Ecosystems at SAP

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Arlen Shenkman Arlen Shenkman serves as executive vice president for global business development and ecosystems at SAP. He is responsible for business models, investments, and mergers and acquisitions. Before his current role, Shenkman served as CFO of SAP North America, SAP’s largest business unit, responsible for all finance functions in North America, including forecasting and planning, identifying efficiencies, and ensuring the region’s overall financial health. As part of the leadership team, Shenkman was engaged in driving new sales.

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217

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Different is bet

tter

219

THE INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE

said, the most recent SAP acquisition

The word ecosystem in Shenkman’s job

($8bn) of Qualtrics has outlined a new

title reflects the realities facing business

category, that of experience manage-

today. A holistic view of organizational

ment (XM). The experience economy

activity as an organism or a living entity

is a reality – 80% of customers have

influenced by the activity and changes

chosen to switch brand because of

in every place, internal or external, that

a negative experience and the impact

touches it, is made possible by the

of yearly loss of trust due to abuse

convergence and management of

of data privacy and brand loyalty is

data in the cloud. We can see here

put at a staggering $2.5tn, and the est-

the beginnings of what SAP today

imated market size for customer exper-

describes as the intelligent enterprise.

ience solutions, platform and integra-

In this new world the notion of cate-

tion to operational systems stands

gories is perhaps invidious, but that

at $100bn. c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

SAP

220

“ One of the things that really excited us was the idea of creating a category around experience management” — Arlen Shenkman, Executive Vice President for Global Business Development & Ecosystems at SAP

APRIL 2019

221

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SAP

1972

Year founded

96,000

Approximate number of employees

222

Qualtrics is a technology platform

an employee’s, or a product user’s

that organizations use to collect, man-

experience. But Qualtrics is truly

age and act on experience data. Expe-

a horizontal platform that allows you

rience management may be described

to get feedback and information

as a system whereby teams, depart-

around the holistic experience from

ments and organizations can manage

all of these. This gets really interesting

the four core ‘experiences’ of business:

when you bring it together with our

customer, product, employee and

product portfolio, which links together

brand. “One of the things that really

that operational data with experiential

excited us when we were considering

data. How is it possible to have an

this acquisition,” says Shenkman, “was

intelligent enterprise without under-

the idea of creating a category around

standing how your customers,

experience management. This is often

employees, product users, and every-

narrowly defined as a customer’s,

one exposed to your brand, feel about

APRIL 2019

223

you?” It is hard to have a holistic view

real time – addressing issues like

without really understanding what

competitiveness drops, employee turn-

is happening to the business from an

over or customer churn before they

external perspective, and why that

have time to develop into a problem.

is happening.”

The integration of this ability with

Simply put, Qualtrics brings together

SAP’s ecosystem eliminates the old

the mass of experiential data trawled

distinction between front office and

from whatever source – customer,

back office. ‘Intelligent enterprise’

brand, employee or the product itself.

ceases to be a mere buzzword once

Rather than crunching these numbers

the business is viewed organically,

in the back office and subjecting them

rather like the human body or a natural

to traditional feedback and survey pro-

ecosystem in which latency can mean

cesses, it gives companies the ability

the difference between extinction

to adjust policy based on this data in

and survival. c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

SAP

DATA IN THE ECOSYSTEM Data, of itself, is dumb, says Arlen Shenkman. “There has long been a debate in large companies and among enterprise software specialists about the intrinsic value of data. My personal perspective is that data only has value when it helps you make better decisions and makes employees, customers and product users have a better experience with you. That can’t happen unless you know what they think about you.”

For 50 years SAP has been focused on customer success driven by the 224

quality of its products: that remains the focus, but today it’s no longer enough.

There’s no doubt that the acquisitions of the past ten years have deepened and broadened SAP’s reach. Innovation can’t happen in isolation, he insists.

“Without doubt M&A has driven a very robust portfolio of products, each of which enhances our focus on the success of our customers – and that, we believe, is the key to our own success as a global organization.”

So, it’s probably not quite the thing to regard the Qualtrics acquisition as a complete reinvention of the company.

SAP always had this focus, based on customer service delivered through APRIL 2019

its global presence and the global presence of the 18,000 partners that implement, build and innovate on its platforms. “This is where the complexity of our ecosystem comes in. We have very large global partners like Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte, EY, and PWC. We work closely with the major public cloud providers, and hardware and software partners, and we have many smaller regional suppliers from around the world. The core of the SAP ecosystem is a very strong set of companies around the globe that develop software that resides and integrates with an SAP platform, whether on-premise or a cloud solution like SuccessFactors, Fieldglass, Ariba or Concur. Over the years, SAP has carefully cultivated our ecosystem.

Every partner contributes certain expertise that allows us to deliver a more intelligent enterprise.”

THE LANDSCAPE SURVEYED There’s no doubt though that Qualtrics is a bit of a game changer for SAP, and one that will take a while to settle in.

It is impossible to say never again, but the man with the overview of the ecosystem is able to claim a degree of satisfaction with its current state. “We love the c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

225

SAP

“ The core of the SAP ecosystem is a very strong set of companies around the globe that develop software that resides in and integrates with an SAP platform” — Arlen Shenkman, Executive Vice President for Global Business Development & Ecosystems at SAP

226

Qualtrics acquisition and we are really excited about building a category around XM, however I am not aware of any hole in our portfolio that would represent a strategic gap for us,” he says. “When we look over the landscape today, what our development teams have built and the cloud assets that we’ve amassed over the past eight years, we’re very comfortable with that portfolio.” So, no more large scale acquisitions are currently in his sights.

APRIL 2019

The breadth of the SAP portfolio is legendary of course with capabilities spanning ERP, procurement, CRM, HR, MRP and so on you’d be hard put to identify any weakness. There will doubtless continue to be smaller acquisitions as the potential of technologies like AI and IoT are realized, but from here on in, SAP can concentrate on its core mission.

“The journey for so many of our customers is digital transformation. SAP is helping them all the way, from finding the right place for them to start to deploy some solutions to implementing them. Some of the companies we work with are already through that journey; others are not. With 425,000 customers in 180 countries it’s not surprising they are on different timetables!”

The acquisition program since 2010 has hugely expanded what he calls SAP’s addressable markets. “We have crafted a strategy to ensure our customers go through their digital transformation and move to the cloud successfully, deploying SAP technology to become the best businesses they can be.”

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227

LOGO HERE

228

The secret behind Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies’ growth WRIT TEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY

ANDY TURNER

APRIL 2019

229

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B E R K S H I R E H AT H A W AY G U A R D I N S U R A N C E C O M PA N I E S

Competition may be rife in the insurance sector but Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies is proving it has the right strategy for success

P

erhaps no greater question faces companies today than: ‘How do I scale my business?’

Nowadays, business headlines are inundated with

stories touting the best tips and tricks for growth but surely, more than anything, it’s better to follow in the footsteps of a company which has done it before? Insurers searching for the best tried-and-tested methods to scale their business need look no further than Berkshire Hathaway 230

GUARD Insurance Companies, a fast-growing trailblazer in the US insurance market.

Preparing the foundations for growth Since its founding in 1983, GUARD companies have gone from strength to strength and today, now known as Berkshire Hathaway Guard Insurance Companies, the business stands as a prominent subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway – underwriting through its insurance companies: WestGUARD, AmGUARD, EastGUARD, NorGUARD and AZGUARD. The group provides commercial (and, most recently, personal lines) insurance coverage and services to businesses of all types in the US. In fact, in 2017, the group issued over 250,000 policies to businesses across the country. However, this success wasn’t achieved because of luck or ‘just good timing’: throughout its history Berkshire Hathaway GUARD has worked hard to redefine and reshape its strategy, APRIL 2019

231

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B E R K S H I R E H AT H A W AY G U A R D I N S U R A N C E C O M PA N I E S

“ We’re growing every year by 20-25% which shows that this is not a steady state company” — Sy Foguel, CEO and President, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD

in 2012, the organization changed hands again and became a whollyowned subsidiary of National Indemnity Company, which is part of the Berkshire Hathaway Group. “Today, we are a $1.6bn company,” Foguel adds.

COO Carl Witkowski, who has been with the company in different roles since 1989, adds that before gaining the backing of Berkshire Hathaway, GUARD first had to forge its own path in the insurance market. “We were a small regional company and there

232

aligning the organization to achieve

were two key things we had to offer:

meteoric growth.

superior service and efficiency,” he

The CEO, Sy Foguel, joined the

observes. “Our retail agents are a key

company in 2007 when the group

part of our DNA – they’ve been our

was acquired by Clal Insurance

distribution force.” Like any small

Enterprise Holdings Ltd., an interna-

operation, efficiency has always been a

tional insurance group of which he

well-versed mantra at GUARD. “We

was Executive Vice President. “At the

needed to be efficient to survive

time the company was writing around

as a company and so our expense

US$200mn of Workers Compensation

ratios needed to be managed,”

premium in a dozen states,” he recalls.

he continues. “When we were later

“Our vision from day one was to use the

acquired, it was a great example of

company as a platform to become a

when preparation meets opportunity.”

one stop shop for the insurance needs

Critically, as the insurer has continued

distributed by our agents. We started

on its upward trajectory, it has taken

to introduce additional lines of coverage

care to retain this same start-up

and built all the infrastructure.” Later

philosophy and mentality.

APRIL 2019

233

SPEARHEADING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

accomplishments partially enabled by

“In 1989 GUARD was a small two-state

our R&D approach to technology

company,” Witkowski recalls. “I was

yielding over a dozen patents.” With

brought in to hone its processes, create

a wealth of experience in insurance,

efficiencies and develop a managerial

Witkowski has witnessed firsthand how

infrastructure.” As part of this process,

the sector is moving from the paper-

the enterprise re-platformed directly

based work of the past towards a new

onto a browser-based modern architec-

age powered by technology and data.

ture and went increasingly paperless

insurance companies, with both

Many businesses contend that data

– readying itself for a digitally-savvy

is the ‘new oil’ and the same sentiment

future. “We probably had one of the first

rings true at Berkshire Hathaway GUARD.

browser-based client systems in the

With reams of data at the insurer’s

United States,” adds Witkowski. “We

fingertips, Foguel, who is an actuary by

also became one of the first paperless

profession, believes that this appreciation c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

B E R K S H I R E H AT H A W AY G U A R D I N S U R A N C E C O M PA N I E S

234

of data gives the organization

consumed when companies decide

a significant edge. “Whether it’s for

to replace their policy administration

claims processing or policy selection

system, portals, claims system,

and pricing, we always manage data

or spend their time integrating multiple

down to the scintilla level. This means

third-party systems” observes Witkowski.

we can provide our analysts and actuarial

“It distracts the business and slows it

staff the data they need to make good,

down. Because of this, we don’t

real-time decisions,” he explains.

replace any systems. Instead, we

Digital transformation can put a

evolve our systems. Therefore, we

strain on any business’ wallet but at

don’t waste the resources and we don’t

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD, the

throw away that investment. However,

enterprise has shrewdly taken a build,

we still must make the system very

rather than buy, approach. “A lot of

easy for an agent to use, as we don’t

resources, time and effort are

work directly with consumers.”

APRIL 2019

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Sy Foguel As Chief Executive Officer and President, Sy Foguel leads the strategic planning and positioning of the organization, helping to promote initiatives that make realization of both short- and long-term goals possible. His involvement with the company has been marked by numerous accomplishments. While at Clal Insurance of Israel, he was the individual who first recognized the potential of a small, regional monoline carrier (i.e., GUARD in 2006) and was instrumental in the acquisition of this organization in 2007, which ultimately resulted in him being named Chief Executive Officer and President of GUARD. Since 2007, the company’s annual premiums have more than tripled (despite very challenging economic times) while maintaining a combined ratio well below industry peers and diversifying into new lines of property and casualty coverage. In 2012, he then helped orchestrate the profitable sale of GUARD to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (specifically National Indemnity Company) and has continued in his role as CEO/President — rebranding the group as Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies and becoming a nationwide carrier Prior to his current tenure, Foguel had accumulated diverse international, executive-level insurance industry experience, including roles as CEO of IDI Bituch Yashir of Israel, Executive Vice President of Clal Insurance of Israel, and Senior Vice President of Arch Insurance in the United States as well as being in charge of other international insurance ventures such as a Lloyd’s Syndicate and a Romanian entity.

Sy is an honors graduate of the Computer Engineering and Mathematics Faculties at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, is a certified actuary in both the US and Israel, and is a member of several actuarial societies in both countries (ACAS, FILAA).

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B E R K S H I R E H AT H A W AY G U A R D I N S U R A N C E C O M PA N I E S

E X ECU T I VE P RO FI LE

236

Carl Witkowski Chief Operating Officer Carl Witkowski joined the organization in 1996 after working for nearly a decade as a consultant. Throughout his tenure, he has spearheaded numerous initiatives such as transforming the organization to 100% paperless processing in the early 2000’s and leading the re-platforming of our proprietary systems to a browser-based environment. Similarly, Witkowski’s prior leadership experience in the health care field has enabled him to serve a key role in formulating and shaping managed care strategies that have allowed Berkshire Hathaway GUARD to excel in delivering superior claims service that provides quality care to injured workers while containing costs. As current President of GUARDCo, he ensures standards of excellence and best practices are achieved.

As part of his current duties, he leads Berkshire Hathaway GUARD’s information and technology group and is also “curator” of the company’s “human capital” and culture. In 2001 (the only year the company participated), GUARD was named the second Best Large Place to Work in Pennsylvania. All operational units currently fall under Witkowski’s leadership, including Claims processing, Small and Intermediate Business Unit underwriting, and Customer Service and Support functions.

Witkowski has extensive past management, executive, and leadership experiences. He exited his two-decade career in behavioral health as Clinical Director of one of Pennsylvania’s most diverse behavioral health organizations. He was also engaged in private practice (providing both clinical counseling and management consulting), was a graduate faculty member of Marywood University for 12 years, and is a frequent presenter on information technology and human capital topics at national conferences.

APRIL 2019

“Our retail agents are a key part of our DNA – they’ve been our distribution force” — Carl Witkowski, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President at Berkshire Hathaway GUARD

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237

B E R K S H I R E H AT H A W AY G U A R D I N S U R A N C E C O M PA N I E S

LEADERSHIP AND COLLABORATION: A PERFECT MIX Technology may be a fundamental cog in any business growth strategy but when it comes to true success, it’s ultimately down to the people. Abandoning hierarchies in favor of a culture that “rewards individual performance and celebrates team accomplishment”, Foguel points out how “everyone treats this company as though they have ownership in it – there’s respect for one another”.

“There are never more than three 238

1983

Year founded

500+

Approximate number of employees

HQ

Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania

or four degrees of separation in the company,” he notes. “Our greatest success is our ability to make decisions quickly. We’re also flexible enough to implement them on a very quick timeline.”

The insurer has taken this positive work culture one step further using technology: by creating a robust agency portal and leading call center, the firm has strived to create a close-knit culture between the company and its agents.

In all aspects, it seems agility is interwoven into the company’s DNA. This not only applies to technology: indeed, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD has worked diligently to offer bigger and better product propositions to APRIL 2019

“ We don’t replace any systems.

Instead, we evolve our systems” — Carl Witkowski, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President at Berkshire Hathaway GUARD

239

its customers. “GUARD itself is not

and fleet management systems (FMS)

a new company but in the last decade

technology for its commercial auto

we’ve acted like a fast growing startup,”

lines, and a project with Plank Re to use

enthuses Foguel. “We’re growing every

AI to further automate the workers’

year by 20-25% which shows that this is

compensation underwriting process.

not a steady state company in any form.

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD is truly

We’re always innovating and we always

a strong role model for how to profitably

have four or five projects on the go.”

scale quickly and steadily. Businesses

In fact, just last year the firm announced

should keep an eye on the firm to see

various partnerships with IoT companies

what they’ll do next.

and AI applications, including a pilot with Safe Drive Systems (SDS), to create a collision avoidance system c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

240

Digital transformation and innovation at Plymouth Rock WRIT TEN BY

OLIVIA MINNOCK PRODUCED BY

ANDY TURNER

APRIL 2019

241

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P LY M O U T H R O C K A S S U R A N C E

Tom Lyons, Chief Operations Officer of Plymouth Rock Assurance’s Direct Response Channel, discusses how an agile, creative approach has allowed the insurer to adapt its offering to a changing market

242

T

oday, customer service is all about choice and innovation and the increasingly competitive insurance sector is no

exception. Consumers want to communicate in the most convenient way for them, and they expect personalized service as well as products tailored to their specific needs. Across an increasingly demanding landscape, auto and home insurance carrier Plymouth Rock Assurance has stepped up to this challenge and adapted its offering to survive – and thrive. Tom Lyons, Chief Operations Officer of Plymouth Rock Assurance’s Direct Response Channel, has closely watched the changing industry over his 12 years at the company. He has observed key consumer habit changes and notes an important shift: consumers increasingly want the ease of doing business through a distribution channel of their choice. This is the very reason the Direct Response Channel for Plymouth Rock was born.

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P LY M O U T H R O C K A S S U R A N C E

“ That’s the key to direct distribution: how do we make it easy for the consumer to buy the product, while still feeling well informed?”

— Tom Lyons, Chief Operations Officer, Direct Response Channel, Plymouth Rock Assurance

“In New Jersey, property and casualty insurance market share has evolved from being independent and exclusive agent dominated to more direct dominated,” Lyons explains.

For example, in 2003, New Jersey was 71% dominated by independent and exclusive agents. Today those same agents make up around 47% of the market. In comparison, the Direct market share in 2003 was 29% and now stands at 53%. Plymouth Rock has had to adapt to this transformation in the industry while continuing to invest in and support its independent and

244

Prudential exclusive agent networks.

Traditionally, the insurer distributed its products solely through an agency model. In order to step up and compete with the evolution of direct writers, a key element of Plymouth Rock’s transformation was to build a direct capability that complemented and strengthened its agency distribution offering. “Within our geographic footprint, you’ll see that a lot of the big, national direct writers entered our markets and began gobbling up market share from the agency channels,” Lyons comments. “To combat that, we piloted building out a direct-to-consumer APRIL 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘PLYMOUTH ROCK ASSURANCE 30 SECOND TV SPOT’ 245 response channel about 10 years ago

its agency channel, as opposed to

to see if we could make the economics

a competing business. “From the initial

of growing through direct distribution

launch of the Direct Response Channel

work. We also needed to help our

through today, our focus has been

agency channels compete in a digital

helping the Plymouth Rock Enterprise

marketplace.” While initially a pilot

compete in this evolving digital land-

venture, failure was not an option.

scape. We are continually on the hunt

Plymouth Rock needed to build an

for new marketing sources, partners,

economical and scalable direct

and technology to leverage for the

business to compete in the market-

benefit of our agents,” says Lyons.

place and to fuel growth. Over the past

Since being founded in 1982,

decade, it has transformed into

Plymouth Rock has expanded signifi-

a multi-channel distribution model.

cantly across the northeast US. Initially,

Plymouth Rock’s goal is for its Direct Response Channel to be a partner to

Plymouth Rock distributed its products in Massachusetts and eventually c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

P LY M O U T H R O C K A S S U R A N C E

246

moved into New Jersey in 1992. It also

have economies of scale in terms of

has been active with independent agents

their marketing and telesales acquisition

in Connecticut and New Hampshire for

dollars,” says Lyons. “In many cases,

more than 20 years. Currently, Plymouth

they have thousands of sales reps

Rock’s Direct Response Channel is

in their sales centers and very large

actively writing in New Jersey, Pennsylva-

national advertising budgets.

nia, Connecticut and New Hampshire.

To compete with that, we have to be

The company plans to enter New York

extremely targeted and selective about

in the latter part of 2019.

where and how we spend our marketing

As the market changes and develops,

dollars and how we sell our product.”

Plymouth Rock no longer just competes

In many ways, Plymouth Rock is

with local rivals. National and global

maintaining an entrepreneurial startup

companies also have become competi-

mentality as it grows. It is careful how

tors. “Our direct national competitors

it spends its money and the relationships

APRIL 2019

it forms, and it is adept at listening to

or tablet and buy the product online or

each colleague within the fast growing

over the telephone. However, they still

organization.

seek the comfort and confidence of

A significant advantage for Plymouth

knowing that there’s a licensed agent

Rock is its deep understanding of the

ensuring they make the right decisions.

market and how consumer needs and

That’s the key to direct distribution.

expectations continue to evolve. Lyons

How do we make it easy for the

is keenly aware of the shift to self-serve

consumer to buy the product, while still

in the market and what this means for

feeling well served and well informed?”

his organization. “Back in the old days

In order to provide the best possible

of insurance, it was routine for customers

experience for customers in a changing

to go to their local agent to buy insurance

landscape, Plymouth Rock has worked

products, face to face. Nowadays,

with innovative startups that might

many customers want to be able

otherwise be seen as disruptive

to transact right from their smartphone

competition. “We’ve worked with a lot

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE Tom Lyons Tom Lyons is the Chief Operations Officer of the Direct Response Channel for the Plymouth Rock Management Company of New Jersey.

He is responsible for all aspects of Plymouth Rock Assurance’s auto direct‐to‐consumer marketing and sales efforts, marketing analytics activities, and inbound and outbound Sales Center operations.

He also oversees all aspects of Teachers’ Insurance Plan of NJ. Tom joined Plymouth Rock in 2007 as a Marketing Representative in the Prudential Agency Management Division.

The following year, he became the first Supervisor of Plymouth Rock’s Direct Sales Center, eventually being promoted to the Director position. In this capacity, he built out and oversaw the growth of the inbound, outbound and telemarketing sales operations. tlyons@plymouthrock.com

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

247

Welcome to the un-agency.

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“ What sets Plymouth Rock apart from our competitors is that we try to form really strategic partnerships with these companies: it’s not just one size fits all” — Tom Lyons, Chief Operations Officer, Direct Response Channel, Plymouth Rock Assurance

and how we integrate with them,” Lyons emphasizes. There’s a fine line to those arrangements, but several have worked out well for Plymouth Rock and its partners. “Transparency and collaboration is at the forefront of how we form these strategic partnerships to ensure win-win relationships,” says Lyons.

As well as startups, Plymouth Rock maintains relationships with more established tech partners in order to leverage the latest technology for a truly superior customer experience.

Working with Salesforce.com, a customer relationship management

of insurtech companies both from a

(CRM) system, gives the company a

technology and a distribution perspective,”

unified 360-degree view of both

says Lyons. “What sets Plymouth Rock

current and prospective customers.

apart from our competitors is that we

“We monitor the customer journey all

try to form tailored strategic partnerships

the way throughout their lifecycle with

with these companies. It’s not just one

us through every touch point,” Lyons

size fits all.” For example, the insurer

explains. “We understand if they like

has partnered with other alternative

to communicate with us via email, chat,

distribution partners, which it calls

text or phone, so we can tailor the

Super Agents, throughout the country.

customer experience specific to those

The company has integrated with these

individuals. In addition, partnerships

partners through LeadCloud, a leading

with IBM and Acxiom are instrumental

data integration partner. “Regional

for data management. We are pursuing

direct writers need to be scrappy

multichannel marketing, where we

and agile in how we form partnerships

execute a variety of different marketing c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

249

P LY M O U T H R O C K A S S U R A N C E

channels to fit customers’ needs.

Some consumers would prefer we market to them through email and display advertising, whereas others prefer direct mail or social media advertising. It’s about tailoring our messaging and approach to fit the needs of the customer.”

Another interesting area of partnership Plymouth Rock is beginning to explore is with financial institutions.

“This is an area of expansion and growth,” says Lyons. “We’re finding that these financial institutions are 250

able to round out their client base by offering a Property and Casualty insurance product with us, and in doing so, improve their customer retention.

The strategic partnerships we form are key to what Plymouth Rock does.

Our partnerships are not about ‘you do this and we do that’ – they are creative and agile. Plymouth Rock is currently working with many financial institutions in this regard and is actively seeking out new partnerships to advance our respective businesses.”

Internally, Plymouth Rock’s research and development team is always on the lookout for emerging technologies.

Its agile, flexible approach allows new APRIL 2019

“ Regional direct writers need to be scrappy and agile in how we form partnerships” — Tom Lyons, Chief Operations Officer, Direct Response Channel, Plymouth Rock Assurance

ventures and solutions to be piloted quickly before successful initiatives are rolled out across the organization.

Every innovation implemented is measured in relation to its impact on customer experience, which is closely monitored. “We do customer surveys and focus groups to understand what customers like and don’t like about being insured with us, and we often make changes based on that. Keeping our finger on the pulse of consumers and being responsive to their needs helps keep us competitive and at the cutting edge of innovation,” Lyons says.

Another key element to finding the best solutions for its business and customers is Plymouth Rock’s culture of collaboration. It is not only external, but permeates the internal organization as well. “We have a culture where everybody in the organization, regardless of rank, feels empowered to give recommendations or suggestions,” Lyons says. For example, the popular Get Home Safe® benefit that’s unique to Plymouth Rock allows the company’s customers access to a free taxi ride home as a safer alternative to driving when necessary. This innovative service was suggested to the CEO c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

251

P LY M O U T H R O C K A S S U R A N C E

1982

Year founded

1,800+

Approximate number of employees

HQ

252

Woodbridge New Jersey

“ Plymouth Rock was founded on the principle of putting service first. That is still part of our DNA.” — Tom Lyons, Chief Operations Officer, Direct Response Channel, Plymouth Rock Assurance

by an employee in the lunchroom many years ago. It has now been rolled out across the enterprise. “We have a culture of collaboration and transparency across our various business units,” Lyons says “These units empower an entrepreneurial spirit and an innovative approach to all of our business initiatives.

And there is always collaboration to ensure the best practices of the various groups across Plymouth Rock.”

Through this entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to collaboration,

APRIL 2019

253

the Plymouth Rock Direct Response

“Plymouth Rock was founded on the

Channel has grown significantly.

principle that a higher standard of

“We plan to grow our business quite

customer service would make us stand

rapidly over the next several years

out in an already-crowded industry.

and feel our multi-channel approach

Treating our customers with courtesy,

to distribution should fuel growth in

valuing their time, and understanding

these new states for both our direct

and empathizing with their issues has

and independent agent channels,”

been crucial to our success. That is still

Lyons explains. Throughout this

part of our DNA. We respect the brand

journey, he is confident the organiza-

equity that Plymouth Rock has built since

tion will not lose the unique touch that

day one and honor our cultural values.”

led to this success in the first place, with customer service being at the forefront of everything it does. c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

254

RESOURCING DENTISTRY, TRANSFORMING BUSINESS WRIT TEN BY

JOHN O’HANLON PRODUCED BY

CR AIG DANIEL S

APRIL 2019

255

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G L I D E W E L L D E N TA L

Glidewell Dental, on the cusp of its 50th anniversary, has transformed its business model to become a technology company that acts as a virtual extension of the dental practices it serves

J

ust how did Glidewell Dental become the largest privately owned dental laboratory in the world? In 1970, spurred by a desire to

make rehabilitative dentistry accessible to all, Jim Glidewell, CDT, applied a unique blend of technical 256

knowledge, business principles and marketing philosophies to expand his one-man kitchen table operation into a multifaceted technology company among those at the forefront of the oral health industry today. His focus from day one has been on developing new equipment and techniques with the objective of keeping dentistry affordable for both clinician and patient. He has consistently reinvested the profits of the business into its industry-leading R&D department (in which Glidewell himself remains heavily engaged) which has given dental practices access to many award-winning products, such as BruxZir Solid Zirconia restorations. There can’t be that many founders and CEOs still leading their company half a century on, yet preparations are underway for a yearlong 50th anniversary celebration in 2020.

APRIL 2019

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G L I D E W E L L D E N TA L

“ How could Glidewell guarantee consistency of the products?

For me that was the starting point in our journey toward digital 258 transformation” — Mike Selberis CTO, Glidewell Dental

APRIL 2019

Mike Selberis joined Glidewell as CIO in 2008, just a year before the first BruxZir product hit the market. In that role he has overseen the increasing adoption of technology platforms to run the business; however, he also sits on the American Dental Association (ADA) and ISO Standards Committees for CAD/CAM, and leads a team of automation specialists responsible for a growing number of innovations in the field of mass customization. As we’ll see, this is central to the company’s future growth and relevant to Selberis’ promotion in 2016 to Chief Technology Officer (CTO), which extended his oversight to

hardware engineering, CAD/CAM

neered restorations to monolithic

software and material sciences.

ceramic crowns and bridges.

The launch of BruxZir solidified Glidewell as the leading manufactur-

ENTER GLIDEWELL.IO

er of zirconia materials for the dental

Far-sighted investment in material

market. Zirconia (zirconium oxide) is

science made in the first decade of this

an ideal material for making dental

century paved the way for the develop-

restorations thanks to its tooth-

ment of the software- and hardware-

colored shading and impressive

based technology that is transforming

durability, and BruxZir is the top

Glidewell Dental, and disrupting global

selling brand in the United States,

dentistry, Selberis believes. When it

having been prescribed for more

comes to restorations, dentists expect

than 18mn restorations. Its rapid

reliability, speed and consistent quality.

adoption by dentists and patients

Traditionally they are accustomed to

alike has spearheaded a global shift

dealing with small dental laboratories

from full-cast and porcelain-ve-

employing five people or fewer, where

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Mike Selberis Mike Selberis graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, in 1987 with a B.S. in Electrical/Computer Engineering and joined Glidewell in 2008 as CIO. He has more than 22 years of engineering and management experience. Selberis currently holds a seat on the ADA and ISO Standards Committees for CAD/CAM, assisting in the development of an industry standard for CAD/CAM interoperability. In 2016, he was promoted to CTO.

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

259

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘GLIDEWELL.IO™ IN-OFFICE SOLUTION WITH CHAD C. DUPLANTIS, DSS’ 261 there is a limited amount of variation

way that would work for both clinician

from one restoration to the next. Glide-

and patient. Traditionally, someone

well, however, has always aimed to

needing a crown would visit the dentist

provide premium restorations on a large

for a physical impression of their teeth,

scale to help meet public demand. “How

which was then sent to the laboratory

could Glidewell guarantee consistency

where the prosthesis would be made.

of the products?” Selberis ponders. “For

The digitization of the manufacturing

me, that was the starting point in our

process was essential to eliminating the

journey toward digital transformation

variability inherent in the old system;

utilizing software with technologies such

however, the patient would still have to

as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics

book a follow-up appointment to

in order to predictably produce the

receive the final prosthesis.

optimal outcome for each patient.”

The challenge was to provide a personalized service in higher volumes, in a

Imagine if you could book a single hour-long appointment and leave the dentist’s office with a zirconia crown in c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

G L I D E W E L L D E N TA L

place! By eliminating unnecessary appointments, the dentist can limit administrative work and maximize his or her chair time, while the patient will have to take less time off work and undergo less stress. So Glidewell’s R&D came up with a solution that could deliver just that. “Last year we launched the glidewell.io In-Office Solution, which allows a dentist to produce a BruxZir zirconia crown that can go straight into the patient’s mouth when the tooth is prepared. That’s something only our company has been able to achieve!”

262

Instead of taking a traditional impression, dentists using glidewell.io capture a digital rendering of the patient’s dentition using an intraoral scanner. For this entry point of the process, Glidewell secured an alliance and distribution agreement with Align Technology, whose iTero Element intraoral scanning system leads the North American market. Glidewell Dental has provided digital laboratory fabrication services for hundreds of thousands of iTero restorative cases, and was familiar with its advantages.

Once the patient has been scanned, Glidewell’s fastdesign.io software is able to automatically propose a design APRIL 2019

“ glidewell.io allows a dentist to be able to produce a zirconia crown that can go straight into the patient’s mouth in a single visit, while the patient is still in the chair” — Mike Selberis CTO, Glidewell Dental

for the restoration, which the dentist

have to cure in a furnace for some

can accept or revise according to

hours, but as supplied with the fastmill.io

preference. From the same software

it is pre-hardened. Nobody else has

interface, the dentist can either prescribe

been able to mill zirconia in its hard-

and request a restoration from Glide-

ened state, he adds with pride.

well Laboratories, or send the design

“It’s thanks to our vertical integration,

direct to the fastmill.io In-Office Unit for

because we are the source of the

immediate chairside milling.

material, develop the CAD/CAM soft-

This package effectively provides the

ware and the AI piece, and engineer and

dentist laboratory capabilities in the

manufacture the in-office mill, that we

comfort of the office, explains Selberis.

are the only company that can bring

“We allow them to take the strongest

this purpose-built system to market.”

industry-standard material, a BruxZir zirconia crown, and mill it without

CLOUD FORMATIONS

having to put it into a furnace.” Normal-

Glidewell has created an ecosystem

ly, at the laboratory the crown would

with a single focus, to make the

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

263

G L I D E W E L L D E N TA L

experience more pleasant for the patient and more efficient for the practitioner. By compressing years of

1970

Year founded

lab expertise into a small form factor, glidewell.io has attracted high demand since it came on the market in March 2018 – not surprising when the clinician’s investment can be recouped within a year. “Because of our vertical integration we’ve been able to develop this technology at a system level, at a much lower price. To allow this, we developed our all-in cloud strategy together with Amazon Web Services 264

about five years ago, when we began developing our CAD/CAM software on their cloud and this allows us to very easily extend the benefits into the dentist’s office.”

And yet the synergy between clinician and lab goes much further than this. “glidewell.io is an ecosystem that provides the solution in the dentist’s office but also networks seamlessly with our laboratory,” he explains. “So, for the things that they can’t do chairside, they can communicate with us much more easily. We have provided this platform as an extension of the laboratory, as if it were another member of their treatment team. We have made APRIL 2019

HQ:

Newport Beach California

it much easier for them to consult with us as needed.” For unusual cases featuring added complexity, Selberis emphasizes that today’s automatic design proposals may not be the sole solution. “As much as we’ve done to simplify a significant portion of everyday casework, there are always outliers requiring the sophistication of a human technician. Through digital transformation, we make it simple for them to gain assistance from us however they choose, marrying human and artificial intelligence to provide the best crown possible for each individual patient.”

TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS Raising that experience to a yet higher level Glidewell has introduced an IoT button along the lines of the Amazon Dash button. “Our Glidewell Wi-Fi connected pickup button has one job only. As things stand when you send cases to the lab either their driver comes out or a carrier will be booked.

Typically, dental practices do business with up to four different labs so they spend a lot of time on the phone and there’s a lot of scope for delay and error.

I looked for a way to simplify that and that is how the Glidewell Pickup button c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

265

G L I D E W E L L D E N TA L

was born. When you have one or more cases ready you just press the button to automatically schedule the case, generate a shipping label, and it will be picked up by a FedEx or UPS driver within a couple of hours.” glidewell.io and the Pickup button are important milestones on the company’s journey towards fuller automation. It’s all about providing a simpler, more personalized customer experience. To help decide the ‘next best action’ for assisting 266

an individual customer, Glidewell has partnered with customer

“ It’s our ability to take all the knowledge we have gained over the years and turn our data into a tool that will enable us to further enhance the dentist and patient experience” — Mike Selberis CTO, Glidewell Dental

APRIL 2019

experience and automation specialist Pega, to provide an AI solution with the goal of servicing a ‘segment of one’.

“Big Data and analytics are a start, but the real value comes when you can turn data into insight, into action, which means making coordinated decisions in real time, across all channels,” says Mike Selberis. “We probably service over half of the USA’s dentists, so to take the most appropriate actions at the right time for each customer we need a system that is automated, and that is a part of our digital transformation.”

267

50 years on, Selberis remains

leverage the work we have started,

convinced that technology will deliver

But it’s our ability to take all the

still better outcomes for dental

knowledge we have gained over the

patients. Work continues on a 3D

years and turn our data into a tool that

printing solution that allows dentists

will enable us to further enhance the

to design and create, using the

dentist and patient experience. So we

glidewell.io platform, a temporary

will surely become more of a knowledge

crown or bridge from composite

and technology driven business.�

material, nightguards, surgical guides, and study models, again at a single visit. Furthermore, definitive restorations featuring additive manufacturing techniques are almost certainly in the future. “It will likely take years to fully c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

LOGO HERE

268

SGK: optimising brand performance through digital transformation APRIL 2019

269

WRIT TEN BY

CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY

CR AIG DANIEL S

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

SGK

The need for omnichannel solutions is providing ample opportunity for the marketing supply chain industry. Chief Technology Officer at SGK, Francois Estellon, tells us more‌

S

upporting clients in optimizing their brand performance through customized content and packaging solutions,

SGK has successfully blended the right 270

combination of talent, services and technology in the management of infinite content requirements across ever-growing brand touchpoints.

Knowing that even the best ideas are only as good as their execution, the business has applied this knowledge across the entire brand ecosystem, spanning multiple channels, contents and geographies.

Transforming the way brands relate to their customers, SGK rethinks how brands are created and sold, and how their assets are produced to protect their equities to ensure a fully optimized investment.

Spearheading a multitude of technology-led initiatives, and benefitting from an extensive career across manufacturing and supply chain product development, SGK’s Chief Technology APRIL 2019

271

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

“The AWS platform enables the flexibility and speed IT needs to transform Matthews International, with the technology leadership for us to innovate for the future of our business�

Davor Brkovich Head of IT and CIO Matthews International

www.BuildOn.aws

“ WE ARE THE IT PEOPLE WITH LABELS & PACKAGING KNOWLEDGE AND THE LABELS & PACKAGING PEOPLE WITH IT COMPETENCE”

Modular production workflow suite for …

• File processing • Asset management • Soft proofing • Workflow automation

• The Standard in PDF Editing • Designed for Labels & Packaging

Design: www.gd90.de

• OS X and Windows

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SGK CONTENT SOLUTIONS’ 275 Officer (CTO) Francois Estellon jumped

our organization can help them and

at the chance to take on a new challenge

how it should drive our technology

in a sector which he had yet to explore.

focus. Our customers have real

“SGK was a new industry to me. I love

challenges that need solving urgently

to try to draw differences and parallels

and we need to focus on this as

between various industries. A third-par-

a tech-driven organization. In the

ty view on operations and the way we

marketing supply chain industry,

do business can bring different

we are one of the most established

perspectives. You have to maintain a

businesses and collaborate with great

balance between learning something

global brands. Mars, Coca-Cola,

new while trying to inject some knowl-

Pepsi, Procter and Gamble, Unilever,

edge from your previous life,” he explains.

Apple… you name a global consumer

“I like to spend time with our clients

product or food company, and we

and our talented client-facing team

probably do business with them.

to understand their challenges, how

It’s a pretty interesting space,” he adds. c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

SGK

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

marketplace, SGK’s long-term

Through an effective blend of creative,

technology roadmap has focused on

technical and business-orientated

simplifying, standardizing and automat-

individuals, SGK has built a collaborative

ing services, applying a manufacturing

culture which places technology firmly

approach to the creation of marketing

at the center. Developing products,

deliverables. “This removes unneces-

such as packaging and ads, as well as

sary hidden-factory costs by creating

PDF files, renders, metadata and more,

and managing content seamlessly

the company’s creative brands such as

across systems and marketing

Brandimage and Anthem support the

channels while offering greater agility

establishment of brand identities and

in the creative development process,”

effective marketing communications

affirms Estellon.

and programs that enable its clients 276

“The guiding principle of our road-

to strengthen their overall positions

map is to embrace leading-edge

in their chosen market.

concepts without carrying legacy debt

“Our Equator brand focuses on the unique needs of retailers, while IDL creates exciting and interactive instore displays and immersive brand experiences. Our production brands also bring strategies and ideas to life.

Schawk produces brand assets and protects brands, ensuring flawless execution and consistency, while Saueressig delivers rotogravure solutions and technical expertise in the reproduction of brand assets,” says Estellon.

As brand owners continue to experience complex demands stemming from a rapidly evolving APRIL 2019

to what has come before. This is on top of generating revenue from new digital products and services, reaching new markets and opportunities to supply different customer outcomes though technology. We also want to improve our speed to market, and enhance quality through automation. Production is a big part of our DNA and we need to continue improving.”

Partnering with a number of companies which share SGK’s guiding principle for technology, the business has become cloud-first (utilizing Platformas-a-Service (PaaS) for running existing applications, managing artwork and content file storage and shares), alongside an API-first, User Experience and User Interface Design (UI/UX). The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and national language processing (NLP) will also be additional accelerators for SGK’s production teams.

RETAIL EDGE Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) in particular may face significant disruption in the coming years, and with the race to provide consumers choice through omnichannel sales c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

277

SGK

options, brand products will need to be available not just through traditional packaging, but through a multitude of e-commerce channels. The marketing supply chain will therefore need to become nimbler in providing marketing assets. This, coupled with store brand competition and changing consumer tastes and behaviors will provide brands with increased opportunities to utilize innovative, connected packaging solutions, and differentiate themselves with the types of experience and information offered.

“The time to produce assets has also

278

been impacted, not only as a result of technology, but shifting market expectations,” says Estellon.

“For example, we’ve been able to build a supply chain for easy access production. Historically, if you see a picture of a liquor in a magazine, this seems to be a photography asset.

We would book a photographer, a studio, and take a picture of the assets. These are renders now. We take models to bottles, take the models to liquid, we take the packaging we develop, and we build a render for all the liquor brands in the world. We are able to build a supply chain in weeks. Eight or nine projects, that’s APRIL 2019

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Francois Estellon As Chief Technology Officer for SGK, the brand solutions division of Matthews International Corporation. Francois Estellon is responsible for defining the vision of the role that technology plays in the development of our products and services, for enhancing the delivery of our current and future products and services with software solutions, and for leveraging the data in our business to create more value for our clients.

Estellon sits on the Advisory Board for the special interest group on digital transformation at Penn State called CODE (Consortium for the Digital Enterprise), a research and advisory group focusing on Digital Trends within Enterprise Computing. He is also a Board Member for the Pittsburgh Technology Council. Estellon was twice named a Pittsburgh CIO of the Year award finalist and a Top 100 Technology Leader by Computer World in 2016.

Prior to joining SGK, Francois Estellon worked for PwC Germany as a Senior Consultant for a large company’s global ERP implementation.

Eventually, he started his own consulting firm which quickly grew into a multi-million dollar operation across Germany, France, Canada and the U.S. The company was sold in 2006 and Francois took a leadership role in the newly formed global consulting footprint.

In 2008, Estellon joined Caterpillar Global Mining, a division of Caterpillar, Inc. as Director for Global Application, and soon became Global CIO for the $5 billion company. Moving forward in 2013, Estellon joined Gardner Denver, a $2.5 billion private equity-owned engineering conglomerate.

As CIO for the company, he was responsible for the global IT footprint.

Gardner Denver successfully completed an IPO in early 2017.

Estellon studied industrial engineering at the Grenoble Institute of Technology in France and received a master’s in supply chain and manufacturing management from Linkoping University in Sweden.

Francois Estellon is a sought-after thought leader and speaker by the technology industry and regularly publishes on the topic of leadership in technology at: www.cio.com

c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

279

SGK

huge from photographic assets to free assets. Now it takes weeks instead of years, so that’s important for us.”

With growing demand for increased information to be placed on packaging, SGK is driven equally by creative content and data. Estellon explains that creating a new package requires a significant amount of metadata: from nutrition, ingredients, barcode and QR codes, all the way through to brand and allergy statements, and often in a multi-language environment. “Using technology to recognize, capture and 280

enhance data sets is therefore critical for us and for our clients. As an industry leader we are also working to establish standards in taxonomy and metadata definitions for the verticals we serve.”

The way in which consumers interact with brands has clearly led SGK to

APRIL 2019

transform its service offerings.

Restructuring teams to remove all internal silos between development and deployment has seen the establishment of integrated, holistic solutions, where teams can gain greater understanding of the brand ecosystem outside their particular area of expertise, become more flexible to clients’ needs and identify optimisation opportunities to develop innovations which address marketplace demands.

By improving brand and business performance in relation to cost, speed and market share, these tools have all proven invaluable to SGK’s clients.

FOUR PILLARS All industries are being driven towards more digital engagement, leading SGK to provide a user centered experience which remains contextual for a client’s business. Building four platforms which provide strong foundations for its end-to-end supply chain operations, the company has developed a new Service Delivery Platform, HubX. This platform is not only scalable, but fully covers the end-to-end supply chain and delivers a complete, user-centric client experience. c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

281

“HubX will put users in control of their content workflow, simplifying tasks through automation, connecting to back-end systems and enriching project data points, guaranteeing process efficiencies” — Francois Estello, Chief Technology Officer

enrich project data points, driving process efficiencies. It also delivers real time reporting, and showcases project data and spend, revealing quality insights.”

“Previously, we didn’t have a global ERP system. We now utilize SAP as our middle office to produce a single view of data. We’ve been transforming our production line, and partnered with Hybrid to revamp our digital production environment,” he adds.

“We want to focus on operational improvements that bring customer value: efficiency, quality of artwork and velocity/responsiveness.

This extends towards simplifying, streamlining our processes, and empowering employees with digital tools to help deliver better customer outcomes. HubX brings the value of

“HubX is an interface which grants clients greater control, visibility,

that investment directly to our clients.”

The transformation of SGK’s digital

efficiency and access to data for

infrastructure has been fully tied

all content projects, from brief to

together through its strong Application

asset release, and will bring a number

Programming Interface (API) system.

of innovations to the fore,” explains

Leveraging readily available micro-

Estellon. “HubX will put you in

services from Amazon Web Services

control of your content workflow by

(AWS), the company has even built a

simplifying tasks through automation,

robotic process automation (RPA) tool

connecting to back-end systems to

called Logic Builder to complement c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

283

SGK

“We collaborate with great global brands. Mars, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Apple… you name a global consumer product or food company, and we do business with them” — Francois Estello, Chief Technology Office

284

APRIL 2019

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘SGK HUBX’ 285

HubX’s capabilities. “It’s a little bit like

OPERATIONAL AGILITY

Lego bricks – we have the base bricks

The business is continually looking

and can now build solutions to benefit

at the next trend or technology to

our customers by shuffling these

support its evolution, and is now set

around and building new ways of

to launch a new solution to further

leveraging our investment. It gives us

improve customer connectivity,

the ability to innovate and scale rapidly,”

Estellon refers to it as “a platform

depicts Estellon. “For example, we

that is built on our combined expertise

were able to build a supply chain for

in software development”.

our 3D assets production in a matter

“A lot of people in our marketplace

of weeks by leveraging our customer

have a software solution but it remains

front end, our production workflow

independent from their business,”

and render software, all secured

he explains. “They cannot sell it as

through our API system.”

software. If clients work with us, they c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

SGK

286

gain access to the platform. I think it’s

of content consumed, which all filters

really game changing in our industry,

into a company’s brand strength.

where we want to change the way our

To counteract this, SGK has

clients do business with us.”

successfully launched an array of its

However, although sales are a vital

own internal startup brands, enabling

part of overall brand performance,

clients to address specific tools across

accessing metrics such as views,

the supply chain, either independently

clicks and likes all factor into how

or in conjunction with the company’s

consumers now engage with digital

other services. “ColorDrive, for

content. Consequently, brands will

example, helps clients manage their

need to take a closer look at the array

print quality by providing a cloud-based

APRIL 2019

internally is that they allow us to broaden and deepen our partnership with clients by helping them solve complex issues. From a client perspective, they have access to tools that can ease their management of the supply chain and ensure their brands are more consistent and accurate on the shelf.”

Reinforcing smarter content and packaging solutions, and remaining increasingly efficient, connected and global, SGK creates content and packaging ecosystems capable of humming with extraordinary efficiency, as it turns brand activities into connected content experiences which inform, entertain and delight consumers in unexpected ways. solution that allows for easy evaluation

Its ability to scale will allow the

and comparison of printer performance.

business to leverage resources and

It makes complex print analyses more

local talent to deliver better brand

digestible for those who may not have

consistency, operational agility and

highly specialized print expertise,” says

process efficiency, where technology

Estellon. “5Flow is also an independent

will be the key driver in cementing

software company within our holding

SGK’s ongoing position across an

– they develop configurable workflow

evolving competitive landscape.

platforms for clients to manage their artwork supply chain and approval.

The key advantage of these tools c a na da .busi ne ssc h ief. com

287

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