Supply Chain Digital Magazine – November 2018 by Supply Chain Digital

Veranda Leisure & Hospitality’s strategic procurement journey

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SigmaPoint Technologies Disrupting the manufacturing supply chain

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“Global brands need global supply chains”

Transforming procurement for a unique guest experience Exclusive interview with Sebastien Brunel, Senior Vice President of AccorHotels

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WELCOME

elcome to the November edition of Supply Chain Digital. Following various acquisitions across North America, travel and lifestyle giant AccorHotels is growing its footprint across the continent and transforming the guest experience – and this development is being driven by strategic procurement.

For this month’s cover feature, Supply Chain Digital caught up with SVP of Procurement Sebastien Brunel, who gave us an insight into the changing hospitality market, and how AccorHotels caters for this by providing a unique guest experience including locally sourced produce. “We have a strong desire to buy local, and work with local producers… this is the way, especially in the luxury hospitality business, to provide local experiences,” says Brunel. You can find out more about AccorHotels’

procurement transformation in our exclusive video content. Meanwhile, we spoke to EY’s Global Supply Chain Leader Glenn Steinberg about how the business is helping companies reinvent their supply chains for a digital future. We also have exclusive insight from one of the world’s largest distributors of promotional merchandise. BDA’s seasoned Director of Global Sourcing, Rob Bangerter, discusses why brands should look at the big picture for costs savings. Don’t forget to check out our company profiles on Nebraska Book Company, AEX Gold, SigmaPoint Technologies, Service Corporation International and more. Enjoy the issue! Olivia Minnock. Olivia Minnock@bizclikmedia.com

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CONTENTS

44 BDA: Global brands need global supply chains

ACCOR HOTELS GROUP

Procurement transformation through a commitment to local sourcing

32 Supply Chain Reinvention Nirvana with EY

GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN LEADING COMPANIES

EVENTS & ASSOCIATIONS

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CONTENTS

74 Service Corporation International 06

108 SigmaPoint Technologies

120

Nebraska Book Company

Veranda Leisure & Hospitality

NOVEMBER 2018

162

London Borough of Waltham Forest

132 Cotton On Group 07

146 AEX Gold

178 SCT GROUP w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

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ACCORHOTELS GROUP

Procurement transformation through a commitment to local sourcing WRIT TEN BY

OLIVIA MINNOCK PRODUCED BY

ARRON R A MPLING

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

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ACCORHOTELS GROUP

SEBASTIEN BRUNEL, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF PROCUREMENT AT ACCORHOTELS, DISCUSSES THE TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE GROUP’S PROCUREMENT JOURNEY IN DRIVING GROWTH AND DELIVERING A UNIQUE GUEST EXPERIENCE WITH LOCALLY SOURCED PRODUCE

ith 4,600 hotels around the globe operating across 100 countries, AccorHotels is one of just a handful of hotel operators

in the world with more than 500,000 rooms to its name. As a market leader in many regions around the world, AccorHotels is now making strides 12

across North America as well – with the continent representing significant opportunities for growth and revenue. Investment in the region is revving up with acquisitions including the purchase of the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel brands; an 85% stake in US-based 21c Museum Hotels, an awardwinning hospitality management company which combines a multi-venue contemporary art museum and boutique hotels; and a 50% stake in independent luxury lifestyle operator sbe Entertainment Group. Boasting over two decades of industry experience, Senior Vice President of Procurement Sebastien Brunel is keenly aware of how the hotel industry has changed during this time, and how the evolving needs of consumers have particularly impacted procurement. “Lifestyle is something which is very new to the hospitality business,” he outlines. NOVEMBER 2018

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“Procurement is greatly positioned in the organization and part of the leadership committee, making our function a key component for North and Central America” — Sebastien Brunel, Senior Vice President of AccorHotels

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ACCORHOTELS GROUP

“People, especially the younger generation, are looking for different experiences. They don’t want the traditional hotel experience or a standardized room – they want to have fun, new experiences and make connections.” While AccorHotels currently has fewer than 100 hotels in North America, the region still reflects a notable proportion of its business and is home to some of the company’s largest properties, which average around 500 rooms and several restaurants apiece, meaning total spend is significant for 14

“Today, we’re coming back from global sourcing to more national or even local sourcing. We have a strong desire to buy local, and work with local producers” — Sebastien Brunel, Senior Vice President of AccorHotels NOVEMBER 2018

Brunel and his team. Iconic hotels with global notoriety which are present in the region include the original Fairmont, Fairmont San Francisco; The Plaza, A Fairmont Managed Hotel, in New York City; Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City; and Fairmont Banff Springs, amongst others. AccorHotels initiated investments in the procurement function 25 years ago when volume in key regions started to be significant. Today, the company’s procurement function is organized

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regionally and globally, with over 20

making our function a key component

procurement organizations and more

for North and Central America,â&#x20AC;?

than 180 people around the world. The

Brunel explains.

entire function reports to Paris-based

In terms of the evolution of procure-

global Chief Procurement Officer (CPO),

ment at AccorHotels, the way services

Caroline Tissot, while all procurement

are offered has evolved thanks to

leaders in the regions have dotted lines

consumer feedback. The dynamic

to regional executives.

of buying and category management

In North America, procurement

is impacted by market trends and

also reports to Chief Operating Officer

traditional in-house services are

(COO), Kevin Frid. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Procurement is

increasingly handled by external

greatly positioned in the organization

providers. Laundry is a good example

and part of the leadership committee,

of a category historically managed w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

Efficiency. Visibility. Control. Compliance. • e-Procurement • AP 3-Way Auto-match • Invoice Management • Inventory Management with AccuBar • Recipe Management • Capital Projects • Supplier Management • Sourcing • Contract Management

sales@birchstreet.net www.birchstreetsystems.com

Automate your business processes. BirchStreet Systems is a leading cloudbased source-to-pay automation solution for the hospitality industry worldwide. BirchStreet increases profit and efficiency in a SaaS environment that focuses on improving business processes by automating e-Procurement, AP automation 3-Way, Spend Analytics, Recipe Management, Capital Projects, Supplier Management, Sourcing and Contract Management. Thousands of businesses, including enterprise customers like Hyatt, Marriott, Starwood, Interstate, Omni, Four Seasons, Accor/ Fairmont, Wyndham, ClubCorp and many others, in more than 100 countries, currently subscribe to BirchStreet to connect and do business with a network of more than 400,000 suppliers. The platform and technology connect customers with their suppliers to improve efficiency, increase transparency, provide accountability, strengthen financial controls, and reduce compliance gaps, resulting in significant business process improvements and cost savings. Most BirchStreet customers see a 10 to 15 percent overall cost reduction for all purchasing-related activities. Within a customer’s marketplace, users have access to real-time, on-demand data and pricing. Suppliers can update their pricing and catalogs, which provides accurate pricing and availability. Cutting-edge budgeting tools specifically designed for the hospitality industry help customers plan, track and report on demand. Automating the procure-to-pay process using e-procurement and AP 3-way auto-matching and integration, results in reduced line item expenses and labor hours. In addition, tracking, reporting and spend analytic features provide in-depth business intelligence in a centralized cloud-based platform. BirchStreet offers an easy, intuitive dashboard to give users real-time data both at

a high-level overview and at a line item detailed level. Similarly, BirchStreet’s Recipe Pad is a great mobile tool for chefs and kitchen staff that uses a simple picture-based interface; allowing chefs to browse, search, view and scale published corporate or property-level recipes through an organization’s private online recipe library. The process of automating functions in procurement, finance, operations and food and beverage contribute to a company’s overall success and bottom line. AccuBar, an acquired company by BirchStreet in 2016 is a leading component of the BirchStreet inventory control solution that offers a cloud-based beverage inventory management to maximize beverage profits while being seamlessly connected to BirchStreet’s procureto-pay automation solution. Customers report an average of 10 to 20 percent beverage cost reduction with additional cost savings from efficiency, automation and accountability. It eliminates the guesswork for reordering with par values and alerts, and provides easy scalability for large banquets and events. AccuBar’s bar code scanner will help one person do the work of two in less time, which will drastically lower labor costs. Often, customers aren’t able to detect theft, but with AccuBar’s loss prevention functionality one can quickly hold the staff accountable for loss. Finally, instant profit reporting and business intelligence will benefit any company immediately. Established in 2002, BirchStreet Systems is a privately held company and headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with offices in Denver, Mexico City, China, Singapore, India and Europe. For more information, events and webinars, or to request a personal demo, please email sales@birchstreet.net or visit www.birchstreetsystems.com.

ACCORHOTELS GROUP

CLICK TO WATCH : CPO SEBASTIEN BRUNEL TALKS GLOBAL AND LOCAL SUPPLIES IN ACCOR’S NORTH AMERICA 18 in house but moving more toward exter-

the teams in the hotel with different

nal providers. “We have a big evolution

needs and expectations between the

in the way hotels are spending their

managers, chefs, executive house-

money,” he concludes.

keepers – but also the owners of the

In addition, since AccorHotels now

hotels, because it is in their best inter-

manages and franchises its hotels

est to maximize their benefits through

instead of owning the premises

a strong procurement organization.”

outright, the procurement function

As a management company, procure-

has to adapt. “We came from an asset

ment within AccorHotels is very much

heavy model to an asset light model

a service offered to its owners and

– in the past, we owned our hotels

franchisees. “We have become a

but now we have management and

strong intermediate between suppli-

franchise contracts,” says Brunel.

ers and partners, and both owners and

“As procurement professionals,

franchisees are extremely organized,

we therefore have two customers:

business driven and cost driven,” Brunel

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

explains. “Unless we demonstrate

started to manage non-food opera-

savings and value creation, they will not

tions in the early 2000s,” says Brunel.

use our services. We have to monitor

He adds that suppliers and other

the competitiveness of our contracts

organizations had not previously

compared to market prices, and offer

understood hotels as a category to

tracking, distribution, a loyalty program

focus on. “I would say it took between

and procurement program – procure-

five and 10 years to get a strong offer

ment is one of the key departments

of procurement solutions for hotels

to attract new ownership groups and

for food, non-food and beverage.”

franchisees.”

Brunel notes that since then, suppli-

As the business has transformed, its

ers have begun to see opportunities

supply chain has diversified and evolved,

in the ever-growing hospitality sector.

and so too has the role of procurement.

“In terms of some suppliers, a lot of

“20 years ago, 90% of our function was

businesses didn’t have a hospitality

based on food management – then we

division 10 to 15 years ago – they did not

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

Sebastien Brunel Brunel has 25 years of experience in the hospitality business with 20 years in procurement. Originally from France, he has occupied several procurement functions in the global procurement office as well as working in several countries. Brunel’s first international experience was in the UK, before he then occupied a function of Category Manager in Dallas Texas in 2002. In 2007, Brunel moved to South America to be the head of procurement of that region, based out of Sao Paulo. He went back to Paris in 2014 to manage the international team. He has occupied the position of SVP of North and Central America since January 2017 when he relocated to Toronto. Sebastien holds an MBA from the FGV University of Sao Paulo. w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

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know how to attend to the hospitality

strong role, not so much in finding new

businesses. But now, there are people

procurement solutions but in giving

dedicated to hospitality. We work

better access to our procurement-se-

together on value creation. Competi-

lected products and services for our

tive pricing is an important element,

customers. How can we make the

but having sustainable programs,

process easier to access? How can

product development and innovation

we offer a procurement marketplace

take an important share of the day-to-

to make sure people can go to an

day of a procurement specialist – both

online catalogue?”

on the team but also at the supplier.”

Over 10 years ago, Fairmont selected

Of course, process and digitization

Birchstreet which provides procure-to-

have been key to AccorHotels’ procure-

pay solutions with the aim of improving

ment journey. “Digital is playing a very

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and cost reduction. “Birchstreet brings structure to our process. We have PO approval process, PO management, inventory management, product management and interaction between hotels and suppliers. This is essential for AccorHotels, especially in North America.” The businesses have worked together for many years, and AccorHotels favors the platform as it works well especially for its larger properties. “They’ve been able to invest in internal workflow – hotels with over 1,500 employees need a procurement process and workflow to ensure consistency.” Birchstreet has developed this from a back-office perspective, and the solution is effective

“Guests don’t want the traditional hotel experience or a standardized room – they want to have fun, new experiences and make connections” — Sebastien Brunel, Senior Vice President of AccorHotels

for AccorHotels’ finance department. Brunel adds that, as the partnership

The vast array of products AccorHotels

continues, he hopes to develop a system

buys, and indeed the array of suppliers

with even more benefits for front-end

it works with, presents challenges for

buyers, which he is confident can be

eprocurement. “Eprocurement works

achieved. “So far we have partnered

very well with products but it’s not as

with Birchstreet for 10 years; they’ve

simple for utility developments, such

always supported us in everything

as service companies – you can easily

we’ve done and the platform brings

buy a kilo of coffee, but one kilowatt of

efficiency, good savings and automatic

energy isn’t the same, so it’s not ideal

updates to inventory – we probably

for non-tangible contracts.”

do around US$150mn of annual spend through the Birchstreet platform.”

In addition, prioritizing the luxury experience over recent years, Acw w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

ACCORHOTELS GROUP

1967 Year founded 10,000+ Approximate number

of employees

corHotels has developed a strong

“Today, we’re coming back from global

commitment to local sourcing and

sourcing to more national or even local

as such, its supplier mix has changed.

sourcing. We have a strong desire to buy

“Our supplier base is very diverse due

local, and work with local producers

to the products we buy – we go from big

– such as sourcing fish from the coast

global companies like LG or Samsung,

of Canada, rather than importing it from

to large national companies, to smaller

Scotland or elsewhere. This is the way,

regional suppliers of fruits and vegeta-

especially in the luxury hospitality

bles or fish, with five employees,”

business, to provide local experiences.”

explains Brunel. “In North America,

Twenty years ago, AccorHotels had a

I would say 30% of our spend consists

larger range of suppliers, which through

of global providers, 40% national and

globalization was reduced – now, it is

30% regional.”

increasing again due to the Group’s

NOVEMBER 2018

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local sourcing commitment. “We went

a cookie-cutter outcome, especially for

from a vision of needing to reduce the

the luxury businesses which account

supplier base, to a vision that we still

for an important part of AccorHotels’

need a concentrated supplier base

global operations, and are particularly

but with a lot of choice.” As a result,

prevalent in North America. “We invest

a limited number of global providers

a lot in the lifestyle element and the

consolidate more spend but there is

uniqueness of our brands, we need more

a strong need to develop diversified

products and more solutions – we don’t

local solutions and reduce logistics.

want the same headboards, lighting and

Catering for the unique demands

food all over the world and we’re not ac-

of various owners and franchisees,

quiring new companies to change them

especially since the Group’s latest

into a standardized hotel.”

brand acquisitions, is vital in avoiding

Brunel explains each of the company’s w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

ACCOR HOTELS GROUP

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CLICK TO WATCH : CPO SEBASTIEN BRUNEL TALKS DRIVING PROCUREMENT IN ACCORHOTELS 27 4,600 hotels across the world is treated

Despite the challenges and varia-

as a unique point of production. “It’s

tions facing the procurement function

not like the manufacturing industry

at AccorHotels, this essential element

where everything can be produced

of the business is key to the significant

and distributed from a single location.

growth Brunel looks forward to. He

Hospitality business and decentraliza-

cites the company’s latest acquisitions

tion of ordering points makes our supply

and the new openings it has celebrat-

chain very complex and diverse in

ed as a result: the 1,048-room Fairmont

terms of suppliers and products. We buy

Austin which debuted earlier this year

food, beverages, technology, intellectual

as the brand’s largest hotel in the US,

services, financial services… the quantity,

as well as the planned openings of

too, is diverse, as a small hotel might

Fairmont Century Plaza, Los Angeles;

cumulate an annual spend of $400,000

Sofitel Mexico Reforma in Mexico City

while a large hotel can spend more

and SO/ Paseo del Prado in Havana, all

than $20mn.”

in 2019. AccorHotels will also open the w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

ACCORHOTELS GROUP

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first Raffles Hotel & Residences in North America in Boston as well as Fairmont Costa Canuva in Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit and Fairmont Saint Lucia in the coming years. AccorHotels is therefore particularly committed to North America as a region of growth, where it works with over 20,000 suppliers and spends $600mn each year, from small fruit and vegetable suppliers with orders of less than $500 to larger companies receiving millions in investment. On its North American journey, Brunel says the company is keen to partner with suppliers desiring to grow outside of

“Our supplier base is very diverse due to the products we buy – we go from big global companies like LG or Samsung, and large national companies, to smaller regional suppliers of fruits and vegetables or fish, with five employees” — Sebastien Brunel, Senior Vice President of AccorHotels

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ACCORHOTELS GROUP

North America, such as audio-visual

customers and increase our ability to

provider PSAV. “It’s a great example:

offer more contracted solutions.

the legacy contract is coming from

Another challenge is to maintain a

North America and can be extended

good level of compliance at a national

to other places in the world.”

level, while remaining competitive

However, as AccorHotels grows in

against regional offers. The third

size and spend in North America, the

challenge is to find a way to leverage

value offer of procurement will need to

volume while also keeping the

be even further solidified, says Brunel.

uniqueness of the product. And the

“We have to work hard to show the

fourth challenge, of course, is people

importance of procurement with our

– the development and training of our

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

“From a customer perspective and supplier perspective, having a strong procurement organization in North America is key” — Sebastien Brunel, Senior Vice President of AccorHotels

procurement talent. In the UK, they

hospitality player without having

have CIPS (Chartered Institute of

business activities in this region. From

Procurement and Supply) qualifica-

a customer perspective and supplier

tions, but I haven’t seen many global

perspective, having a strong procure-

equivalents so we must find trained

ment organization in North America is

procurement professionals with a

key,” he concludes.

balanced commercial background.” “We want to play a major role in North America as well as globally,” says Brunel. “We’ve started to reinvest here as we cannot be a true global w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

S T R AT E G Y

Supply Chain Reinvention Nirvana with EY

We spoke with EYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Global Supply Chain Leader Glenn Steinberg to learn how EY is helping companies reinvent their supply chains for a digital future by embracing automation in procurement to achieve reduced inventory and drive increased delivery performance. WRITTEN BY

NOVEMBER 2018

DAN BRIGHT MORE

w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

S T R AT E G Y

lenn Steinberg believes it’s an amazing time to be a supply chain practitioner enthusing to Supply

Chain Digital that “we really are in nirvana” right now. Steinberg has overseen digital development at EY for three years following a variety of consulting roles with the likes of PwC and IBM. “I’ve been in this space a long

time - 26 years. It wasn’t even called supply chain back then,” jokes EY’s Global Supply Chain Leader. “It’s always been about visibility end-to-end, and making faster and better decisions, maximising customer service levels at the lowest cost and reduc34

ing inventories, right? It’s just an amazing time right now because the technology is finally here to pull it off.” Steinberg notes that traditionally, supply chains have been very linear - supplier, manufacturer, distributor, and customer – with systems internally focused on-prem with point-to-point interfaces. But with the rise of digital technologies that model is being disrupted to create a networked value chain capable of responding simultaneously, rather than serially. “All the data’s in the cloud so when an event occurs in the supply chain it’s near real-time access to that information across the whole value chain,” adds Steinberg, who sees many large international enterprises struggling with change while NOVEMBER 2018

“ We really are in nirvana… I’ve been in this space a long time — 26 years. It wasn’t even called supply chain back then… It’s always been about visibility end-to-end, and making faster and better decisions…” — Glenn Steinberg, EY’s Global Supply Chain Leader

restricted by legacy asset bases and

Printing, Blockchain, or Augmented

facing the risk of being marginalised by

Reality, you can’t just apply them all

the next disruptive supply chain innova-

and risk losing sight of the problem

tion from one of their competitors.

you’re trying to solve.”

“They’re asking me, ‘Where do we start

To that end, EY has put together

to build innovation?’ But there really is

a framework to deliver a suite of solutions

no silver bullet,” he explains. “You need

to help companies fundamentally

to focus on solving real problems with

reinvent their supply chain and procure-

the right combination of digital technol-

ment practices to embrace today’s digital

ogies. People often lose sight of that.

world. Steinberg explains that solutions

What’s the business problem we’re truly

such as Smart Factory, Integrated Digital

trying to solve? It may require a combi-

Planning, Digital Fulfilment and Supply

nation of different digital technologies

Side Optimisation are resonating with

to pull that off, whether it’s AI, 3D

clients and booming across the globe. w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

S T R AT E G Y

“ So, we put the suppliers with this consumer products manufacturer, and the contract manufacturers, and placed all the contracts on the Blockchain where smart contracts can be leveraged. It has been wildly successful” — Glenn Steinberg, EY’s Global Supply Chain Leader 36

EY Smart Factory is a cloud-based,

Smart Factory solution is made up of

integrated, standardised and scalable

digital execution applications offering

improvement approach that provides

real-time, on-demand progress reports

speed and collaboration across global

visible across the production chain

operations. Steinberg acknowledge

with the capability to refine processes

that, in some sense, EY is disrupting

and master production through

itself: “We’ll show you what good looks

advanced analytics. “It’s basically

like and then we’ll help clients scale it

a paperless shop floor,” muses

with EY Catalyst, which is digitising

Steinberg. “You’d be amazed at how

operational excellence. We’ve digitised

few companies are truly paperless.

the programme and call it an Op Ex

Workers are digital at home, but then

coach where it’s self-paced and

they come to work with a clipboard...

doesn’t require a lot of consultants.”

We’ve built a suite of apps from the

Meanwhile, the other half of the NOVEMBER 2018

bottom up, from the operator perspec-

tive, and they’re all integrated to run

grasping the needle when it comes to

things like shift changeovers digitally.

the implementation of digital technol-

Everything from that angle all the way

ogy and supply chain innovations.

through advanced technologies like

Elsewhere, in the oil and gas space, he

intelligent process automation where

identifies a lack of digital disruption in

machines adjust automatically,

the wake of the huge downturn in oil

condition based maintenance and

prices back in 2014. “We’ve got a team

energy management. All of these are

going after that now,” he confides. “We

embedded in a Smart Factory solution

take these solutions that I mentioned,

and making a tremendous impact

these assets, and you put an industry

on performance.”

wrapper around it. That’s the play we’re

Steinberg notes that life sciences,

on… Offering this operational excellence

consumer products and retail, indus-

programme digitised on EY Catalyst.

trial products and automotive are really

This is a self-paced, multi-year journey w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

S T R AT E G Y

featuring some of the best content,

processes and predict the future needs

combining our IP with P&G’s IP. Clients

of customers and the enterprise itself.

are buying this because it’s

And this is exactly where the EY and

a licensable solution. It’s real IP. It’s a real

JDA alliance fits,” he says. “The JDA

asset, not an accelerator.”

software platform is used by organiza-

EY also boast a key alliance with JDA

tions all over the world for replenish-

Software which is helping transform

ment and fulfilment, warehouse

once linear supply chains into highly

management, demand management,

connected digital ecosystems. Excited

transportation management and more.

by this collaboration, Steinberg sees

During a recent visit, along with some

regional and global supply chain

of my leaders with experience in

ecosystems increasingly powered by

Blockchain, Robotics and other emerg-

the Internet of Things (IoT) and fuelled

ing technologies, we met JDA’s alliance

by data to create a fully interconnected

leaders and engineering team. As part

supply chain. “And, of course, they are

of the alliance, both the organizations

run by smart people who understand

have come together to solve some of

how to use analytics to optimize

the most complex issues of EY clients.

“ The JDA software platform is used by organisations all over the world for replenishment and fulfilment, warehouse management, demand management,transportation management and more…” — Glenn Steinberg, EY’s Global Supply Chain Leader NOVEMBER 2018

CLICK TO WATCH : EY SMART FACTORY 39

In particular, EY’s Integrated Digital

points to the network value chain

Planning, Smart Factory, and Digital

where the new technologies will come

Fulfilment solutions are asset-backed

in. He admits “not everyone’s there yet”

with our own IP and methods; we think

so where does the industry begin to

it also makes sense to leverage JDA’s

tackle the skills gap in order to flourish?

best-in-class software to help organiz-

“That’s where outsourcing will happen.

sations build self-learning supply chains.”

You can’t obtain and attract all the

With consumer demand changing,

people you need. You’ve got to

Steinberg notes product life cycles are

remember what your core competency

shorter, the ramp-up and ramp-down

is as a business and be willing to enter

periods are more intense, and as result

into partnerships and ecosystems.

more flexibility is required for the

The people side of this whole digital

supply chain to respond. He believes

transformation should not be over-

more inventory is not the answer and

looked either. There’s the operating w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

S T R AT E G Y

model and there’s the operating environment. Most people forget about the operating environment and that has to do with purpose. What’s the purpose for your organisation? The skills, and attracting the right talent, and training, that’s vital to the operating environment.” Steinberg highlights developments in additive manufacturing (3D Printing) and Blockchain as particularly exciting but believes EY shouldn’t just be leading with technology. “We need to make sure we’re focused on solving real business problems. Clients lose sight of that and they get into 40

all these technology projects and then you come back and say, ‘Where’s the ROI?’ So, what’s the business problem we’re trying to solve? And then look at the right combination of digital technologies to achieve that goal.” How is EY embracing Blockchain to help clients with procurement? “We’ve branded our EY Ops Chain,” reveals Steinberg. “We’ve got projects underway all over the globe. Here in the US, in the Midwest, we’re working with a very large consumer products company. We did a use case in the procurement space, for example. Think of hundreds of contract manufacturers and thousands of suppliers. Lots of complex pricing on each of those, discounts with volume thresholds. Well, this consumer products company has NOVEMBER 2018

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S T R AT E G Y

“ We’re also doing this with a major auto manufacturer where we’re dealing with global trade on the blockchain and a large trucking carrier to deliver end-to-end visibility on the blockchain where it’s proving to be very disruptive” — Glenn Steinberg, EY’s Global Supply Chain Leader 42

hundreds of people from a controls

blockchain and a large trucking

perspective doing auditing on all of

carrier to deliver end-to-end visibility

this. Even after all that spend, hun-

on the blockchain where it’s proving

dreds of people checking it, they’re still

to be very disruptive.”

missing out on millions of dollars on

Steinberg predicts that as the net-

discounts. So, we put the suppliers

worked value chain comes to fruition

with this consumer products manu-

improved customer service levels will

facturer, and the contract manufactur-

be achieved, along with lower invento-

ers, and placed all the contracts on the

ries, allowing the supply chain to

blockchain where smart contracts can

become an asset, rather than a cost of

be leveraged. It has been wildly

doing business: “Look at Amazon. The

successful. We’re also doing this with a

supply chain is the differentiator for

major auto manufacturer where we’re

the whole business. That’s where this

dealing with global trade on the

whole thing’s headed.” He pledges that

NOVEMBER 2018

in his corner of EY they will continue

focus on system integration, and there

on the journey towards developing

are the pure strategy houses that really

asset-backed solutions for supply

don’t know much about systems

chain and further integrating these

integration. However, we’re able to

capabilities with the rest of the

do both by attracting unbelievable

business to take advantage of in-house

talent. It’s the reason I came here…

synergies to help clients with tax and

You walk in a room at EY and every-

real estate practices as their global

body wants you to be successful.

footprints grow. It’s this commitment to

We’re all in this together. We care

a turnkey package, which Steinberg

about each other. It’s an amazing

believes sets EY apart from other

place to be. In my 26 years, I couldn’t

companies in this space. “We purpose-

be happier being in this place.”

fully built the practice this way... There are the IT houses, our competitors that w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

PROCUREMENT INSIGHTS

BDA: global brands need global supply chains We hear from its seasoned Director of Global Sourcing Rob Bangerter about why brands should look at the big picture when it comes to cost savings in sourcing and procurement strategies. WRIT TEN BY

DAN BRIGHT MORE

NOVEMBER 2018

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PROCUREMENT INSIGHTS

DA is America’s premier pro-

Director of Global Sourcing Rob Bang-

motional merchandise agency,

erter. BDA has over 750 associates

helping Fortune 1000 compa-

around the world at more than 75 loca-

nies worldwide - such as Coca-Cola,

tions, both domestic and international

Sony, AT&T, NFL, Ford, Starbucks

(including London, Los Angeles, Man-

and GE - meet their business needs

chester, New York, Shanghai, Paris,

through the power of branded mer-

Shenzhen and Manila) where strategi-

chandise. “Customers come to us to

cally placed sales offices can also sup-

extend their brand reach through stra-

port the supply chain needs of larger

tegic initiatives, custom campaigns,

clients working in situ. Headquartered

integrated eCommerce programs and

in Washington, BDA operates two do-

sports sponsorship activations across

mestic and two international fulfilment

every major league and team,” explains

centres driving annual revenues in

NOVEMBER 2018

“ Other companies might just focus on supply out of China… We also use Egypt,Vietnam, Pakistan, Mexico and Europe, as well as the US. Recently it’s become a key strategy to help us avoid tariffs on goods out of China by offsetting cost with other global choices” excess of $210m. Focused on the global supply chain side of the business, Bangerter has been with BDA for nearly two years but believes his career background, including 30 years-experience in direct manufacturing and factory management, lends a unique set of skills to his role because many executives who work with factories have rarely worked on the ground level. “As a process engineer turned global sourcing director, I have the advantage

— Rob Bangerter, Director of Global Sourcing, BDA

PROCUREMENT INSIGHTS

of knowing how both sides of the op-

“Recently it’s become a key strategy

eration work,” he maintains. “It comes

to help us avoid tariffs on goods out

in handy when evaluating processes

of China by offsetting cost with other

and goals for procurement strategies,

global choices. We put great focus on

because global brands need global

continual development to stay ahead

supply chains.”

of issues that can plague supply chain

In pursuit of these goals what has

practitioners. Looking at the big picture

Bangerter learned that can help com-

and realising other countries are capa-

panies with their approach to procure-

ble of delivering great products for your

ment? “We’re very deep on where we

customers is a challenge we’ve been

source and have a tremendous exper-

facing for the last couple of years to

tise in the needs from a supply chain.

ensure we always have global options.”

Other companies might just focus 48

BDA source product based on a

on supply out of China… We also use

combination of quality and cost. “It’s

Egypt, Vietnam, Pakistan, Mexico and

one of the reasons I joined the com-

Europe, as well as the US,” he reveals.

pany,” says Bangerter. “I’d known about

NOVEMBER 2018

FedExCup limited-edition anniversary bobblehead collection featuring the past 10 winners

their work for 20 years and had a huge

speed to market.” Bangerter ensures

respect for what they did. There are

BDA maintains a diverse network of

many promotional product companies

preferred suppliers and manufacturers,

out there putting out inferior merchan-

with an expectation each performs as a

dise which doesn’t innovate. This is

valued partner, not simply a provider of

where we find our competitive edge

goods.

and deliver consistently for clients like

“Because protecting the brands we

the NFL. Our customers are aware they

work with is more than just a priority -

might be able to find a similar product

it’s the law,” he adds.

cheaper but leading brands don’t want

“We are fully compliant with US and

to compromise their reputation and

international laws around product

look to BDA’s supply chain to support

safety, child labour and environmental

them and love the way we’re able to

protection so our customers know they

bring them something new and deliver

are in safe hands.” w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

PROCUREMENT INSIGHTS

Beyond quality and cost, BDA aims to innovate with regular products and find new ones. Known for its bobbleheads, produced for ice hockey teams for many years, BDA has innovated by producing a base that looks like ice and sets the product apart. For the PGA Tour, BDA leveraged its global network and product development for a FedExCup limited-edition anniversary bobblehead collection featuring the past 10 winners. Working directly with the PGA, players’ agents and sponsors, 50

BDA secured approvals to bring each player to life in their winning stance which helped increase FedExCup impressions, followers and excitement surrounding the playoffs. To deliver projects like these BDA are exploring new ways to keep the business connected via cloud-based technologies. “Communication is one of the biggest challenges, especially when there may be language barriers in the country you’re dealing with or different slang and terms for industry processes,” explains Bangerter. “We’ve been implementing a variety of tools to help with that, some we’ve developed in-house and others software we’ve NOVEMBER 2018

“ We use Smartsheet (a software as a service application for collaboration and work management with a spreadsheetstyle user interface also championed by the likes of Netflix and HP) to assign and automate tasks, track project progress, manage calendars and share documents” — Rob Bangerter, Director of Global Sourcing, BDA

CLICK TO WATCH : SMARTSHEET – IF YOUR WORK COULD TALK... 51 modified for our own use cases. We

colleagues in Shanghai. Smartsheet

use Smartsheet (a software as a ser-

are a local company (based in Wash-

vice application for collaboration and

ington) so we’ve been able to work with

work management with a spreadsheet-

them to make modifications to fit what

style user interface also championed

we do, and deploy globally at scale.”

by the likes of Netflix and HP) to assign

BDA remains in Promo Marketing’s

and automate tasks, track project

top five products distributors (on a top

progress, manage calendars and share

50 list responsible for over $5 billion

documents. This aids our procurement

in annual sales in 2017) following on

processes worldwide with all the infor-

from successes such as the Ghost-

mation held in the cloud where users

busters property launch. In conjunc-

can find one true source of information.

tion with Sony Pictures Entertainment,

I can have a sheet open on a new prod-

BDA distributed in excess of 28,000

uct that can be worked on simultane-

Ghostbusters bobbleheads to sta-

ously here in the US and by one of my

diums totalling more than 100,000 w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

PROCUREMENT INSIGHTS

“ What BDA does, creating custom branded merchandise unique to every client, requires significant logistics and supply-chain optimisation behind the scenes” — David Velasquez, Director of Global Procurement, BDA

NOVEMBER 2018

the business with staff from sales, supply chain, and finance helping our product development teams meet the needs of the customer. The biggest benefit comes from the speed to market standpoint as our core people meet regularly to steer that. For example, 18 months ago we took on Orange Theory Fitness as a client and are helping them develop technical athletic wear, which is a new direction for us and one where we’ve been able to create product competitive with the big brands.” It’s that entrepreneurial spirit and goal to evolve deep in the company’s DNA which has attracted new hires from the likes of Amazon, Microsoft attendees, creating 2.3 million toys for

and Starbucks. One such new recruit,

Kellogg’s cereal boxes and fulfilling

Global Procurement Director Davis

back to school merchandise for over

Velasquez, echoes Bangerter’s posi-

3,000 Walmart stores across the US.

tivity on his quest to help BDA scale

Sony were thrilled with BDA’s efforts:

globally: “What BDA does, creating

“We look to them to extend our property

custom branded merchandise unique

in traditional channels as well as new

to every client, requires significant

ones, delivering every time.”

logistics and supply-chain optimisation

“We are great at hitting the ground

behind the scenes. By implementing

running in new product areas we may

scalable solutions, BDA will improve

not have previous experience in,” adds

transparency between teams and other

Bangerter. “We can pull experts in to

organisations and handle challenges,

drive that. We have customer focused

like last-minute orders and trademark

teams which draw on synergies across

requirements, seamlessly.” w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

27 - 28 November 2018 Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Points Per Day

Smart Procurement & Strategic Sourcing A Journey into Procurement Excellence in Alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 #saudiprocurement @ksaprocurement www.saudiprocurement.com

Esteemed Speakers Yasser AlShammari General Director of Etimad Program Ministry of Finance

Abdulghafoor Abdulhaleem Director of Business Services DUSSUR

Saleh H. Al Suwaiti GM, Procurement Center of Excellence TASNEE

Turki Al-Johani General Manager KSA Procurement TASNEE

Eng. Fatthi E. Alkathiry Director Of Gulf Joint Procurement Gulf Health Council

Lincensed by

Hesham Elabd Senior Director Procurement Emaar, The Economic City BASEERA EXHIBITION (KAEC) AND CONFERENCES

äGô“DƒŸGh¢VQÉ©ª∏dIÒ°üH

Organized by

In Collaboration with

äGô“DƒŸGh¢VQÉ©ª∏dIÒ°üH BASEERA EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCES

Associate Sponsors

Networking Solution Provider

Association Partners

Media Partners

T O P 10

GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN LEADING COMPANIES 56

Supply Chain Digital examines the 2018 world leaders in supply chains, according to Gartner’s Supply Chain Top 25. The GSC 25 is an annual ranking which aims to evaluate industry-leading corporations on their dedication and ability to demonstrate “leadership in applying demand-driven principles to drive business results”. Written By

NOVEMBER 2018

HARRY MENEAR

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T O P 10

10 Starbucks

Gartner Rank: 3.85 Maintaining its ranking from the previous year, Seattle-based coffee company Starbucks reports an annual revenue of over $22bn and operates at over 28,000 locations worldwide. This includes the world’s largest coffee shop, located in Shanghai. The company is currently opening locations in China at a rate of one shop every 15 seconds. The effectiveness of Starbucks’ supply chain is attributed by Rick Leblanc of The Balance to centralisation, the reduction of outsourcing costs, and “very clear service, cost, and productivity metrics.”

www.starbucks.com

NOVEMBER 2018

09 H&M

Gartner Rank: 3.96 H&M fell from position four to nine in the Gartner rankings year-overyear. According to CIPS, the Swedish clothing brand reported a below-expected growth of 3% in 2017, prompting the adoption of new technologies to “make its supply chain faster, more flexible and more responsive to” customer needs. This supply chain overhaul (in comparison to the one that took place in 2017) will focus on intelligence and analytics, attempting to better anticipate patterns of consumer behaviour, both online and in the brand’s physical locations.

www.hm.com

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T O P 10

08 PepsiCo

Gartner Rank: 3.99 Rising three places in the Gartner rankings, food and beverage corporation PepsiCo has unveiled plans to further improve the efficiency and efficacy of its supply chain by adopting a more tech-centric approach. According to Digital Commerce 360, “PepsiCo Inc. has a big thirst for doing more things digitally.” Vivek Sankaran, president and COO of PepsiCo snack subsidiary Frito-lays, tweeted that the company was “vastly improving [its] ordering algorithms to automatically generate the perfect order for that store based on sales histories.” The company reported a net revenue of $50.6bn in the last financial year and expects further automation to cut costs and increase profits.

www.pepsico.com

NOVEMBER 2018

07 NESTLE S.A.

Gartner Rank: 4.21 With a net reported revenue of $91.2bn last year and operations in over 80 countries, Nestle is the largest food processing company worldwide. This year, Nestle announced a â&#x20AC;&#x153;global coffee allianceâ&#x20AC;? with Starbucks, who will provide the coffee bean sourcing aspect of the supply chain, whereas Nestle (having paid $7.3bn for Starbucks licensing) will perform customer-end distribution. The company also hopes to boost its Nescafe brand revenue by investing $1.3mn to train Zimbabwean coffee farmers, attempting to bolster its supply chain security from harvest to consumer, according to CIPS.

www.nestle.com

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T O P 10

06 NIKE

Gartner Rank: 4.26 Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike is the world’s leading footwear manufacturer. The company ascended two places in the Gartner rankings, in comparison to 2017, a position which is under threat. Nike’s current manufacturing model relies heavily on overseas production outsourced to third-party contractors, particularly in Vietnam, China, and Indonesia. According to Morgan Stanley Forecasts, “20% of production for Nike and Adidas shoes will move to more automated factories by 2023.” This shift towards to automated may result in Nike having to dramatically restructure its supply chain organisation scheme, given the company’s current reliance on overseas factory labour.

www.nike.com

NOVEMBER 2018

INTEL

Gartner Rank: 4.36 Santa Clara, California-based tech company Inel rose by one position in the Gartner rankings in 2018. The company’s five-year high point was fourth place in 2016 and ‘15. Hoping to not only return to its previous competitive highs, but to vie for recognition as a global supply chain leader, Intel is undergoing innovative supply chain restructuring. According to a company press release, “Intel IT is transforming our legacy supply chain into a modern ‘glass pipeline’ that improves our decision making capabilities and business agility.” This modernization effort is centered around its Integrated Data Platform, meaning “reports that used to take hours to generate can now be created in real time as a result of faster access to data.”

www.intel.com

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T O P 10

04 Colgate-Palmolive Gartner Rank: 4.40

Worldwide household and personal care product manufacturer Colgate-Palmolive jumped from ninth to fourth spot in the Gartner rankings this year. The company currently controls 42.1% of the global toothpaste market and 32.3% in the manual toothbrush market, according to a 2018 report by Forbes. In spite of its predictions that “higher estimated freight and logistics costs, increased competitive activity and a slowdown in growth in some markets,” Forbes expects Colgate-Palmolive’s Funding The Growth initiative to help offset revenue loss in the coming year by intelligently sourcing raw materials and increasing supply chain efficiency.

www.colgatepalmolive.com

NOVEMBER 2018

CISCO SYSTEMS

Gartner Rank: 4.41 Based in San Jose, California, Cisco Systems is a global leader in communication technology. The company rose one position, as its continued efforts to curb carbon emissions along its entire supply chain continue to come into effect. Lisa Brady, Director of Supply Chain Sustainability at the company wrote in September: “we work with our upstream and downstream partners to reduce the environmental impact of our value chain.” The company’s supply chain analysis software is currently balancing customer expectation with the initiative to transfer its logistical solutions “from air to ocean whenever feasible.”

www.cisco.com

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T O P 10

02 Inditex

Gartner Rank: 4.85 Spanish textile manufacturing group Inditex is the largest clothing distributor in the world, controlling production and distribution for brands Zara, Bershka, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti and more. The company’s supply 66

chain has been described, in a New York Times article on the rapidity with which high fashion makes its way into Zara branded outlets, as “mind-spinningly supersonic.” TradeGecko attributes the speed of Inditex’s supply chain to a combination of in-house production and regular small-batch deliveries that would be impossible if Zara did not own its supply chain.

www.inditex.com

NOVEMBER 2018

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T O P 10

NOVEMBER 2018

01 Unilever

Gartner Rank: 6.36 British-Dutch household and personal care manufacturer, Unilever, remains atop the Gartner Supply Chain 25 for the third consecutive year, with a 1.51 point lead on runner-up Inditex (this lead is larger than the point difference between Inditex (number two) and Starbucks (number 10). Unilever’s mastery of the modern supply chain has advanced in tandem with its commitment to environmental responsibility. In 2018, the CDP - a non-profit environmental disclosure platform - named Unilever a global supply chain leader. According to the company’s press release: “disclosure through CDP helps us understand our upstream footprint better, what initiatives key suppliers have embarked on to reduce emissions associated with goods and services purchased.”

www.unilever.com

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EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S

The biggest industry events and conferences WRITTEN BY JAMES HENDERSON from around the world 26–28 NOVEMBER

Supply Chain Management Strategies Summit [ BERLIN, GERMANY ] The 2018 line-up features the very best supply chain executives from world-class organisations. They’ll discuss their own experience and provide advice on: • The latest supply chain management technologies and innovations • Agile customer-centric supply plan70

ning and optimisation strategies

24 JANUARY

Japan Supply Chain Summit [ TOKYO, JAPAN ] Learn the latest and best practices for improved supply chain and logis-

• Transparency, control and synchroni-

tics performance in Japan. In just one

sation across all manufacturing and

day, acquire the latest knowledge and

supply chain operations, including

the most effective techniques to grow

production, quality, labour, mainte-

your supply chain, manufacturing,

nance and material flows

logistics and distribution capabilities

• Risk and volatility management in a global economy • The use of analytics to interpret com-

in Japan.This summit will draw upon the experience of leading companies to explore how a cross-functional supply

plexity demand information in

chain team can enhance company

omni-channel market

results in Japan. Along top experts,

• Working across silos: realising

high-profile speakers and top practi-

the synergies and maximising

tioners will be invited to share their

the opportunities

views on managing supply chain, pro-

Click to view website

curement and logistics in Japan.

Click to view website

NOVEMBER 2018

26â&#x20AC;&#x201C;28 FEBRUARY

Biologistics World Asia 2019

13â&#x20AC;&#x201C;14 MARCH

Biologistics World Asia is the only event

Temperature Controlled Logistics in Biopharmaceuticals Europe 2019

in the Asia-Pacific region that focuses

[ MILAN, ITALY ]

on logistics and supply chain of biop-

The Temperature Maintenance of Phar-

harmaceuticals! The event will bring

maceuticals in Distribution returns to

150+high-profile attendees together

Milan, Italy- for its 15th Annual edition

to discuss, debate and brainstorm on

after an extremely successful 2018

the most pertinent issues affecting the

event. It promises to be its biggest and

biopharmaceutical logistics network.

best to date with an event more

Meet key Supply Chain, Logistics, Dis-

diverse range of parties and topics to

tribution, Procurement, Validation, &

be included! Our 2019 agenda will

Quality stakeholdersfrom International

focus on providing a holistic approach

andRegional Biopharmas, BIGPhar-

to temperature controlled shipments

mas, Biorepositories, CROs, Solution

whilst also helping address distribu-

Providers, Academic & Research Insti-

tional obstacles and regulatory

tutes and Government & Regulatory

compliance. This will be your one-stop

bodies across Singapore, South Korea,

shop to all solutions to mitigate faults

Taiwan, Japan, Australia, India, Indone-

within the cold chain for a more stream

sia, Malaysia, and China.

lined and cost effective supply chain.

Click to view website

Clik to view website

[ SINGAPORE ]

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EVENTS & A S S O C I AT I O N S

25–26 APRIL 2018

American Supply Chain Summit2019 [ DALLAS, TEXAS, USA ] The American Supply Chain Summit is a

04 APRIL

leadership focused meeting designed

Procurex Ireland

around improving supply chain and pro-

[ RDS, DUBLIN ]

curement strategy across the globe. The

Procurex Ireland would like to thank all

Supply Chain Summit serves as an

partners, sponsors, delegates and

annual platform to exchange ideas and

exhibitors for their involvement this

collaborate on the impact of market

year which has helped make the event

dynamics and new technologies for cur-

a success once again. Throughout the

rent and future supply chain & operations

day hundreds of delegates enjoyed the

leaders. This year’s Summit creates an

free training opportunities and the

opportunity to examine key case studies

wealth of innovation shown in the Prod-

on how workforce management,

uct Showcase. Held in Dublin, Procurex

advanced analytics, process improve-

Ireland brings together the largest

ment and automation are being rolled out

annual gathering of pan-sector public

in the world’s best facilities. Join the in-

procurement professionals and market

depth discussions on achieving

leading suppliers, from both the Repub-

innovation, maximizing supply chain prof-

lic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, who

itability and increasing visibility and

contribute to the ongoing delivery and

flexibility to mitigate risk.

strategic development of a combined

Click to view website

annual spend of over €12bn.

Click to view website

NOVEMBER 2018

20–21 MAY

Total Supply Chain Summit [ OXFORDSHIRE, UK ]

25–27 JUNE

10–12 JUNE

Supply Chain & Logistics Summit and Expo 2019

that brings together

Supply Chain Summit 2018

logistics professionals

[ ATLANTA, USA ]

Discover the latest

and key industry solution

North America’s Most

insights in supply chain

providers, the summit

Senior-Level Supply

management. With a

consists of one-to-one

Chain Event. The Supply

solid track record of

business meetings,

Chain Summit 2018 is the

delivering Directors and

interactive seminars and

meeting place for the

C-Suite Executives, the

valuable networking

forces of innovation,

EMEA Supply Chain &

opportunities; in less

transformation and con-

Logistics Summit &

than two days. The Total

nectivity that will

Expo is one of the most

Supply Chain Summit is

fundamentally reshape

established events of its

specifically organised

the supply chain industry

kind in Europe. Now in

for senior professionals

over the coming years.

its 21st year, it is a high-

who are directly respon-

Join us in Atlanta on June

light in the calendar

sible for supply chain

5 - 7 and decide the future.

where world-class

within their organisation,

800Attendees, 200Man-

organisations meet to

and those who provide

ufacturers / Retailers,

maximise efficiency and

the latest and greatest

100+Educational Ses-

minimise costs through

products and services

sions, 80C-Level

supply chain strategies

within the sector.

Speakers and 6Keynotes.

of the future.

Click to view website

www.sclsummit.com

A highly focused event

[ ANTWERP, BELGIUM ]

w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

NOVEMBER 2018

S U P P LY C H A I N

Empowering a mammoth supply chain transformation WRIT TEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY

DENITR A PRICE

w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

S E R V I C E C O R P O R AT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Powered by center-led procurement, data analytics, strategic sourcing and more, Service Corporation International is well on its way to becoming a world-class supply chain group

lanning a funeral is an emotionally testing task, but it is one, which many people will have to face in their lifetime. Navigating

a variety of choices from caskets and flowers to music selection whilst also dealing with grief is a 76

delicate balancing act, but luckily, there is an array of deathcare professionals ready to guide you through the process – not least affiliates of Texas-headquartered firm Service Corporation International (SCI)*, which has quickly established itself as the leading deathcare provider in North America. With a network of more than 2,000 funeral homes and cemeteries, SCI provides world-class funeral, cremation, and cemetery services to thousands of families each year. In doing so, Christopher Jones, Director of Indirect Procurement, says that SCI helps families through difficult times, helping to celebrate their loved ones’ lives with compassion and dignity. “In my opinion, SCI helps families in their greatest time of need, and our focus and mission centers around this need,” observes Jones. “Our 24,000 associates work every day to ensure that our NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

77 families are taken care of, that they don’t have to worry about the little details when they’re grieving over a loved one that they’ve lost.” With funeral homes and cemeteries in 45 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, SCI has an unparalleled network and a diversified range of end-of-life offerings. The supply chain is, therefore, a pivotal part of the operations and so the company has embarked on a transformation to ensure it can continue to deliver and help hundreds of thousands of families each year. “I believe that supply chain is a key w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

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NORTH AMERICA

“ SCI has worked with U.S. Bank for the last 10 years with its One Card and Purchasing Card payments to streamline its process and perfect its procureto-pay initiatives”

group in our operations,” Jones adds.

keen to highlight too. With different

“We make sure that our locations don’t

groups within the procurement organi-

have to worry about the little things,

zation – direct procurement and indirect

ensuring that we have the necessary

procurement as well as a business

operational supplies and merchandise

support services group – Jones outlines

on behalf of our families so that they can

how each department takes a unique

have the best possible service for their

approach to sustain and foster strong

loved ones. The activities that we do

relationships with suppliers.

every day are critical for our operations.

“My group is indirect procurement,

“Since we are the largest company in

which procures operational supplies

the deathcare industry, our ability to go

and services,” he explains. “Then we

to our suppliers with large volume

have a direct group which focuses on

purchases means we can achieve

the merchandise side. The best way to

optimal pricing for our locations.”

describe the difference between these

Supplier relationship management is a

groups is that my group impacts the

critical function for a supply chain

bottom line of our organizations, while

professional, and it is a task Jones is

the direct group affects the top line – w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

S E R V I C E C O R P O R AT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L

80 that is, sales and revenue. Then we have one more procurement group, which controls our fleet of vehicles, which is one of the largest in North America, and they also handle travel, P-Card (purchasing card) services, and other offerings. “We have some companies that we’ve worked with for decades and others that we’re just now developing new relationships. We are working to make sure that we continue to create a win-win partnership that benefits both sides – that’s always our goal.” Striking a balance between driving NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

cost efficiency and deriving value is one of the most pressing challenges facing the supply chain sector today. At SCI, the company works shoulder to shoulder with other departments to truly understand what their pain points are, what type of services and goods they are looking for and what values are most important to them. “In most instances, the supply chain department won’t be the primary user of products or services we buy; it will generally be another group within SCI. Therefore, we partner with these business process owners to identify what their short- and long-term needs are and what’s going to satisfy those needs. We put together business requirements to ensure that the people to whom we choose to send a request for proposal (RFP) meet the overall needs of the business. “Being in the procurement profession long enough, you realize that the best price doesn’t always equate to the best service. Good procurement organizations tend to ensure that all the services can be met, that all the needs of the organization are considered and that we drive the best total value to the organization overall.” w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

CONGRATULATIONS

ON DRIVING THE INDUSTRY FORWARD At General Motors Fleet, we understand the importance of working as a team to push innovation and develop new solutions. We congratulate SCI on being featured for their Strategic Partnerships and Alliances and their continued dedication to their communities. TO LEARN MORE VISIT

gmfleet.com

NORTH AMERICA

SCI has also turned its attention to the digital world to drive value. As part of the company’s supply chain transformation, SCI zeroed in on new trailblazing technologies such as Coupa’s procurement platform which has helped to make procurement more visible and accessible. “Coupa is a unique procurement platform. Overall, it’s a very user-friendly environment for our locations to order products we procure on their behalf. We put these products into Coupa into what are called catalogs, which allows our team T:297 mm

to almost shop like they’re on Amazon. They can put items into a cart, check out and it automatically creates a

“ We work every day to ensure that our families are taken care of, that they don’t have to worry about the little details when they’re grieving over a loved one that they’ve lost” — Christopher Jones, Director of Indirect Procurement, SCI

purchase order (PO) which is systematically sent to our vendors.”

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

Christopher Jones Chris Jones joined SCI in 2016 as Director Indirect Procurement. Before joining SCI, he worked for several Fortune 500 companies such as Precision Castparts, Reliance Steel and Aluminum and General Motors. With an extensive background in supply chain and procurement best practices, Jones leads all areas of Indirect Procurement for SCI. Jones holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA in Operations and NORTH AMERICA from Northeastern University.

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S E R V I C E C O R P O R AT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L

“ Coupa is a unique procurement platform. Overall, it’s a very userfriendly environment for our locations to order products we procure on their behalf” — Christopher Jones, Director of Indirect Procurement, SCI

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

As part of its business, SCI also offers travel services to help clients travel home to pay their respects – another area of the business to have been upended by technology. “Working very closely with Carlson Wagonlit, the company has created the CWT platform that all our 24,000 employees through North America and Puerto Rico use to book their airline travel hotels needs and car rentals, for example.” On top of this, the Texas-headquartered firm also has a fleet of 7,000 vehicles which it oversees using a digital fleet management platform. Data is the lifeblood of any procurement team and, at SCI, Jones points out that data analytics has allowed the company to evaluate and benchmark its purchases. “I think data is key in everything that we do,” he explains. “It drives our decision making and allows us to analyze our purchases to ensure we’re driving the right total value for our organization. One key example of how we use data is that it allows us to analyze different trends and forecast whether the price of bronze, metals or other materials is going to rise or fall.” With a compassionate, empathetic team, SCI’s employees have not been neglected by the transformation. Creating a culture that fosters innovation and collaboration, the company teamed up with KPMG to develop w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

S E R V I C E C O R P O R AT I O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L

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NORTH AMERICA

a new NORTH AMERICA Academy to

ranked 2 out of 5 on KPMG’s Procure-

train its team. “They’ve been a key part

ment Maturity Index, whereas now this

of our success,” notes Jones. “Working

figure has soared to 4. “The goal has

with KPMG, we implemented the

been the same from the beginning: to

NORTH AMERICA Academy, a training

be a world-class supply chain organiza-

system for our new buyers and

tion,” reflects Jones. “With our roadmap,

managers in the supply chain organiza-

we will be among the top echelon of

tion to ensure that they continue their

supply chain organizations as far as

education and understanding. They

your maturity, systems and processes.”

are kept up-to-date with not just the

*As used herein, “Service Corpora-

deathcare industry but also supply

tion International” or “SCI” refers to

chain trends, what’s going on and how

Service Corporation International and

they can best manage their categories

all of its affiliated companies.

to ensure that they’re driving the best total value for our organization.” SCI’s supply chain transformation may be still underway, but the firm has already made impressive progress. At the beginning of this roadmap, SCI w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

Nebraska Book Company

Nebraska Book Company: a digital transformation 88 WRIT TEN BY

CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY

DENITR A PRICE

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

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N E B R A S K A B O O K C O M PA N Y

By investing in new technologies and utilizing data science, Nebraska Book Company has sought to futureproof its diverse portfolio.

he use of textbooks across

supplier – Nebraska Book Company

the education sector is facing

(NBC) is expected to see rapid revenue

considerable challenges. As

growth. This is an impressive feat, but it

the average student continues to spend

has also brought a number of complexi-

hundreds of dollars on textbooks each

ties to its operations.

year, rising prices, increased national

Appointed two years ago, SVP of

competition and the threat of new tech-

Operations & Strategy, Peter Grenier

nologies are leading traditional business-

is responsible for running NBC’s complex

es to look at new ways to attract and

supply chain, distribution center, e-

retain market share.

commerce, data science and project

After assuming the wholesale division of multibillion-dollar lease competitor, Follett Higher Education Group – becoming the company’s number one NOVEMBER 2018

management processes as the company enters a new phase. “While we trade in textbooks, we buy from our customers and sell to the same

NORTH AMERICA

“ We buy from our customers and sell to the same customer.We buy from bookstores and sell back to bookstores which makes it a very unique supply chain” — Peter Grenier SVP of Operations & Strategy, Nebraska Book Company

client. We buy from bookstores and sell back to bookstores which makes it a very unique supply chain,” he explains. “There is, therefore, an awareness of how much our markups are, the prices that we charge and the prices that we buy at. This circular supply chain puts pressure on customer service, because if you mess up the buy side, you’ll lose the sale side as well. It’s very tricky. “The student is apathetic about where the book comes from and they often only purchase it for their studies,” he continues. “So, we deal in a commodity w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

DEFINING & AUTOMATING MODERN DISTRIBUTION Velociti Alliance North America has been perfecting the art of advanced distribution for more than 20 years. With innovative clients in the top echelons of their respective industries, Velociti continues to push forward in the specific areas of inventory control, order fulfillment, and supply chain visibility. www.velocitialliance.com sales@velocitialliance.com

N E B R A S K A B O O K C O M PA N Y

“ The student is apathetic about where the book comes from, so price is key. We compete on the sale side and also on the buy side on price” 94

— Peter Grenier SVP of Operations & Strategy, Nebraska Book Company

NOVEMBER 2018

where the customer doesn’t want to buy, so price is key. We compete on the sale side and also on the buy side on price.” With extensive experience in merchandizing and planning, Grenier has witnessed the rise of EdTech players who have sought to cater to increasing demands for digital content and open education resources. Millennial and Gen Z students in particular are looking not only at affordability, but also towards unlimited access and interactive content, placing further pressure on the standard textbook business.

NORTH AMERICA

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘TEXTBOOK AFFORDABILITY’ 95 “There are large online marketplaces,

although the majority of our business is

such as Amazon, Chegg, E-Bay, Abe-

from a bookstore and back to bookstore.”

Books and Alibris, all which sell books online. There are also arbitrageurs, which

SEASONAL DEMANDS

are smaller companies that buy low

The need to find the right books at the

and sell high. They stock trade books,

right price, but also from the right person

where they just physically move them

and at the right time has led Grenier to

from place to place. However, those

refer to his role as “a real hustle,” but

other markets help us with the supply

one in which he thrives. From problem-

chain,” he says.

solving and the need to be creative in

“I can buy books from the market, sell

the deployment of various solutions,

it into the store or buy books from the

NBC continues to look at ways to be-

store and sell it out on the market.

come increasingly agile to retain its

Crossing marketplaces and industries

market position.

makes the supply chain very complex,

Housing up to 215 permanent staff, w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

N E B R A S K A B O O K C O M PA N Y

“ We can now pick triple the number of books processed. Over the last 11 months, we have bought in tools to completely simplify our processes” — Peter Grenier SVP of Operations & Strategy, Nebraska Book Company

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

numbers in the warehouse swell to over

we complete work. The digital screen

300 at peak times to cater to seasonal

walks temporary staff through the

demand. Throughout the winter months,

process and allows us to train them

temporary workers get up to speed on

in less than 15 minutes, so they are

company processes, in order to become

immediately adding value. Within three

fully operational at the start of the

days they’re able to operate at roughly

academic year.

the same speed as a full-time employ-

To accelerate its ability to train new-

ee. We needed temps to get in, get

starters, Grenier sought to ‘temp-proof’

operational, and get up to speed quick,”

the warehouse by investing in updating

he explains.

its outdated software and implement-

The company has also invested in

ing a number of ‘self-led’ digital tools.

new induction lanes from Velociti, which

“With the help of our warehouse tech-

provide instructions at each stage,

nology partner Velociti, we have made

flagging books which are counterfeits

significant improvements to the way

or highlighting which books are new

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N E B R A S K A B O O K C O M PA N Y

14.5m

Students served each year

or used, for instance. NBC’s put-awayand-pick applications are also now

1915

Year founded

300+

Team members

98%

Customer retention rate NOVEMBER 2018

accessed through the use of mobile technology. “Each employee is given a mobile device and technology on their wrist to pick up a book or to put one away. Bluetooth scanners are also used. We can now pick triple the number of books processed than before. Our pack stations, called pack-to-light enable workers to scan a book; a light will then show where to put them. Over the past 11 months, we have bought in tools to completely simplify processes.”

NORTH AMERICA

However, despite such advantages, many veterans with up to 30 years’

ether. It was a tough transition, but most minor stuff has been nailed down.”

experience in the warehouse were initially reluctant to engage with such

USE OF DATA

a technological shift.

With extensive experience within

“Our warehouse used to be alpha-

inventory management, wholesale,

betical order, so employees had

sourcing and buying patterns, Director

memorized where books went, for

of Analytics, Nichole Nobbman has

example. Now, we organize the ware-

been leading NBC’s data science team

house based on demand. Like items

for the past six months in order to dev-

are stored together to both managing

elop the company’s strengths in predict-

counterfeits and meet our customers

ing new trends and demands.

need for us to box similar books tog-

Predicting future demand and supply 99

Nichole Nobbman Director of Data Analytics, Nebraska Book Company w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

N E B R A S K A B O O K C O M PA N Y

“ I am a data nerd at heart, so getting to find company insights or opportunities through digging through data, you can find things that people never think about” 100

— Nichole Nobbman Director of Data Analytics, Nebraska Book Company

in a constrained market remains complex.

can hurt us months from now,” ob-

To drive high-quality standards across

serves Grenier.

its operations, NBC’s data science

“We have tons of different pricing

team uniquely predicts what to buy, how

solutions for different marketplaces,

many to buy, how much to buy it for,

buying solutions for different market-

where to sell it and how much to sell it for.

places, and then predicting demand so

“The data science team predict both

we can go out and acquire supply to

future sale and buy prices. Some of our prices we set up to five months in adv-

match that demand.” “We had a lot of systems that worked

ce so we have to have pretty secure

really well for the time that they were

and strong predictive analytics to

produced, but needed to be updated,”

ensure that we don’t set a price that

explains Nobbman.

NOVEMBER 2018

S U P P LY C H A I N

C OMPA N Y FA C T S

• Millennial and Gen Z students are looking not only at affordability, but also towards unlimited access and interactive content, placing further pressure on the textbook business. • Grenier has ‘temp-proofed’ the warehouse by updating outdated software and implementing a number of ‘self-led’ digital tools.

“Even when we moved to computer systems it was hard to get access to a lot of data - even if you could get access, you couldn’t process it in an efficient manner. However, this has changed. We’re trying to dig through all of our historical processes and move the company to modern statistical processes to optimize our sales and purchasing strategies. “We do a lot of buyback manage-

• To drive high-quality standards across its operations, NBC’s data science team uniquely predict where it can source books, encompassing all price models. • NBC’s sister company, PrismRBS delivers ERP, POS e-commerce back office store solutions for college, universities and campuses. • NBC has become the largest provider of ERP software, which can run any transaction on campus.

ment for stores. Rather than the store w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

101

N E B R A S K A B O O K C O M PA N Y

having just its list of needs, we go in and help manage the process so that they can have our list of needs as well. Then they can buy more books from the students, we manage all of the price models for that,” she adds. Although NBC’s data remains on a mainframe, it is also housed outside of this in SQL servers, promoting accessibility. The team also utilizes SPSS modeling tools. “My team is pretty great. Understanding the bigger picture, knowing that their work matters that is what keeps them motivated. 102

I am a data nerd at heart, so getting to find company insights and opportunities through digging through data, you can find a lot of misperceptions; and you can solve those,” says Nobbman. “You can find a lot of things that people never think about when you’re going through the data, and that’s the thing that I like about analytics. Everyone’s trying to achieve the same goal.”

SUPPORTING STORES Not content with housing exceptional supply chain solutions and data analytics capabilities, NBC’s sister company, PrismRBS delivers ERP, POS, data insight, and e-commerce

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

solutions for college, universities and campuses across the country. Additionally, PrismRBS has become the largest provider of ERP software in the industry. Able to run any sales transaction on campus, the software houses integrations from the book side into technology and inventory, making it easier for stores. “It’s better than anybody else in the industry and it continues to get better. Our number one initiative right now is to enhance the platform capabilities to expand general merchandise capabilities, online sales , and create a friendlier, easier to use solution.

“ It’s interesting how many places we have operations to be able to provide, supply and generate demand for books” — Peter Grenier SVP of Operations & Strategy, Nebraska Book Company

w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

103

N E B R A S K A B O O K C O M PA N Y

We’ve just launched PrismPOS 2.0, which is super cool,” explains Grenier. “Through our e-commerce services, we also own a company called Campus Book Rentals, which is an online direct-to-student site similar to Barnes and Noble, which is also a growth portion for us. It’s interesting due to how many places we have operations to be able to provide, supply and generate demand for books.” Additionally, NBC’s two consulting services provide further revenue streams. 104

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘ECOMMERCE SOLUTIONS’

Known as the number one store design

they don’t either have the time or the

firm in the industry, Campus Store Design

skill set to analyze,” says Nobbman.

has expanded outside of bookstores to

“Helping stores take advantage of the

whatever the campus wants the division

things that we learned through our own

to design and build. The company’s

business operations, and then also

recent launch of its Campus Advisory

doing some heavier analytics just for

Services; however, is decidedly smaller

this store specifically, we see further

but growing quickly, works to support

opportunities in the future.”

campuses making decisions on what to do with their retail environment.

FUTURE MARKETS

“There’s a lot of opportunity there to

“Carrying inventory comes with a lot

help stores. They also have data that

of risk and a traditional wholesale

w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

105

N E B R A S K A B O O K C O M PA N Y

“ Helping stores take advantage of the things that we learned through our own business operations, and then also doing some heavier analytics for stores, we see further opportunities”

106

— Nichole Nobbman Director of Data Analytics, Nebraska Book Company

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

model also has a very long carrying

ized in assisting the auxiliary services

time,” explains Nobbman.

part of a college or university, which

“In a retail space, you would buy

runs the revenue generating facilities.

something (theoretically) for the next

They have to figure out a way to pay for

30 days and you would try to sell all of

all the amenities students want some-

that and then buy more stuff. It’s a much

how, so the campus is continuing to put

shorter life cycle from the purchase

pressure on those services, but we have

of the item to the sale of the item.

a good handle on this,” Grenier explains.

“In the textbook wholesale busi-

NBC will continue to pursue growth

ness, we can pay for something with

opportunities that align with helping

no intention of selling it for six to eight

college campuses create engaging

months, so that ties up a lot of cash

student experiences. Playing a critical

which also carries a lot of risk. The

role in the future of auxiliary services is

further in the future you have to buy

very top of mind for NBC.

something, the less certain you can be

Providing software, handling books,

that you’re actually going to be able to

undertaking consulting and design

sell it.

work – NBC will remain a dominant

“There are two main components of a

force in the American market and

college or university campus: Academ-

a highly respected traditional book

ics and Auxiliary Services. We special-

company. As it looks to further diversify its portfolio and explore new ventures, it will continue to look at potential gaps in the market to help serve its customers across North America

Nebraska Book Company

w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

107

108

The Dark WRIT TEN BY

JOHN Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;HANLON PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

109

State w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

SIGMAPOINT

SigmaPoint is poised to reinvigorate electronics manufacturing in North America. The Canadian provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) has refined its lean manufacturing practices over a decade, and is now on a journey to a truly disruptive supply chain solution

ith increasing unease over the imposition of tariffs on goods and materials imported into the USA, manufacturers and design-

ers are concentrating their attention on the likely 110

effect of ever escalating disincentives to the offshoring model. There are plenty of other reasons to look anew at the advantages of bringing as much as possible of the value chain back, among them the reducing labor cost advantages and, as innovation takes a front seat, the need to protect and control IP. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s against this background that the SigmaPoint Technologies has launched a five-year project that will seriously disrupt the traditional end-to-end supply chain and lead the electronics industry toward a much more highly automated model. In just 19 years the Cornwall Ontario based company has grown from zero to nearly 300 employees, partnering with major OEMs such as General Dynamics and Kontron through its commitment to lean manufacturing and its triple focus on simplicity, velocity and value add. As NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

111

w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

SIGMAPOINT

“When you get into the prescriptive and predictive portions of the AI interface … you’re actually starting to enter a future state where you’re able to look at the variables without any human interface” — Leah Slaughter, VP of NORTH AMERICA, Sigmapoint

Sylvain Duval, SigmaPoint’s Director of

bringing certain products back to

Customer Experience, says: “We have

North America. Being a Canadian

been able to demonstrate to our

entity, our customers are burdened by

customers the solid business case for

no tariffs whatever.” Thus, being

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MONTH 2018

NORTH AMERICA

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MADE IN CORNWALL – EPISODE 1: SIGMAPOINT’ 113 Canada-based is just one of a number

Duval. “That is why SigmaPoint is trying

of market factors favoring Sig-

to build the EMS global supply chain of

maPoint’s growth – but the chief

the future. We are putting together the

advantage of this company lies in its

building blocks so that we can maintain

commitment to innovation.

our competitive advantage and enable

A key factor, currently and over the

our original equipment manufacturing

coming five years, is its leveraging of

(OEM) customers to bring back their

artificial intelligence (AI) and machine

projects from Asia to North America.”

learning (ML) when it comes to

The project proper had its birth in

competing with Asia. China will always

2017 at SigmaPoint’s facility within the

be able to undercut on labor so what

new privately-funded tech accelerator

more can SigmaPoint do? “We know

Catalyst137 at Kitchener. This focuses

that to be able to compete effectively

on NPI and fast prototyping, with an

we have to find ways of removing every

eye to volume production at the

bit of waste and inefficiency,” says

Cornwall factory. The government has w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

SIGMAPOINT

“ We have been able to demonstrate to our customers the solid business case for bringing certain products back to North America” — Sylvain Duval, Director of Customer Experience, Sigmapoint

114

encouraged the creation of a ‘super-

Response, the software platform that

cluster’ of companies working together

was chosen by VP of NORTH AMERI-

to share IP and move toward next-gen-

CA Leah Slaughter based on a long

eration manufacturing, he explains.

acquaintance. “It is truly the most

“Catalyst137 spearheaded the creation

flexible piece of software that I have

of our AI/ML project together with key

ever found throughout my entire

customers, suppliers and our technical

career,” she states. “With the amount

partner Kinaxis.”

of intelligence that we are building into

Kinaxis is the developer of Rapid NOVEMBER 2018

the prescriptive interface, this was the

NORTH AMERICA

115 only tool that could handle the

with processes continuously running

intricacies that I wanted to build into

without human intervention. “Achieving

the AI/ML model.” Kinaxis is a key

this will bring us a huge competitive

partner in the project, which brings in

advantage through risk mitigation in

manufacturers like ON Semiconductor,

the supply chain, with a platform that

distributors including Arrow Electron-

can plan its own way through and out

ics and Future Electronics and OEM

of exceptions and pitfalls that occur,

customers Miovision and L3 Wescam

leveraging deep and continuous

– all with connections to the Catalyst137

machine learning.”

facility. It places SigmaPoint right at the

The part that is not, and probably

center of a heavily populated hub of

never will be fully automated, she calls

start-ups and OEMs that are geared

the control tower. This is the human

toward IoT innovations.

interface that monitors the process,

The goal by 2022 is to comprehen-

constantly reprogramming the

sively automate the supply chain so

machine as exceptions are encoun-

that 90% of it is running in a ‘dark state’

tered. The jobs will not always be the w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

SIGMAPOINT

supply chain professional roles of today, but might require a ‘control tower architect,’ an ‘AI programmer’ or an ‘AI profile exception specialist.’ “Artificial intelligence and machine learning on their own are really just a process automation but it’s when you get into the prescriptive and predictive portions of the AI interface, and into deep learning in the machine learning portion of it, that you’re actually starting to enter a future state where you’re able to look at the variables without any human interface. The 116 E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Leah Slaughter Leah has close to 20+ years of extensive experience in NORTH AMERICA and redesigning end-to-end supply chains evaluating where supply chain resources are best deployed to maximize company revenue and improve customer delivery performance by using an assessment of strategic risk for the company through strategic sourcing, demand intake, supply chain management, procurement, materials management, manufacturing, logistics and customer service. Leah’s experience with component distribution, various multinational EMS providers, OEM’s as well as consulting for NORTH AMERICA process and applications has allowed her to share her knowledge and manage teams of up to 150+ people. Graduating with honours and on the Dean’s List, Leah received Diploma’s in Materials Management & Distribution and Marketing & Business Administration from Sir Sandford Fleming College.

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

control tower will always be a piece of the puzzle though, because we need intuition built-in to some of these decisions. We need to regularly re-programme the artificial interface to ensure that the right things are being learnt by the machine and that the next decision that it makes will be correct.” AI and ML, then, have the potential to make existing practice efficient, but even today supply chain is seen as a very linear, end-to-end process. SigmaPoint looked for a holistic model that would link each of the nodes direct to the digital core in real time. “The linear model introduces latency as it

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

Sylvain Duval He has more than 27 years’ experience in New Production introduction in the high-tech sector. He worked 10 years at Nortel Networks as Test Engineering Director and Sr Product Line manager. He then followed an entrepreneurship career path working as Test engineering Director for Ceyba (Ultra Long haul Optical networking Start up) in early 2000 , co funding his own startup Daito Test services in 2003 and co-funding Jordale technology in 2006. Sylvain went back in the EMS world as Customer Service Director at Varitron before joining Sigmapoint. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master degree in Concurrent Engineering from Sherbrooke University.

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SIGMAPOINT

moves from node to node,” says Slaughter. “When we looked at spanning eight internal nodes with seven external supply nodes, upstream and downstream to give a full and entire supply chain solution leading to the dark state, we knew we had to 118

connect the OEMs, the EMS, the distributor and the manufacturer.” Her vision is to transcend the nodes or links in the supply chain conflating them in a compressed ‘super node’, always turned on, always transparent, and all powered up by Kinaxis Rapid Response. Collaboration across the nodes, from the outset, was the always the key, emphasizes Duval. “AI and ML are

“Catalyst137 spearheaded the creation of our AI/ML project together with key customers, suppliers and our technical partner Kinaxis” — Sylvain Duval, Director of Customer Experience, Sigmapoint

NOVEMBER 2018

NORTH AMERICA

buzzwords in the supply chain world but we are different in that we involved our partners right from the beginning, asking them to identify the upstream or downstream issues we could help solve with this new approach.” The project remains at this stage an active development between SigmaPoint and its partners, but its effect is already being felt in the vibrant digital nexus emerging in Ontario, with startups, innovators and established players supporting the next generation of IoT companies. It is due to be unveiled by Slaughter in Washington DC in October to a broader population of supply chain professionals at Kinexions 18 the annual conference of Kinaxis. “I think the AI/ML project will attract much attention and potentially, with the partners that we are involved with and leveraging right now, it will change the supply chain landscape over the next five years to what we hope will be a revolutionary state.”

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120

AFRICA

VLH uses strategic procurement to provide world class hotel services WRIT TEN BY

DA LE BENTON PRODUCED BY

S TUART IRVING

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121

V E R A N D A L E I S U R E & H O S P I TA L I T Y

Through an approach to strategic procurement, VLH provides world class hotel services with greater efficiency

ll over the world, the hotel industry is changing and now more than ever before the role of procurement is proving key in

adapting to the ever-evolving hospitality landscape. The industry has always been driven by the guest 122

but the modern-day hotel guest has far greater access to information and technology, resulting in a more informed guest which demands more from a hotel operator. For Veranda Leisure and Hospitality (VLH), key to understanding and delivering on this increasing demand lies within its procurement. “We have a hybrid procurement process, that is, we use a mix of decentralised and centralised procurement processes,” says Stéphane Lacoste, Group Procurement Manager, VLH. “With this modus operandi and the input of my great team, we can manage to meet our KPIs and achieve world class standards, ensuring that Veranda Leisure and Hospitality increases its competitive advantage.” VLH is the mother brand of two hotels’ brands: Heritage Resorts and Veranda Resorts. The group is composed of three hotels in the three-star NOVEMBER 2018

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123

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V E R A N D A L E I S U R E & H O S P I TA L I T Y

category, two hotels in the four-star category, two hotels in the five-star category, a 19th century Chateau, 50 luxury villas, an 18-hole championship golf course, one beach club famous for its international events, and its own spa and wellness brand Seven Colours Spa. As Group Procurement Manager, Stéphane oversees a small team of 9 people and is responsible for VLH’s yearly average spend of $30 million. But as Stéphane notes, procurement has changed dramatically in recent years and his teams’ responsibilities have too. “We manage the group’s procure124

ments for every category of items over the group” he says. “We are also part of the Project Management teams and we work with them for all procurement-related actions, decisions and strategies during the renovation of current assets and/or acquisition of new hotels.” This shift in responsibility within VLH speaks to an industry wide shift in procurement, with more and more companies looking to implement a robust strategic procurement function. But what is meant by strategic procurement? “Moving away from tactical procurement to a strategic model was one of the very first tasks I had here at VLH,” says Stéphane. “For me, strategic procurement is defined by information; you don’t know what you don’t know so we must be guided by NOVEMBER 2018

“With this modus operandi and the input of my great team, we can manage to meet our KPIs and achieve world class standards, ensuring that Veranda Leisure and Hospitality increases its competitive advantage” — Stéphane Lacoste, Group Procurement Manager, VLH

AFRICA

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘VERANDA — BRAND MOVIE’ 125 data and information coming from the

business model. He found that the

supply chain.”

existing ERP system proved incred-

VLH, like many organisations before

ibly inhibiting.

it, had been utilising a ‘tailor-made’

“To be able to do this, the ERP should

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

be up to standards,” he says. “In supply

system and it required a keen under-

chain, you need a world class ERP

standing and knowledge of how to use

system. The better you have and the

it in order to extract the necessary

better your data is stored, the better

information. Stéphane looked to review

you will maximise your efficiency in

the company’s whole supply chain and

gathering information, the better you

procurement processes, its supplier

will analyse the data and the better

and item rationalisations and its

you will implement cost improvement/

spending in order to better understand

reduction strategies to have the company

how procurement could better fit into

beneficiate from all of it.”

and enable greater value to the VLH’s

“If the ERP doesn’t deliver strategic w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

V E R A N D A L E I S U R E & H O S P I TA L I T Y

126

NOVEMBER 2018

AFRICA

information, procurement can’t develop

where used and replaced them with

any strategy.”

eco-friendly alternatives wherever

One such strategy that Stéphane

possible. The group has also replaced

and his procurement team have been

more than 200,000 plastic bottles from

working on is the implementation of

its operations through the implementa-

a more sustainably focused procure-

tion of bottling plants at all of its hotels.

ment function, which echoes a VLH

“Sustainability is at the heart of

groupwide approach to sustainability

everything we do and it’s rooted within

best practice. “We are constantly

our day-to-day thinking and actions in

encouraging and helping our business

order to enable the group to be greener

units to buy more responsibly and in a

throughout every single step of the

better way for the planet,” says Stéphane.

procurement process,” adds Stéphane.

To this end, VLH has removed all

Through the implementation of

plastic straws and polystyrene boxes

a Business Intelligence system, as

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

Stéphane Lacoste, Group Procurement Manager at VLH Stéphane has 13 years of experience in procurement and supply across different industries, namely the banking industry, the FMCG industry, the manufacturing industry and the hospitality sector. His core expertise are strategic sourcing and purchasing, supply chain management, category management, contract management, ERPs, warehouse management, P&L accountability, negotiation skills, vendor management and project management. Since 2013, Stéphane has been a member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, a renowned UK-based global professional body for procurement and supply. w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

127

well as the company’s approach to

team working with you and have great

sustainable best practice, VLH contin-

external stakeholders helping you

ues to act on all steps of the procure-

to improve your supply chain” says

ment process with the necessary

Stéphane. “By applying our ESI concept,

controls and measures in place to

we use the knowledge and expertise of

increase overall efficiency and effec-

our partners to improve and maintain

tiveness. Key to any procurement

the quality of our goods and services

function is its supplier network and

in our supply chain.”

VLH has adopted an Early Supplier

In order to implement the ESI concept,

Involvement (ESI) concept designed

Stéphane understands that he and his

to ensure the highest standards are

team must continuously strive to create

met and continue to be met for all its

strong relationships with these external

procurement activities.

stakeholders, suppliers and partners.

“In procurement, each journey is

The goal of this, he feels, is to create

a success only when you have a great

relationships that are built on trust,

AFRICA

From left: Shamnaz Mowlabocus – Procurement Officer, Xavier de St Pern – Senior Procurement Officer, Stéphane Lacoste – Group Procurement Manager and Arjuna Cuttaree – Procurement Officer

129 mutual respect and honesty. With a supplier database of more than 1500 suppliers and vendors, how does Stéphane foster and develop key relationships? “Face to face communication wherever possible,” he says. “In all relationships trust and honesty should be the more important factors. Win/ lose relationships in supply chain will never succeed and for the relationship to work it must be reciprocal.” “Veranda Leisure and Hospitality is very lucky to have such great suppliers

“If the ERP doesn’t deliver strategic information, procurement can’t develop any strategy” — Stéphane Lacoste, Group Procurement Manager, VLH

to be part of its supply chain. The w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

V E R A N D A L E I S U R E & H O S P I TA L I T Y

process of involving our partners in our decisions is one of our success factors in our relationships.” A key factor to developing these relationships is transparency and data capture through e-procurement. As the procurement sector becomes more agile and embraces technology further, Stéphane can assess its processes and share this information with VLH’s stakeholders. This he feels

130

“In procurement, each journey is a success only when you have a great team working with you and have great external stakeholders helping you to improve at every turn” — Stéphane Lacoste, Group Procurement Manager, VLH

60,000 Clients per year

1982

Year founded

2,000

Approximate number of employees

makes sense in order to foster relationships but also improve and enable growth as a business. “E-procurement allows greater speed in the way we can do business and the easiness in which we can obtain information and make decisions based on that information,” says Stéphane. “Combine that with VLH’s international standard policies regarding good governance and how

NOVEMBER 2018

AFRICA

131

we rely on internal and external

VLHâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategy over the coming years

auditors to challenge our processes

will be defined by an approach to

in order to improve what we do and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d

continuous improvement, analysing

argue transparency is absolutely

and reanalysing its supply chain and

crucial to the VLH of today and the

procurement as it continues to play

one of tomorrow.â&#x20AC;?

an ever-increasing role in growing

Whatever the future holds for VLH

competitive advantage.

and the wider hospitality sector, procurement will continue to play a key role in enabling growth. With a number of hotel acquisitions already in the pipeline, w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

An sup 132

powe in

AFRICA

ethical pply chain werhouse Africa WRIT TEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY

S TUART IRVING

133

COTTON ON GROUP

One of Australia’s largest retailers, Cotton On Group, is making waves in the African fashion industry with its lean, ethical supply chain

134

n 1988, 18-year-old Nigel

With over 15 years in the supply

Austin sold his first acid

chain field, Phil Marais, Head of

washed denim jacket in

Africa and Brazil Supply Chain at

Geelong, Australia. It would be this

Cotton On Group, has been the

sale that would sow the seed for

ideal candidate to make this vision

fashion powerhouse Cotton On

a reality. He points out how Cotton

Group which, within 25 short years,

On Group has hired people with

has grown to become Australia’s

boots on the ground so that the

largest global value fashion retailer,

retailer can gain a true understand-

with seven brands, over 1,400 stores,

ing of these regional markets and

and a footprint spanning 17 countries.

their supply chain ecosystems.

From Australia to the UAE, Brazil

“For our regional markets, like South

to Singapore, Cotton On Group has

Africa, for example, the value of our

mushroomed in size over this short

assets and individuals is critical,” he

timeline, but one continent has clearly

explains. “It helps provide context to

been pivotal to its success – Africa.

our team members so that we can

Home to seven of the fastest growing

execute the supply chain in that

countries in the world, Africa has

market, whether it’s in South Africa

quickly emerged as a force to be

or Sao Paolo, to the best of our ability

reckoned with in the fashion industry.

with that local knowledge. Aligning

Recognising this, Cotton On Group

with the group framework whilst

has kept a keen eye on the fast-

adding that local twist is really

emerging scene, opening almost 170

important. Emerging markets like

stores in South Africa, six in Namibia,

Africa and Brazil present huge

with additional sites in the pipeline.

growth opportunities for the group.”

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AFRICA

“ In today’s social media dominated world, we know that we’ve got to have influencers in our corner.We have to tap into what we think is going to be fashion forward and value-based” — Phil Marais, Head of Africa and Brazil Supply Chain at Cotton On Group

135

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

Phil Marais On the journey to currently being the Head of Africa and Brazil Supply Chain, Phil has had experience at multinational apparel and furniture entities. These opportunities have been based in both Johannesburg and Singapore, overseeing multi-channel operations both locally, Sao Paulo and in South East Asia for Cotton On. Having a strong people focussed approach in South Africa has benefited in adapting to relationship building, internationally, across language and cultural barriers.

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COTTON ON GROUP

“ Aligning with the group framework whilst adding that local twist is really important” — Phil Marais, Head of Africa and Brazil Supply Chain at Cotton On Group

Today‘s solutions for tomorrow‘s challenges The EKS 110, 210 and 312 With customers demanding ever increasing speed and flexibility when it comes to the delivery of their goods, the challenges faced during order picking are also on the rise. To manage the growing diversity of products and satisfy the needs of customers, you require powerful, versatile and future-proof solutions. We can offer you such solutions in the form of our EKS range of Jungheinrich vertical order pickers. Be it in wide or narrow aisles, from the first rack level or for order picking heights of up to 13 metres – we have the right solution for your application.

0800 984001

info@jungheinrich.co.za www.jungheinrich.co.za

AFRICA

137 The fashion industry is notoriously

chain team but it’s one which Marais

fast-paced, with new trends flying past

believes the company is more than

today’s window displays in the blink of

prepared to meet.

an eye. “In today’s social media dominat-

“In our industry, speed is key,” he

ed world, we know that we’ve got to

observes, “We need to have the stock

have influencers in our corner. We have

delivered at the right time and it needs

to tap into what we think is going to

to be accurate so that when a custom-

be fashion forward and value-based.

er walks through our doors they have

It’s an exciting part of the business,”

a positive experience. We’re a fast

Marais says. Priding itself on this

fashion business that relies on speedy

fashion-forward, value-based approach,

replenishment of stock. Therefore,

Cotton On Group aims to be one step

if you’re doing anything that’s making

ahead of its peers, meaning time is of

you slower, you’re doing it wrong. This

the essence. This has undoubtedly

means if a t-shirt sells out in store and

created a key challenge for its supply

a customer returns tomorrow, the stock w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

COTTON ON GROUP

needs to be available so that they won’t have to wade through a pile of sizes or visit other stores to find their size.” With a few clicks of a button, the rise of e-commerce has also helped strengthen the need for swift delivery but it has also added a new dimension for supply chain professionals to tackle. In January, Cotton On Group launched its online store platform and loyalty card for its South African operations. This has upped the company’s sales and 138

the volume of products that need to be delivered. “What was good yesterday, is average today and probably won’t be good enough tomorrow,” reflects Marais. “Therefore, we need to be agile and adapt our model so that consumers can buy what they want, how and when they want to. Even in mature markets, we’ve been quite a big player in the e-commerce market. Now, we’ve launched our online operation in South Africa, we’ve seen a really nice uptake in volume through this channel of the business. We’ve also started a new wholesale channel with an online marketplace that stocks NOVEMBER 2018

AFRICA

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘THE COTTON ON GROUP: WHO WE ARE’ 139 our brands which provides another channel for us to be able to offer our product.” Relying primarily on word of mouth, rather than advertising and delivering a positive customer experience, is the bread and butter of Cotton On Group’s success. As a result, getting thorough feedback has been critical “We’re engaging with our team and finding out what customers are saying through online feedback,” Marais says. “We’re learning from this feedback and I think that speaks to the company’s entrepreneurial spirit. We’ve got very inspirational leaders who really help drive us to be quicker and faster in unique ways.” w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

COTTON ON GROUP

Drawing from its experience in the Australian market, Cotton On Group has replicated its e-commerce and supply chain solutions for the past several years in different markets. This has meant it could be smoothly adopted in regional markets in Africa. Marais points out how the company’s South African distribution centres are efficient and lean to make orders easier to tackle. “Our distribution centres are set up to complete our online orders internally which made the execution of online a lot easier to manage,” Marais notes.

140

“We’ve also got an online platform that has been tested in Australia but which has been adapted to our local

1,400 + stores

countries

market. This has meant that we have been able to quickly deliver that customer experience that people have come to expect from Cotton On. “It’s supply chain 101: if you add complexity it slows down the operation,” he adds. “So, we’ve managed to keep our business relatively simple. It allows us to be agile when adapting our strategy to meet the

20,000 + employees

NOVEMBER 2018

demands of e-commerce, for example.” With plans to expand to Botswana over the coming months, it’s no question that Cotton On group has fine-tuned its strategy

AFRICA

“ It’s supply chain 101: if you add complexity it slows down the operation” — Phil Marais, Head of Africa and Brazil Supply Chain at Cotton On Group

for success. Yet Marais is keen to point out that this wouldn’t be possible without a team that was entrepreneurial, curious and up for a challenge. “I have experience in various warehouses in South Africa, but when I started my own journey at Cotton On I quickly realised that if you’re passionate about supply chain and want to grow your career, then the place to do that is Cotton On,” Marais says proudly. “You can see an entrepreneurial spirit in our business every day. We’re led by people who expect us to take ownership of our function and execute it to the best of our ability.

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COTTON ON GROUP

It’s also about having fun, engaging with your team and really connecting with them.” Not only does the company foster the talents of its own people, but it’s also helping to enrich the lives of local communities across the globe. Today, cotton is one of the most commonly used natural fibres in the world with more than 25mn tonnes produced every year. As a business, Cotton On Group has set itself an ambitious goal to have 142

100% sustainable cotton throughout its supply chain by 2021. To achieve this it has developed a unique partnership with the Better Cotton Initiative and has launched its very first sustainable cotton program in Kwale County, Kenya, known as Kwale Cotton. Through the program, Cotton On Group works closely with farmers in Kwale to help them transition from subsistence farming to more sustainable cotton farming practices. In addition to funding the training and setup of each farm, the Group is committed to purchasing 100% of the cotton lint, NOVEMBER 2018

AFRICA

143

“ It’s also about having fun, engaging with your team and really connecting with them” — Phil Marais, Head of Africa and Brazil Supply Chain at Cotton On Group

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COTTON ON GROUP

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“ In our industry, speed is key” — Phil Marais, Head of Africa and Brazil Supply Chain at Cotton On Group

NOVEMBER 2018

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145 which is of a premium grade. Since

Marais concludes. “To know that by

the project began in 2014, over 1,500

following your career aspiration at

farmers involved, with many of those

Cotton On, by enabling our customers

doubling their income since coming

to have a really great shopping

on board.

experience, kids will hopefully get to

Additionally, thanks to the group’s philanthropic arm - the Cotton On

go to school, learn new skills and feel empowered – is an amazing feeling.”

Foundation - the retailer is also helping to empower people through health, education sustainability and infrastructure. “We are opening schools in Uganda, Australia, Thailand, and South Africa, and have set ourselves a goal of creating 20 000 educational places by 2020” w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

146

Mi NOVEMBER 2018

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147

ining for

the future WRIT TEN BY

CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY

RICHARD DE ANE

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AEX GOLD

AN AREA OF SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL, AEX GOLD HAS BECOME THE ONLY ACTIVE GOLD LISTED COMPANY IN GREENLAND, PROVIDING A SIGNIFICANT BOOST TO THE LOCAL ECONOMY

raditionally known for its fishing and hunting industries, Greenland is fast becoming the next significant area of exploration for

mining businesses. The largest island in the world, Greenland remains one of the least populated areas worldwide with 56,000 citizens, and it has sought to 148

attract local and foreign investment across a number of new projects. The island’s current position remains complex. A sovereign government, it is positioned under the Danish kingdom who provide grants to support its local economy. To further its independence and bolster its economy to create increased tax revenue, Greenland has embraced the exploration of new mining projects as well as utilising all the renewable and local resources it has to offer. Rich in rare-earth minerals, gold, iron-ore, uranium, in addition to hydro and wind power, Greenland’s favourable legal framework and robust infrastructure, particularly in South Greenland, have factored into AEX Gold’s vision to explore through its Greenlandic subsidiary, Nalunaq Gold Mine, situated in the Nanortalik Gold belt, Southern Greenland. NOVEMBER 2018

EUROPE

“ The government is very supportive, so it’s about having a sound exploration strategy. We are very much focused on that” — Eldur Olafsson, CEO, AEX Gold

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AEX GOLD

Acquiring an existing Exploitation Licence in 2015, the company is at the advanced exploration stage of its Nalunaq property, including the previously operating Nalunaq Gold Mine. It also holds Exploration Licences at the early exploration stage Vagar and Tartoq properties. Hosting a high-grade NI 43-101 compliant gold resource estimate of 263k oz (inferred) at 18.7 g/t and a number of regional exploration targets, AEX Gold has undertaken three years of exploration at Nalunaq, developing an up150

dated geological model and an extension of the main vein strike length up to 1km. “The government is very supportive, so it’s about having a sound exploration strategy. We are very much focused on that, as we have an asset package that we think we can grow and create a lot

Through this process, the business has

of value,” explains Chief Executive

turned its attentions solely towards

Officer, Eldur Olafsson.

gold exploration.

Originating from Iceland, Olafsson

“The known gold deposits in Green-

has gained extensive experience of the

land are in an area where the climate is

local geography. Focusing on mining

mild and, given our experience, logistics

projects in Greenland since 2012, he

are relatively easy. Gold opportunities

has analysed the country’s potential

are easier to finance than larger base

against the backdrop of environmental

metals projects and our perception

responsibilities and associated legalities

was that we could fully fund projects

with partner SRK Exploration Services.

like these through our support here in

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“ We have a total of 690 sq km of licences in south Greenland and we’re the only active listed gold company in Greenland” — Eldur Olafsson, CEO, AEX Gold

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NOVEMBER 2018

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Iceland and in the UK market,” he explains. “We started looking for opportunities in the South Greenland Gold Province and became aware of this historically producing mine. We were attracted by the extremely high-grade potential of the resource and the fact that the project had significant infrastructure in place. We believed there were significant opportunities to materially improve the mining operation that had been run by previous operators.”

EXTENSIVE EXPLORATION Throughout the exploration of highgrade resources, Olafsson is proud to remain hands on and is regularly seen on site. By undertaking various technical studies, AEX has gained the ability to comprehensively analyse similar types of assets with potential. After w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

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AEX GOLD

acquiring the Nalunaq project in 2015 the company has continued to expand its portfolio. Whilst Nalunaq encompasses the required licence to explore and recommence production at the old gold mine, they own the larger Vagar exploration licence, situated a few kilometres to the west of the mine, where AEX believes the ground is prospective for the discovery of further Nalunaq-type deposits. In addition, they also own the early stage Tartoq Project to the North West of Nalunaq. Each licence area is at a different stage

WWW.CARTWRIGHTDRILLING.CA

JUNIOR@CARTWRIGHTDRILLING.CA

TEL: +1 709-896-4446

EUROPE

C OMPA N Y FA C T S

• Greenland is fast becoming the next significant area of exploration for mining businesses. • Obtaining an Exploitation Licence, AEX Gold is at the advanced exploration stage of its Nalunaq property • AEX Gold has undertaken three years of exploration at Nalunaq, developing an updated geological model and an extension of the main vein strike length up to 1km. • Focusing on mining projects in Greenland since 2012, Olafsson has looked at the company’s environmental impact and all associated legalities with partner SRK of exploration which supports AEX’s aim of having a continuous pipeline of projects being brought into

• The use of hydropower and wind power would complement AEX Gold’s operations, not only in its existing mine operations, but with the implementation of an electric mining fleet

production. “We have a total of 690sqkm of licences in south Green-

years at Nalunaq in order to support

land and we’re the only active listed

our exploration in the larger licences in

gold company in Greenland. Previous

the next 5-10 years,” he says.

operators undertook very little forward-

“Iceland is a short distance from

looking exploration once the mine was

Greenland, so logistically it’s good for

in production. It’s a very under-ex-

us. Additionally, in Iceland you need to

plored region so we intend to recom-

be really self-sufficient, and the same can

mence production within the next two

be said for those in Greenland. We w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

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AEX GOLD

don’t have as many people or the multitude of services that you would have in other countries which encourages you to think creatively,” he adds. Consequently, the company has sought to maximise efficiency whilst keeping costs down, yet all the time adding increased value across its operations. By acquiring a high-grade deposit, less material is needed to be broken down, lowering AEX Gold’s carbon footprint. Everything taken out of the mine from underground will be processed and shipped out to a different processing facility, or processed on site adhering to the current environmental guidelines. Historically, electricity has been generated through the use of traditional fossil fuels, something which is steadily changing throughout Greenland. 156

“We’re using oil to put in generators or to power mobile mining equipment which is high cost both in monetary and environmental terms. Greenland currently has five hydroelectric power plants and they are looking at building more in south Greenland,” says Olafsson. Seeing huge opportunities, he explains that the use of hydropower and wind power would complement AEX Gold’s operations, not only in its existing exploration activities, but with the implementation of an electric mining fleet with electricity being obtained from local renewable resources.

PROVIDING LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES In the future, it will be essential for Greenland to gain further revenue to unlock opportunities and services for its citizens. This is something Olafsson believes that AEX Gold can help with due to its knowledge of Iceland as it has many similarities to Greenland and has been NOVEMBER 2018

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“ There are an increasing number of Greenlandic students attending Danish Universities so that now, for example, we are seeing well qualified Greenlandic geologists available for employment” — Eldur Olafsson, CEO, AEX Gold

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AEX GOLD

‘ Greenland remains one of the least populated areas worldwide with 50,000 citizens’

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through a period of comparable change. “Greenland is in a similar position to Iceland not so long ago. Iceland didn’t have a high education rate and wasn’t wealthy compared to other European countries, with economic and cultural activities that were very insular. We are now at the highest level of all parameters in terms of education, wealth per family, etc. and this has stemmed from improving the breadth of schooling and creating opportunities for people to grow and develop outside of the traditional areas of agriculture and fisheries. “Our aim is that the majority of employees will be Greenlandic, but it will take time. Greenland has a large number of people competing for jobs in the fisheries and tourist centres. It is important that Greenlanders are able to access programmes that will allow them to consider other career options. In Iceland we are importing a lot of people to work in different industries in our country because we don’t have enough people. This might be the case for Greenlanders as well if the anticipated growth of the mining sector materialises but we want to ensure that, where possible, we use local people first before looking elsewhere. “The Greenlandic Government provides good support for those who seek education. There are an increasing number of Greenlandic students attending Danish Universities so that now, for example, we are seeing well qualified Greenlandic geologists available for employment. There has been a Mining School at Sisimiut for the last 10 years which provides local qualified labour who can take advantage of opportunities in the mining sector. You need skilled labour and as we own a mine that was in production for 10 years previously, there is a fair bit of w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

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AEX GOLD

“ We are creating revenue for local communities, creating highly skilled jobs, and are providing benefits where local communities can live better lives and individuals can grow” — Eldur Olafsson, CEO, AEX Gold local knowledge that we have been able to use during our exploration work and which we are keen to utilise going forward,” he says. “We are creating revenue for local

Cartwright Drilling, due to the company’s extensive experience in Greenland

communities, creating highly skilled jobs,

and subsequent knowledge of the

and are providing benefits where local

island’s government systems, process-

communities can live better lives and

es and practices.

individuals can grow. We need to create opportunities for young people.” Additionally, by working with local

Planning to mine high-grade resources using significant infrastructure already in place, AEX Gold holds

businesses as well as those who have

extensive licences managed by an

been operating in Greenland for some

experienced team. Previous operations

time, AEX has made a conscious effort

produced between 50,000 to 100,000

to hire companies which can support its

ounces a year at 15.4 grams/ton

growth. AEX have therefore acquired

produced and this has provided a

a longstanding relationship with

benchmark for the company, who will

NOVEMBER 2018

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161

utilise this cash flow to explore the wider

a number of projects,” notes Olafsson.

region in the long-term.

“It will create a dramatic effect on the

“We have a five-year plan where we

local community and hopefully be

want to get into production at Nalunaq

a springboard for unlocking much larger

and use the cash generated to fund

potential in Greenland. There are plenty

exploration in the wider district. We

of deposits that have been found, but

envisage investing a significant amount

you have to be able to develop them. You

in exploration assets to provide a portfolio

can only do that that with support and

of different deposits that we can bring

cooperation from the local people who

into production. We are creating a com-

believe in your vision.”

pany that has a long-term mission in Greenland to build up local know how to support our aim of ramping up to very profitable production across w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

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NOVEMBER 2018

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LONDON BOROUGH OF WALTHAM FOREST COUNCIL

Creating value through innovation WRIT TEN BY

CATHERINE S TURM AN PRODUCED BY

RICHARD DURR ANT

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163

As the demands on Council budgets rise, local Councils have embraced shared services in procurement to help deliver value for money and enhance return on investment

roviding an array of services, from adult social care, housing, environmental and leisure services, education and vocational training, and

more, London Borough of Waltham Forest supports more than a quarter of a million citizens in northeast London. Encompassing a multifarious portfolio, its procurement division has subsequently faced a number of challenges 164

amidst a changing economic climate. Moving from central to local government services, via a quango, Director of Supply Chain, Dave Levy, has been a key figure in the public sector procurement industry for more than two decades. With a passion for delivering effective public services through procurement and supplier relationships and adding value across its services, he has led the borough’s procurement service for nearly 10 years. Over the last two years his role has broadened to include contract management, business intelligence, insurance and risk, as well as its corporate complaints team. “Procurement takes up the bulk of my time, but I also run a shared procurement service with another London borough, Redbridge. I have had to change the way that public sector procurement behaves,” he says. “Procurement used to be very much focused on compliance, process, following regulations – those days are gone. NOVEMBER 2018

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165

Of course, that is still needed but the emphasis now is on people that have a bit of commercial know-how, can identify opportunities and deliver on those, influence service redesign and undertake more effective supply chain management.â&#x20AC;? As public procurement moves away from process and towards attracting those with a range of skills, automation and new digital tools will further revolutionise the industry. Utilising electronic tendering and spend analytics more effectively will further impact the ways in which traditional services are delivered. w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

166

“ The transformation of procurement from a transactional back office function when I arrived to a strategic support service is testament to the ambitions of the authorities and also a credit to the staff” — David Levy Director of Supply Chain

NOVEMBER 2018

“When I joined procurement, it was very much around process and compliance. That has changed. Now it’s about making sure we deliver the added value,” he adds. “Making sure we deliver outcomes, that we deliver social value through our contracts and other essential policies. This includes paying the London living wage and eradicating modern slavery throughout the supply chain. That is why it’s important that that we’ve got people within the organisation that have the know-how to make this happen.” Creating the first local authority shared procurement function in the

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MOMENTS IN RECYCLE IN WALTHAM FOREST’ 167 Capital with the north London borough

where there may be examples where

of Enfield in 2011, the council has taken

one borough has done something

all lessons learnt and applied the learning

innovative or even something that’s

from that arrangement to develop its

not quite worked and use that to inform

partnership with Redbridge. Whilst

solutions at the other borough.

local authorities continue to struggle

Sometimes the benefits of joint working

to recruit and retain talent, its shared

are less obvious, but the simple efficiency

service has enabled the two boroughs

benefits of doing something once, there’s

to look at its procurement activities and

a potential financial benefit. There’s also

formulate joint arrangements to drive

a cost benefit in sharing experiences,

long-term advantages.

learning and maximising efficiency.

“We’ll look at economies of scale where

“This is where I am most proud,

possible in areas such as indirect spend

delivering the shared service with

but we can also learn from each borough.

Enfield and later with Redbridge. The

For example, in areas such as social care,

transformation of procurement from w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

168

“ As the demands on budgets rise, local Councils have embraced shared services in procurement to help deliver value for money and enhance return on investment.” — David Levy, Director of Supply Chain

NOVEMBER 2018

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a transactional back office function

partnership with the client service

when I arrived to a strategic support

areas to deliver contracts and supports

service is testament to the

all associated strategic supply chain

ambitions of the authorities

relationships. Additionally, he developed

and also a credit to the staff

the council’s Contract Management

who deliver on a day

Framework, setting out key standards

to day basis. We buy everything

relating to contract reviews, risk manage-

from paperclips to education,

ment, issue management and planning.

social care and new buildings. There aren’t many jobs where you get involved in so many diverse areas.”

“Most contracts are managed operationally by leads within service areas, so the client department will manage those contracts. If it’s a strategic

Managing all procurement

contract, if it’s one of our key partners,

activities for anything over the EU

then we get involved from a commer-

threshold, Levy’s team works in

cial perspective,” he explains.

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

David Levy, Director of Supply Chain David Levy is an experienced strategic procurement and contract management practitioner. He is a change agent responsible for transforming procurement functions and delivering savings. David’s specialities span procurement, contract management, team development, programme management, project management, local and central government and category management.

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169

How Did We Help Waltham Forest? Matrix SCM help private organisations, local councils, and other Government bodies deliver and maintain vital services by supplying temporary and permanent staff. Our market-leading solutions include Neutral Vendor Managed Services, technology-only approaches to support in-house teams, or Hybrid ‘Blended’ models.

The London Borough of Waltham Forest partnered with Matrix SCM since 2012 and achieved recruitment savings in excess of £5.4m through our Neutral Vendor Managed Service model.

Reducing costs by 8% to 12%, maintaining 99.6% fulfilment rates, and guaranteeing workers are 100% compliant.

Get In Touch To See How We Can Help You Please contact Chris Grimes on 0844 372 1534 or visit www.matrix-scm.com for more information.

“ When I joined procurement, it was very much around process and compliance.That has changed. Now it’s about making sure we deliver the added value” — David Levy Director of Supply Chain

NOVEMBER 2018

“We still have operational meetings and they’ll manage the service and contract on a day-to-day basis but on the strategic side, we’ll get involved to ensure that the overall objectives of that contract are met, that there is alignment at a strategic level between both parties and deal with any commercial issues that arise.” The council is keen to driving continuous improvement and efficiency through technology. An example of this is their contract with Matrix. “In terms of our innovative procurement methods and technology, Matrix is one

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of the council’s strategic suppliers, spending up to £20mn (US$26.1mn) per annum on agency staff. We have worked successfully with them for a number for years now, where they act as a neutral vendor and source our requirements from their supply chain. The source to pay process is fully electronic with CVs, timesheets and invoicing all handled within the system with appropriate financial approvals built into the workflow. As our needs have changed over time Matrix has worked in partnership with the council to develop a hybrid solution

171

with tailored supply chains for different job types e.g. hard to fill areas,” says Levy.

“We have also implemented a number

Whilst all local authorities in London

of Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS)

have adopted an electronic tendering

using AdamHTT to enable a fully

system, the council has adopted

electronic, EU compliant, sourcing

a collaborative e-tendering system

solutions for social care (homecare),

which undertakes all associated

special educational needs transport,

procurement activities.

temporary accommodation and most

“Whether you are after a quote for

recently, Specialist Professional

£10,000, or you’re going after a multi-

Services. This last category is an

million-pound contract, it all goes through

innovative approach to buying consul-

that system and ultimately published

tancy and covers 20 categories of

on our contracts register. It ensures

professional services. It is also open to

transparency and allows potential

the wider public sector and provides

suppliers to bid for contract opportuni-

a more effective alternative to procuring

ties across the Capital,” he adds.

consultancy than traditional frameworks.” w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

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London boroughs adopted the London Tender Portal

1st For shared business function â&#x20AC;&#x201D; North London Borough

250,000

People supported by London Borough of Waltham Forest

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173

174

In such a mature market, collabora-

stand the markets in which it operates.

tion has, therefore, become vital to

Investing in digital product Atamis has

enable more effective sourcing of goods

allowed data to be explored fully to

and services. 23 London boroughs

identify opportunities, where the council

have subsequently adopted the London

has looked closely at its categories and

Tender Portal, where suppliers can

transform its supply chain management

capabilities.

will receive an alert when a local auth-

â&#x20AC;&#x153;For example, we could look at price

ority has an opportunity and bid for

differentials for the same product or

new prospects.

service. We might have areas where

Bringing on board new digital tools

weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve not got much in the way of a local

has enabled the council to transform

supply chain, and look at what we can

its spend analytics and further under-

do to help that. We use spend analytics

NOVEMBER 2018

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“There’s a lot more we can do with spend data through our business intelligence side, such as cross-matching service performance data, with spend and budget data. We can then explore for example, if we have a really high performing function What are we spending on that? What outcomes are being delivered? Is it underpinned by lots of contracts? I think this would be really valuable in the future in determining our ROI. “We’ve been approaching this over the summer doing a proof of concept with Cloudwick and Amazon Web Services, using things like natural language processing and machine an awful lot, but there’s a lot more that

learning to identify the potential use of

we can do with it,” he says.

such tools to help us deliver services

“Public sector bodies have to publish spend of £250 plus a month, and there

more effectively.” Levy is eager to enhance capacity

are companies out there that will do

and capability across the organisa-

analysis from that. They take that data

tions. Developing a training programme

and send it back to you in a format which

for staff, covering everything from the

enables you to interrogate it. There are

basics around process to sustainable

some advantages because you haven’t

procurement, social value and contract

got to do lots of data cleansing, although

management, the tool encompasses

it’s not as rich as our own data, (it’s

the entire procurement cycle.

fairly high level) it does at least enable you to start asking questions.

“Some elements of the training programme are integral. Without it, people w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

175

can’t do what they need to do, training on the e-tendering portal must be done in conjunction with contract procedure rules, so that staff not only understand what they have to do but more importantly why. The big push at the moment within the boroughs is around social value but it’s no good if just comes from leads in procurement. We need this to be embedded in the design of services and contracts so I need to get senior buy-in from both boroughs, and elected Members to champion some of these 176

causes,” he states. Brexit is naturally a major issue at the moment and recently the Council has established a working group and held risk workshops to look at the potential impact and to enable scenario planning. “There is no doubt that if freedom of movement becomes an issue it will impact our supply chain with regards access to labour. We’ve also got issues in London within social care and the construction sector”, he says. “Medium to long-term, we will look at the pipeline of developments that are going to go on in the different boroughs and we can use this as an opportunity to attract and train apprentices to NOVEMBER 2018

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plug these gaps. Whilst it’s

“ We have a passion for delivering effective public services through procurement and supplier relationships and adding value across its services” — David Levy Director of Supply Chain

going to be a turbulent period, we know we have to keep local services running and most services are underpinned by contracts and third parties in some way so ensuring that our suppliers are planning for Brexit is also key.” Levy is passionate about the value that public sector procurement can add, and to ensure that the procurement function remains valued, Levy continually strives to ensure that the procurement team is viewed

as a critical friend that delivers value for money across all services delivered in Waltham Forest. Creativity, delivering exceptional results and driving value will remain its key goals as it serves citizens now and, in the future, bringing new solutions to the table and enabling a new breed of procurement professional through digitisation.

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178

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SCT LOGISTICS:

Transparency and a commitment to service through digitisation WRIT TEN BY

OLIVIA MINNOCK PRODUCED BY

ANDY TURNER

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SCT GROUP

SCT GROUP’S CIO SEAN ATCHINSON DISCUSSES HOW THE COMPANY’S JOURNEY TO DIGITISATION IS MAKING IT EASIER TO CARRY CARGO THROUGHOUT AUSTRALIA

ith 3,934km between Perth

joined by Sean Atchinson, a CIO

and Sydney, transporting

determined to bring technology to the

cargo across Australia is

fore and make digitisation instrumental

no mean feat. Since 1974, SCT Group has been providing an alternative logistics

solution where options were previously 180

in fulfilling SCT’s aim to provide open, transparent and efficient service across Australia. “Our growth has been achieved

few, and has grown to be the most

through a very focused approach to

efficient independent freight service

the business. In addition, more recently

in the country. Providing rail and road

there are only two major players in the

services hauling dry freight, refriger-

rail freight space: Pacific National and

ated and bulk cargo, the business

SCT,” Atchinson explains, praising

prides itself on openness and transpar-

Smith’s initial foresight in challenging

ency. It is also a company that, despite

the status quo of the nationalised rail

its substantial size and reach, cares

industry. SCT now provides logistics

about every single customer from the

services across the country and has

smallest business on its books to

a number of inland ports serviced next

world-renowned retailers like Aldi and

to mainline freight railways. In the past

Woolworths.

two years, SCT has opened two new

Founded by Peter Smith, SCT is still very much a family affair, with Peter’s sons Geoff and Glenn on the board of

inland ports: at Bromelton, Queensland and Wodonga, Victoria. “We are predominately one of the

directors and the founder himself

largest freight movers East-West, from

maintaining a keen eye on operations

Sydney all the way to Perth, transport-

as chairman. In 2015, the Smiths were

ing freight that contains white goods,

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“That journey of transformation through a technology platform is now starting to pay dividends to the business, and year on year I’m successfully taking costs out of the IT business” — Sean Atchinson, SCT CIO

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SCT GROUP

182

“ I work with all staff – if we’re rolling out a new technology, we’re on the warehouse floor with them.We understand what they’re doing, how they’re using it and what they need to use it for” — Sean Atchinson, SCT CIO

NOVEMBER 2018

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as well as foodstuffs from dry all the way down to -24 degrees.” SCT moves all this and more across the length and breadth of Australia with a commitment to making logistics faster, easier and more efficient. From previously having a focus on road line haul that required two drivers to move it across the country, the business can now move a 1.8km train hauling 5,500 tonnes of freight across Australia in three days, all in one journey. In addition, the 300m-long Bromelton warehouse allows a train to run straight through it with no shunting required, so containers can be removed and wagons unloaded as smoothly as possible. “In the three-and-a-half years I’ve been with the company, there’s been so much growth,” Atchinson reflects. However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Atchinson joined the company six months after it had gone live with its new SAP environment – a vital digital solution for many businesses, but one which SCT needed the CIO’s help to implement properly. “They were actually talking about getting rid of it: they’d had a very tough go-live and were relying on consultants to support the business for a number of months post go-live. There were major issues throughout the systemic processing of customers’ orders to invoicing.” Despite these teething issues, Atchinson w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

183

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GPS TELEMATICS & FLEET MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS. High-end, Australian made solutions that keep your staff safe, and your business compliant. From a business thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passionate about innovation. FIND OUT MORE

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CLICK TO WATCH: SCT BROMELTON LAUNCH VIDEO 185 had worked with SAP solutions through-

business, and year-on-year, I’m

out his career and wasn’t willing to give

successfully taking costs out of the IT

up on the world-renowned ERP

business.” Far from cutting corners or

platform just yet. “The transformation

laying off staff, these savings have

could have gone belly up, but working

been made simply by changing the

with some key support organisations,

way SCT operates.

as well as staff and executives right

“We’ve in-sourced our support rather

up to Peter Smith, we’ve kept SAP and

that outsourcing,” Atchinson explains.

turned the whole environment around.”

“We’ve also renegotiated with core

Fast forward to today, and proper,

partners and gone into new commer-

collaborative development of the

cial contracts which have allowed us to

platform is actually saving the firm

save money by utilising the technology

money. “That journey of transforma-

better than we previously have. For a

tion through a technology platform is

CIO, it’s a rare opportunity to come in

now starting to pay dividends to the

where something’s failing and be able w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

SCT GROUP

to turn it around.” Through Atchinson’s work and senior leadership support, technology has been successfully brought to the fore of SCT and

1974 Year founded

is embraced as a driver – almost literally – of the logistics giant’s growth. “We’ve recently introduced new technology in all of our trucks which allows us to do electronic work diaries for our drivers and fatigue management. Drivers can now control their breaks without having to go through the paperwork.” In addition, technology is used to allow trucks and deliveries to be tracked more effectively and SCT is looking to move electronic 186

delivery and pickup management onto a new platform which will integrate better into cabs and carry all the information necessary for a fleet, using a single SIM card per vehicle. “The ability to have a single SIM that controls the phone, telematics and tablets in our trucks will have paid for itself within three years just through telco savings,” Atchinson enthuses. As well as making life easier for staff, a customer reporting platform has been introduced to bolster SCT’s commitment to service. “We’ve rolled out a customer reporting portal which allows our customers to track all the movements of their freight. We notify them when we’re going to pick up and they can see it online in a report to the time that it has been delivered, as well as being provided NOVEMBER 2018

1,000+ Approximate number of employees

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with proof of delivery.” Atchinson

transparency of data,” says Atchinson.

explains that all this is done in almost

“It’s there at their fingertips, allowing our

real time – or around four seconds

account executives and customers to

behind our core platform.

talk in exactly the same language.

Now, looking to trade electronically with national customers in the B2B space, SCT is also developing a B2B

We’re looking at exactly the same pieces of information.” A common worry related to automa-

template based on GS1 – the global

tion is that the human touch will be lost

developer of business standards for

but Atchinson is keen to point out that

communication such as barcoding.

this won’t be the case for SCT. “We

“We’ve worked very closely with GS1

haven’t removed the account execs.

and also our members within that

The customer can do self-service and

environment.”

still have face-to-face contact. SCT

One of the most important things to

prides itself on this. This relationship is

ask of any digital transformation is what

absolutely key for Peter – that’s how he

it will mean for the customers involved.

built the business and that mentality

“It’s tracking; it’s all of their history; it’s

still exists today. We still have that very w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com

187

SCT GROUP

188

personal approach, but technology

they’re doing, how they’re using it and

is an enabler to allow transparency

what they need to use it for. Feedback

between customers, account execs

from those at the forefront of what has

and account managers.”

been rolled out is critical to any

In terms of finding the right digital solution to help SCT grow, transparency with both staff and vendors is key.

success that a technology platform provides to the business.” In the coming years, growth at SCT

“We run roundtables regularly,” says

is set to take many forms across its

Atchinson. “It’s very consultative. I work

divisions from property and rail to solution

with all staff – if we’re rolling out a new

enablement. “We’re looking to remove

technology, we’re on the warehouse

a lot of the manual steps and provide

floor with them. We understand what

technology that supports growth and

NOVEMBER 2018

ASIA

“We still have that very personal approach, but technology is an enabler to allow transparency between customers, account execs and account managers” — Sean Atchinson, SCT CIO

189

supports a mission with our customers

ache) to an integral driver of growth

to provide further transparency on their

and service excellence for the company.

end-to-end moving of freight. My focuses

“Now, if I speak to the board it’s about

right now are expanding IoT across our

what we’re going to do next. It’s about

transportation methods – movement into

looking forward,” he concludes. We

cloud is key. As we grow, our technology

want to build on what we’ve got. We’ve

platform will allow us to upscale, pretty

got sustainability, we’ve got perfor-

seamlessly, our hardware.”

mance, we are enabling our business.

It’s clear that even throughout

“The conversation has completely

Atchinson’s own journey at SCT Group,

changed. It’s not about ‘time to throw

technology has gone from being an

it out’, it’s about ‘we want to do this

add-on (and indeed at times a head-

with our business’.” w w w.suppl yc ha i ndi gi ta l. com