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Retail goes on demand with Stuart
How to avoid supply chain hacking The largest US cargo airports
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Making societies more productive by helping our customers run their businesses. Birlasoft, one of the Global Leaders in IT service delivery, is proud to be associated with Close Brothers for last three years in its journey to become a leading Modern Merchant Bank. Birlasoft is a strategic partner of Close Brothers and supports its mission critical core banking application and Management Information System which puts it in a unique position to create value for next generation business transformations. Birlasoft has successfully implemented: A Fraud Detection Solution which has saved Close Brothers a million pounds since inception. It has been awarded
‘Best vertical solution of year 2014’ by IT Europa - European IT and Software Excellence Award. Close Brothers Premium Finance IT team has successfully delivered a very large Customer Service Program (CSP) by transforming the Banking Application for which Birlasoft was the partner of choice.
Founded in 1995, Birlasoft is a Global IT Services provider and part of 150 year old, multi-billion dollar CK Birla Group. Birlasoft deploys a host of innovative solutions and service architectures across the globe in Banking, Financial, Insurance Services and Manufacturing industries. Our core values lie in being a dependable service provider, with years of experience in managing mission critical systems for our esteemed customers. We achieve our mutual goals by engaging and integrating human capital across our people, customers and partners. Our expertise makes us unique as we challenge the status quo and strive for excellence. Birlasoft (UK) Ltd. 53-54 Grosvenor Street, London, W1K 3HU www.birlasoft.com | birlasoftuksalesteam@birlasoft.com Tel: + 44-207-319 5700 | Fax: +44-208-711 5103
“Birlasoft have had a strong delivery track record for Close Brothers; what separates them from other vendors I’ve worked with is the level of partnership and flexibility the y consistently display” Chris Loake, CIO – Close Brothers Premium Finance
EDITOR’S COMMENT
RETAIL RICHES W E LCO M E TO TH E F I N A L edition of Supply
Chain Digital for 2016. As the year draws to a close, we look to the future of retail in our front of book section with an exclusive interview with retail delivery service Stuart; Lucy Dixon speaks to David Saenz, UK General Manager, about the company’s rise and what 2017 may look like. An ever growing threat to supply chains is that posed by cyber attackers in what is termed ‘dark purchasing’. In situations where there is no real accountability for what employees are buying, corporations are at risk of supply chain hacking, as vendors are not going through an approval process. We offer some useful advice into how to avoid such outcomes. Our top 10 this month looks at the most important cargo airports in the USA, while our profiles section leads with an in interview with JF Hillebrand on its recent supply chain programmes and initiatives. Do give us your feedback on Twitter: @SupplyChainD
Enjoy the read Tom Wadlow Editor tom.wadlow@bizclikmedia.com
CONTENTS
F E AT U R E S
PROFILE
06
Retail goes on demand
TECHNOLOGY
12 4
How to avoid supply chain hacking
December 2016
TOP 10
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US Cargo Airports
JF Hillebrand Australia
C O M PA N Y PROFILES Westminster City Council Europe
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28 84
98 44
BAT West Africa Africa
Home Centre
Middle East
ECCO Shoes
Asia
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NASJET Middle East
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Retail goes on demand Supply Chain Digital talks to the UK General Manager of Stuart, a disruptive technology platform providing on demand deliveries for some of Europe’s biggest retailers Written by: LUCY D I XO N
PROFILE THE QUESTION EVERYONE asks David Saenz, UK General Manager of Stuart, is how the disruptive tech company came up with the name. “It’s a quirky story,” Saenz explains. “The two founders of the company were on a plane, talking about their idea, and the flight attendant who was serving them was called Stuart. He was engaging and personable, and they thought this represented well what the brand should be.” Stuart is an on demand delivery platform that started out in France and Spain a year ago and has recently launched in the UK. Set up by entrepreneurs Clément Benoit and Benjamin Chemla, Stuart changes the way goods are delivered in cities, connecting retailers with couriers in a way that means customers have incredible control over when and where they receive their orders. In short, it is a B2B operation providing retailers the opportunity to go beyond the usual ‘three to five working days’ or ‘next day delivery’ options for their customers, who are able to choose an immediate delivery. Or at a precise time on a specific day.
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PROFILE Logistics expertise With backgrounds in logistics, Benoit and Chemla used their knowledge and experience to come up with the idea for Stuart. Saenz explains: “They had set up a successful food delivery business and realised there was a market for urgent and precise deliveries outside of the food market. The economics of a business just doing food delivery are really difficult, because you have two huge peaks around lunch and dinner, so paying drivers fair wages in the hours when they’re not busy is challenging.” So by working with lots of clients across different verticals, Stuart has been able to avoid the peaks and troughs of food delivery businesses. Saenz adds:
“By smoothing out the demand curve, this means you can have an attractive and really efficient business.” Although Stuart wants to avoid the surges in demand of a food delivery business, it is working with food companies. It’s all about variety, after all, while remaining focused on being a B2B urban logistics expert. Stuart is working with giants such as Carrefour in France and Burger King in the UK, and it has many small, independent retailers also on its books. Other partners include Daylesford, Kiko Cosmetics and Zalando. A customer will shop online as normal, and when they get to the checkout, they will get more options when it comes to delivery. Saenz says: “The retailer
“The economics of a business just doing food delivery are really difficult, because you have two huge peaks around lunch and dinner” – David Saenz 8
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PROFILE
will integrate with Stuart’s API, so the customer can opt for immediate delivery or a much more precise time. The job is then assigned to a courier, who goes to retailer and picks up the package for delivery. This means that the retailer gets to outsource the tech and the logistics, but gets to keep the revenue and the customer relationship. This is really important because they maintain direct relationship with customers and customer data.” 10
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Stuart’s technology team, based in Barcelona, is crucial to the company’s success. “Tech is a huge part of it – being able to have cutting edge algorithms behind what we do, to make the system as efficient as possible when it comes to how couriers are assigned jobs and so forth, is a key part of the proposition,” says Saenz. Traditionally, delivery companies would find efficiency through meticulous planning of delivery
R E TA I L G O E S O N D E M A N D
routes, plotting deliveries based on when it is best for the company, rather than when and where actually suits the customer. Stuart’s model, says Saenz, is the exact opposite of this. “We plan nothing and we map nothing. What that does is better match the on-demand world that commerce has morphed into over the last five years. Consumers have an expectation to get something right away, to be able to change the time and location of
the delivery if they want to. You want that kind of flexibility in the delivery world.” So, how does Stuart find efficiency in this model? By using technology to forecast client demand and then make sure there is the right amount of supply on the platform. With €22 million in investment, Stuart is rapidly building out its platform across Europe. After London, the next cities in its plans are Berlin, Brussels and Amsterdam. 11
TECHNOLOGY
How to avoid supply chain hacking Is your supply chain as secure as it could be? Supply Chain Digital has top tips on cyber security measures to help avoid the hackers Writ t en by: LUCY D I XO N
TECHNOLOGY
DO YOU KNOW exactly what your business is spending money on? It might seem like a strange question, but according to an AmeriQuest Business Services survey, an alarming amount of companies cannot answer it. They have no purchasing strategy in place, or if they do, they don’t have a strict policy that ensures personnel are sticking to it. This leads to what Reggie Peterson, Director of Indirect Supply Programs at AmeriQuest, calls ‘dark purchasing’, where there is no real accountability for what employees 14
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are buying, which can put corporations at risk of supply chain hacking, as vendors are not going through an approval process. Although linked to dark purchasing, hacking is a serious issue also caused by other weak points in the supply chain. Data breaches can be a major problem for corporations, as retail giant Target found out back in 2014 when details of over 70 million customers were hacked. And how did the hackers get access to this data? Via the supply chain, as Peterson
H O W T O A V O I D S U P P LY C H A I N H A C K I N G
Survey results AmeriQuest Business Services surveyed 2,000 people directly involved in procurement and found: 20.4 percent of the companies had no procurement process in place; 13 percent had no idea if their company did, or did not have, a procurement process in place; Less than a quarter of the survey respondents indicated that procurement was viewed as a strategic business partner; Another 25 percent noted that procurement is simply seen as a function of accounts receivables/account payables; Approximately 25 percent said they order supplies on their own and then file expense reports; Fifteen percent of the survey respondents didn’t know which department managed their company’s procurement, even though they were directly involved in the process.
explains: “The hackers got through from a small third-party vendor, an HVAC service – that is how they gained access to Target’s network.” It is thought that the vast majority of data breaches originate from the supply chain as hackers look for the weakest link. When you consider that large companies could have thousands of different suppliers of products and services, it is easy to see that just
one of these not following the correct supply chain security processes could open up the entire company to a hack. A lot of the information going across the supply chain is digital – and increasingly stored in the cloud, which may mean it is more vulnerable to cyber attack than it has been previously. Peterson says: “There is an opportunity at any given time that hackers can breach any 15
TECHNOLOGY of those supplier connections and gather very sensitive information to gain a competitive advantage. And there is also the problem of hacking just for the sake of sport.” So what can businesses do to avoid this happening? Although cyber attacks are evolving every day making them virtually impossible to completely eliminate, there are things you can do to reduce the chance of your company falling victim to hackers. Here is Peterson’s advice on four simple ways to make it harder for hackers to infiltrate your supply chain.
1. Identify and understand exactly who your suppliers and partners are. As Peterson says, “Do basic research on who your suppliers are and if they are going to have a critical role within the supply chain, then you need to do a higher level of research regarding cyber security.” Every company needs to understand their partners’ cyber security risk, as well as their own. 2. Use approved vendors. “Every company should have a supplier approval process – some type of 16
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methodology or protocols in place to vet each supplier that they are working with,” says Peterson. This is necessary not just for cyber security reasons, but will also assist when determining if suppliers are breaking any social or ethical responsibility rules. 3. Know your contracts inside and out. “Make sure you have strong partnership agreements and contracts. What are the terms and conditions in your contracts? This will make it harder for suppliers to ‘do things under the cloak of darkness’.” 4. Constantly evaluate your suppliers. “On a quarterly basis, you should be evaluating your suppliers and your suppliers’ performance. The more times you do that, the more you will be able to understand who your suppliers are and what they are capable of doing, where their strengths and weaknesses are.” This also means that your supplier will have reason to maintain – or improve – the products and services that they deliver to you.
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TOP 10
US CARGO
America’s busiest passenger a most important in terms of tra
AIRPORTS
airports are not necessarily the ansporting cargo from A to B Written by: Tom Wadlow
TOP 10 AMERICA’S BUSIEST PASSENGER airports are not necessarily the most important in terms of transporting cargo from A to B. While HartsfieldJackson International airport in Atlanta is the runaway leader in terms of passenger throughput, with well over 100 million people passing through every year, it does not appear anywhere in the top 10 busiest air cargo hubs in the country. Conversely, Memphis International is home to FedEx Express and does not rank among the top passenger airports, not helped
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by Delta dropping it as a hub airport. In 2015 it saw 3.75 million passengers through its gates, a snip of Hartsfield-Jackson’s 100+ million. The Federal Aviation Administration collates and ranks data to determine how busy airports are in terms of passengers and cargo, the latter measured in pounds of goods. While the organisation has not released data beyond the end of the 2014 as it is currently compiling 2015 reporting figures, the following airports are currently understood to handle the most amount of cargo:
DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (DFW), TEXAS: Handled 3.06 billion pounds of cargo in 2014, a slight decrease of 0.81 percent year-on-year.
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JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (JFK), NEW YORK: Handled 3.37 billion pounds of cargo in 2014, representing a drop of 3.49 percent on the previous year.
CINCINNATI/NORTHERN KENTUCKY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (CVG), OHIO: Handled 3.42 billion pounds of cargo in 2014, an increase of 7.35 percent on the previous year.
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TOP 10
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INDIANAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (IND), INDIANA: Handled 5.27 billion pounds of cargo in 2014, an increase of 6.66 percent.
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LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (LAX), CALIFORNIA: Handled 4.20 billion pounds of cargo in 2014, a drop of 0.13 percent year-on-year.
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US CARGO AIRPORTS
MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MIA), FLORIDA: Handled 6.84 billion pounds of cargo in 2014, down by 4.21 percent year-on-year.
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TOP 10
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CHICAGO O’HARE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (ORD) ILLINOIS: Handled 6.86 billion pounds of cargo handled in 2014, a huge increase of 50.69 percent on the previous the year. LOUISVILLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (SDF), KENTUCKY: Handled 11.26 billion pounds of cargo in 2014, up by 1.52 percent year-on-year.
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US CARGO AIRPORTS
02 TED STEVENS ANCHORAGE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (ANC), ALASKA: Handled 15.98 billion pounds of cargo in 2014, a decrease of 3.27 percent on the previous year. 25
TOP 10
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MEMPHIS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MEM), TENNESSEE: Handled 21.89 billion pounds of cargo in 2014, an increase of 4.33 percent on the previous year.
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US CARGO AIRPORTS
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Driving innovation and efficiency through effective procurement
Written by Catherine Rowell Produced by Richard Durrant 29
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With extensive experience of large projects, such as the major global transformation of procurement at National Grid, Westminster City Council’s Chief Procurement Officer Anthony Oliver has led the review of procurement at Westminster and kicked off a significant transformation process
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ince Anthony Oliver’s appointment in 2012, the procurement team at Westminster City Council has strengthened its systems and operating model, making the organisation more commercial, driving greater innovation whilst maintaining strong governance and enabling effective decision making. The council has achieved the CIPS Corporate Certification Standard, issued by The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, of which Oliver explains, “This recognises what we’ve achieved to date, but we’re now able to build upon that with our 2016 Procurement Programme and move it into 2017. I really think that gives the
council a true competitive edge over what other authorities are doing.” The recent CIPS recognition reflects the council’s continued focus on people development, market development, our operating model and technology development, as well as acknowledging that there are effective policies and processes in place with regards to best practice and management of risk, providing efficient innovation and change management. Procurement Services provides a centralised category management approach that supports and enables the services in Westminster City Council. The team consists of Category Management which
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WESTMINISTER CITY COUNCIL
provides leadership, commercial insight and sourcing assurance to the stakeholders throughout the council, and Procurement Development that provides the procurement systems, policy and training and takes the lead in the strategic and day to day developments of the Procurement team. The team addresses spend of c. £450million per annum on goods, services and works, with a supply base of around 6,000 suppliers. The council’s primary role is to ensure that what they procure provides value for money (VFM) and meets the functional needs of the Council. Through strong relationship management, Westminster Council ensures that their suppliers deliver high standards of performance, as well as continuous improvement and innovation within the VFM framework. Effective procurement is fundamental in supporting the delivery of the Council’s vision of a City for All – an unrivalled city of aspiration, choice and heritage, where the connections amongst residents, businesses and visitors get stronger as everyone
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plays their part in and benefits from the city’s continued success. City for All underpins Procurement Service’s business plan and the council’s Category Management and Development objectives and activities are fully aligned to the City for All commitments. Oliver explained that Westminster City Council has sought to work in collaboration with several partners on the significant development and renovation works in the north of the borough, ensuring all procurement strategies are aligned with the council’s ‘City for All’ vision, incorporating Aspiration, Choice and Heritage, whilst focussing on all aspects of social value and sustainability with their Responsible Procurement approach to all procurement projects. With the aim to retain the existing communities, whilst also developing areas of the borough, the council works to enable families to stay in their homes, gain affordable rent and return back to work. Oliver explains, “Often when councils redevelop, they move everybody out to put some new
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H E L P I N G L O C A L A U T H O R I T I E S S I N C E 2 0 0 1
EUROPE
buildings up, and everybody who goes back in comes from somewhere else. We want to retain the community that exists in the north of Westminster in the Church Street ward area.” Six new schemes supporting the City for All vision will enable the procurement team to deliver quality outcomes. One of the most significant will be employment and the creation of opportunities for residents to gain essential skills within the workplace. This can be provided through apprenticeships and work experience, in addition to investment in advice centres to support individuals to return to work. This in turn creates a domino effect with regards to the other areas of focus: economic independence, quality of life, resilient communities, world-class environment and clean air. Oliver explains, “If, through our procurements and with our suppliers’ help, we can get more people back into work, it creates a knock-on effect, because once you’ve got people back into work, the impact that has on a family creates aspirations. We want our residents to have aspirations and
have those choices, but it really starts to have an impact on a family once we’re able to make those differences.” Sustainability has become an important focus, and there is a procurement lead at the council who ensures that all procurement activity is aligned with the council’s social policy vision. This vision also extends to enabling families to make informed health choices. “Whether we are building or helping with employment outreach or helping with some of our public health procurement activities – we actually see the outcomes and that’s what leads back to a city of aspiration because we are creating those aspirations,” comments Oliver. With significant investment for a new technical college, Milton University Technical College, in addition to a £26 million investment for a sports leisure centre and a £2 million community centre at the Jubilee Site, the council aims to give local communities the best possible support. The Category Management team works with customers across the organisation and also collaborate
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WESTMINISTER CITY COUNCIL
on pan-London procurements with other London Boroughs and the Clinical Care Groups. Category Managers support customers in City Management and Communities, Planning, Public Health, Corporate Services, Housing Regeneration, General Construction and Property. To enhance the value that our team creates Category Managers will often co-locate to work in the same areas as the services that they are supporting. Procurement Services, working in collaboration with the Council’s key Services, are driving innovation within their procurements. For example, rather than adopting the traditional parking enforcement approach, the council has adopted the use of marshals, who ensure that drivers park safely can find a street where parking spaces are available and pay the appropriate fee. To support this further, the council has invested in parking sensor technology as part of its procurement strategy, enabling staff to view parking spaces and direct drivers to a street with ample space. Members of the public are also
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able to download an app created by the council in order to find a suitable space. However, Oliver explains, “This is all about trying to help people through our parking solutions – however, we do still issue parking tickets and we have a back-office service that is outsourced to NSL that delivers a very efficient service in terms of process and transactions.” To ensure the delivery of key services, the council currently outsources a number of contracts, such as Agilisys for distributed computing and service desk. BT currently holds the council’s managed services contract, in addition to back office finance services (processing of invoices), alongside its data centres and essential HR services, as part of several frameworks. “Outsourcing our back-office functions is providing great efficiency to the council, but also, importantly, these procurements are helping to deliver against our medium-term plan to bridge the funding gap that all local authorities are facing in these times of reduced funding from central government.”
Oliver says. “While we take an approach that helps to deliver in excess of a £1 million worth of savings to Westminster, it is a framework that is open to 32 other London boroughs to also call off and gain efficiencies.” Category managers in the Procurement Services team in Westminster ensure consistent positive working relationships with key stakeholders and customers, identifying key stakeholders and their roles within procurement projects, whether they are the owner of the budget, main decision maker, representative of finance, legal or any other vital position. Whilst the council adheres to current EU procurement rules, the Procurement Services team always aims to engage with the market as early as possible, as part of the category management process, in order to understand how the market can support the delivery of current services. Collaboration and communication is vital with all procurement projects, as Oliver explains, “I would very much describe it as a partnership. It is about
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relationships, understanding what the customer wants and supplying the expert advice that we can provide as category experts, whether that’s category & market knowledge, or best practice policy and process, such as EU procurement regulations or some of the policies around what we do on social value and also how we use technology to the best affect when we go to market.” The organisation has invested significantly in the use of various technologies in order to remain innovative and consistent. The use of capitalEsourcing, the council’s eProcurement platform – a framework that the council awarded to BravoSolution in 2014 and that Westminster has configured and rebranded to make it work for local government – has streamlined the management of all procurement and contract activity. The framework was open to 22 other London authorities, of which seven are currently using the technology. The system is the tool for all procurement activity providing an end-to-end e-sourcing suite that gives
full visibility of 3rd party contracts. This has allowed the procurement team to look at opportunities for aggregation, drive savings out of existing contracts and provide more effective reporting of contract performance. Oliver sees capitalEsourcing as “developed by local government for local government.” It was successfully used for the procurement of the Triborough contract for ICT provision which was awarded to BT and Agilisys, but, says Oliver, because it “standardises” the way Tri-borough councils do business and “simplifies the engagement process”, it is also useful in encouraging local businesses to tender, particularly SMEs, who have warmed to the online system. Oliver concludes, “To complete the picture, we are now in the process of linking capitalEsourcing into our back office and service facilities with BT.” New ways of working have also been a key facet of a number of strategies including People, Digital Engagement and Asset Management Strategies. The Council has sought to create an environment that delivers
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“We actually see the outcomes and that’s what leads back to a city of aspiration because we are creating those aspirations”
more collaboration, collective responsibility and productivity as part of our cost reduction proposals. The council is aiming at extending its operations and procurement services through the creation of Westminster Procurement Services Ltd, a trading arm for Westminster, with the aim to become more commercial and offer consultancy expertise to other public Supply Chain organisations. A recent joint venture with niche procurement consultancy firm, shortly to be made public, will ensure the organisation is able to leverage its substantial capability in the delivery of procurements and best practice, in order to sell into other public Supply Chain organisations, giving the council a competitive edge. The Council has strengthened its strategic commissioning and procurement capabilities. This is a key enabler of their strategic vision and has delivered more than ÂŁ10m towards the 2016/17 savings target. The council has undergone significant financial pressures, with a gap of ÂŁ100 million to close within two years, in addition to a
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further £100 million gap which needs closing. To this effect, the organisation has streamlined operations and looked closer at the services delivered, alongside a reduced workforce to see how they can be delivered to residents in a more effective way. The current procurement supporting the refurbishment of City Hall, an investment that will in time, deliver substantial savings, will ensure an improved workplace and consistent service approach. The council is also keen to invest in its employees with a leadership programme named the Westminster Way, supporting the organisation to remain efficient and provide resilience. Westminster Council has built efficient and effective ways of working to support the running of procurement, with well-informed outcomes and increased savings. Oliver explains that it is important “to manage change better, because it is significant – the change that we’re driving”. The organisation has become a beacon council for what they are doing in procurement, with other councils
wishing to discuss how they have implemented category management, best practice, strong governance and become more commercial, driving innovation and efficiency. Oliver says, “Our team are engaged, we’ve developed our own category management approach, we’re embedded with the service departments and we have strong stakeholder engagement.” However, the council is still on a journey, but wishes to become the best within local government, and is on the road to success as it continues on that journey.
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HOW ECCO SHOES BUILT AN INNOVATIVE SUPPLY CHAIN Written by Nye Longman Produced by Charlotte Clarke
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WITH SINGAPORE AS ITS NERVE CENTRE OF SHOE PRODUCTION, ECCO SHOES IS REAPING THE BENEFITS OF BEING CLOSE TO THE POINT OF MANUFACTURE; A SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSFORMATION IS GATHERING SPEED
Q
uality Danish shoemaker ECCO Shoes has shifted its focus eastwards in recent years. By moving functionalities to Singapore, the company is now closer to its substantial Asian manufacturing base, and is driving innovation across its supply chain. Quickly becoming one of the regional industry leaders has just been one effect of the move, explains Supply Chain Director Scott Phillips. The citystate boasts fantastic infrastructure links and one of the most business-friendly environments in the world, both of which Phillips and his team have leveraged to build a fit for purpose operations hub. Business Review Asia speaks to him at length to learn how this was achieved, and what challenges have been overcome.
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ASIA
sg.ecco.com
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SCOTT PHILLIPS
ECCO GLOBAL SHOE PRODUCTION & SOURCING SUPPLY CHAIN DIRECTOR Scott Phillips is a Demand Driven Supply Chain Professional with 14 years’ experience across multiple industries. He started his career in the Sales & Marketing field in Adelaide, Australia for a national Steel Roofing company, Fielders Steel Roofing. Interest in the concepts of balancing demand and supply led a natural path into the Supply Chain of Detmold Packaging (Detpak Packaging), primarily located in Singapore and Indonesia, and focused on manufacturing paper and board food packaging products to global B2B markets. Leading an implementation and the operation of a Regional S&OP process (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam) for BlueScope Steel exposed techniques in end-to-end value chain concepts. After this Scott took up an assignment with General Cables to merge its Asia Pacific manufacturing acquisitions and build and align the operations supply chains. These included mature operations in Thailand, Philippines and New Zealand, a niche unit in China, and a greenfield plant in India. Now with ECCO Global Shoe Production & Sourcing as the Supply Chain Director in Singapore, transitioning and building the global headquarters locally from Denmark, Scott is looking forward to taking all his experiences to build a vertically integrated world-class supply chain that drives profitability into its global retail customers. Married with a young family and having successfully completed a Masters of Business Administration, Bachelor of Management (International Marketing) and a Bachelor of Business (Employment Relations) from the University of South Australia, including a Dean’s Merit List recognition, Scott is a young experienced professional riding the wave of contemporary supply chain practices.
ASIA
Operations
owner operated footprint in both Founded by Birte and Karl Toosbuy retail and e-commerce.” in 1963, ECCO has always adhered For ECCO, moving operations to the Scandinavian philosophy of to Singapore was crucial. Phillips functionality and simplicity. Still a says: “The aim is be closer to family business five decades on, the our operations; 70 percent of company has swelled to produce our manufacturing is in Asia 20 million pairs of shoes per Indonesia, China and Thailand, year, going out to nearly 90 and the other 30 percent countries with a is in Europe. 19,500-strong “Having the “Singapore is workforce daily global a melting pot worldwide. operations in of cultures and ECCO, despite Denmark, which talent within its size, owns is a long way away the majority of its supply chain but from Asia, made assets. “We are not specifically in things a bit difficult. almost 100 percent Also the access shoemaking” owner operated to new talent throughout our pools in Asia production is seen as an operations,” opportunity for Phillips explains. running companies completely “We make the leather, we make based in Asia.” our shoes; we own a lot of our own warehouses. We also have Meeting the talent challenge owner operated retail space Singapore was initially somewhat and e-commerce platforms. of a double-edged sword when Our strategy is to to grow the it came to recruiting talent, but
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Phillips and his team overcame this in their own unique way. He explains: “Singapore is an interesting place. Obviously there is not much labour intensive manufacturing here, so getting people experienced in shoemaking is near impossible unless you expatriate them. “Singapore is a melting pot of cultures and talent within supply chain but not specifically in shoemaking. So when bringing operations out to Singapore, the challenges were the opportunities and the opportunities were the challenges so to speak.� With the majority of staff well-versed in supply chain operations, the task remained to ensure that
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Building a strong partnership with ECCO Global Shoe Production SGL has developed and delivered solutions for ECCO since 2012. Through our Global network and best-in-class partners, dedicated teams at all major ECCO locations and with top management commitment SGL has been able to partner with ECCO to build and operate a world class supply chain. In an ever changing business environment adding new markets, SGL is playing a very important role in assuring that ECCO can keep ahead of competition and develop their services to a global portfolio of customers. “SGL has a dedicated global team in place we are proud to be one of the global transport partners of ECCO enabling them to further grow their market share and develop new and efficient supply chain solutions for their sea- and air freight needs.�, says Kim Fischer Corporate VP, Business Development & Corporate Sales at Scan Global Logistics.
www.scangl.com
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they understood ECCO’s decades of country is a regional logistics shoemaking artistry. Phillips explains: hub, and demand for talent “When someone joins the company is high – but ECCO is able to we endeavor to send them to a successfully compete in this field factory to make a pair of shoes, so by ensuring that its positions are they literally come back wearing their both attractive and rewarding. own pair of shoes, which is pretty “When it comes to cool. We call it the ‘cow to shoe manufacturing and planning programme’ and this gives operations this is much our people a more difficult,” “When someone huge amount Phillips says. of insight.” “So we have joins the company “That’s the had to really we endeavor to send industry part then leverage them to a factory to and then we have on different make a pair of shoes, ongoing personal industries, different so they literally come approaches, looking development. We use performance outside the box and back wearing their appraisals and finding people own pair of shoes” other employee from different engagement backgrounds tools. We generally use they just the rule 70 percent hands on, 20 need the right persona. percent coaching and 10 percent “We spend a lot of time academic as a general rule to keep developing and educating them, developing people going forward.” getting them into the industry, Recruiting for roles such as order understanding how to make shoes, fulfillment and freight logistics the complexities of the industry professionals is challenging – the itself. That has been a challenge.
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At the moment we have a stable team which we’re now working on strongly developing.”
Disrupting the supply chain ECCO bucks the trend when it comes to supply chain operations – it owns and operates almost 100 percent of its assets. A facet of the business, Phillips explains, which gives the company control of where and when its products will arrive in stores. “We have an extremely complex network from end-to-end, probably made more complex by the fact that we control every step of the way,” Phillips says. He goes on to explain that ECCO has around 200 different supply chains for its materials coming into the factories. “We have five factories that are converting materials into shoes, and we have about 70 shipping lanes going into the first port market. “At the end of the day, we are shoemakers. That’s our core competency, but we believe that because we own the assets we can glue the supply chain together for a competitive advantage.” ECCO’s external operations are being further in-sourced. Over the past year the company has leveraged significant investment in order to purchase new machinery in order to bring more manufacturing components inside its facilities. “The company likes to control its value chain from end to end, which is quite amazing. It’s rare a company is going that direction these days,” Phillips adds. “We are bucking the trend and that
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DAMCO.COM
THE WORLD’S LEADING PROVIDER OF END-TO-END SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS Visibility, scalability and flexibility At Damco, we understand that visibility, short lead times, scalability and responsiveness are keywords in managing your supply chain. Our tailor-made solutions enable you to achieve unparalleled levels of reliability and flexibility in your supply chains; whilst helping you to cut costs and gain end-to-end stock keeping unit (SKU)-level visibility. A global network of logistics professionals With 10,800 professionals in over 300 owned offices around the world, Damco manages more than 2.5 million TEU of ocean freight and supply chain management volumes and more than 110,000 tonnes of airfreight, annually. Find us at www.damco.com From single shipments to integrated supply chain management OCEAN FREIGHT
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The leading full service, global provider of premium, sustainable consumer and retail packaging products. Proud supplier to Ecco Shoes
Tel: 516-741-5300 | Fax: 516-741-6090 | Email: info@le-intl.com
Toll knows shoes Connecting the supply chain by air, ocean and road www.tollgroup.com/tollglobalforwarding
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makes this an exciting supply chain to work in because we have all the toys. So the challenge is: how we can make them all work together?” Alongside bringing in the right talent, the timely implementation of innovative technology has played no small part in this growth journey. “I lose the most sleep - other than trying to find talented people – over disruptive technologies and how we can utilise them all,” Phillips adds. “We run a centralised SAP program with an ERP backbone
throughout the company and this is a fantastic asset. “We’re starting to use disruptive companies to run our models for us in parallel to our current program to manage Big Data. We are seeing if we can slowly transition into these new technologies to manage complex supply chains. So far we’re managing to do some cool projects. “If we put data in the cloud, we can be much more flexible when we shift in the market or find a shift in how a customer wants a
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product delivered,” he explains. “We don’t have to restructure hundreds of people and thousands of man hours to restructure a module in our ERP. We can grab data from a cloud, bring it down, play with it, send it back up and continue the day to day running of the business.” Even a matter of days in the supply chain can feel like a lifetime. Trying to pin down what ECCO will look like in five years will always be a cautious prediction; though due to the strength of the systems Phillips and his team have developed, the future certainly looks bright. Continuously improving its supply chain will be central to wherever the company’s next big growth drive occurs. Driving value while maintaining flexibility in the supply chain will be crucial to this growth, Phillips concludes
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Providing innovative and creative solutions within private and commercial aviation in the Middle East Written by Catherine Rowell Produced by Dennis Morales
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With the change in General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) regulations, Chief Commercial Officer Yosef Hafiz discusses how private aviation company NasJet is offering key solutions for clientele who base their aircraft in Saudi Arabia, and have been awarded an Aircraft Operating Certificate by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA)
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SM UP I DP D LY L EC EHAASI N T
S
ince 2004, Chief Commercial Officer Yosef Hafiz has worked for NasJet, with a key focus on sales and innovation. Graduating from Purdue University with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering has bolstered Hafiz’s expertise and passion within aviation, obtaining responsibility for four main areas of NasJet’s corporate operations; customer service, business development, sales and marketing. Since 1999, the company has become renowned for its first-class service, catering to a wide range of clientele, from royal family members and different governmental organisations within Saudi Arabia, to private companies and ultra-high net worth individuals. Providing a range of corporate aviation services and solutions, the company operates six different types of aircraft which are situated in the company’s diverse fleet, such as the Hawker, Falcon and Airbus Corporate Jets. “There is variety here and different types of manufactured aircraft, which we are able to operate which gives us our strength, from the larger sizes like the Boeing Business Jets (BBJs), down to the smaller aircrafts like the Cessna Aircraft”, comments Hafiz. Over the years the company has significantly expanded its range of aircraft and management services, incorporating over a thousand in-house
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“If the individual or company joins a commercial AOC, which is one of the solutions which NasJet offers as an addition to the private AOC, then they are able to actively market their aircraft for sale, or charter it” – Yosef Hafiz , Chief Commercial Officer
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Telephone + 4 1 58 310 31 31 info@amacaerospace.com www.amacaerospace.com
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marketing@comlux.com | www.comlux.com
MIDDLE EAST
aviation experts, becoming the largest Gulfstream operator in the Middle East. The company has recently added a GulfStream IV and Legacy 600 to its fleet, further increasing the variety of aircraft. Key features such as safety, security, privacy, reliability and flexibility are all parts of the highquality service which NasJet offers to clientele, but the company is continually seeking new ways to attract further markets. It delivers flexible solutions and adaptable itineraries for clients, in addition to key flight support and high quality maintenance services. Hafiz explains: “NasJet offers several solutions; either the individual or company buys from us on an ad-hoc basis, charter flights, or they purchase with us block hours where they buy in bulk, such as 100-200 hours, however much time which will meet the clients’ needs throughout the year.” The company has also recently updated its website and is actively marketing its Empty Legs to the local aviation community, with the
aim to expand operations through several service solutions. “One of the services which we are expanding into is offering flight support solutions with people who own their aircraft and don’t want to have us manage it, but they want us to run the flight plans and do all the work for them behind the scenes when they request a flight”, adds Hafiz. A second service the company is also offering is crew support, where an owner of an aircraft is in need of a pilot, flight attendant or mechanic, increasing their support services further. Since the change in General Authority Civil Aviation regulations (GACAR) from March 2016, NasJet has published several articles in local newspapers and on the company website to issue guidance, information and support, tailoring services to support the local community. Aircraft owners within Saudi Arabia have been informed that they must obtain an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in order to retain access in undertaking commercial activity. In order to remain compliant,
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Yosef Hafiz Chief Commercial Officer
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owners must submit comprehensive plans and manuals by March 2017, stating whether they plan to operate their aircraft privately and apply for their own AOC, or whether they wish to utilise services such as NasJet’s, who have become the first private aviation company within the region to be granted an AOC and offer this service to clients. Hafiz explains that the GACAR has issued two different types of AOC, private and commercial: “Private AOC means that it is purely private, meaning clients are not going to charter the airplane and they are not going to offer it up for sale or for charter flights. If the individual or company joins a commercial AOC, which is one of the solutions which NasJet offers as an addition to the private AOC, then they are able to actively market their aircraft for sale, or charter it.” In order to remain ahead of the competition, collaboration and continual communication is an essential part of NasJet’s success. Individuals who wish to purchase a new aircraft are provided a
one-to-one relationship with a sales individual at NasJet, who in turn manages the transaction and portfolio of that client. Hafiz explains: “It’s a direct relationship between the NasJet sales agent and the ultrahigh net worth individual or company that we’re serving”. In addition, the company has a long-term partnership with the Jet Business in London, who supports NasJet in sourcing appropriate aircrafts for individuals in Saudi Arabia, alongside partnerships with ExecuJet and LuxAviation Group, who house a combined fleet of over 250 business jets. Despite its consistent success, the company’s increased growth and focus on providing innovative solutions has not been without its challenges. With reduced spending from local governments, Hafiz explains: “It is very important for the company to continue to think of innovative and creative ways of selling aircrafts, looking into new business ventures and ways to maintain our existing clients”. However, the company has provided a groundwork for further
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private aviation companies in the region since its establishment 17 years ago. Hafiz comments: “NasJet has always been the founding company for other companies that have begun here in Saudi Arabia. A lot of our ex-employees have joined those organisations or created those other organisations”, providing a benchmark of what private aviation companies can and should be. NasJet showcases several strengths, especially where other competing operators do not yet offer the ability for aircraft owners to operate on four different aircraft commercially. NasJet is able to operate Saudi Arabia registered aircraft (prefix HZ), US registered aircraft (prefix - N), Cayman Islands aircraft (prefix - VP-C) and San Marino aircraft (prefix -T7) commercially. Hafiz explains: “That’s something that other operators in the middle east don’t yet have, which NasJet really has its strengths. It gives our clients the ability to register their aircraft in different states and countries of registration and gives them options”, at which the company will develop their existing services and continue to provide high quality solutions for clients within Saudi Arabia.
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GOOD to the LAST DROP
How JF Hillebrand Group capitalised on the growth of Australia and New Zealand’s alcohol industries Written by Adam Turner Produced by Erika Kracer
JF HILLEBRAND GROUP
F
ounded in Germany in 1844, servicing freight barges along the Rhine, today JF Hillebrand has a presence in every major beer, wine, and spirits market – both production and consumption – around the globe. With its headquarters in Mainz, Germany, the business has more than 58 offices around the world with a workforce of more than 2,500. Locally, JF Hillebrand has offices in Sydney, Adelaide and Auckland. Australia and New Zealand are known around the world more for their wines than beers or spirits, with 80 percent of JF Hillebrand’s local business focused on exports and only 20 percent on imports. JF Hillebrand deals with more than 500 customers throughout Australia and New Zealand, amongst which large clients are industry stalwarts such as Treasury Wine Estates (responsible for Penfolds and Wolf Blass amongst other brands), Accolade Wines (Hardys), Pernod Ricard Winemakers (Jacobs Creek), and Casella Wines (Yellowtail). While these customers each ship several thousand containers each quarter, JF Hillebrand also caters to smaller producers who may ship as little as a single case of wine each year. The United Kingdom is Australia’s largest
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export destination by volume accounting for 32 percent of all litres exported. Interestingly, while China only represents 12 percent of litres exported, it has just become their number one market by value and continues to grow. The UK market is heavily influenced by the major supermarket chains such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, and Waitrose, with more than three quarters of this wine shipped in bulk and then bottled in the UK. Bulk wine travels across the globe by sea in 24,000-litre flexitanks fitted inside
standard 20 foot shipping containers. “Shipping wine overseas in bulk can offer advantages compared to finished bottled product both financially and environmentally while preserving the quality of the wine. Indeed the quality of wine arriving overseas in flexitanks is no different to that bottled in Australia, due to the wine being less affected by temperature shifts experienced when crossing the equator en route to the Northern Hemisphere,” says Michael Frogbrook, Managing Director for JF Hillebrand Australia.
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Given the evolution over the last decade of the major global wine markets to ship in bulk and bottle at destination, in 2007 the JF Hillebrand Group had the foresight to purchase Trans Ocean Distribution (TOD), the market leader in flexitank production and technology. This acquisition included three factories in China, Malaysia, and South Africa as well as a dedicated R&D
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team who continue to develop and enhance the flexitank product including tailoring specific bespoke solutions for individual customers. Shipping lines were initially hesitant at the concept of fitting flexitanks inside standard containers, as early efforts would cause containers to bulge – making it difficult to slot them amongst other containers on a ship. Containers equipped with
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flexitanks also need to be handled with care, especially on trains and trucks, due to the forces at play when moving such vast amounts of liquid in a single container. However having an in-house manufacturing base for flexitanks (and other industry related products) placed JF Hillebrand Group in a unique position of being in full control of design, quality and performance of the flexitank - and the technological advances made have now virtually eliminated these concerns. As with many technologies there are numerous options available but due to a number of incidents with bulking tanks leaking on ships and wharves, most reputable shipping lines now refuse to carry flexitanks if they haven’t been approved by an independent body – the Container Owners Association (COA). JF Hillebrand Group is one of only two approved suppliers. In some countries the import duty on bulk wine is lower than bottled wine, giving JF Hillebrand another economic advantage, plus bottling at the destination helps create local
Michael Frogbrook
Managing Director of JF Hillebrand Australia
“The carbon footprint of a bottle of New Zealand wine on a UK supermarket shelf
WAS MUCH LOWER than the footprint of a bottle of French wine on the same UK supermarket shelf”
– MichaelFrogbrook, Managing Director of JF Hillebrand Australia
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jobs. The use of flexitanks also allows Australian wines to significantly lower their carbon footprint from the vineyard to the shelf, which is important in the UK market where many retailers include carbon footprint information on product labels. “This was highlighted a few years ago at a major wine show where the carbon footprint of a bottle of New Zealand wine on a UK supermarket
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shelf was much lower than the footprint of a bottle of French wine on the same UK supermarket shelf,” Frogbrook says. “To put that in perspective, Auckland is over 12,000 miles away from London while Paris is only 200 miles away – the carbon footprint per litre when shipping wine in bulk across the world is tiny.” Bearing in mind that depending on the style of the wine and its region of
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origin it might have to be bottled in the region of production, meaning that it cannot be transported in flexitank. JF Hillebrand offers a multitude of valued added services to the beer, wine and spirits industry such as transport management, information management, cargo care & safety, integrated logistics solutions, and customs brokerage. Underpinned by a bespoke
operating system (used by all JF Hillebrand offices globally) developed in-house by their own dedicated IT division, it is totally customised for the industry. The company offers customers free access to its various logistics software products covering sales, operations, finance and supply chain management, including a real time order tracking tool. Additionally the company creates interfaces
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Proud Partners to J.F. Hillebrand Australia
The "Complete Service" is our core. It is who we are and what we specialise in.
ASP Logistics is a company dedicated to providing quality service to its clients and ensuring that specific needs are consistently met. Our highly trained staff treat every job as a project and take personal control of all aspects that are associated.
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+61 8 8260 2288
Success is always uplifting! JF Hillebrand is not just your beverage forwarder. With its wide range of import and export supply chain facilities (including inland freight management; warehousing and specialised services) JFH is helping to drive the industry forward in every way. Another great brand is Hamburg Süd. With our high-tech equipment, sensitive cargo care capabilities, global services network and frequent, reliable schedules we’re one of JF Hillebrand’s principal partners. Hamburg Süd – fine wine’s favourite line. No matter what. www.hamburgsud-line.com
Joe Marsili
Arthur Theodos
Commercial Director Australia
Financial Controller for Oceania
“Indeed the quality of wine arriving overseas in flexitanks
IS NO DIFFERENT TO THAT BOTTLED IN AUSTRALIA, due
to the wine being less affected by temperature shifts experienced when crossing the equator en route to the Northern Hemisphere”
into customer ERP systems which eliminates a lot of manual data transactions between both parties reducing errors, saving time and generally increasing efficiency. “In a more a more competitive environment, our clients need integrated logistics solutions enabling them to better anticipate and control the efficiency and global costs of their supply chain in the long term.”
– Michael Frogbrook, Managing Director of JF Hillebrand Australia
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BAT: Navigating the tobacco industry with West Africa at its heart Written by Dale Benton Produced by Richard Deane
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BAT Nigeria, a player in the multibillion dollar global tobacco industry, has developed key working relationships with local government and local suppliers to become the leading tobacco manufacturer in West Africa
O
ne of the many challenges in the tobacco industry on a global scale is the significant presence of illicit trading. For British American Tobacco (BAT) Nigeria, establishing a strong working relationship with state government has been key in the company’s success, both locally and across West Africa. BAT Nigeria has been developing and selling tobacco products in Nigeria since 1912 and today the company stands tall as the leading tobacco manufacturers in West Africa. With a long history of working closely with the Nigerian government, Charles Kyalo, Operations Manager, BAT Nigeria, believes the company has built a strong reputation across the industry. The company operates across the
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Charles Kyalo Operations Director
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whole of the country through a major factory which develops, manufactures and exports tobacco products – in Ibadan as the central operational base and with extended operations in Zaria. “We are a very proud Nigerian company because we started our operations over 100 years ago in Nigeria and we are still here to this day in Nigeria and will continue to be here,” says Kyalo. Locally sourced industry leaders As a Nigerian tobacco company BAT strives to support and develop the local communities in which it operates in. This is exemplified in the number of local suppliers that provide BAT with the necessary raw materials to create and manufacture industry leading tobacco products. Since 2003, with the construction of the Ibadan processing
factory, BAT has developed a portfolio of over 1000 local suppliers and farmers, which all serves the overriding goal of benefiting Nigeria. “Our goal is to stimulate the local economy and we believe in supporting local suppliers and businesses to grow in structure and become much more competitive,” says Segun Abati, Procurement Business Manager, BAT. The bulk of BAT’s supplier base, around 80 percent, is made up completely of local suppliers. This allows the company to provide great leverage for local businesses to grow through close working and infrastructure development with BAT. The local supply chain is almost the sole provider of the raw materials that BAT requires to manufacture its products which comes from about 1000 farmers across Nigeria, while also working with local companies to provide shipping cases for export and ink for printing. Through the very nature of the business, BAT also exports to international partners and has a strong portfolio of international suppliers. Kyalo states that two thirds
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Based in Ibadan, Nampak Cartons was established in 2004 to supply the cigarette packaging requirements of British American Tobacco (BAT). Our factory is situated in close proximity to the BAT Nigeria factory on the Ibadan-Lagos Expressway. We operate state-of-the-art gravure Printing presses with a highly skilled on-site team, backed by the extensive technical resources and experience of the Nampak Group.
Tel: +234 810 766 7482 | www.nampak.com
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of the company’s entire production is for domestic consumption with the remaining third used for exports. When it comes to manufacturing, BAT sources most of its technical requirements from international suppliers across Japan, Europe and the Americas. “All our equipment is imported, with the manufacturing equipment supplied from Italy and Germany in which we purchase spare parts,” says Kyalo. “Some specialised materials such as cigarette paper and materials, we still have to import from Japan, Europe or Americas.”
Segun Abati Procurement Business Manager - Operations
Legitimacy over illicit forces Tobacco as an industry is a considerably controversial market with close to 600 billion cigarettes traded illicitly in the global market. This has a significant impact on governments as it is they who are left to foot the bill in taxes, something close to upwards of £30 billion annually. It presents a further problem as it is believed that profit gained through illicit trade is used to fuel terrorism and organised crime. This is a pressing issue that BAT and the Nigerian government are all too aware of. “At one point in the last decade, 80 percent of trade across Nigeria was illicit,” says Kyalo. “BAT has worked closely with the government to put measures and controls in
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“Our goal is to stimulate the local economy and we believe in supporting local suppliers and businesses to grow in structure and become much more competitive� – Segun Abati, Procurement Business Manager - Opertions
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Do it well We are a building services company, with specialization in mechanical and electrical engineering as well as plumbing services
www.marandmor.com info@marandmor.com
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place to minimise such a high figure and right now, illicit trade is significantly lower at 20 percent.” The controversy around the tobacco industry has presented challenges for BAT despite its reputation, as suppliers and partners are weary of the suspicion that still rests within the industry. Continuous improvement Procurement has played a critical role in the success and sustainability of BAT. Segun Abati outlines the key objective of procurement, to provide smart spend management that is future fit and marries closely with the wider business strategy of BAT. “We drive continuous improvement to the business through supplier innovation and ensuring we have a value-added relationship with our suppliers,” he says. “Our way of working is to make procurement a competitive advantage through strong market intelligence, having enough knowledge of the market to bring it to our choice of materials, our products and the services we offer.” The sustainability of the BAT ties into the overall economy of the company, to support and develop the local community through local suppliers. For a company like BAT, choosing the right suppliers is important in this market. “Being financially sound and getting the materials and processes through sustainable sources is very important,” says Kyalo. BAT ensures that the suppliers it works with
“BAT is a very aspirational company and has a strong reputation of being a good corporate citizen, supporting local businesses and making sure we share our ideas and grow the communities we operate in” – Segun Abati, Procurement Business Manager - Operations
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match the criteria needed through a supplier evaluation which looks at the sustainability of the business and whether it can continue to work with BAT in the future. “We go beyond trying to simply negotiate prices with suppliers to ensuring that we share business practices and making sure they can run their business properly,” says Kyalo. It is an ethos shared throughout the business. Abati and BAT see suppliers more as partners as a way in supporting one another. BAT has KPI measurements that the company uses to measure its own
performance as well as the suppliers’ to ensure that both the company and the supplier are offering the best possible service to one another. “It’s a win-win situation,” says Abati. “We want them to be here for the long haul because we want to be here for the long haul.” One of the largest suppliers that BAT works with in Nigeria is the South African company Nampak. Nampak supplies BAT with the printed materials for the packaging of its tobacco products. Nampak Cartons was established in Ibadan in close proximity to the BAT Ibadan factory in 2004, and
1000
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Kyalo cites this as a clear example of BAT bringing strong business links and opportunities to Nigeria. BAT remains one of Nampak’s largest customers, but Kyalo believes that Nampak is just one example of local businesses profiting from BAT’s legacy. “We have seen a lot of local suppliers grow in Nigeria by harnessing BAT’s capabilities to source materials cheaper. As an example, we negotiate for the prices of some materials globally
and we assist our local suppliers to go out and get the best materials for the best prices,” he adds. A bright future Nigeria has been experiencing a recession, which highlights the significant impact of BAT on local businesses and the economy. This has and will continue to present a number of challenges, not just for BAT but for business across the country.
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B R I T I S H A M E R I C A N TA B A C C O
We connect your brand to the world
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Talk to us Tel: +234 802 295 1636 Email: info@oxfordbluelimited.com www.oxfordbluelimited.com
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In spite of the economic downturn, with foreign exchange “squeezing all the margins” for Nigerian business, Kyalo is confident that the future of West Africa is bright. “The government has been working hard to create projects and initiatives to get the country out of recessions,” he explains. “But look at the population of Nigeria. It’s growing and there are more and more educated people which means
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the future workforce is already here.” Abati agrees that there is reason to be hopeful in that BAT can play a crucial role in helping local business grow to serve more than just BAT but serve the wider country’s people and economy. For BAT and it’s rich 100-year history serving Nigeria the plan for the future is a simple one. “We have been here for 100 years and we want to be here for another 100 more. BAT is a very aspirational company and has a strong reputation of being a good corporate citizen, supporting local businesses and making sure we share our ideas and grow the communities we operate in,” concludes Kyalo.
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MOVING FROM P R E S E R VAT I O N T O I N N OVAT I O N
Connectivity is a major and essential component of your digital platform. But your business needs more. So we take a more holistic approach. From front to back, we step up. We take responsibility for the design, build and maintenance. We’re accountable for ensuring your connectivity is not only high performance, but integrated and optimised with your LAN, cloud services, apps and hardware.
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