european supply chain management issue 2 2013

ESCMEUROPEAN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

ISSUE 02/13 £3.50

It’s ComingOver the next ten years we will see the last

great architectural shift in the software industry - to cloud computing

Page 4

Setting standards, driving resultsSupply chain partners need to work

together to make it easier to do business by adopting a standard approach

Page 6

The Fast LeaderToday’s more dynamic and agile

practitioners are learning to profit from persistent volatility and uncertainty

Page 20

At thecrossroadsThe success or failure of your business could depend on how you manage your information

CHAIRMAN ANDREW SCHOFIELD

GROUP MANAGING DIRECTORMIKE TULLOCH

MANAGING EDITORLIBBIE HAMMOND

STAFF WRITERSKIRSTy BIRKETT-STUBBS

MATT HIGHjO COOPER

ART EDITOR & ADvERTISING DESIGNjENNI NEWMAN

PRODUCTION MANAGERFLEUR CONWAy

PRODUCTION ADMIN [email protected]

EDITORIAL ADMINEMMA HARRIS

SALES DIRECTORDAvID GARNER

BUSINESS DEvELOPMENT MANAGERMARK CAWSTON

HEAD OF RESEARCH PHILIP MONUMENT

EDITORIAL RESEARCH MANAGERSLAURA THOMPSON

TIM EAKINS

EDITORIAL RESEARCHERS RyAN SADLER

DAWN FOORD

ADvERTISING SALES MANAGERROB WAGNER

SALES MANAGERGRAHAM ALLINSON

SALESjOE WOOLSGROvE

FINLAy jOHNSONDARREN jOLLIFFE

OFFICE MANAGERTRACy CHyNOWETH

© 2013 Schofield Publishing Limited

10 Cringleford Business CentreIntwood Road Cringleford Norwich NR4 6AU

T: +44 (0) 1603 274130F: +44 (0) 1603 274131

www.europeansupplychainmanagement.co.uk

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ESCM Editor

Entering the digital ageThis issue of European Supply Chain Management represents rather a landmark

for us here at Schofield Publishing. It’s the first digital issue of ESCM, and it’s

being sent to our subscribers via email. It’s taken a lot of planning and we are

very excited about the fact we can now share the magazine in this way.

However, we appreciate that some readers like to get hold a hard copy of the

magazine, and as we are very keen to address the needs of all our customers, we

are still producing a printed edition.

If you prefer to receive your version in that format, please drop an email to:

[email protected] with your name and full postal address, and

one will be sent out to you.

PS: Our sister magazines European Oil & Gas, Shipping & Marine, Railway

Strategies and Modern Utility Management are also going digital, so if you’d also

like to receive a copy of any of those titles, send your email address to Iain Kidd

as above!

libbie hammond [email protected]

www.europeansupplychainmanagement.co.uk 1

www.europeansupplychainmanagement.co.uk2

4 It’s comIng

Even though it has been more than 15 years

since the public internet opened for business,

we still haven’t reached the point where all

applications are delivered over the cloud. But

we will get there

6 settIng standards, drIvIng results

Standardising the way data is identified, captured and shared enables organisations to see more clearly what’s going on in their supply chains, delivering benefits for many different sectors

9 toast of the town

Worcester based Exmac Automation has

completed a contract to design and install

a materials handling system for a new

Completely Knocked Down (CKD) facility at the

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant at Halewood

12 at the crossroads

Corporate information responsibility is about

fostering a culture of care for information,

underpinned by reliable business processes

that treat information as an asset not a liability

12

14

ESCM

16 the outsourcIng challenge

Sourcing in manufacturing presents a

number of challenges. But this is all changing,

thanks to new ways of approaching and

applying technology to manufacturing

sourcing – and the application of some

sourcing best practices

20 the fast leader

Today’s more dynamic and agile practitioners

are learning to profit from persistent volatility

and uncertainty by adapting their supply

chains to flex with the markets

22 managIng connectIons

In the consumer space, Facebook has

managed to completely revolutionise the

way we manage our social connections and

in the B2B world, the race to turn individual

companies into multi-enterprise commerce

networks connected in the cloud is already

in full swing

Features

22

6

News• 11 Logistics news

• 15 IT news

• 19 Manufacturing news


26 McDonalD’s osterreich

With 184 restaurants and 156 McCafe’s,

McDonald’s Osterreich is keen to continue

expanding and evolving through long-term

investment to ensure customer satisfaction

31 iBa

Headquartered in Belgium and employing

more than 1200 people worldwide, IBA is

focused on providing solutions in the fight

against cancer

34 Kannegiesser UK

Kannegiesser has been in business in the

UK for many years and has created a strong

business with excellent customer relations

43

50

60

38 shears Bros (transport)

With the ability to diversify and expand

its business into new markets with

seeming ease, it is no surprise that Shears

Bros (Transport) Ltd will be looking for

potential new markets

41 Werner KenKel spółKa

Werner Kenkel Spółka z.o.o., a

manufacturer of corrugated board

and packaging and provider of flexo

print, is characterised by both modern

management and dynamic development

Profiles

41

38

34

31


Over the next ten years we will see the last great

architectural shift in the software industry as

everything transitions to cloud computing.

Fifteen years ago, there was this inescapable sense that the

internet would change everything. It has, and the cloud is

the ultimate expression of the internet’s disruptive nature.

Once cloud computing has truly taken hold in every sector

- which it will before the next ten years are over - the full

promise of the internet revolution will have been realised.

The first successful cloud services were companies like eBay

and Amazon, which put consumer transactions in the cloud.

Now, there’s no going back.

It may seem like a long time has passed since the days of

Netscape Navigator and AOL, but after a clearly superior

technology emerges, it takes time for the shift to take place. It

was clear back in 1980 that Oracle was the leader in database

technology, but it took a long time for the disruptions of

their superior relational database to ripple through the

system and push out the old guard. So even

though it has been more than 15 years since

the public internet opened for business,

we still haven’t reached the point where

all applications are delivered over the

cloud. But we will get there.

If you don’t believe me, ask a

venture capitalist the last time he or

Zach Nelson discusses cloud computing – the last great software shift

It’scoming

Lead One

she invested in a company that delivers software on a CD. All

the serious development with major backing happens today

in the cloud, and that will continue to make itself more and

more obvious.

There is a lot of discussion about whether this move will

be to the ‘public’ or the ‘private’ cloud, but when I hear that

it tells me that people are misunderstanding how the cloud

works. The nature of a public cloud is to provide secure,

seamless access to information and applications. You won’t

buy services from me if I can’t keep that ‘private’ when you

want it private, but ‘public’ when you want it shared. More

often, the term ‘private cloud’ is abused by people who are

just trying to slap a new coat of paint on the client/server

architecture that we know is already dead.

Workforce churn is going to play a huge part in the

adoption of cloud services in the next few years. Most

people coming out of universities have lived their lives in the

cloud. Show them a room full of servers and they’re going

to ask, incredulously, ‘What is this? This is how you run

your business?’ The Zuckerberg generation was born on the

internet, not the PC, and they’re going to turn to the internet

for both their business and consumer needs.

A lot of this change will be subtle and unnoticeable.

Nobody can say exactly when people stopped visiting a

bank just to check their balance - it happened slowly, over

time. Five years from now we will see multi-billion dollar

companies running all of their core business processes in the

cloud, but it won’t be part of some grand plan. We will wake

up one day, look around, and realise that the old ways have

faded away.

And what customer demands and business trends will

drive changes in software products, how they’re developed,

and the industry that provides them?

The best way to look at any trend or demand is to ask

whether the internet is going to be core to that business

process going forward. The answer is almost always going to

be ‘yes.’ So any business or industry that isn’t willing to truly

embrace modern, internet-based cloud architecture is one

that will, by its own admission, fall behind and lose out.

The shift from the computer to the smartphone is

fascinating. Microsoft has struggled so mightily, despite the

fact that they basically invented the tablet, because they kept

trying to drag the notion of the desktop computer to mobile

devices. Nobody wants to be tethered to a desk - they want to

be tethered to the cloud. That’s why the younger generations

use their smartphones for virtually everything we once

thought of as the exclusive domain of the computer. In fact, it

seems like just about the only thing they want PCs for, oddly

enough, is to make calls with Skype.

Of course, a ‘smartphone’ can mean many things, and

a Blackberry has pros and cons that differ from an iPad.

Developers will have their work cut out for them to keep

pace with the different choices consumers and business users

have in smart devices, and will need to make some strategic

decisions about what to support.

Social media is changing the way companies evaluate

their performance. Instead of evaluating quarterly profit/loss

statements, we can find out if we are doing our jobs correctly

just by tuning in to what individual customers are saying. We

can capture their thoughts from Twitter feeds, comments and

reviews, and what they tell us in transactions, and break that

down to immediately understand what these individuals are

telling us about how we do business, and how our products,

marketing, and customer service need to adapt to address

gaps. That change will be coming soon - definitely within the

next five years.

The sheer volume of social media content is going to

force companies to get smarter about which customers they

choose to respond to. Some are squeaky wheels, which will

simply never be satisfied. Others are canaries in the coal mine

and will deserve immediate attention. And still others will

be competitive saboteurs. Building the discipline that turns

social media into competitive intelligence will not be easy,

but it will be necessary.

Regulatory demands, both by businesses and governments,

are going to drive consolidation of processes and data

storage. The more systems data flows across, the more

difficult it is to co-ordinate security policies and ensure

compliance. There is no meaningful, consistent way to apply

security standards to 25 different systems. So consolidating

the number of systems that touch a particular data process,

and consolidating all those individual servers running in data

centres and utility closets in tens of thousands of businesses

around the globe, is going to be a major concern.

Zach Nelson

Zach Nelson is an accomplished software industry executive and

visionary with more than 20 years of leadership experience. CEO

of NetSuite since 2002, Nelson led the company’s successful IPO

in 2007 and its rise from startup to a slate of over 6,600 active

customers. Under Nelson’s leadership, NetSuite has grown

substantially year-over-year to become one of the industry’s

leading cloud computing companies. He was named one of the

10 Visionary CEOs of 2008 by InternetNews.com. Nelson holds

B.S. and M.A. degrees from Stanford University.

NetSuite

Today, more than 16,000 companies and subsidiaries depend on

NetSuite to run complex, mission-critical business processes globally

in the cloud. Since its inception in 1998, NetSuite has established itself

as the leading provider of enterprise-class cloud financials/ERP suites

for divisions of large enterprises and mid-sized organizations seeking

to upgrade their antiquated client/server ERP systems.

For further information, visit:

www.netsuite.com/portal/home.shtml



Accurate data is the bedrock of efficient supply

chains. Allowing products and paperwork to move

effortlessly between trading partners, it drives

greater competitiveness, lowers operating cost, and improves

collaboration and customer service.

However, evidence suggests that bad data in the supply

chain is the norm rather than the exception. Experian QAS

research shows a focus on data quality can liberate millions of

pounds in lost budget and generate profit for UK companies.

Findings from The Data Revolution identify that on average

around £1 in every £6 of departmental budget is wasted by UK

companies because of poor data quality. Departments such

as marketing, sales, operations and customer services report

wasting 15 per cent of their budget on average — and in IT

and data management this rises to 18 per cent (around one

sixth). Two thirds of the companies surveyed with customer

loyalty programmes report that inaccurate data has had a

negative impact on these through, for example, lost custom.

It is also important to note that the demand for accurate

data is not only being driven by the B2B customer, but

also from consumer pressure for more detailed product

information, accessible in numerous formats. As such, it’s

never been more important for data moving along the supply

chain to be accurate, otherwise lost sales and consumer loyalty

could be the end result.

Standardising the way data is identified, captured and

shared, provides the key to more efficient supply chains

and more effective trading relationships in any industry. By

providing a consistent language and framework for data

exchange globally, supply chain standards drive accuracy,

reliability and trust – ultimately helping to save time and

money for everyone, as well as deliver better customer service.

The need for global standards is best illustrated by

examining what happens without them. There is no global

standard for shoe sizes, for example. Shoe manufacturers find

it difficult to export shoes because they have to label them

Gary Lynch makes the case for supply chain standards as the solution to more efficient trading

Setting standardsdriving results

StandardiSing data


Gary Lynch

Gary Lynch is chief executive of GS1 UK. He is a member of the

GS1 Advisory Council, GS1 in Europe Board and a member of

the GDSN Board of Governors. Before joining GS1, Gary was

Avaya’s eBusiness Director, responsible for the international

deployment of their CRM systems for their business partners. He

has also worked in senior marketing and business development

positions at UUNET (a global network provider) and eLogistics

(an online logistics marketplace).

differently for particular markets. Purchase orders, invoices

and delivery slips all have to be changed to include the correct

shoe sizing system, depending on where the buyer is located.

These additional considerations all create challenges for the

supplier/customer relationship and extra costs, which are then

passed onto consumers.

What’s in a number?By attributing an identifier, such as a specific number, to an

item, it can be accurately identified and tracked within an

organisation. However, for the system to work across multiple

organisations and geographies, as is the requirement of most

modern day supply chains, the number attributed must

be totally unique and universally recognised. This is where

industry standards come in.

Providing a unique set of identification numbers for

products, companies, locations, services, assets, logistics

units and customers, at any point in the supply chain, global

standards provide a way for trading partners to understand

each other and do business more effectively. For GS1’s

members, this system is founded on a common set of global

identification numbers known as GS1 Identification Keys.

Furthermore, demand for information is only going to

increase, with predictions that it is set to double from over 200

to over 400 attributes for each product in the next five years

(The Food Service Information Challenge). Driving factors

include: the evolution of the savvy shopper, who has the desire

and capability to research everything before buying or making

a choice; consumers wishing to eat more healthily, locally, and

ethically, and expecting that information to be available and

accurate whether in-store, online or eating out; European

legislative changes, such as the EU 1169/2011 directive on food

labelling; and CSR considerations.

Of course, supply chain efficiency is commonly associated

with the retail and food service sectors and it’s true that

manufacturers and suppliers are constantly evaluating their

processes to save time and money, and ultimately increase

sales. However, other sectors are also learning to improve

efficiency through global supply chain standards and solutions.

NHS Trusts, for example, use supply chain standards to

enable the efficient movement of patient records, healthcare

products and medicine for the benefit of patients, as well as

cost efficiency. One department at Leeds Teaching Hospital

has reduced its stock levels by £570,000 over the last three

years by implementing GS1 bar codes for its stock control and

forecasting system.

Information identification is only one part of the solution. t

StandardiSing data


Ensuring this data is then captured, maintained to a high level

of accuracy and integrity, and shared between supply chain

partners is the crucial next step to fully realising the benefits

of standardisation.

Certified data pools allow suppliers to enter and exchange

standardised and synchronised supply chain data with all their

trading partners. The advantage of this system is that there is

only one version of data held in a central database accessible

by all trading partners. Instead of supplying specific data

to individual trade customers in separate spreadsheets, the

supplier creates one central master file of product data, which

is much easier and more economic to maintain and update.

Everyone draws from the same product data pool, which

means that all parties have access to consistent information.

This collaborative approach increases the quality of product

data and engenders trust in trading relationships, eliminating

many of the workaround activities currently needed to paste

over cracks in the availability of accurate data.

Standards in actionStandardising the way data is identified, captured and shared

enables organisations to see more clearly what’s going on in

their supply chains, delivering benefits for many different

sectors; whether that’s supermarkets keeping their shelves

well stocked, restaurants providing allergen information on

menus, doctors guaranteeing that their patients will get the

right medication, or organisations giving better value to their

customers by cutting costs from their supply chain.

Plus, as supply chain scrutiny increases in areas such

sustainability, nutritional information and cost-cutting, data

accuracy and availability will become an even more pressing

priority – not only within supply chains but also from the

consumer’s perspective. In the wake of the horse meat issue,

the focus of the world’s public, media, legislators and industry

leaders has never been more firmly on supply chain visibility

and management.

To keep pace with consumer and customer expectations,

and to manage information efficiently and economically,

supply chain partners need to work together to make it easier

to do business by adopting a standard approach. When

everyone speaks the same trading language, the commercial

benefits will be realised too. GS1 UK looks forward to working

with our members to achieve these efficiencies.

GS1 UK

For more than 35 years GS1 UK has been working with its members to

enable the efficient movement of goods and sharing of information.

It drives supply chain efficiency alongside 111 other not-for-profit GS1

member organisations in 150 countries worldwide. Having introduced

the first truly global bar code numbering system in 1973, at least five

billion GS1-compliant bar codes are now scanned everyday – making

it the most widely used supply chain standards system in the world.


www.gs1uk.org

Worcester based Exmac Automation has

completed a contract to design and install a

materials handling system for a new Completely

Knocked Down (CKD) facility at the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)

plant at Halewood, where complete car sets are prepared

for shipping to various locations around the world for local

re-assembly. The Land Rover Freelander 2, which is being

assembled at a new JLR-built plant in Pune, India from 2011,

is the first model to be shipped in kit form from the new

CKD facility.

To prepare the knock-down kits for shipping, the

production engineering team at JLR’s Halewood plant needed

A new facility for Jaguar Land Rover required a state-of-the-art materials handling system

Toastof the town

Logistics


workstation and placed onto a shipping pallet that has been

pre-loaded – using an Exmac designed overhead hoist – with

the engine, gearbox, transfer boxes, exhaust, wheels and tyres

and various other components that comprise the complete

car kit. The Exmac roller beds and slings used to manually

handle components from stillages to platen, were specially

designed to ensure that parts are balanced for safe handling.

The body transfer skid is now powered forward onto a second

roller bed and stacked, awaiting a full stack, which is then

transferred onto the empty trailer and returned to the body

take-out area.

Finally, the doors are removed from the ‘toast rack’ and re-

loaded onto the pallet near their fitted position and supported

by a holding fixture that forms part of the pallet. The engine,

gearbox, transfer boxes, exhaust, wheels and tyres, and the

various other components that comprise the complete car

kit, are then arranged with the body on a single platen and

securely packed for shipping.

Commenting for Exmac, managing director Gary

Sweeney says the company is proud to be associated with

the new facility at Halewood, especially as it follows recently

completed contracts for systems to install the new Jaguar XJ

moon roof, roofs for the Evoque and Freelander 2 and a doors

delivery system.


to create a handling system that would enable bodies and

other components to be taken from existing production

facilities and transported to the new CKD facility where

they could be packed to ensure that vehicle kits are safe for

shipping. Exmac worked closely in partnership with the JLR

engineering team to develop both conveying and handling

systems that would integrate seamlessly with the existing

Freelander assembly system.

The Exmac contract was in two phases. First, the Exmac

powered ‘Take-out’ roller bed system transfers painted

Freelander 2 bodies onto a roller bed trailer, which tows them

to the new CKD Building. There, the trailer is aligned with a

cross transfer shuttle that takes bodies to one of three storage

lanes, each able to accommodate four bodies. Phase two saw

the installation of a crane and jib arm hoist systems as well

as a shuttle and specialised conveyor line for a ‘Take-out’

system that moves vehicle components and bodies from the

existing Freelander production line into the new CKD facility.

A powered roller system in the CKD facility itself has also

been installed to transport painted bodies on skids, together

with specially designed slings to handle and manipulate the

heavy components such as vehicle bodies and engine and

powertrain components.

A fourth lane runs in the opposite direction to enable

bodies to be re-circulated within the store. At the other end of

the store another cross transfer shuttle, also equipped with a

power roller bed, selects a body from one of the three storage

lanes and powers it into the first of two stations.

Here the doors are taken off the body and placed in a

‘toast rack’ while an overhead crane and hoist loads seats

and a cockpit into the body. Next, the body is lifted from the

Exmac AutomationFor further information, visit:

www.exmacautomation.co.uk

Logistics


Log

isti

cs

New

s

Over 15,000 individual pick instructions

ImplementatIon completed

Chess Logistics Technology has completed implementation

of a new warehouse management system for its customer

Kuehne + Nagel. The system is being used to manage storage and

distribution of food products on behalf of Spirit Pub Company

for whom Kuehne + Nagel provides contract logistics services.

Operations are carried out at two multi-temperature depots

based in Greenford and at Trafford Park, Manchester with a total

combined space of 18,000m2.

The Chess system forms part of an integrated ordering and

logistics execution solution which includes interfaces with

ordering systems used by Spirit and finance systems operated

by Kuehne + Nagel. The Chess system is responsible for creation

of supplier purchase orders and for the capture, processing

and invoicing of sales orders. The system also interfaces with

vehicle-based delivery solutions installed in the Kuehne + Nagel

60-vehicle distribution fleet.

The warehouse operation itself runs 24 hours for six days a

week and handles over 1200 fresh, frozen and ambient product

lines, comprising around 2400 individual deliveries per week.

Efficient management of the daily case pick volumes is provided

via real time technology driven by the Chess system, which

involves a combination of mobile RF and voice directed picking

devices. Over 15,000 individual pick instructions determined by

temperature, product and store requirements are completed

daily, with stocked lines picked and merged with JIT products for

onward delivery to pubs.

www.chess.uk.com

Automated warehouse solution provider TGW Logistics is

equipping one of Europe’s leading mail-order retailers with an

extensive materials handling

solution at its logistics centre

at its headquarters in Weiden,

Germany.

Specialising in the distance

selling of clothing and home

textiles to the over 50s, the

Witt Group distributes 350

million catalogues annually to

customers in eleven European countries.

Currently the goods-in area is not situated at the Group’s

headquarters and storage locations are spread across four sites,

which incurs additional handling and transportation costs.

To increase efficiency and accommodate growing order volumes

and product lines, the Witt Group opted to consolidate these

functions under one roof by modernising its logistics centre in

Weiden. The third phase of this project will be the implementation

of a new automated warehouse.

TGW worked with Witt’s logistics team to design an extensive,

one-stop materials handling solution. The core element of the

new installation will be an automated high bay racking area with

more than 450,000 carton storage locations. Extensive conveyor

equipment will transport the cartons to TGW’s ergonomically

designed employee workstations.

www.tgw-group.com

new modular system

Flexibility built-in

:

Axiom GB has designed and installed an automated processing, bagging and sortation line for mobile phones and tablets at Unipart Technology Logistics (UTL). The automated line has resulted in a tenfold increase in throughput for these products, to just over one thousand orders an hour. The ambitious plan, driven jointly by UTL and Vodafone, was to introduce automation that would significantly reduce costs, improve service levels and shrink the footprint of the entire picking and packing operation within the warehouse. James Hodgetts was the programme manager working on behalf of UTL on this major project, he comments: “My brief was to select a partner who could help us to develop a completely bespoke solution to automate around 80 per cent of the volume of single item orders which were all previously processed by hand.

“We shortlisted two companies for the project, Axiom and one other. The contract was awarded to Axiom as they

demonstrated a superior knowledge and expertise of automated systems. They’re a forward thinking company and of the people we spoke to they were right out in front in terms of new technology. “The Axiom team was especially knowledgeable regarding how the new process line would interface with the UTL systems – this was a real plus point in their favour. We knew we wanted a totally unique solution and Axiom gave us a feeling of confidence that they knew exactly what they were doing and how they were going to deliver the end result we were looking for.“It was a combination of their automation knowledge and our operations expertise that took us to the successful solution we have today.”

www.axiomgb.com

relIabIlIty and robustness

Successful solution implemented

:

:

Information is a valuable resource that, if lost, can

have devastating consequences. Notwithstanding

a hefty fine, organisations can also suffer from

reputational damage, loss of competitive advantage and loss

of customer confidence. With huge amounts of information

growing daily, data loss poses a greater risk than ever before.

The statistics are breathtaking. We now create as much

information every two days as we did from the dawn of

civilisation to 2003 (IDC, IBM CMO Insight report, October

2011). In 2011, there were more than 788 million corporate

email accounts worldwide – a fifth of them in Europe (Email

statistics report, 2011 – 2015, The Radicati Group Inc, May

2011) – generating and disseminating information. Social

media is chalking up the numbers fast, both in terms of

accounts and content that runs into the billions. Every month,


30 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook and 25

billion tweets are posted on Twitter.

As with any fast-moving field, contradictions and

inconsistencies abound. Consumers willingly share personal

details, but are passionate about protecting their privacy.

Companies want to engage with customers using social media

but are terrified of losing control, not to mention the legal,

regulatory and record-keeping requirements that these new

channels present. Organisations want to extract maximum

value and insight from their information. Yet they fail to

impose order on a landscape that includes structured and

unstructured information that exists in physical and digital

formats (often both) – all located in different parts of the

organisation and subject to different rules and processes. All

too often, a business tries to minimise risk by building a digital

Is it time for corporate information responsibility? Marc Duale takes a lookAt thecrossroads

IT

fortress around its data, only to witness sensitive information

walking out of the door on paper or left by the printer for

anyone to see.

These challenges and opportunities can significantly

increase information risk. Research undertaken across Europe

by Iron Mountain and PwC reveals that many European

businesses are woefully unprepared to address such risk.

The Beyond Cyber-threats – a study on business culture,

employee responsibility and information security, March

2012 shows that just half of mid-market businesses in

France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain and the

UK consider information risk to be one of their top three

business risks. There is also considerable inconsistency around

who is or should be responsible for information risk. Only

13 per cent consider information risk to be a boardroom

issue, while around a third (35 per cent) view all information

risk – whether related to paper or digital information – as

the responsibility of the IT department. Just one per cent of

businesses consider information risk to be the responsibility of

every employee.

Such overwhelming evidence of a lack of internal measures

to adequately address external pressures should be sounding

alarm bells across Europe. We could be losing control of the

information tsunami at the time we can least afford to do so.

This is not good news at a time when new EU data protection

legislation, announced last January, is set to add an additional

burden of accountability and obligation to all businesses.

The need for professional information management

within business has never been greater. Corporate Social

Responsibility, ‘CSR’, grew out of a growing demand for


Marc Duale

Marc Duale was appointed president, international in

September 2008, after overseeing Iron Mountain’s business

in Europe for two years. A French native, Duale joined Iron

Mountain in May 2006 with more than 25 years of international

leadership experience. Prior to Iron Mountain, Duale was the

managing director of Reuter’s Asia Pacific operations. Before

Reuters, Duale served as COO of DHL Worldwide Express’ Asia-

Pacific and Middle East business, with responsibilities spanning

more than 50 countries. Duale’s academic achievements include

an engineering degree from MIT and an MBA from Harvard

Business School.

t

IT


organisations to be held to account for their environmental

and social values, actions and impact. We believe the time

has now come for organisations to hold themselves to

account for the way they handle and manage information.

Organisations of all sizes need to demonstrate a formal

commitment to safeguarding information assets including

confidential customer, employee and business data. We call this

commitment ‘corporate information responsibility’ (CIR).

CIR is about establishing a company-wide culture of respect

for and protection of information, maximising its value

and minimising the risk of data loss, security breaches and

non-compliance.

CIR is about visibility and control. You need to know what

information you are creating, collecting, processing and

storing; where it is at any moment in time; who is accountable

for it and what the plans are for secure storage and legally

compliant destruction at the end of its journey. The back-up of

digital information, archiving of paper documents, scanning,

shredding, day-to-day storage – on or off site, with or without

a third-party provider – as well as search, retrieval and access

restrictions are all vital elements that should form part of a

robust, company-wide information management plan.

CIR is about understanding and being prepared for risk.

Unexpected things will happen. Fire, flood, conflict, crime, an

accidental data breach or the failure of the IT infrastructure are

all potential disasters that could strike your business suddenly

and with serious consequences for your information assets.

CIR is about acknowledging the threats and preparing for the

worst, in order to ensure fast recovery, business survival and

the protection of corporate reputation, customers and staff.

Whether or not your plan succeeds will depend on people.

Managing information is not simply an IT or business process

issue; it’s about culture and people. People produce most of

your information, and it’s usually people who are going to

lose or misuse it. It is essential that you get every employee

on board.

Achieving a culture of information responsibility requires

training and support. Most of all it requires backing of

senior-level executives. The drive and direction for responsible

information handling must come from the very top of the

business and be backed up by example. How information is

managed has become a boardroom issue, not just in terms

of developing and disseminating company-wide policies, but

as an example of best practice in information handling and

accountability that sets the tone for the whole business.

In today’s increasingly knowledge-based global economy,

the success or failure for your business could depend on

how you manage your information. Imagine the impact on

your company of having instant access to all the value and

intelligence stored in your information. Now imagine what

would happen – to your competition, your data-dependant

business processes, your customer service and brand

reputation – if that information were damaged, exposed, lost

or destroyed.

Corporate information responsibility is about fostering

a culture of care for information, underpinned by reliable

business processes that treat information as an asset not

a liability. We call on European businesses to make

this commitment.

Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain provides information management services that help

organisations lower the costs, risks and inefficiencies of managing

their physical and digital data. The company’s solutions enable

customers to protect and better use their information - regardless

of its format, location or lifecycle stage - so they can optimise their

business and ensure proper recovery, compliance and discovery. For

further information, visit:

www.ironmountain.co.uk

IT N

ews


Partner already seeing benefitsTransform invenTory planning

INFORM, one of the leading supply chain optimisation

specialists, has announced a major contract with the world’s

leading party product manufacturer, Amscan International.

INFORM’s add*ONE Inventory Optimizer will transform Amscan’s

inventory planning and forecasting, enabling the company to

reduce stock whilst simultaneously increasing the availability of its

product range.

With 40,000 stock-keeping units across the globe and as a

supplier to 40,000 international outlets, it is vital that Amscan finds

the balance between high availability and stock costs. Amscan

has implemented the INFORM solution add*ONE after seeing

the benefits the software has brought to its partner company,

Riethmuller, in boosting efficiency to keep costs low whilst

ensuring complete customer satisfaction.

Paul Cox, CFO at Amscan International, says: “In the party business,

ensuring customer satisfaction through high availability is

essential. Distributing our goods to such diverse global locations

means it is even more important to forecast demand and ensure

we can deliver.

“Equally, if we are left with redundant stock the tied up capital and

associated storage costs would place us under immense financial

strain. Therefore it is vital that we utilise the benefits of technology

to ensure an efficient balancing act can be achieved.

“After already seeing the benefits the software has brought

to our partner company, we envisage add*ONE will bring

vast improvements in the efficiency of our supply chain and a

decrease in the amount of manual effort for our workforce.”

www.inform-software.com

With four out of five consumers now using a smartphone

to purchase goods and services, and buyers opting for

digital shopping baskets over trawling the shop floors, the

‘Omnichannel’ effect is tightening its grip on the retail industry.

In an effort for businesses to gain more control in this

multichannel era, we have seen a shift to broader B2B

programmes and the use of extended business documents

including an uptake in the use of advance ship notice (ASN).

Sent to the receiver ahead of a delivery, an ASN typically

contains the same information as the original invoice, as well

as logistics information like carton IDs, content description, and

transportation specifics, giving distributors and warehouses

the data they need for advanced planning.

To make it easier to tell where stock is at any given time,

retailers are able to deploy a number of strategies such as

cross-docking and drop-shipping to lower warehousing costs,

increase delivery speed and improve customer satisfaction.

Denise Oakley, international marketing director at GXS,

explains: “In an increasingly competitive and mobile market,

it’s vital that retailers get to grips with stock visibility issues. It

is proving increasingly difficult to predict when an order may

be made outside of seasonal purchasing patterns, and in order

to react as best as they can, retailers must have an accurate

picture of stock at all times. The GXS Trading Grid can help

manage this process, eliminating inefficiencies and giving

retailers the best possible chance of performing well and

satisfying customers.”

www.gxs.com

Tipping poinT for reTailers in 2013

Get to grips with stock visibility

:

The Open Group has announced the publication of the Open Trusted Technology Provider Standard (O-TTPS), the first complete standard published by The Open Group Trusted Technology Forum (OTTF) and which will benefit global providers and acquirers of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products. This open standard is the first of its kind to help organisations achieve Trusted Technology Provider status, assuring the integrity of COTS ICT products worldwide and safeguarding the global supply chain against the increased sophistication of Cybersecurity attacks.Specifically intended to prevent maliciously tainted and counterfeit products from entering the supply chain, this first release of the O-TTPS codifies best practices across the entire COTS ICT product lifecycle, including the design, sourcing, build, fulfilment, distribution, sustainment, and disposal phases.

www.opengroup.org

Ventilation equipment manufacturer Vortice has streamlined its production process and increased efficiency thanks to the installation of Preactor advanced planning and scheduling software.Giuseppe Baldeschi, Vortice production manager, said: “In order to manage our production mix, we needed visibility of potential bottlenecks, plus we needed to optimise our resources according to the kind of products to be made. Preactor enables us to achieve the full benefits of our work transforming our production process to ‘lean production’.” Vortice worked with local Preactor partner proe2 to implement the Preactor software and integrate it with its IT management system, based on AS400. Marco Naj Fovino at proe2 said: “Vortice has an international reputation for high-performance products, and it needed a scheduling solution that would perform equally highly to keep its edge in a competitive market. We worked with the firm to find the best Preactor solution for its needs, as well as integrate it with the existing IT management system so the two systems could share information.”

www.preactor.com

Creating trusted technology Transforming production processChanging ThreaT landsCape going lean

: :

:

Sourcing in manufacturing presents a number of

challenges. With hundreds or thousands of parts,

multiple suppliers, quality requirements and

tight deadlines, it is difficult for manufacturers to truly know

whether they are getting the best deal on every single part.

Sometimes even the most experienced and capable sourcing

experts struggle to find the lowest cost supplier or a provider

that has more efficient manufacturing processes. But this is all

changing, thanks to new ways of approaching and applying

technology to manufacturing sourcing – and the application

of some sourcing best practices.


Sourcing experts typically employ re-quoting at an existing

supplier or re-sourcing to a new supplier (or both) to cut

costs. However, it’s difficult to know if these efforts result in

the maximum savings possible. For example, if a there’s not

enough information to re-negotiate with suppliers effectively.

Yet sourcing teams need to meet annual cost reduction goals,

even in the face of rising costs.

Two common hurdles to this are bandwidth and the lack

of information. The time factor is obvious – small sourcing

staffs, too many suppliers in too many countries, and

countless parts. Meanwhile sourcing professionals lack the

Sourcing in manufacturing: cost challenges and best practice. By Myles Peyton

outsourcingThe

challenge

Manufacturing

detailed information and tools they need to help them easily

identify cost-saving opportunities and conduct more fruitful

negotiations with suppliers.

Here are some best practices manufacturers can apply to

meet cost-reduction goals:

1. Identify cost-saving opportunities The first step is to identify the parts or subassemblies with

the potential for the greatest savings. Determining the right

parts is science in itself. Using basic part information and

simple comparisons, such as historical cost versus mass or

cost versus complexity, sourcing experts can identify potential

opportunities to reduce costs.

Whether it is manually completed or using software, this

first step narrows the total universe of parts to a smaller group

that offers the potential for the biggest savings.

2. Scrutinise each part The next step is to look at each part and quantify its cost-

savings opportunity. The key to this second phase is knowing

what it ‘should cost’ to manufacture the part in question. If

you knew what it should cost to manufacture the part in an


t

aPriori’s new Geometry Analysis Tool, released in the r2 2012 aPriori Product Cost Management Platform update, displaying GCDs in different colours based on the value of the selected property or output.

aPriori Product Cost Management Platform displaying 3D CAD image and manufacturing

production variables including period costs, fixed costs, capital costs and geometric cost drivers.

Manufacturing


efficient supplier market (across various geographies), you

can compare that amount with the price currently being paid

and identify the parts that are out of line.

Taking the difference between the historical cost and the

‘should cost’ and multiplying it by the annual product volume

provides a total potential savings for each part. Ranking the

parts in order according to annual savings gives the sourcing

team a prioritised to-do list.

The key here is having a ‘should cost’ for each product.

Company cost experts can manually assess what it should cost

to make a few parts, but not the hundreds or thousands that

most companies have. As above, there are also new software

products and databases that make this information available

on a dynamic basis leveraging 2D and 3D product designs.

This information would ideally include the information

about the part’s geometry, the materials being used, and

production volume to generate a precise ‘should cost’

number. It might also include the most-efficient (lowest cost)

manufacturing processes for producing the part based on

production volumes, materials, factory locations and more.

As a result, the sourcing team not only has a target price, but

also a wealth of supporting information that can be used in

any re-quoting, re-bidding or re-negotiating processes with

suppliers.

3. Use the information and cost out parts The next step determines how to drive cost out of the parts.

There are usually three options – re-quote, re-route and re-

design.

The easiest way to save money on your parts is to find

ones where you are simply paying too much. Once identified,

the first thing to check is if the part is being manufactured

using the most efficient process available. If so, then this part

becomes a case of simply being overcharged for a part. In this

case, re-negotiating with the current supplier, or finding a

new one, usually results in a lower price.

In some situations, the supplier may not be manufacturing

a part as efficiently as possible. If your sourcing experts have

access to information on the most efficient methods for

manufacturing each part, you can work with your suppliers

to re-route to a more efficient method and re-quote a lower

price. Re-routing can often necessitate re-sourcing if the

current supplier does not have the correct processes, and

although possibly time consuming, it can provide greater

profit opportunities than re-quoting or re-bidding alone.

In some instances, the initial analysis will identify parts

that appear to cost more than they should, even though the

most efficient processes are already being used and the price

being charged is competitive. In these cases, the reason for

the higher price may be that the part was not designed as

efficiently as possible. These parts become candidates for

re-design. Re-design has more potential cost savings than

re-quoting or re-routing, but in most cases will involve

additional work from engineering to determine the best

new design options. This step also may require re-testing for

durability and other attributes on the new part.

SummaryThese steps help manufacturers identify opportunities for cost

savings. While the effort to attain these savings is minimal, the

financial impact can be enormous, saving millions of pounds,

euros or dollars. By putting these practices in place, sourcing

teams can be sure they are getting the best deal for each new

product they outsource to suppliers. Then moving forward,

the sourcing team will have more confidence that all of the

new parts are priced correctly from the start and there will

be fewer and fewer instances where the company needs to

re-quote, re-source or re-design products. Cost awareness is

always a good business practice.

Best-in-class manufacturers distance themselves from

their competition with a systematic, technical approach that

puts product cost management at the heart of decision-

making. These manufacturers understand that a core set of

activities, processes and tools is required to identify key cost

control points and equip the business to reduce costs at every

opportunity through accurate and informed decisions.

This is the time for costing managers, engineering

executives, and entire organisations to embrace these

solutions, because these product cost management

‘visionaries’ are driving the best practices of tomorrow’s

manufacturers.

aPriori

aPriori is a provider of product cost management software solutions

for discrete manufacturers. aPriori’s software and services generate

solid product cost savings for discrete manufacturers. aPriori’s real-time

product cost assessments enable employees in engineering, sourcing

and manufacturing to make more-informed decisions so manufacturers

can launch products at cost targets, maximise savings in re-work projects

and avoid overpaying for sourced parts. For further information, visit:

www.apriori.com

Myles Peyton

Myles Peyton is the managing director for Northern Europe

for aPriori. He and his team have advised hundreds of

leading European companies on how to reduce product

costs, reduce cycle times and get higher quality products

to market faster. His previous European roles include Total

Immersion, Autodesk, PTC & Moldflow. Myles is based in

aPriori’s office in Chertsey, Surrey.

Plug and play approach Bosch Packaging Technology has

launched Gemini 4, a new Delta robot

hardware platform and software

controller. With increased speed and

lower changeover time resulting in

higher productivity, the platform

allows manufacturers to reduce the

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of

their automated production lines. The

hardware component of Gemini 4 has a

streamlined architecture and integrates

standardised industry equipment from

German automation specialists Bosch

Rexroth and Beckhoff. Operators are

now able to run up to eight Delta robots

and 16 conveyors through the simplified

Gemini 4 controller for gains in efficiency.

The streamlined design of the Gemini 4

controller and its software are optimised

for the control of Delta robots, helping

to increase acceleration and pick rates.

This enables manufacturers to enhance

accuracy and raise their production line

speeds by up to 25 per cent (product

dependent), while maintaining gentle

product handling, process

reliability and quality.

“The Gemini 4 boosts

standards in the field of

Delta robot control,” said

Roy Fraser, product manager

Robotics, Bosch Packaging

Technology. Innovations

in the automation of the

manufacturing process

have driven down the TCO,

allowing multinational

brand owners and local

enterprises alike to

increase productivity and improve

competitiveness.”

www.boschpackaging.com

EnhancEd spEEd rEducEs cost pEr pick

Ma

nu

fac

tur

ing n

ewsA recent report from Source for consulting on

professional procurement in mid-sized companies

revealed why organisations should be further focusing on

procurement, with risk demanding more attention in the

boardroom says Tom Woodham, director at leading end-to-

end supply chain consultancy, Crimson & Co.

The report, which looked at the personal experiences of

respondents from finance and procurement professionals,

asked about the buying of goods and services and the

status of procurement in their organisations.

It was found that ‘negotiating with current suppliers to

reduce costs’ was the top priority within procurement.

Whereas, ‘putting in place processes to minimise the risk

of fraud’ and ‘ensuring security of supply’ were barely

recognised as concerns. “Supply chain risk needs to be

a top priority for procurement professionals today,” said

Woodham, who was one of the experts consulting Source

on the analysis of the results.

“The recent horsemeat debacle has helped to further

highlight the importance of contingency planning and in

terms of the supply chain, the scandal can actually be seen

very positively, in that it will result in procurement getting

the boardroom attention it needs and deserves.”

ww.crimsonandco.com

risk should bE top priority

Procurement should be a boardroom topic

:

Companies looking to make improvements within the

workplace that will make a real difference to overall efficiency

and profit levels should look no further than the Lean Academy.

The Lean Academy, launched and run by Gosport-based Lean

Business Specialists Fedden USP in conjunction with MIT

Skills, aims to train individuals to become lean champions

and facilitators geared with the life-long skills, knowledge and

confidence required to make significant changes that will

benefit businesses in their on-going journey towards

continuous improvement.

Neil Fedden, principal consultant at Fedden-USP, says: “Businesses

that want to excel in today’s competitive climate need to look

at ways of improving their bottom line performance, lead times,

productivity levels, customer service levels and workplace

organisation. But perhaps more importantly, how to sustain those

improvements and continue to make changes that benefits the

organisation, its people and its end-users/customers – this is

where the Lean Academy can help.”

Running its first programme starting on 4 July in Southampton,

the 12-month off-site course carried out during one day per

month allows like-minded individuals to learn the practical

application of lean principles together whilst sharing ideas in a

fun and creative environment.

www.fedden-usp.co.uk

sharing idEas

First Lean Academy launches 4 July

:


Global operations function well in stable times,

when just-in-time makes all the sense in the world.

But unexpected changes like commodity price

fluctuations and natural disasters can highlight the hidden

constraints and vulnerabilities within many companies’

operations.

Suffice it to say that supply chains - and, to some extent,

manufacturing operations - are not as dynamic as they

increasingly need to be. And by its very nature, supply chain

integration means that a supply chain can be only as good as

its weakest link.

In this period of persistent volatility and uncertainty, many

supply chain executives are questioning whether things have

gone too far. In fact, 70 per cent of executives who responded

to a recent Accenture survey (Accenture 2011 Global Risk

Management Study) said they were dissatisfied with their

organisations’ ability to predict future performance amid

today’s market volatility. And more than 80 per cent expressed

deep concern about the resilience of their supply chain.

Profiting from uncertaintyHowever, today’s more dynamic and agile practitioners are

learning to profit from persistent volatility and uncertainty by

adapting their supply chains to flex with the markets. Not only

are they insulating themselves from the downside, they are also

positioning themselves to take advantage of the upside. These

organisations are reimagining their supply chains as adaptable

ecosystems of processes, people, capital equipment, technology

and data.


Truly agile companies also have more

nuanced views of resource allocation - moving

toward making quicker decisions to pursue the

most promising opportunities. The best performers

excel at incremental investment coupled with rapid and

well-documented test-and-learn cycles. They run numerous

pilot programs concurrently, but their spending will soon shift

toward the initiatives that start to show better or faster returns.

The payoff for this approach is considerable. Research by

Accenture and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(Simchi-Levi, David, ‘Operations Rules’, (New York: The

MIT Press, 2010) shows that companies whose systems and

processes can anticipate certain risks are as much as 75 per

cent more profitable than their competitors.

In light of this, we have pinpointed four core capabilities

that enable the dynamic operations that high performers seek:

1. There is great value in being able to move from insight to

action - transforming data into a decisive response, and doing

so quickly. The key, of course, is whether the company’s data

does in fact create insight, and whether it is actionable. If

the organisation lacks access to real-time data - and cannot

identify the right data in the first place - it is already lagging.

The organisation must be in continuous monitoring mode so

it can sense when a change has begun to happen. And it has to

have the tools and capabilities to analyse and simulate - along

with the talent and skills to use those tools. Some companies

have become masters at sensing and responding, helping to

shape demand in close to real time.

2. It’s important to have an adaptable structure - to design and

Mark Pearson explains why ‘dynamic’ is as crucial as ‘efficient’ when it comes to operations

fastThe

leader

Supply Chain StrategieS

implement an operating model that can easily capitalise on

new opportunities and respond to disruption. Management

teams need to ask themselves how long it has been since

their operating models have changed - and how much the

business environment has shifted since then. And then the

more pressing questions: How long would it take to alter our

operating model? Can we do it quickly enough to hold onto

our market lead today and in the future?

3. Flexible innovation is essential so the organisation can

continually innovate for growth and operational efficiency.

One consumer products giant excels at ensuring that

innovation continuously enables the company to be agile

enough to cope with shrinking product lifecycles and launch

new products quickly. This company is particularly good

at using crowdsourcing to boost its innovation capabilities

and supply chain responsiveness. Not only can it more easily

capitalise on immediate market trends in ways that a more

traditional R&D arrangement might not be able to, but

executives responsible for other corporate functions can

better anticipate what they need to do to plan for sourcing,

manufacturing, distribution and servicing.

4. Companies must perform agile execution - the ability to

respond adroitly to major disruptions such as natural disasters

but also adjust to everyday facets of volatility such as shifts

in commodity pricing, greater demand swings, lead time

variability or inadequate supplier performance. That helps

explain why some leading European TV manufacturers are

shifting production from China, and why companies that

make TVs for the US market are re-emphasising the Mexican

maquiladoras that fell from favour years ago as Far East costs

became irresistible.

In addition, many more companies are making extensive

use of shared services centres - operations centres, often

internal to the companies, that are built around such core

processes as procurement and that can be adapted faster than

conventional functional organisations can change.

Although there are definite moves worldwide to embrace

the four characteristics of truly dynamic operations, few

companies are yet employing all of them. It’s apparent that

many management teams are waiting to see who gets it figured

out before they act. But the ‘fast follower’ tactics that worked

before will not work now. In today’s tumultuous environment,

it is essential to be the fast leader.

Mark Pearson

Mark Pearson is the senior managing director of Accenture

Management Consulting’s Operations group and is focused on

helping clients develop more dynamic supply chain and service

operations capabilities to enable rapid response to changing

customer demands and market opportunities across North and South

America, Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific. He has worked at Accenture

for more than 23 years, primarily in Supply Chain Management across

procurement, fulfillment and service management.

Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services

and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people

serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled

experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and

business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most

successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help

them become high-performance businesses and governments.


www.accenture.com


As individuals, we all share an inherent need to

connect, share and network. Because it has been

written into our DNA by the forces of evolution.

Facebook has found a way to address that need for one billion

of us around the world. For corporations, the necessity to

connect, share and network is even bigger than for our private

selves. Because it has been written into today’s corporate DNA

by the forces of globalisation. Businesses can no longer succeed

on a global scale operating in a silo. There’s no place where

that’s more apparent than in the world of supply chain, where

the need to network and collaborate with other companies is

key to success - and quite frankly, to survival.

There are many aspects of the meteoric rise of Facebook

that have been rightfully criticised. From controversial

interpretations of privacy laws and a botched IPO to a

lacklustre stock performance, there are many things you don’t

want to learn from Facebook.

But in just a few short years, Facebook has managed to

completely disrupt and revolutionise the way we manage our

social connections. And it has done so by virtue of a small

number of key principles that are worth taking cues from

when it comes to managing global supply chain networks.

A new information-sharing modelFacebook completely changed the way we share information

with our friends. Post a new baby photo and all of your

friends can see it instantly – on desktop computers, laptops,

smart phones, tablets and even in their cars. No need to send

messages back and forth with each friend individually to share

the news. Updates are automatically posted in the cloud and


spread in real time. This post vs. send approach is at the heart

of Facebook’s information sharing model. It makes Facebook a

device-agnostic collaboration platform that brings everyone in

your network of friends ‘onto the same page’ in real time.

When this new information-sharing model is applied to the

world of B2B commerce, it can turn your supply chain into a

Cloud Supply Chain.

In a Cloud Supply Chain, thousands of supply chain events

get automatically posted to the cloud and new ETAs are

shared with every supply chain partner and stakeholder who

needs to know in real time. Suppliers, ocean carriers, 3PLs,

consolidators, air carriers, customs agents, banks, forwarders

- everyone is suddenly in the loop in real time. This enables

unprecedented levels of collaboration across company borders.

During pre-cloud days, sharing information about global

supply chains was all about sending. Mostly through one-to-

one communication using letters, phone calls, faxes, emails

or EDI connections - highly inefficient in retrospect and not

scalable to support information sharing on a massive scale.

The new information-sharing model of a Cloud Supply Chain,

just like Facebook, is all about posting.

Collecting and analysing dataFacebook sits on top of the data generated by some one billion

users, three billion daily ‘likes’ and comments, 300 million

daily uploaded photos and over 140 billion friend connections.

It’s the most comprehensive database of social connections

ever created.

If my math is correct, more than three million things have

been ‘liked’ on Facebook since you started reading this article

ManagingFive things your supply chain can learn from Facebook. By Boris Felgendreher

Search

connections

Social Media

about 90 seconds ago. And of course those ‘likes’ have already

been analysed and stored somewhere in the cloud to enable

advertisers to show you better ads before you even finished

reading this sentence.

During the same time, a lot has happened in your supply

chain as well. POs have been issued, orders processed,

payments authorised and vessels loaded. Maybe cargo has been

moved, shipments cleared, inventory rerouted, goods received,

merchandise sold, shelves restocked or replenishment been

ordered. In today’s complex global supply chains, events and

transactions like these happen a thousand times over - every

minute of the day.

And these actions generate important data in the process -

lots of it. But unfortunately, a traditional Enterprise Software

System (ERP) doesn’t have access to all of this information,

because it resides inside the four walls of your organisation.

An estimated 80 per cent of your supply chain data, however,

is generated outside your four walls and scattered across the

various IT systems of your supply chain partners, isolated from

the reach of your ERP system.

In the consumer world, Facebook helped us stitch together

and tap into the formerly isolated personal silos of our social

connections by hooking everyone up to the cloud. That

giant suction sound you hear coming out of your social

network? That’s Facebook sucking in all the data of your

social connections.

You ought to be hearing that same kind of suction sound

coming out of your supply chain network. And it should be

generated by your Cloud Supply Chain sucking in all the data

of your supply chain connections. Once that data is collected,

it can be sliced, diced and analysed in every which way to

discover trends and patterns. You can run what-if scenarios

and selectively share data with your partners to collaborate on

important supply chain decisions.

Controlling and sharing dataOne area that Facebook has been criticised for the most is

privacy - in particular, the ability of users to control their own

data. The company has made some recent progress towards

putting the right control tools in place to better reflect the

underlying relationships between network participants. Users

have to be able to share and withhold information depending

on their specific relationships with each other. You probably

have certain pictures or information you would only feel

comfortable sharing with some close friends – who share

your kind of humour – but not with your co-workers or your

boss. If you don’t have that control, you’ll quickly lose trust in

the platform.

Likewise, today’s modern global supply chains can contain

thousands of trading partners who have to be able to safely

withhold from or share information with each other -

depending on their respective business relationships. A global

retailer may do business with the same logistics providers and

even share some suppliers with his direct competitors. Suppliers

may share the same raw material suppliers, global logistics

providers often service several competing customers, and so on.

The best way to securely share and withhold supply chain

information among trading partners is through a Facebook-

like Cloud Supply Chain that maps the underlying business

relationships between trading partners. These relationships

are very complex environments, with nuances and many

shades of gray.

A Cloud Supply Chain has to go much deeper than Facebook

probably ever will into controlling access to certain information,

on a granular level, down to individual users. If you have

competitive intelligence running across the same platform,

this is crucial. Trust is everything. A trusted platform is going

to win the race.

Facebook vs. MySpaceWhen you sign up, Facebook already has dozens, maybe

hundreds of friendship recommendations waiting for you. All

you need to do is hit ‘accept’. As creepy as that may feel, it is a

testament to the vibrancy of that community. It’s living proof

that the famous network effect has reached critical mass. It’s easy

to forget though that it’s not always been that way.

Just a few short years ago, Facebook and MySpace were

roughly at par. The infrastructure behind each is essentially the

same. Cloud-based, profile pages, status updates, news feeds,

apps. Then Facebook reached critical mass and the rest is history.

MySpace recently re-launched as a small niche player – a mere

shadow of its former self. It’s the community that made the

difference here.

People want their social networks to be peer-approved. They

don’t just want some of their friends to be part of a community.

They want all of them connected to it. Who wants to be the only

guest at a cocktail party?

In fact, if your cloud supply chain platform was a cocktail

party, the world’s biggest logistics providers, all leading ocean

carriers, major trade banks and many of your suppliers should

already be sipping martinis by the time you get there. You don’t

want them calling in, having to ask for directions.

When you evaluate a cloud supply chain platform, look for

vibrancy. Are industry leaders embracing the platform? Are they

doing so publicly? How many different industry verticals are


Boris Felgendreher studied Business

Administration at the University of Münster,

Germany and graduated from the University of

Texas at Austin. Boris started his career at Dell

Computer Corp. and held various marketing

positions at emerging technology companies

before joining GT Nexus in 2008.

Boris Felgendreher, Marketing manager, GT Nexus


represented? Are key industry stake

holders, like logistics service providers,

standardising on the platform, maybe

even white-labelling it for their own customers? Are companies

starting to build business models around the platform? All these

are telltale signs that a community may have the potential to be

the Facebook of supply chain.

Mobile AppsSix hundred million of Facebook’s one billion users view, post

and upload content to the site using mobile devices such as

smart phones and tablets. The Facebook app currently ranks as

the most downloaded mobile app in the world. Why? Because

your personal life doesn’t always happen in front of your

computer – at least I hope it doesn’t.

The life of a company’s global supply chain never happens

in front of anyone’s computer either. It happens in the port

of Antwerp, onboard a cargo plane above the Pacific, on a

store shelf Paris, in a truck headed for Portland or inside a

temperature controlled container sitting in Mumbai.

In the next few years, we are guaranteed to witness a dramatic

increase in data gathered from all the mobile, moving parts in

the supply chain. In real time, as they make their way from one

end of your supply chain to the other. Through GPS, RFID,

mobile scanners and alike. Mobile sensors are becoming smaller

and cheaper every day. They are quickly becoming

an integral part of the supply chain, measuring temperatures

and humidity inside containers, detecting tempering, scanning

UPC codes, and transmitting GPS data of shipments - even

down to the item level. All of that will finally enable true

end-to-end supply chain visibility. No more gaps, no

more guessing.

But your systems need to be ready to deal with this onslaught

of big data. They have to be capable of capturing, saving, and

more importantly, making sense of all this data. Only then will

you be able to make truly agile supply chain decisions based on

what’s actually happening in your supply chain - as opposed to

having to cling to a rigid six-months-old plan that is based on

what you thought would happen.

There is only one viable way of making all these different

elements in your supply chain communicate with each other and

turn them into an interconnected, intelligent

network that you can orchestrate. And that’s

through leveraging the cloud.

Communication from the various elements in your supply

chain to the cloud is one aspect. The other aspect is the reverse:

communication from the cloud to the various elements in the

supply chain. Enabling decision-making on the ground, in the

supply chain trenches. Running supply chain analytics apps

on mobile devices to guide decision-making on the ground.

Having current and even historic supply chain data at people’s

finger tips on the ground will open up completely new ways of

decision-making in the field and allow companies to fluently

move from centralised, top-down to decentralised, bottom-up

control whenever and wherever necessary.

Summary

In the consumer space, Facebook has managed to completely

disrupt and revolutionise the way we manage our social

connections. Cloud-based social networking is now firmly

anchored in the mainstream. In the B2B world, the race to turn

individual companies into multi-enterprise commerce networks

connected in the cloud is already in full swing. The rate at which

global leaders like Pfizer, CAT, Nestlé, Renault, Lenovo, adidas,

ZARA, Xerox, Procter & Gamble, DHL and others are now

moving their supply chains to the cloud is a clear indication that

cloud-based supply chain orchestration has quickly turned into

a competitive advantage and is about to go mainstream. During

this process, there is a lot to learn from Facebook.

Social Media

GT Nexus

GT Nexus offers a cloud-based platform that the world’s biggest

companies use to drive efficiency and agility across the global supply

chain. Leaders in manufacturing, retail and logistics services all share

GT Nexus as their standard, multi-enterprise collaboration platform.


www.gtnexus.com

As well as interesting features, ESCM is also your source to keep up-to-date with companies that form the backbone of the industry and the ongoing development they experience. It is also a chance to see how they are coping with the challenges within their respective marketplaces and their burning ambitions to succeed, come what may.

Profiles


McDonald’s Osterreich

IBA

Kannegiesser UK

Shears Bros (Transport)

Werner Kenkel Spółka

over the next few years as the company focuses on

attracting new target groups, such as elderly people,

families, mums and families, through the automatic

implementation of McCafe’s at newly built restaurants.

This chain, which was launched in Australia in 1993,

reflects a consumer trend towards high quality coffees

and has since spread worldwide, putting McDonald’s

in direct competition with major coffee brands. The

company has also added real fruit smoothies to its

McCafe menu following increased public awareness

26 www.europeansupplychainmanagement.co.uk

The opening of Mcdonald’s first restaurant in

Vienna began a 35-year story of success in franchising

that continues to this day, with Mcdonald’s Osterreich

boasting an annual turnover of 548 million euros and a

recorded 157 million guests in 2012.

With 184 restaurants and 156 McCafe’s, McDonald’s

Osterreich is keen to continue expanding and evolving

through long-term investment to ensure customer

satisfaction. There are currently 8900 employees

and 48 franchisees in Austria, but this is set to grow

McDonalD’s osTerreich is COnTinuing grOWTh Of sAles AnD guesT COunTs ThrOugh AggressiVe expAnsiOn AnD innOVATiVe iDeAs

McGrowthIncredible

McDonalD’s osterreich profile

27www.europeansupplychainmanagement.co.uk

to healthy eating and nutritional quality, an area of its

menu that McDonald’s has improved drastically over

recent years.

Well known for following trends, McDonald’s

has consistently kept a watchful eye on evolving

consumer tastes due to greater nutritional awareness

and changing fashions and is always fully prepared to

broaden its product portfolio. For example, McDonald’s

Osterreich launched the McMarryMe burger in August

2012 as part of a yearly contest at its participating

Yuu’n MeeYuu’n Mee is a premium

seafood company, specialising in tailor-made

product development for food service and

retail companies. With highest raw material and

production standards, Yuu’n Mee focuses on sustainable

aquaculture practices, delivering outstanding product quality with a

uniquely fresh and pure taste while preserving the

environment for future generations. Yuu’n Mee

has been successfully co-operating with McDonald’s

Austria for many years, delivering top quality

breaded shrimps to the McDonald’s restaurants.

During the last years this and other successful

products were introduced to several European countries.


restaurants in Europe. Consisting of three beef

burgers, cheddar cheese, lettuce, onion and ketchup,

the new product was marketed in an advertisement,

which involved a bride and groom tying the knot in a

McDonald’s restaurant.

McDonald’s Osterreich regularly launches new

products that match consumer trends to attract new

guests and widen its product range. In September 2012

it brought out McNoodles, bowls topped with chicken,

vegetables and choice of curry or sweet and sour sauce,

at its 179 Austrian restaurants for three months. It also

took advantage of the cult following of the McRib

sandwich, which was first introduced in McDonalds

restaurants in 1982, by launching the McRibster in

Austria early last year.

The company is currently following the nutritional

and environmental trends caused by the world

becoming increasingly more aware of food, traceability

and healthy options and is focusing on sustainability

and transparency; through advertising the importance

of a balanced diet and active lifestyle and backing this

ethic up with a more health conscious menu, it aims to

ensure customers are offered a wide product range to

achieve a balanced diet. It is also boosting consumer

confidence in the brand by putting nutritional

information on packaging that is simple to understand.

Furthermore, McDonald’s Osterreich is increasing

its salad range in May 2013 to give its guests more

opportunity to select products that will aid in a healthy

balanced diet. Additional products being launched

in 2013 include the Chicken Burger with less than 250

calories and the Veggie Wrap New Happy Meal, which

will consist of a fourth element offering a choice of

apple, carrot, fruit salad or fruit purée.

In 2005 McDonald’s became a member of the

Sustainable Packaging Coalition, in which the company

OSI Food SolutionsOSI Food Solutions Austria

has been a proud supplier to McDonald’s Austria for 36 years, working with McDonald’s since

the first restaurant opened in this country in 1977. OSI Austria

is part of the global OSI family which serves McDonald’s in

approximately 85 per cent of its markets worldwide. The

company produces high quality beef and chicken products for

McDonald’s Austria, and in 2012, supplied more than 12,000

tonnes of protein items to this valued customer.


Franke Foodservice SystemsFranke Foodservice Systems is the world’s leading provider of comprehensive systems and services for the global foodservice industry. Franke is a proud partner of McDonald’s with a long and trusted partnership. We provide kitchens, smallwares, and technical service throughout Europe to help our customers maintain operational excellence.

The majority of the raw materials used for McDonald’s Osterreich’s

entire product range are produced in Austria; the company now works with 52,000 farmers

made a commitment to furthering sustainable

packaging in a way that it finds acceptable. For

McDonald’s this involved creating a scorecard that

takes priorities such as minimising weight, preference

for renewable materials and recycling into account.

McDonald’s Osterreich, meanwhile, takes advantage of

its compostable infrastructure by diverting practically its

entire waste stream from landfills. This is seen as a win-

win scenario for the company, as using less and wasting

less is good for both business and the environment.

Corporate responsibility is an important factor to the

company, therefore the waste recycling and recycling

system at McDonald’s is continually being developed;

this recently resulted in the recycling of its used cooking

oil as biodiesel to fuel the McDonald’s trucks and also

for the trucks of REWE Austria. To further enhance

its reputation, the majority of the raw materials used

for McDonald’s Osterreich’s entire product range are

McDonalD’s osterreichprofile

McDonald’s Osterreich www.mcdonalds.comEmployees 8900Industry Fast food restaurant

produced in Austria; the company now works with

52,000 farmers, an impressive quarter of all the farms in

the country.

Always keeping abreast of ways to improve and

evolve with the demands of consumers, McDonald’s

Osterreich is testing a mobile order app that will be

available for public use from Autumn 2013. The app

will give guests the opportunity to order and pay for

their order via mobile phone and pick up the ready-

made order in the selected restaurant. By removing

waiting times, McDonald’s Osterreich is offering a more

convenient, simple and efficient service to its customers.

Over the coming years, the highly successful

company is focusing on generating a continuous

growth in sales through constant investment; eight

new restaurants are opening in 2013 alone and a further

20 restaurants are to be opened at highly frequented

locations before 2015. There are also continued plans to

enhance growth in sales and guest counts by remaining

innovative, transparent and aware of upcoming trends,

thus ensuring further product development and a

stronger brand image that consumers trust.

McDonalD’s osterreich profile



IBA (Ion Beam applIcatIons sa) Is the worldwIde technology leader In the fIeld of proton therapy for treatment of cancer

growthTargeting

IBAprofile

therapy technologies, confirming momentum on

Proteus®ONE*. The Proteus®ONE system includes a

compact gantry and compact synchrocyclotron, and

allows much greater access to proton therapy given

the system is easier to install and operate and is also

more easily financeable. Jean-louis guelton, the vice

president of manufacturing and supply chain at the

company emphasised that the compactness of this

solution is a real benefit to end-users: “this will create

much more affordable solutions,” he stated.

IBa’s proteus® technology is already planned or

utilised in 25 centres around the world, and 14 are

treating patients every day. the company is committed

to making proton therapy the most accurate cancer

treatment available worldwide.

Jean-louis went on to note that IBa is the only

The company’s expertise lies in the

development of next generation proton therapy

technologies that provide oncology care providers

with premium quality services and equipment,

including IBa’s leading fully integrated Integralab

radiopharmacy system, and dosimetry advanced

solutions for quality assurance of medical equipment

and increased patient safety.

headquartered in Belgium and employing more

than 1200 people worldwide, IBa currently has

installed systems across europe and the Us and is

expanding into emerging markets. the company

is focused on providing solutions in the fight

against cancer.

as recently as may 2013 IBa reached a major

milestone in the development of compact proton


supplier to have multiple centres treating cancer

patients with Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS), the most

precise modality of treatment in proton therapy. “PBS

enables Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT),

allowing clinicians to precisely target a cancerous

tumour by controlling both the intensity and the

spatial distribution of the dose to the millimetre,”

he said.

“Proton therapy is increasingly considered the most

advanced and targeted cancer treatment due to its

superior dose distribution and fewer side effects.

Protons deposit the majority of their effective energy

within a precisely controlled range, directly within the

tumour and sparing healthy surrounding tissue.”

He added: “As access to proton therapy increases

in Europe and across the world, IBA continues to

demonstrate compassionate innovations with more

patient-friendly treatment rooms and more precise

therapies. Today IBA proton therapy systems account

for more than half of the world’s clinically based

proton therapy facilities.”

Without a doubt, customer care is the focus of all

IBA’s solutions, as Jean-Louis noted: “This is care for

our people, our customers and also for the patients, so

we are always working to find solutions to help cure


IBAprofile

IBA www.iba-worldwide.comIndustry Proton therapy technology

cancer - for us the solution is always based on finding

the most efficient and successful proton therapy. But

overall the patient is most important person, and we

provide the solution to the institution treating them.

So when we implement a solution customer service

comes first and we react quickly if there are any issues.”

A prime example of how IBA works with health

institutions is a recent 50 million euro contract that

has been signed with Apollo Hospitals to install the

first proton therapy centre in India. “They selected

us because of our experience,” said Jean-Louis.

“Proton therapy is being installed into more and

more countries but this is the first time it has been

introduced to India so it’s a milestone for us in the

Asia region.”

IBA will equip the new centre with its Proteus®PLUS

multi-room configuration, which will include three

treatment rooms, with Pencil Beam Scanning

capability. IBA will also provide all dosimetry

equipment to ensure the safest and fastest

commissioning of the centre so that patients can

benefit from proton therapy from 2016.

In fact, 2013 has been very busy for IBA, as the

company has also completed the first upgrade

installation of a gantry rolling floor system at the

Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Centre at Massachusetts

General Hospital, and has installed a cyclotron, beam

line and the first of four state-of-the art treatment

rooms at the accelerated pace of just 12 months (from

the delivery of the building) at the ProCure Proton

Therapy Centre in Seattle.

Jean-Louis confirmed this reflects the significant

increase in demand the company is seeing for proton

therapy and that there is still huge potential to develop

this therapy in the future. “We are focusing on our core

activities in 2013 and undertaking a global efficiency

and productivity initiative in order to be ready for

the growth we are anticipating,” he said. “We have

invested a considerable amount in our research and

development as that is key to our expansion, and we

want to make sure all our solutions work together.”

He concluded: “We believe that proton therapy will

increase in popularity across the world and we have

to continue to develop and improve our solutions to

respond to clinical demands. We must create solutions

that are ready for the future environment, while

remaining competitive. But overall, we always keep the

patient’s well-being at the top of the agenda.”

* Proteus®ONE is the brand name of a new configuration of the Proteus® 235, including some new developments subject to review by Competent Authorities (FDA, European Notified Bodies, et al.) before marketing

Boasting 60 years of industrial laundry

technology expertise, Kannegiesser is a technology

partner for its customers and offers a thorough and

professional service from the initial trouble shooting

through to the best resolution of any technical issue.

It performs intensive development work in each of its

three divisions, wetwork area, flatwork processing and

garment finishing, to boost productivity, flexibility and

the economic activity of laundry operations.

Specialising in industrial washing and drying

technology, the company has accumulated higher

demand for orders over recent years; it was this, and

Kannegiesser UK outgrowing its existing office in

Banbury, that led to a relocation in August 2012, as

Richard Boscott, purchasing manager at Kannegiesser

UK, elaborates: “Due to an increasing order book and


Kannegiesser UK IS pUttIng ItS yeARS of expeRIence to gooD USe In A new fAcIlIty In BAnBURy

superA

system


DRM Industrial Fabrics LtdThe successful relationship with Kannegiesser started over 20 years ago and has gone from strength to strength. DRM’s manufacturing capabilities and diligence produce high quality monorail bags for Kannegiesser systems.DRM is an established key player in the European laundry supplies market and has manufactured in the UK since 1970. The latest co-operation with Nuova Folati San-Ai Range means DRM is able to re-spring your ironers in the UK and Ireland.

the fact we have outgrown our existing office, it was

concluded that the best way to progress and expand

as a business would be to turn the manufacturing

facility in Kendal into a purpose built facility where all

departments could operate from location. The new

facility in Banbury has a factory space of more than

32,000 square foot, plus two floors of offices, each 5000

square foot. On top of this, there is a basement area of

more than 6000 square foot, equaling a total area of

almost 50,000 square foot.”

The production of the Supertrack Monorail System

was seamlessly transferred to the new site while

the Thermopatch UK division and the Revolution

Continuous Roll Towel processing machines, remains

in Kendal. Export turnover at Kannegiesser Supertrack

has doubled over the last two years and the company

anticipates a further increase in the next 12 months,

as highlighted by Martin Kannegiesser, owner, on

his first visit to the new facility in Banbury: “This new

building demonstrates the significant success that our

UK company has achieved in the last few years due

to intensive sales activity, which has seen exceptional

progress in delivering the Kannegiesser range of

productive and energy efficient laundy processing

Kannegiesser UKprofile

Monorail bags manufactured by DRM Industrial Fabrics Ltd.


Seychell Engineering and Fabrication is an ISO9001 accredited company which has

been manufacturing high quality products for various industries including aerospace,

automotive, medical and scientifi c for the past 28 years. Kannegiesser has been a Seychell customer for over 20 years during which time it has supplied a wide variety of fabricated and machined components.

Seychell can supply products of all sizes from small machined parts to very large fabricated product and in quantities that range from one-off specials right through to high quantity repeat orders. Product is manufactured in a quick, effi cient and cost effective manner and can be delivered throughout the UK and overseas.

The Seychell team of specialist engineers manufacture components from a large variety of different metals and plastics utilising the following operations:

● Sheet metal and steelwork fabrication● CNC and conventional milling and turning● CNC laser cutting and eight axis bending● TIG and MIG and gas welding● Tube manipulation

Tel: 01869 240127Fax: 01869 321174

[email protected]

machinery and systems into the UK market.”

Now manufactured in the Banbury site, the

Supertrack Monorail System has an integrated system

design that gives it the capabilities to work with the

entire range of Kannegiesser laundry equipment;

it is available for batch sizes of 36 kilograms to 100

kilograms and is ideal for customers with high

throughput as its sorting platform offers ergonomically

arranged sorting positions. It efficiently distributes

laundry batches to the batch washer, finishing area or

sorting stations. Storage of classified sorted laundry can

be tailored to suit every requirement and the delivery

of transit bags to washer extractors and continuous

batch washers is managed by the Trackview control

system as part of a pre-programmed sequence, which

achieves the optimum washing process.

With a product range of washing technology,

flatwork technology, garment technology, and cross

system technology, Kannegiesser is keen to provide

customers with products relevant to their needs

and considers what type of goods the laundry will

handle before developing the design. Workflow of

garments is one of the key aspects that it looks into

when upgrading an established laundry or designing

service it already offers to customers, the company has

aims to continue growing as a business, develop new

products and retain its exceptional reputation in the

laundry industry. It is also investing in machinery for

its new factory, with Pro Saw supplying a new saw and

feeding system that will give Kannegiesser increased

efficiency and improved throughput. On the subject

of Banbury, his firm and future developments, Martin

Kannegiesser concludes: “Banbury is an exceptionally

good location for Kannegiesser as it is at the centre

of a very strong concentration of manufacturing

companies. All this expertise means that we can

develop our Supertrack business with a locally available

supply of talent. We have been in business in the UK

for many years and this new building in Banbury is

a continued reminder that we can create a strong

business with excellent customer relations that have

enabled, and will continue to enable, our growth.”


VanrietVanriet, is a family owned company, which has been established for 55 years designing and manufacturing quality handling systems to a wide range of market sectors throughout the world. Vanriet enjoys an excellent relationship with our specialist partner, Kannegiesser, in the laundry-based industry. Supplying a flexible and personal service to ensure a productive relationship in the provision of laundry conveyors and Vanriet’s focus is always on providing a first class, endurable product.

Kannegiesser UK Ltd www.kannegiesser.co.ukEmployees 120Industry Laundry equipment

for a new business. On top of this, with 400 customer

service employees, Kannegiesser offers complete

after sales support to all of its UK customers for the

full Kannegiesser product portfolio, as well as global

Supertrack support.

To further offer its customers a seamless service,

Kannegiesser has a high level of availability for spare

parts for its products, as Richard explains: “We have

demonstrated that 90 per cent of spare parts ordered

are delivered with next day delivery. We have a spare

stock holding of more than £1.5 million and to further

improve our capabilities we are introducing the latest

‘pick and select’ software into this side of the business

over the next 12 months.”

Dedicated to continuously improving its energy

efficient equipment, Kannegiesser’s Powerdry II, its latest

batch dryer, has a new optional package available that

reduces energy consumption to a market leading figure

that hasn’t been achieved until now. “Kannegiesser has

also invested in a new laser robot in its Sarstedt factory,

where its Powertrans Continuous Tunnel Washer is

manufactured, making us a market leader in design and

wash quality once again,” adds Richard.

Proud of the high quality technology and customer

Kannegiesser UKprofile

Laundry Conveyors

Vanriet have developed a range of conveyor options specifi cally for the movement of laundry items which is why professional laundries move

their linen using Vanriet conveyors.

Creative solutions from practical people

VANRIET UK Ltd. Riverside Industrial Estate, Fazeley, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B78 3RWTel: +44 (0) 1827 288 871 • Email: [email protected] • www.vanriet.co.uk UK designed and

manufactured

The third generation of the family business, run by

Peter and Ian Shears, has seen great success and growth;

it is a founder member of Pall-Ex UK and offers next

day services to the whole of the UK, Ireland, runs direct

deliveries onto the Isle of Wight, and its contribution was

recognised when it was awarded “The Pall-Ex Depot of

the Year” at the palletised freight distribution network’s

2010 awards ceremony. The brothers are confident and

passionate about their company, as Ian says: “Shears

Bros was voted depot of the year because we are

good at what we do. The members vote for who wins

the award so it is indicative of the service we strive to

provide to our partners and customers. We are willing to

work with people in a friendly and open manner, are we

are very efficient and great at what we do.”

Shears Bros Transport’s road into the haulage

industry began in growing produce for the local market,

from there the company developed into a wholesale

fruit and vegetable merchant in 1955 but the huge

surge of supermarkets in the 1980s caused the firm to

diversify into new areas. “The 1980s were challenging,”


From hUmBlE BEgInnIngS, FamIlY BUSInESS ShearS BroS (TranSporT) LTd haS DEvEloPED InTo onE oF ThE major PlaYErS In UK roaD haUlagE

abovecutA


remembers Ian. “Within 12 months of the opening of a

supermarket store in Wimborne, we went from serving

eight greengrocers in town down to two. However we

were supplying several tonnes of potatoes each week

into fish and chip shops though, and as I have always

liked lorries I came up with a plan to get haulage work

out of Poole, our local area into East Anglia where

our potatoes were sourced and collect them direct

from the farm rather than pay a ‘delivered in price.’

From this point the haulage business grew and we

eventually sold the fruit and vegetable business on.

One of the sectors we saw significant growth was in

the then new concept of the pallet networks and so we

joined Pall-Ex in Feb 1997. We now work in all sections

of the road haulage industry from dedicated general

haulage deliveries, the Pall-Ex and Hazchem Networks,

through to storage and warehousing. Our customers

are from across a wide variety of sectors, from print

to flooring, clothing to air conditioning, plastics to

chemicals, basically if it fits on pallet we can deliver it!”

The haulage company opened a new 54,000

square foot warehouse and distribution facility in

Bournemouth in 2010; comprising of a 29,000 square

foot cross docking facility with full height doors,

allowing access for double decked trailers, so all freight

is handled completely under cover. The warehouse

is 25,000 square foot and equipped with high bay

racking and has a capacity of 2000+ pallets, providing

Shears Bros’ customers with extra services, such as

order fulfilment and short and long-term storage.

Pall-Ex founder and TV personality Hilary Devey

opened the warehouse in February. Being part of the

Pall-Ex Network has had obvious benefits for the firm.

“Within two or three weeks of Hilary approaching us

and asking if we were interested in working together

we had completed a deal with Pall-Ex, making us a

founder member of that organisation, and we have

been working with Hilary ever since. The ability to

deliver our customers freight overnight, whether

it is for a next day delivery into Glasgow, Truro, or

even Dublin or Belfast is a huge benefit and our

membership with Pall-Ex also enables us to reduce

vehicle mileage. With these efficiencies comes the

benefit of less emissions and a greener footprint. So

it is a win-win situation for everyone, including the

environment!” enthuses Ian.

Customer relationships are of high importance to

Shears Bros, and Ian is positive that it is the company’s

transparency and traditional values that has led to

its continued success. “We are a family business, and

customers like to be included in that,” says Ian. “We

are very open, friendly and honest and believe that

a strong relationship with our customers is of great

importance to us, particularly with the economy as

it is. We have a good, solid base of regular and loyal

customers who have stayed with us through thick and

thin and which is a tribute to the hard work all our staff

ShearS BroS.profile


put in to doing a good job for them. We like to think that

what we say, we will do.”

In recent years the company joined the Hazchem

Network, which gave Shears Bros the opportunity to

distribute palletised ADR consignments throughout the

UK in a safe, legal and economic manner. “Hazchem is

a niche market for us; not many companies can cover

the whole of the UK carrying hazardous freight,” says

Ian. “We were also awarded regional partnership status

with Norbert Dentressangle in 2010 which has given

us a good degree of stability in the recent difficult

trading conditions.” Amongst other recent gains for

Shears includes a contract with Jordans Ryvita Co Ltd

to supply line haul services from their Ryvita factory

in Poole Dorset, direct into their RDC in Biggleswade.

This vital link in their supply chain demands that trailers

are loaded directly from off the production line and

transferred straight to their RDC where this freight is

consolidated with other Jordans Ryvita products and

distributed throughout the UK.

With the ability to diversify and expand its business

into new markets with seeming ease, it is no surprise

that Shears Bros (Transport) Ltd will be looking for

potential new markets in the future. “In the next two or

three years we aim to continue growing our business

and with our move into a larger warehouse we now

have the capacity and the expertise to do this. It is likely

we will explore potential new markets too,” says Ian.

Shears Bros (Transport) Ltd www.sbtl.co.ukEmployees 80Industry Haulage

ShearS BroS. profile


The specialisTs aT Werner KenKel creaTe innovaTive packaging in an environmenTally friendly faciliTy

createpassion toThe

Werner Kenkel Spółka z.o.o., a manufacturer of

corrugated board and packaging and provider of flexo

print, is characterised by both modern management

and dynamic development. its wide experience

combines with a young spirit and sound work ethic,

and these factors come together to create a leading

manufacturer of corrugated board packaging in the

polish market.

rafal grochowczak, commercial director, explained

that the company has two manufacturing facilities

based in krzycko Wielkie, which employ nearly 600

people. “The main aim of the company is to conduct

business activities in a responsible and balanced way

through the implementation and use of modern

technologies,” he added. “at the same time we focus on

minimising any negative impact on the environment.

To ensure we fulfil the requirements, we are certified

to iso 14001, and we have recently received the fsc

certificate, which means we have become a member of

an elite group of companies that take great care of the

environment.”

The principles of sustainable economic development

are very important to Werner kenkel. its long-term

strategy includes the key elements of promotion of

social development and conducting business activities

with respect for the natural environment. “steering

business activities in a responsible and balanced way is

possible through taking into account the social aspects

of business activities as well as the implementation

and use of new production technologies whose

main characteristics are positive influence on natural

environment,” noted rafal.

“moreover, our employees are another important

aspect of our long-term strategy. Their work has a

significant influence on the quality of our end products

and production processes. Therefore, the development

of their skills and their engagement with the company

is a priority for us. hence, we consistently familiarise

our employees with licenses, laws and rules connected

both with job safety and Werner kenkel’s strategy.”

he added: “The strategy of sustainable development

is one of the most important principles for us, therefore

the company expects all business partners and

suppliers to follow it as well.”

as well as encompassing its own activities and those

of its suppliers, Werner kenkel’s social responsibility

policy extends to the wider community. in fact,

from the very beginning of its business activities

the company has been engaged in the support of

local people. “in recognition of these activities the

Werner KenKelprofile


Werner KenKelprofile

environmental self-help house in Włoszakowice was

given the name of the company’s founder – Werner

Kenkel,” says Rafal. “Our company also closely co-

operates with the foundation ‘We Help Because We

Can’ where we are engaged in the organisation of

courses for parents and carers of the disabled. The aim

of such courses is to learn effective communication

with the disabled, provide support of the therapeutic

process as well as to expand the basic principles of

providing medical help for those people.”

In addition, out of concern for the youngest

generation, Werner Kenkel subsidises the municipal

kindergarten located in the neighbourhood of

the company.

Business activities The main business activities of Werner Kenkel include

the manufacture of corrugated board packaging with

offset print, corrugated board packaging with flexo

print and the manufacture of corrugated board. Its

flexographic facility is situated in Krzycko Wielkie with

an area of more than 34,000 m2. The facility offers a full

range of corrugated board and provides packaging

with standard flexo postprint, high quality postprint

and flexo preprint.

The company’s offset facility is modern, and has an

area of more than 13,000 m2. It offers a wide range of

packaging as well as point of sale stands, with offset

technology printing. A major asset of the factory is its

integration with the neighbouring flexographic plant

and the possibility to use its own raw material base in

the form of corrugated board.

The third member of the Werner Kenkel Group - and

also the newest - is a flexographic facility with a total

area of 36,000 m2, which is being created in Bochnia

near Kraków. It will be equipped with the latest

machines from the world’s leading manufacturers and

will start the operation in Kraków at the beginning of

2014, and will be certified to BRC standards.

Given the dedication to quality that Werner invests in

its manufacturing process, its ISO 9001 certification and

the list of blue-chip customers from Germany, Sweden,

Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium and the Czech

Republic that return time and again, it is no surprise

to find the company has been the recipient of many

quality awards over the years. “The most important

award for us is the satisfaction of our customers,” said

Rafal. “But we are extremely proud however, of the

fact that we have been awarded prestigious prizes by

the professional bodies representing the packaging

Fosber Group Spa

Established in 1978, Fosber is a leading global supplier for the design, construction and installation of complete lines as well as individual machine units for the production of corrugated board packaging.Originally founded in Lucca in 1978, through its Italian headquarters and strategically located subsidiaries in the USA and China, the Fosber Group today supplies complete corrugators as well as major machine upgrades across the globe with a total dedication to quality and customer service.Fully controlled and owned by Fosber Italy, the Chinese division is entirely geared and structured to provide after sales technical assistance and spare parts support for the local market.Its renowned focus on continuous evolution and innovation, coupled with its constant investment in

R&D are the keys of the company’s success. In what are continuously changing and evermore demanding markets, the Fosber Group delivers the most up-to-date technology to guarantee its customers high performance, total production flexibility, dramatically reduced running costs, less complexity and enhanced reliability.

Mission Statement:• To pursue excellence in all areas of the business• To produce the highest quality machinery with maximum reliability, through innovative simplistic design technology• To provide customers with the most responsive and focused technical support• To be ‘simply better’

Management:President of Fosber Spa - Mr. Ettore Bartoloni Saint Omer

General Manager of Fosber Spa and CEO of Fosber China - Mr. Massimiliano Bianchi

President of Fosber America - Mr. Jeff Pallini

“Werner Kenkel’s constructors represent a

dynamic, experienced and most of all creative team

of professionals who meet customers’ needs with

great passion and in accordance with the latest trends.

The team has received many prizes and has been

appreciated by our demanding business partners

for many years. They have the ability to combine

classic solutions with the latest methods of packaging

production.”

He concluded: “Our constructors aspire to be

innovation leaders, and this has been proven

through the numerous pioneering constructions

and solutions they have created. Those projects have

found acknowledgment among our customers and in

industry forums. So if packaging is such an important

element on the way to product market success, it is

worth entrusting its design to real specialists, such as

those at Werner Kenkel.”


Werner Kenkel www.wernerkenkel.com.plIndustry Packaging

Werner KenKel profile

industry.” For instance, its ‘ChockoShots-Football

Trophy For You’ packaging won the National PakStar

Competition for the best packaging in the country

and went onto become Worldstar Winner 2013 in the

category for the best packaging in the food industry.

It has also been named Domestic Leader of

Innovation and Development (2011), won a special

honour in the international competition ‘Heidelberg

ECO Painting Award 2011’, and received prizes at the

Art of Packing Professional – Pearl among Packaging,

PackStar 2012 and won a Wielkopolska Quality Award.

These sorts of awards wouldn’t be possible without

a dedication to research and development as Rafal

confirmed: “Packaging, during this period of fierce

competition, has become an extremely significant

marketing tool. Everybody is aware of that fact.

Packaging, as a silent salesman, has become one of

the most essential elements in product marketing.

“Nowadays, however, the requirements

concerning perfect packaging are much more than

only its looks. Construction functionality in terms of

logistics, product presentation or its utilisation are

all essential elements.

ESCMEUROPEAN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Schofield Publishing10 Cringleford Business Centre

Intwood Road Cringleford Norwich NR4 6AU

T: +44 (0) 1603 274130F: +44 (0) 1603 274131

EditorLibbie Hammond

[email protected]

Sales ManagerRob Wagner

[email protected]

www.europeansupplychainmanagement.co.uk

european supply chain management issue 2 2013

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