BEE Partner, South Africa Economy Watch

Fortunately, management realised that if things continued in the _way they had for decades, the company would be vulnerable to attack by global predators. This was of particular concern, as foreign competitors were beginning to eye South Africa’s small but potentially good pickings. In addition to this, global customers such as Johnson & Johnson were beginning to demand justification for their local _subsidiary retaining its South African supplier, instead of plugging into the global supply network.

Essentially, it took threats from major customers to bring home to this company the gravity of the situation. Persuading management to think carefully on how they saw themselves, the company and its role in the marketplace, solved the problem. After careful thought, management reached the conclusion that its company was more than simply a manufacturer and distributor of packaging. They started to see it as a strategic component in the marketing plans of its customers. It was playing a vital role in assisting its customers to become more competitive in their respective marketplaces, both on the supermarket shelves and in the minds of the consumer. The real challenge lay in adjusting the employees’ behaviour in order to reflect the strategic shift.

A series of workshops were initially held at departmental level, which introduced all employees to top management’s view of the business. Each department then set up a working group to reach agreement on how the department ought to see itself in terms of the role it played in the new business definition. Once that had been achieved, each employee was asked (and, where required, given counselling) to provide an opinion on how he or she could play a role in making both the corporate as well the departmental view a reality.

For example, the delivery people, in rethinking their view of themselves and the role they played in delivering the product to the customer, really got to grips with the negative impact late or inaccurate deliveries had. They studied the effects not only in terms of customers‘ production scheduling, but also with regard to th_eresultant problems in getting the product onto supermarket shelves, and therefore to the consumer. They essentially saw themselv_esas a key component in keeping the customer’s production and delivery cycles moving efficiently. By proactively forging links with their opposite numbers in customers‘ receiving departments and by becoming familiar with their customers‘ production processes, they were able to create a more efficient delivery infrastructure. Under the old dispensation, they had seen themselves merely as picking up product from despatch and dropping it off at customers‘ premises as and when the customer demanded it. Now they were gettin_gexcited about the importance of their role in the company—custome_rinterface. This was more than just supply-chain management. Essentially, it was a radical behavioural shift that brought with it massive customer benefits in terms of value innovation.

Likewise, the graphics department redefined their role, becoming the providers of solutions to the problems associated with the required image of the brand on the retailing shelves. Previously, this department had simply taken designs provided by the customer’s advertising agency and adapted them to suit the cans the customer wanted. Having changed the view they had of themselves, they assumed a more proactive role, advising customers on the suitability of can design, as well as on the overall marketing effort behind the brand. Their liaison with customers‘ marketing people and advertising agencies took on a new dimension. Previously they would have taken instructions from customers and talked about delivery dates. After some deep introspection on the role they ought to be playing in order to align themselves with the view from the top (which they fully supported), they began to talk about and understand concepts such as branding, shelf appeal, positioning, and all the marketing terminology and concepts associated with what their customers try to accomplish. By redefining themselves, they had elevated theirposition not only in their own company, but also in their relationship with their customers. They were adding value to their customers‘ businesses, and in the process were developing customer loyalty, a k_ey contributor to the maximisation of shareholder value.

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