A year after taking the reins at LINPAC Services, Lisa Tank, Head of Contract Delivery, reflects on the role that services such as asset management play in delivering advantage for customers in a recession.
After 10 years in a key role delivering the Marks and Spencer Contract for LINPAC Services, Lisa has built a formidable reputation for shaping a ‘whatever it takes’ business model, which she firmly believes sets the company apart from other suppliers in the same marketplace.
The services provided to major retail accounts, including Marks and Spencer, The Co-operative Food and Aldi, are truly tailor-made to suit the needs of the individual client and the decision not to offer a one-size-fits-all package has led to customers reaping the rewards of stronger asset management. This is especially important as the need to manage costs and minimise losses has risen to the top of the business agenda. Here Lisa explains the approach that has led to success both for LINPAC Services and its customers.
The team creates true partnerships with customers, which are embedded in the overarching principle that no two customers are the same or have the same operational issues. Certainly today’s operational questions will indeed be very different to tomorrow’s. There is a continual reassessment and fluidity of thought and action that makes it possible to react to changes in a proactive and timely way.
When we manage customers’ assets we can draw on capabilities such as equipment hire, repairs and replacement, equipment leasing and pooling, RFID tag testing and repair, and direct equipment procurement management. These services have developed to ensure smooth and seamless performance of supply chains – vital to maintaining deliveries, particularly in the fast-moving retail environment. We also work closely with our product manufacturing and design business, LINPAC Allibert, which enables us to offer a complete, seamless and tailored solution to our customers if required and as appropriate. In fact we often go over and above our core services to support our customers’ businesses. For example, one customer recently had an issue with storage, so we delivered a warehousing solution for them.
Within each service there is in-built business value, so, for example, our crate and bulk equipment washing is accredited to the BRC food hygiene standard and operated in accordance with HACCP standards. It’s about giving customers peace of mind by helping to manage risk, as well as costs, and supply chain performance.
With environmental credentials and reporting becoming increasingly important to customers, our waste management and recycling operations are also a big asset in our portfolio.
It is this extensive range of capabilities, built up over some 20 years, that enables us to offer solutions and design consultancy, seeing us operating at a much more strategic level with our customers and being able to take a much more holistic approach – helping them to drive down costs and improve performance.
For most clients there is also the reassurance of day-to-day support. This involves understanding their materials handling requirement, linking it to the forecast for their business and ensuring that the right equipment is in the right suppliers at the right time, in a fully serviceable condition.
We have several long-standing successful partnerships with our retail and our hire, wash and repair customers. They come back to us because we deliver value and high levels of service, whether it is exceeding our contractual KPIs, delivering wash services to BRC accredited standards, or asset managing equipment fleets to improve utilisation and drive efficiencies within supply chains.
Retailers, in particular, recognise that they are specialists in procuring goods and running stores but they do not necessarily want the added complexity of managing supply chains or equipment fleets. They can set challenging briefs and be confident that, as supply chain specialists, we will have the knowledge and ‘know how’ to make things happen in the way they want. They can be confident that their capital expenditure on business critical assets is secure and under control.
Recently, I’ve re-structured the LINPAC Services team so that we remain fully focussed on our customers and to allow us to ensure our internal systems and processes are geared up for growth and change. We can’t stand still, we must always be reviewing and improving our service offer and considering where else we can add value to our customers. In a recession, optimising the supply chain is critical to keeping costs down and demand for services is expected to continue to rise in 2012.