4 BULKDISTRIBUTOR Chemical Distribution January / February 2018
4 BULKDISTRIBUTOR Chemical Distribution January / February 2018
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when you ’ re considering using a Brenntag blended product . A lot of the time customers are outsourcing activities which are non-core to them , and they are outsourcing to us because those activities are core to us . That allows customers to focus on what is important to them and also perhaps the things that they have the most skills in .
What benefits are there to customers in buying blends from Brenntag ? “ The benefits can be multiple . It can be a case of them freeing up time by outsourcing the blending . Then they can use that resource internally for other things . They can also potentially reduce their inventory levels and the working capital benefit that generates . I think also they can have a cost reduction by allowing us to make the product for them rather than them having to make it themselves because generally speaking , these are non-core activities . At the end of the day that ’ s our game , we ’ re very good at applying those raw materials the customers need .
Would it be fair to say that your relationship with the customer is a more multilevel than not simply supplier to customer ? RA : “ It is and we like to be able to position ourselves at any point in that supply chain to the
Setting safety standards
In a separate event , Brenntag UK & Ireland held its first ever Safety Day , on 14 November , at Wychwood Park , Crewe , near Manchester . The theme of the day was ‘ Setting the standards for the distribution of chemicals ’. The day was opened by Brenntag UK & Ireland president Russel Argo , who outlined the agenda and the key learning objectives . Fred Worle , operations director , shared some personal experiences and set the scene for the pertinent topics of the day , introducing Ken Woodward OBE , whose highly inspirational talk really drove home the message of the importance of safety in the workplace . Among the presenters was Richard Scaife , director for The Kiel Centre , who delivered a thought provoking discussion on the human aspects of safety culture , and Peter Newport , Chemical Business Association ( CBA ) CEO . Newport ’ s presentation titled ‘ Security in Distribution of Chemicals ’ discussed the changing profiles of security in the distribution of chemicals and initiatives on the prevention , detection and response to terrorism , both in the UK and EU , an overview of the existing and developing regulatory frameworks , the role of partnership programmes and industry voluntary initiatives with regards to raising awareness and capacity building . Delegates were joined by safety representatives of Brenntag EMEA Gordon Hay ( operations director ) and Ingo Legermann ( HSE manager ) who shared experiences on a European level on their journey to building the safety culture across the organisation . The day followed with a number of interactive workshops ran by selected companies including : ‘ Active safety systems in fleet management ’, by Volvo and Thomas Hardie ; ‘ Material handling in the workplace ’, by Briggs Equipment and Pyroban ; ‘ The Watermelon Effect : Does a green dashboard mean a health facility ?’, by ABB , and ‘ Safety optimisation of bulk storage , offloading and distribution of hazardous liquids ’, by Chem Resist . One of the sessions , run by Brenntag IT manager Martin Peberdy , introduced the new Mobile Delivery Management Platform and discussed the benefits and advantages this digital technology offer to Brenntag partners . Fred Worle said : “ Safety is at the core of everything we do at Brenntag . We recognise that as a distributor we sit at the very heart of the supply chain and therefore , in ensuring that we get it right and do it safely every time is integral to the success of your organisations and that of our business partners . We hope that the delegates not only found our Safety Day of interest , but that the scenarios , examples and initiatives discussed and showcased by Brenntag , our suppliers , associates and of course by Ken Woodward OBE , will help to improve safety in the chemical distribution sector and the wider environment .” Russel Argo added : “ We very much hope that the Brenntag Safety Day will further facilitate the ongoing conversation on safety , quality , service and innovation , as together we strive to make the chemical industry a safe and enjoyable workplace for all .”
customer . We really want to view this as a partnership with the customer and potentially a partnership between a customer and a supplier as well where we can add value in the middle . That ’ s what chemical distribution is about , it ’ s about selling ourselves to our customers but also selling ourselves to our suppliers . We can be that vital link in the supply chain that delivers ultimate value .” RW : “ What we ’ re finding is that customers have to operate much more efficiently than they have before , if they are able to continue to compete in the market so that changes their behaviour and their focus on their end markets . That ’ s where Brenntag comes in . We support them in keeping their focus , solving their problems and providing them with solutions . The changing marketplace has meant that we ’ ve had to get much closer to customers as well understand more about their business and that enables us then to provide the right level of service . One of the great things that we have as an organisation is we like to be close to customers on a local level and understand local markets because it ’ s very clear that the local market can be very different from region to region and particularly from country to country . So Brenntag ’ s ability to have knowledge of markets across the whole of the globe as well as more regional European markets and local markets ensure that we can remain competitive and make sure our customer remain competitive in their end markets .
The location of Brenntag ’ s Lutterworth blending site gives the firm a strong base from which to grow its business throughout the midlands and into southern England
Ken Woodward OBE gave an inspirational talk that really drove home the message of the importance of safety in the workplace
Downward order trend
Order books , current sales , and sales margins all showed a downward trend over the three months to November , according to the UK Chemical Business Association ’ s ( CBA ) latest supply chain trends survey . The positive trend in order books and sales reported in July 2017 appeared to have evaporated . Though still remaining positive , their momentum slowed and , in relation to order books , weakened significantly . The outlook for future sales also remains uncertain while the industry expected to create more jobs over the following three months . Members are asked if their order books were better , worse , or the same than in the previous three months . The survey showed a positive balance of + 14 percent , a significant decline from the + 54 percent recorded in July 2017 . Mirroring the trend of order books , current sales volumes continued to show a positive balance of + 11 percent , though this represented a marked slowdown to the balance of + 51 percent reported by the previous survey . Future sales remained in positive territory at + 14 percent , roughly the same as in July . Current sales margins declined with a negative balance of -12 percent and member companies expected this trend to continue at least for the following three months .
Green Supply Chain Award
Technology network Elemica has won the Supply &
Demand Chain Executive Green Supply Chain Award for 2017 . This is Elemica ’ s 9th consecutive win of the award that recognises small , mid-size and large enterprises that leveraged green practices and solutions to drive sustainable improvements in their supply chain . Elemica was chosen for helping clients improve and achieve measurable sustainability goals through the automation of manual processes .
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