2018 Irish Enterprise Award

32 EU BUSINESS NEWS / 2018 Irish Enterprise Awards , Best Logistics & Supply Chain Company 2018 Exertis Supply Chain Services (SCS) is a leader inmaterials supply chain design and operation, supporting clients around the world. We invited Neal Johnston, the company’s Managing Director to tell us more about the firmand explore how it has come to be named Best Logistics & Supply Chain Company 2018 in our prestigious Irish Enterprise Awards. value materials; minimising inventories, expedites and product line shortages; and removing the indirect costs associated with materials unavailability.” “Alongside this, we also optimise capital by accurately planning our client’s production capacity and matching materials supply with demand, ensuring they hold just the right amount of inventory at the right locations. Our unique ‘pay on consumption’ financing model also means that our clients only invoice us for stock once it has been shipped and paid for by their end customer, preserving their cash-flow for the longest possible time.” “Through vendor consolidation, we take complexity out of our clients’ supply chains, managing their supplier networks from materials sourcing, procurement and materials management through to customer fulfilment.” Providing this one-of-a-kind service offering would not be possible without a dedicated workforce of professional, talented staff. Neal reveals how collaboration is central to every aspect of the group’s work and how this helps to ensure the success of both clients and the group itself. “Throughout the Exertis group, there is clear emphasis on excellence founded on a group- wide culture of collaboration. We are unique in the supply chain services division in that we provide an offering that our sister companies do not, and vice versa. As such, many of our client projects are the result of business unit collaborations, each providing complementary and differentiated services. Where we provide upstream solutions such as materials sourcing, procurement and financing, our sister companies can provide distribution and logistics support. Exertis can provide a truly end to end integrated supply chain and distribution service. “Fundamentally, the key to our success is our people. We have global cross- functional teams comprising project management, supply chain, sourcing and procurement, engineering, quality and materials management expertise. The right recruitment, training and development is essential for us to stay on top of our game and ahead of the competition, and as such it remains our core focus.” This will be particularly vital as the group looks to the future, which is filled with exciting opportunities for further growth and prosperity. Neal concludes by exploring these developments and how the group’s position will allow it to fully take advantage of these. “In Ireland, we are witnessing really positive developments as the economy returns to strong growth. In particular, we are seeing more engagement from manufacturing firms seeking to scale their operations both nationally and internationally. Young, high growth companies, are especially in need of supply chain support, as they want to scale their sales and business development activities without the burden of managing complex and time consuming supply chain activities. “While many people are worried about the uncertainty posed by Brexit, we are already helping our clients to navigate these unchartered waters. For us, Brexit presents a huge opportunity for Irish companies to gain global competitive advantage over their UK based rivals.” “Overall, the exciting part about being a DCC company is the group’s clear focus on performance and growth. The DCC group turned over £12.3 billion in its latest financial year, and since its flotation on the London Stock Exchange in 1994, the group has invested £2.4 billion on strategic acquisitions.” “Therefore, as a global supply chain company, we are ideally positioned to support Irish companies seeking to mitigate the risks of Brexit and capitalise on new business opportunities.” GBA17005 Established in 1978, Exertis SCS is a global outsourcing partner to many of the world’s leading technology, consumer electronics, pharmaceutical and industrial companies. These firms entrust Exertis SCS with key aspects of their supply chains in order to achieve more cost effective and efficient manufacturing and distribution, shorter lead times to market, a reduced cost base and lower inventory levels. Exertis SCS is a member of the Exertis group which is part of DCC plc, Ireland’s second largest company, employing 10,000 people worldwide with an annual turnover of £12.3 billion, and its operations extend across Ireland, Europe, the US and Asia. Drawing on this vast global reach and the combined experience of the group, Exertis SCS is able to offer clients a truly unique service that helps save them money, time, and resources, as Neal is keen to highlight. “Exertis SCS is different from the competition in that we provide a truly end-to- end service that delivers real and quantifiable bottom line benefits. Through our expert people, systems and processes, we deliver cost, capital and complexity optimisation for our clients. We reduce our clients’ costs by sourcing the best