72 delegates from more than 50 companies were at the winter convention of the Oliver Wight EAME Proven Path Club to hear business success stories from leading companies across a diverse range of industries - from utilities and food to distribution and logistics, engineering and chemicals.

Inspirational presentations at the conference’s east Midlands venue also had an international flavour with presenters and their subject matter coming from as far afield as Holland, Poland Spain and Brazil, as well as the UK. The speaker programme included npower, Heinz, CAT Logistics, DSM NeoResins and Perkins Engines.

Gerard de Brujn from Heinz was presented with two Class A milestone awards by Oliver Wight EAME president Andrew Purton - Heinz’s Netherlands and Poland operations achieved Class A for ‘Capable Integrated Business Management’ this summer, just 12 months after setting out on their Class A journey. The company which calls its Integrated Business Management programme Heinz Business Management (HBM) is now delivering performance metrics of between 95 and 99 percent right across its Northern European operation. Gerard de Bruijn, Heinz HBM leader for continental Europe: “80% of HBM is content and 20% organisation; it’s not just a process. A 24-month horizon allows us to pre-empt any potential gaps in performance and we now have between 20 and 30 high-end products in development a year.”

Meanwhile, Trevor Yeoman, business excellence programme leader at npower says Integrated Business Management has turned the 8,500-employee company into ‘retail business with a single agenda’. Faced with dramatic changes in market dynamics and a new CEO, plus major company restructure and increasing shareholder demands, nPower implemented Integrated Business Management to align its business and raise the bar on performance. Just six months into the programme, the company’s CEO, David Threlfall is already describing Integrated Business Management as “the way we run our business.” Programme manager, Massimo Stanghellini says success has come from deep within the organisation “Individuals and teams have become re-energised; they take ownership and their activities are fully aligned to the company’s KPIs.”

Engine manufacturer, Perkins, which employs 2,700 staff at its HQ in Peterborough and manufactures in Brazil as well as the UK, introduced Integrated Business Management off the back of a successful sales and operations planning (S&OP) programme. In 2004, faced with major product supply issues, the company was forced back into focusing on the short-term. Forecast inaccuracy was fluctuating between 80% and 1,700% as a result, so the company set itself the ambitious goal of getting that down to 10% by 2006; in fact it reached a staggering 3% in October, just 15 months later. Business integration manager, Dawn Dent, business integration manager: “Integrated Business Management gives us a much longer time horizon than S&OP for risks and opportunities; we can be certain we’ve got the right product mix and we have complete confidence in our forecasts all the way down to accountable profit.”

At CAT Logistics’ Spanish operation, Integrated Business Management is supported by a series of integrated databases for the company’s training, planning and CI processes, allowing self-assessment to become a regular, employee-owned activity, underpinning a continuous improvement mentality in the business. The company achieved Class A standard in September. Kirsty Braines, European supply chain and business manager: “The ‘Wow’ factor inspired by the programme cannot be overstated. The databases reinforce people’s behaviour and we have a totally committed workforce with a very low attrition rate.”

At DSM Neoresins, which manufactures additives for paints and adhesives, being ‘best in class’ is not a matter choice but of survival. The Dutch company which depends heavily on new product introduction for its market-leading position has achieved Class A in all five chapters of the 5th edition checklist after a 14 year relationship with Oliver Wight; it is now making plans to move onto the sixth edition. DSM Neoresins recently conducted an independent audit of its company culture and recorded record results. Human resources manager Stef Wilders says, “It’s not individuals but teams which deliver results and that’s how people are recognised and rewarded. We have created a ‘positive culture of discontent,’ which allows us to drive continuous improvement”. In 2005 a surge in demand was matched with a sudden shortfall in the availability of raw materials causing the company’s usual 95%-plus on-time-in-full (OTIF) performance to drop significantly. Senior business director Sjack Griifoen says, “Our customers helped us during that period but Class A saved us because the willingness to put things right was already in place.” ‘Orders-on-request’ was restored to a sustainable 95%-plus inside 12 months.

The next Proven Path club meetings are Thursday 8th March and Thursday 29th November, 2007. To book your place, please contact Veronica Jones 01452 397200, veronica.jones@oliverwight-eame.com .