Case: Arla – Raising the level of supply chain leadership

NEW METHODS AND SKILLS FOR MANAGING

The aim of the collaboration between Trainers’ House and Arla was to ensure even smoother operation of Arla’s supply chain and good delivery reliability.

”In particular, we focused on managers’ ways and capabilities of managing the supply chain and the people working in it”, says Jani Suominen, Senior Director, Supply Chain at Arla.

The implementation of the objectives and activities was monitored with BEAT-change management platform and in steering group meetings. BEAT guided and supported the personal key activities throughout the collaboration and provided transparency to joint progress. The BEAT response rate was over 90 % and the success rate was 83 %. The objective for the manager-level leadership index was set at a two percentage point increase to 78 % – the result after six months of collaboration was 84 %. After a year, the figure was 87 %. The average score for the assessment of one’s own supervisor increased from 73 % to 90 %.

”Regular personal sparring supported the change in management and strengthening of skills at the personal level. We were able to get deeper into the themes than in many previous programs. During our collaboration, the managers were welded together well as a team, and they perceived concrete improvement at the personal level with regard to managing themselves and people, for example”, Suominen says.

THE MANAGEMENT’S COMMITMENT TO FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH THE CHANGE IS DECISIVE

The commitment of Arla’s supply chain management team to the shared objectives and activities was crucial from the point of view of the change. In our collaboration, the actions of the supply chain management team members were exemplary, which laid a good foundation for the further development of managerial work.