1. Initiating a Project
1.1 Business case
I recently joined an international polymer manufacturer with a strong presence in South Africa. In particular, polymer raw material supply to the FMCG industry, focusing on foods packaging in specifically.
South Africa has two major producers of polymers (mainly PP (polypropylene), LLDPE (linear low density polyethylene) and LDPE (low density polyethylene) with SASOL and Safripol being the main competitors. These producers are well known in the industry and offer polymer grades that are staples in the industry for food packaging. However, with the advances in polymer science and increasing pressures from changing industry demands (compliance) and dynamic consumer preferences, brand-owners and converters (the packaging manufacturers) are increasingly looking to raw material suppliers to develop new grades that can offer value to downstream process and applications.
As part of the company vision, differentiation in the grade selection to be able to fulfill all material performances is a key attribute to gain a competitive advantage against local legacy grades and also to showcase the technological advances the company can offer to assist brand-owners and converters to deliver on their value offerings.
The project to host a packaging seminar was born. This will provide the opportunity to have all key stakeholders in one location to engage in customer education as to the grades and technological advances it possess but also the showcase successful implementation at global blue-chip FMCH companies. It also allows for networking opportunities with potential new customers but also the engage in dialogue to understand their needs and expectation in order for us as a company to assist them and create long-term customer lock-in.
1.2 Project selection
1.2.1The approach to this seminar has the following permutations:
- Project A: Two week Seminar in Q1 2017, with week 1 focusing on Flexible packaging and week 2 on Rigid packaging
- Project B: One week seminar in Q1 2017 focusing on Flexible packaging only and another week in Q2 2017 focusing on Rigid packaging only
- Project C: One week seminar in Q1 2017, focusing on one specific premium grade of materials as introduction to the South African market
1.2.2 Criteria
- Criteria 1: Cost – budget for the different seminar(s)
- Criteria 2: Time – the amount of time dedicated to the seminar(s)
- Criteria 3: Scope – The scope of the seminar as to what specific packaging type should be discussed or only a certain premium grade
- Criteria 4: Location – since most flexible converters are located in Johannesburg and rigid converter in Durban, it should be considered that potential site visits after the seminar and the up-take of the seminar due to travelling should be taken into consideration.
1.3 Project brief/charter
The project is aimed at introducing the polymer raw material supplier* to the South African packaging market as a major competitor in all applications. The company has a strong presence in the industry and in the local market but is mainly know for certain materials. The local competitors are excluding the company based on legacy materials purely due to the industry lack of knowledge in knowing that the company can provide materials of greater technological advance and remain competitive on price.
The seminar is then aimed at both flexible and rigid packaging with commodity and specialty grades that are well suited for the local market. It also aims to introduce premium (specialty) grades based on proprietary monomer usage in their formulations and processes. Having the seminar in split into Flexibles and Rigids in different quarter of 2017 allows for more intense focus on each segment and having greater reach as many of the converters play in the same space of packaging types, allowing for the process not to be diluted.
The cost implication and timing also allows for focused delivery of the seminar and the least disruption in normal business, for both the company and the attendees.
1.4 Goal and objectives statement
1.4.1 Introduction of the company as major role-player in both flexible and rigid packaging material offerings, in commodity and speciality products.
The goals for the seminar is outlined in my presentation to the company for the rational for the seminars:
1.5 Stakeholder engagement
1.5.1 Table of stakeholders:
| Internal stakeholders | External stakeholders | ||
| S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 | Sales Department – South Africa Management Team – South Africa Product Specialist – HQ Product Managers – HQ Sales Excellence – Turkey/Netherland Business Units – Flexibles | S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 S17 S18 | Converters – Flexible Converters – Rigids Retailers – Technologists Retailers – Procurement Brand-owners Printers Ink suppliers Press suppliers Converting machine suppliers Consumables Suppliers VDS Media (arrangements) Print and Packaging Media |