A Strategic Solution

02 July 2010

The European partnership between Sodexo and P&G covers 23 operational plants in nine countries for soft services, showing how a trusting relationship can grow across borders … and continents

WINNERS OF THE European FM Award for the Partner Across Borders category this year demonstrate that partnership is the bedrock of relationships to deliver support services to the most complex facilities wherever they are located. The judges noted this and commented, “The relationship ‘culture’ between P&G and Sodexo may be one of its strongest assets and a key success factor in this partnership.”

P&G was looking for a facilities provider that could leverage experience and expertise globally to allow plant managers to focus on core priorities. In 2004, Sodexo began working with P&G to explore ways to reduce costs by improving systems and services, simplifying processes and leveraging scale.

P&G saw how Sodexo delivered its On-Site Services Solutions consistently while being flexible enough to adapt to each of the factories’ varied and changing environments. Sodexo’s interaction with local P&G teams at each location was important as it supported P&G in driving change from within the organisation. This combined with Sodexo’s cost efficient predominantly self-delivery model and the company’s people-focused culture convinced P&G to sign an agreement for soft services at all of its European factories. P&G’s Global Business Services (GBS) led the relationship connecting with Sodexo’s International Large Accounts (ILA) team, supporting the strong joint approach required to engage the manufacturing plants.

Together they partnered to deliver a best in class transition driven by a global roll-out structure and strong governance. One of the key strengths of the relationship structure was that it facilitated interaction at all levels of the P&G and Sodexo organisations, which in turn supported the widespread understanding of critical global objectives and local buy-in.

Currently, the European region includes 23 live operational plants in nine countries - Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and UK. The operational structure, built to facilitate governance, drive consistency and innovation as well to provide operational support at a local level, has enabled a successful roll-out at these sites and will support the additional plants that are scheduled to transition in 2010.

P&G and Sodexo worked together to create a comprehensive toolbox to ensure consistency and to simplify the transition process, making it easier and more cost efficient for P&G to consolidate services under one provider.

Jointly-defined performance metrics are shared across all sites and are monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure that service delivery meets P&G expectations. Service quality and excellence are supported by an online platform that tracks the financial and performance metrics at every site. This tool guarantees transparency, facilitates result consolidation and benchmarking and is an efficient platform for informationsharing between P&G and Sodexo. The web based platform is also used for:

● Cataloguing and sharing best practices

● Supporting legal processes

● HSE management

● Building a cross-company network.

The tool helps Sodexo deliver on a local level while efficiently bringing consistency, innovation and excellence to all P&G sites and, ultimately, in delivering the value that P&G expects from consolidating services under a single provider.

An important innovation within the partnership is Sodexo’s pioneering use of an efficiency-driven process to improve FM services, reduce cost and deliver maximum additional value to P&G. Pilot site results have demonstrated that this program can significantly improve the efficiency of services delivered on site.

Innovation is also key to the account-centred FM Talent program that was developed with Sodexo’s Group Human Resource department and has brought together site managers, country personnel, the Account Team and P&G. The program reinforces cross-team building and provides training on various subjects such as roll-out tools and processes and HSE. Workshops have already taken place in France, Germany and Hungary and more are planned in the coming year.

The European relationship has grown into a global partnership between P&G and Sodexo. As a result of the company’s commitment to innovation, leading change and simplifying business processes and services, Sodexo is now regarded as one of P&G GBS’s top strategic partners.

Since the start of the successful European rollout, P&G has awarded Sodexo soft and hard services in North and South America as well as in several Asian countries. Today more than 50 manufacturing sites across about 30 countries are covered in the scope of the global agreement.

The judges said: “Not only was the relationship working well at all levels in the partnership, but you could see that P&G had learnt they could rely on their Sodexo counterpart and this now meant that Sodexo were being asked to provide support in the production process – a very good sign of a growing relationship.”

The other finalist partnerships comprising Mace Macro with Invesco, and Service Management International with Jones Lang LaSalle were also in attendance and received finalist certificates at the Awards ceremony, the highlight of the Gala Dinner of EFMC 2010 held in Madrid last month.

Research is a key element of EuroFM’s activities and the coveted Award for European FM Researcher of the Year was also presented. The winner this year was Susanne Balslev Nielsen of DTU Technical University of Denmark who was presented with her award by José García Cuartero, managing director of Grupo Cador and sponsors, Facilitec. Susanne’s research defines sustainability in a facilities management context to present a methodology for FMs to reflect their role as systems builders. Her paper suggests a role for FMs in a sustainable transition of society by changing from a typically instrumental approach to a more holistic management of facilities.

The other finalists were Tina Bailey of University College London and Elina Sillanpaa of Aalto University School of Science and Technology, Finland.

Up and coming young European FM emerging from Europe’s several university courses in Facilities Management were recognised in the European FM Student of the Year Award. The winner this year was Kriz Scheeres, a student at NHTV Breda University of Applied Science who received her award from the IFMA Foundation Pat Turnbull and Andreas Rohregger. The other finalists were Aniina Tynkkynen from Aalto University School of Science and Technology in Finland and Carola Mol from INHolland University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands.

Contact Details and Archive...

• EuroFM
• Sodexo

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