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Holding course in challenging times

Holding course in challenging times

CEO Foreword
 
Dear reader,
 
Coronavirus restrictions are slowly being lifted in the Netherlands. With summer approaching, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the hospitality industry. Hair salons were allowed to open their doors earlier, albeit with the necessary precautions. Here, too, the lockdown relaxations came none too soon. Jaap Zwiers, CEO of Total Hair Service, experienced it up close.

Total Hair Service is one of the Netherlands’ largest suppliers of professional hairdressing products. The company entered into a partnership with Oldenburger|Fritom in early 2020. Since then, we are responsible for the online shop of Total Hair Service and we take care of the complete order fulfillment. Recently, we asked Jaap about his experience with our e-fulfillment solutions. You can read the pleasant interview we had with him.

Just as hair salons, schools for special education were permitted to re-open some time ago. As a result, “Vita On Tour”, an event of the Special Heroes Foundation, could take place at the end of April. Oldenburger|Fritom provided the foundation with support in the form of a transportation solution. You can read more about it in this newsletter.

This time our recurring feature “The world around us” is about the developments in container shipping. In the second half of last year, when world trade picked up sharply, there was a global shortage of empty shipping containers. This led to huge delays and increasing freight rates.

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Despite the many challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Oldenburger|Fritom is holding its course. We also now focus on stimulating a growth mindset. Internal trainings in the Lean Six Sigma method are a part of this focus. You can read about our colleagues who recently obtained the Lean Six Sigma Orange Belt certificate.

I wish you much reading pleasure.

Sincerely,
René Dale

 


‘The human side of Oldenburger|Fritom was the deciding factor’

At the beginning of 2020, just before the coronavirus outbreak, Total Hair Service and Oldenburger|Fritom entered into a partnership. Since then, we are responsible for their B2B online shop. We recently spoke with Jaap Zwiers, CEO of Total Hair Service, and asked him about his experience with our e-fulfillment solutions.

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Total Hair Service is based in Groningen and was founded by Jaap Zwiers in 1992.
The company has grown into one of the Netherlands’ largest suppliers of professional hairdressing products.


What kind of company is Total Hair Service?
“We are a supplier of hair and beauty products that only carries professional brands. We make a distinction between general brands like L'Oréal and special brands. For these special brands we have set up a separate branch: Experience by Total Hair. This branch includes the brands Affinage, CHI, Alter Ego, Balmain and Biosilk, for which we have exclusive distribution rights. In addition, these experience brands are actively protected and linked to education.”

Can you explain what is meant by active protection and the link with education?
“Unlike general brands such as L'Oréal, experience brands belong exclusively to hair salons. Through active protection we prevent these brands from being sold in online shops and hairdressers' shops. Education also plays an important role in this. Due to COVID-19, we make use of Zoom. In this way, we have now provided education for more than a thousand people in the hairdressing industry.”

What is the relationship between general brands and experience brands?
“Currently, our product portfolio is made up of 30 percent general brands and 70 percent experience brands. Our goal is for this 70 percent to eventually become 100 percent. We want to be a unique experience partner for hair salons. This is also the reason why we focus exclusively on B2B. We don't want to compete with our own customers.”
 

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Operation Oldenburger|Fritom


How did Total Hair Service come to Oldenburger|Fritom?
“We decided to outsource the activities that are not part of our core business. Because customer satisfaction is most important to us, we were looking for a partner who could offer added value to our entire logistics chain. In other words, a partner that offers quality and that could further professionalize our order-to-delivery cycle. That's how our search ended up at Oldenburger|Fritom.”

What made you decide to choose for us?
“Your employees played an important role in our choice. Our first contact was with Erik Mekkes and Marienus van der Laan. We experienced these conversations as very pleasant. As a Logistics Manager, Erik is still an important contact point for us. The human side of Oldenburger|Fritom in particular was the deciding factor for us.”

Have your expectations come true?
“Our expectations have certainly come true. Your employees are proactive and we always know what to expect from them. The high degree of reliability is very important to us. The same applies to the continuous focus on quality and the proposals for process optimization. We are convinced we made a good choice by entering into a partnership with Oldenburger|Fritom.”
 



The Special Heroes Foundation: Anyone can be a hero!
Active participation in society is not self-evident for everyone. People with disabilities are often left by the wayside and this has negative consequences for their health. The Special Heroes Foundation is committed to promoting a healthy and active lifestyle for these people. This is also part of Oldenburger|Fritom's CSR policy. That is why the foundation could count on our support during their “Vita On Tour” event at the end of April.

About Special Heroes
The Special Heroes Foundation was established in 2016. Special Heroes' mission is to allow more people with disabilities to be active in their spare time. The foundation works together with various partners to achieve its mission. In this way, the foundation offers a varied selection of activities in the field of:

  • sports and exercise
  • art and culture
  • work and work participation
  • nutrition and health


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“Vita On Tour”
One of the events that Special Heroes organizes is “Vita On Tour”. Vita is the foundation's mascot and visits various schools for special education throughout the Netherlands during this event. Students of these schools are introduced to a healthy and active lifestyle. A wide range of activities are provided that are in line with the programs Sport Heroes, Art Heroes and Healthy Heroes.

Transportation solution
Social sustainability is also an important part of Oldenburger|Fritom's CSR policy. We work with various partners to give shape to our commitment to society. When we were approached by Oscar Elsinga, Project Manager Events at Special Heroes, we were happy to talk to him. We asked him where we can offer support as a logistics service provider.

Oscar indicated that the foundation would like to make use our company bus. Mainly intended to transport the materials for “Vita On Tour”. Meanwhile, we have understood that the event has again been a great success. We are pleased that we have been able to make a small contribution to this.
 

fca40cb5-e501-4b72-8a41-68f04a3d743f.pngThe world around us
Developments in container shipping

World trade picked up sharply in the second half of last year. This led to a great shortage of empty shipping containers, especially in China. There were huge delays and freight rates reached record levels. A fivefold increase in rates on the shipping route between Asia and Europe was certainly no exception at the beginning of this year.

Container shipping is still sometimes more expensive than the costs of products that are being transported. Another consequence is that some of the otherwise cheap Chinese products have gone up in price. In addition, various European manufacturers who depend on parts and raw materials from Asia are forced to apply longer delivery times. The Suez Canal blockade last March has only exacerbated these problems.

This is a reason for some companies to switch to air freight. For a long time, however, air cargo traffic also suffered from significant capacity shortages. This was mainly caused by a drop in belly capacity of passenger flights. The effects of the capacity shortages in container shipping and air cargo traffic will be noticeable until the end of 2021.

Are you also looking for the optimum mode of transportation for your products? Thanks to a strong global partner network, Oldenburger|Fritom can offer you the best solution for both air freight and sea freight. Feel free to inquire about the possibilities.
 
 

Internal trainings in Lean Six Sigma
Oldenburger|Fritom embraces the growth mindset. This strengthens our Lean Six Sigma business operations. We focus on continuous improvement in which our customer relationships are always central. Our employees play an all-determining role in this. That is why we regularly organize internal trainings in the Lean Six Sigma method. Also, or perhaps especially, at this time of crisis.

 
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All employees at Oldenburger|Fritom are offered the opportunity to follow a Lean Six Sigma course. Recently, several colleagues from various departments have successfully completed the Orange Belt course. They became certified last March.

 
Stimulating the growth mindset
In order to be able to continuously optimize and innovate according to Lean Six Sigma, we stimulate a mindset that is focused on growth. A growth mindset culture improves the mental resilience, enabling a more flexible response to changes. Even when these changes are the result of a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, a growth mindset culture leads to more motivation and structurally better performances. Every reason, therefore, to continue our internal trainings in Lean Six Sigma even after the coronavirus outbreak. Naturally, with due observance of all coronavirus measures.

Orange Belt certification
The Orange Belt course is one of the Lean Six Sigma courses that we provide internally. Orange Belts can lead small improvement projects and contribute to extensive Lean projects. The course is in between the Yellow Belt course and the Green Belt course. From bottom to top, the different Lean Six Sigma levels are:
  • Yellow Belt
  • Orange Belt
  • Green Belt
  • Black Belt
  • Master Black Belt


The Orange Belt course is given internally by Frans Andeweg. Frans is our Master Black Belt and he has set up the course according to the DMAIC model: Define - Measure - Analyze - Improve - Control.

Combination of theory and practice
In eight sessions, Frans connects theory to practical assignments. The theory of the Orange Belt course covers topics such as: “What is Lean?” and “What is Six Sigma?” In addition, attention is paid to managing resistance to change. Based on the theoretical knowledge gained, our colleagues complete practical assignments in between. These assignments include analyzing data and applying improvement methods.

 

Interested in learning more about our services and solutions?
Do you have a question, suggestion or logistic challenge for us?
Please contact us without any obligation: we are happy to help you!
Contact us via sales@oldenburgerfritom.nl

 

Veendam | Emmen | Schiphol-Rijk | Tatabánya (HU) | Bergamo (IT)

   
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