The Job of a Supply Chain Manager – With Mario Janssen
In this article, we zoom in with Mario Janssen, Supply Chain Manager, on his work within a fast-growing organization such as Ojah. Ojah operates from Ochten (Gelderland, The Netherlands) and is a producer of plant-based meat substitutes. We discuss Ojah’s ‘timeline’ and what this means in a job as a Supply Chain Manager. Ojah is growing at a record pace and this growth is not stopping anytime soon.
De timeline of Ojah B.V.
”Ojah was founded in 2009 by Frank Giezen, Jeroen Willemsen and Wouter Jansen. They were colleagues and together they formed a unique additional team: Frank as an Entrepreneur, Jeroen as a Communication Strategist and Wouter as a Technology Specialist. All three had a background in food engineering.
When the opportunity arose to do tests themselves, one of their ideas immediately turns out to be a smashing success. Using extrusion, they can make a material from soy flour and water that has the same fiber structure as meat. When Frank tastes it for the first time, he says the for Ojah legendary words: “Gosh, it’s just like chicken!” That discovery is the foundation for the company. The product: plant-based chicken, with the same texture, the same taste (if you want), but with a much lower ecological footprint. They call the product Plenti, where “plant-based” and “plenty” are being combined into a product name that now becomes the industry standard for high-quality texturized meat alternatives.
It is now impossible to imagine life without meat substitutes on supermarket shelves and they have been making huge strides, especially in the last 5 years. The demand forecasts for the future are also clear when it comes to the growth potential of this market.
“In particular, the basis and structure of the organization had to be established in a short time. The focus must be on collaboration, while at the same time drawing clear boundaries was needed. In this way, the various departments such as production, quality and logistics were able to excel in their specialty”.
The Supply Chain organization
“With this being said, I realize myself that I have been working for Ojah for already 3 years now and I experience what this growth can do to an organization. With an annual growth of at least 70%, everyone is called upon to be flexible and adaptable.
The dynamics that are associated with such growth are enormous and request a lot from the people within your organization. It is a great compliment to the employees of Ojah who are supporting within this.
In 2018 the Supply Chain team consisted of three people and it was more a logistics organization that had been created in the previous years under the leadership of the Technical Director. Production cooperated a lot when it comes to logistics processes (pallet transport, replenishing production raw materials, etc.), Finance took care of purchasing and Excel was the source of information, such as stock and customer order planning.
The Supply Chain team now consists of 21 people. We work in a 5-shift system and there is a new cold store with automated racks for optimal storage density. We now use a robot to palletize our own crates with Ojah logo. We have completed an ERP implementation and people enjoy working on the highest product quality in a great company.
All ingredients are ready for the step abroad!”
Tips for Supply Chain managers
”As an SCM, it is first and foremost important to understand the chain. Who are your suppliers, what does your internal organization look like and to which customers/markets do we supply our product? You then use the information obtained to build a stable and efficient chain together with all actors and factors within and outside your organization. This requires change processes and it is important to involve people in your story and to make them enthusiastic about such a change. Good relations and clear agreements are an important starting point for creating support.
I have learned that the basis of a good Supply Chain starts with a stable internal flow between departments within your own organization. Support through the correct information provision/ERP system is a must-have to continuously monitor and adjust the performance of your organization. This provides peace-of-mind and overview.
In short: get to know your organization and make an inventory of the market requirements. In the event of a lack of resources, implement solutions from third parties such as personnel, temporary storage and distribution solutions. Help is essential in a rapidly growing company. Take advantage of the opportunities that the market offers here.”
