September 27, 2018
PUM supports small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries by sending experienced experts to share their knowledge and experience. PUM provided support to Pearlspot in Harare, Zimbabwe by sending Peter Bol, a Senior Supply Chain expert.
Pearlspot is a production company for bottled "purified water" and a distribution company for "other" consumer products. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging time for businesses in Zimbabwe. After the pandemic, Pearlspot experienced strong growth in their business. The fourth quarter of 2023 was a record quarter. Pearlspot has also predicted strong growth in the coming years. This puts pressure on "back office" processes such as order management, warehouse management, transport and distribution, as well as the organization, the number of new people involved, and their roles and responsibilities. Also, the systems and how they interact with the organization. These are the areas I worked on with Pearlspot.
Zimbabwe has a subtropical climate. Temperatures range between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. The quality of the water network is not very good. This means that the demand for clean water is high and growing. Shops, and there are many of them, are the main suppliers of clean bottled water. For now, Pearlspot serves the Harare region; the city has 1.4 million inhabitants and the area 2.8 million people. Growth is now focused on expanding the business throughout Zimbabwe.
The official assignment was to examine the back-office processes and provide observations and recommendations for the company. During my first days, David, the general manager, took me around and introduced me to the company's various processes. Quite quickly, thanks to the excellent cooperation of David and the entire company staff, we focused on:
At Pearlspot, there are various systems, mainly focused on accounting and customer activity. Additionally, each department generates reports: production, warehouse, transport, and distribution reports. So, overall, the company has a lot of data. We determined that the use of this data can be significantly improved. It requires proper data collection, data registration, and the development of standard reports plus analyses to support special activities such as investments.
When space becomes scarce, people get very creative about where they put their goods. At Pearlspot, business fluctuations and growth have created more demand for space. To find this space, using an area outside the production site was a big step. You add complexity to managing multiple locations for storing raw materials, semi-finished goods, and finished products. It requires planning! Ultimately, we created three warehouse locations and devised a logic for what to store where.
The number of employees within Pearlspot has grown rapidly. The management team has grown from 3 to 7 people in the past 4 months. This creates a need for rapid learning, as not everyone is immediately up to speed in their new position. Some of the organizational structures are still based on the old situation. Together with the team, we developed a new "who does what" along with an organizational structure.
A larger company, more people involved, more sales, more products, the complexity of two streams – a production stream and a distribution stream. The necessity of "how to collaborate." To address this topic, I adapted and introduced the Sales & Operations Planning process. This is a planning process to balance a company's supply and demand. For now, I have presented and explained the model, realizing that much work needs to be done before S&OP is adopted.
During my stay, we also identified several future areas we want to focus on, namely: sustainability, eco-friendly packaging, and the right water source! Plenty to explore in the future!
UC Group works everywhere — our professionals are based across the Benelux. We welcome visitors at our offices in Rotterdam and Nieuwkuijk. Drop by for a coffee and get to know us!
