In Person
The pinks and the blues
Alpha and LSG Sky Chefs set up a joint venture in the UK in October 2012. Jo Austin finds out from Lance Hayward how it’s all going four months down the line
OBH: This joint venture brings together two very large companies with different backgrounds and very different mind sets. How is the
integration working out? LH We have a massive change agenda and one of the benefits of having tough common goals is that it really bonds people together and breeds mutual respect. There’s a buzz and excitement about the place that comes naturally when organisations take a positive step forward and it’s great to be a part of it!
How have your customers reacted? Our customers have been tremendously supportive from the outset. They fully understand that we are in the process of building a strong sustainable organisation that is willing to invest in developing its capabilities so that we can align and add value to their individual strategies.
So what’s changing and when? The business integration process is in full swing and we are trying to get as much done in the relatively quiet winter months as we possibly can. Notably, we are in the process of: • consolidating a number of sites where there is surplus capacity
• leveraging our greater purchasing volumes • rolling out target operating models and structures throughout the organisation based on best practice drawn from both Alpha and LSG Sky Chefs
• launching a ‘cloud’- based IT infrastructure and extending the established LSG SAP modules into the Alpha sites. (In other words, coordinating all the resources and information needed to complete business processes)
That’s quite a list. Has there been much service disruption? We serve over 75 airlines that expect the highest level of attention
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and our underlying priority throughout the integration is service stability. To make this happen we have established a fully-resourced integration team as well as a ‘day to day’ leadership team to ensure business continuity. To date, I am very pleased to report, service standards have not only been maintained but in many cases they have improved.
What will the new organisation look like? Under the leadership of Ken Adamson, ceo, and Axel Bilstein, cfo, our organisational design covering Heathrow and regional airports will share support services such as finance, IT and procurement. The leadership team is formed of a nice balance of ex Alpha and LSG Sky Chefs senior management with the addition of some ‘new blood’ from KPMG and dnata.
What is the relationship of the joint venture with the wider LSG Sky Chefs and Alpha/ dnata organisations? Both LSG Sky Chefs and Alpha/dnata shareholders have the same vision, which is to build a successful
(L-R front row): Niall Gordon, development chef LHR (former Alpha), Carl Jones, product development manager (former Alpha), Shamraiz Khan, sous chef (former LSG Sky Chefs), Vijay Heera, sous chef (former LSG Sky Chefs). (L-R back row): Steve NG, Chinese chef (former Alpha), Tony Gupta, senior chef (former Alpha), Keith Phipps, sous chef (former Alpha)
and admired customer-focused organisation. While Alpha LSG is a standalone UK business responsible solely for its own performance, access to our shareholder networks and the subsequent ability to support our customers’ pan-European and global objectives is a key element of Alpha LSG’s customer proposition going forward.
And what is your role in all of this? As director of integration and strategy development, I have a dual role. The first relates to the implementation of the joint venture consolidation strategy, which is a great opportunity to see a plan through from its inception to its fulfilment. The second is to build on that strategic plan for the future. As you know, in this business you can’t afford to relax for a moment!
www.alphalsg.co.uk
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