BSH | MANUFACTURER PROFILE
ANDREAS MEIER
1998
Stay close to the customers, understand their needs and utilise the professionalism and collaborative culture of the team
The new warehouse and customer service centre
Andreas Meier joins BSH as an in-house consultant in the company’s Corporate Development Division – Strategy and Planning in Munich.
2000
Meier is appointed as director of product marketing as a member of the company’s global floorcare management committee.
2003
He becomes global director of corporate strategy where he successfully steers the organisation on course for long- term growth.
2006
the market to continue to grow at such a rate into 2015 and the demand has been phenomenal and far exceeded our initial expectations.” Naturally, the supply issues had huge implications for its network of independent retailers. However, leaders are often judged by the way they deal with difficult situations and the way Meier and his team managed the issue eventually received praise. “This was definitely one of the biggest challenges for our company in the entire time since the subsidiary was founded,” he tells me. “I was brand new to the role and to say it was a huge challenge, both for us and our trade partners and consumers, is an understatement. “The issues were not down to bad planning but, because the market reacted to these new products in such a positive way, we just could not cope with the demand. We worked extremely hard to get the situation under control and I also have to thank our tremendous trade partners for staying loyal despite the challenging situation.”
Aside from leaving the business in a solid position within the UK appliance market, perhaps the most significant part of Meier’s legacy is the development of its impressive new custom-built warehouse and customer service centre.
Expected to be operational from February, the new 945,000sq ft development on Midlands Logistics Park near Corby, Northamptonshire, is more than double the size of its current site in Kettering. This project not only signals a major investment for BSH, but also underlines its commitment to the UK in the face of growing Brexit uncertainty.
According to BSH, it has the largest footprint of any warehouse to be built in the UK in the past five years
December 2019 · kbbreview
and I’m told that you can fit 14 football pitches inside the warehouse. “We’ve outgrown our current site in Kettering –
where we’ve been for almost 15 years – and, since 2015 have been using several buffer warehouses to help us meet demand. The idea was to consolidate all of those storage areas into one large location in order for us to be more efficient and bring all of our core personnel into one building.
Logistics
“It may just look like a big warehouse, but it’s much more than that. We call it our central customer hub and, once complete, the new facility will significantly enhance our logistics services and our well-recognised customer service we currently provide.” At peak times, there will be upwards of 400 people – across a variety of roles – based at the new facility and this, Meier tells me, was a significant factor in the hunt to find the right location.
“It has taken us almost two years to find the right location, because it was absolutely paramount for us that we did not lose any personnel,” he explains. As the interview draws to a close, I ask Meier if he has any words of advice to offer his successor. “In short, stay close to the customers, understand their needs and utilise
the professionalism and
collaborative culture of the BSH team,” he says. “It is an uncertain and challenging time, but I’m sure the UK and Ireland will continue to enjoy the success we’ve shared recently.”
• As we went press, a successor to the UK and Ireland CEO role had yet to be announced.
kbbr 31
Meier is appointed managing director of BSH Thailand. During this time, he makes the subsidiary the market leader in the premium builder segment.
2009
After almost three years, he moves to BSH North America, where he becomes a member of the board of directors and senior vice-president, product division cooking. Under his leadership, the division is restructured and turned into the most profitable division in North America.
2011
Meier returns to BSH Germany as senior vice-president, product division laundry care.
2014 Meier is appointed CEO of BSH UK and Ireland. During his five- year term the subsidiary sees market share grow along with an increase in revenue.
2020 In February 2020, Meier will relocate to Germany to take over BSH’s global small domestic appliances business.
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