BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO EAST & CENTRAL AFRICA
Driving sustainability in the tobacco industry
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO EAST & CENTRAL AFRICA
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Enabling BAT is leading the tobacco industry by satisfying and addressing consumer needs and moments Writer: Phoebe Calver | Project Manager: Joshua Mann
ritish American Tobacco East & Central Africa Area (BAT ECAA) has diligently contributed to economic growth in its countries of operation, integrating systematic year-on-year investments into manufacturing, human resource development, product development and sustainability. BAT ECAA comprises 14 markets which are working together not as a trading entity, but as a geographical cluster of markets. The countries within this cluster include Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), La Reunion, Mauritius, Somalia,
Somaliland, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Djibouti, Comoros, Mayotte and Madagascar. There are currently more than 600 people directly employed by BAT across ECAA, with a further 85,000 individuals indirectly engaged through wholesale and retail distribution, agriculture and other third-party business partnerships. BATECAA’s tobacco growing operations partner with and support the livelihoods of more than 5,900 contracted farmers. According to BAT ECAA Area Director, Beverley Spencer – Obatoyinbo, sustainability is at the core of the business: “It is pivotally important to us that we improve our
The BAT East & Central Africa leadership team with accolades received for their recognition as a top employer
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NT focuses on offering a bestin-class service experience to customers by ensuring provision of client-friendly professional help from the time of order initiation through the technical-support phase post implementation. The Company works as a partner with its customers, and the relationship starts with a factory visit in order to determine the scope of implementation. Its product portfolio also includes software for supporting many types of continued improvement initiatives and projects, offering real-time process data acquisition, on-line data, and benchmark presentations.
Sustainability is a key focus for the business and its investments in the future
local area through our operations. This includes strengthening our approach to human rights, advancing sustainable agricultural practices amongst our farmers, driving efficiencies in manufacturing processes, developing industry-wide security systems to prevent tobacco trafficking and investing in our markets, our brands, our new product categories and our people, to name a few. “We have also contributed to economic growth across the markets we operate in. In Kenya alone, over the past five years, we have invested more than US$103 million in tobacco farming, leaf processing and our cigarette manufacturing factory in Nairobi.” Over the past decade the BAT Kenya factory in Nairobi has become a strategic manufacturing hub for the BAT Group; and in 2016 more than 60 percent of its factory output was exported to 13 countries outside Kenya. Further, the Area’s operations have contributed significant tax revenues to the governments of the various markets it operates in, amounting to approximately US$ 2 billion within the past four years.
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In addition, the company has been recognised as a Top Exporter by the Kenya Revenue Authority.
Business performance
Business performance for the Company has remained robust despite a tough macro-economic environment characterised by rising inflation and lower disposable income, spreading across all of BAT ECAA’s markets of operation. “Recently we have seen a sharp increase in taxation as the various governments try to balance their budgets,” adds Sidney Wafula, Area Head of Finance. “This has meant an increase in consumer prices, which has reduced the affordability of cigarettes, putting pressure in general on our consumers. “Despite these challenges, our operating profit has increased by five percent CAGR over the past five years, driven by pricing, introduction of innovative and affordable products and stringent cost containment measures, which include productivity initiatives and business restructuring to take advantage of technology and new improved ways of working.”
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The Company is a respected brand in the industrial software solutions market and is renowned in Europe for providing innovative products and aftermarket solutions for its customers in a timely manner. Without a doubt the Company’s biggest advantage is that they create dedicated solutions which are tailor-fit to each customer and even to each individual factory of a single customer. The Company does not sell a box solution to which the customer has to then adjust their practices. Instead, they adjust their software do fit the customer demands and requirements to make the system the most possibly useful tool which will increase the efficiency and lower the costs within the company. Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx For its strong overall performance, ANT has earned Frost & Sullivan’s 2017 Price/ Performance Value Leadership Award in the MES for food & beverage market.
The full Frost & Sullivan report on ANT can be found under www.antsolutions. eu/about-us/
T +48 12 296 50 40 E ant@antsolutions.pl
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Dedicated solutions that solve real manufacturing problems
With more than 350 implementations around the world, employing over 70 engineers and developers in 30 countries for more than 10 years. See how ANT Industrial Software Solutions can help you improve your factory’s efficiency by a double-digit.
ANT Sp. z o. o. Wadowicka 8A Street 30-415 KrakĂłw Poland T: +48 12 296 50 40 E: ant@antsolutions.pl
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BOLLORÉ LOGISTICS Bolloré Logistics – a reliable partner in supply chain logistics Bolloré Logistics is a global leader in international freight forwarding and logistics. As a tier-one supply chain partner, the Company draws from an indepth experience and understanding of supply chain logistics to deliver customfit solutions for a wide variety of clients in different industries around the world.
BAT supports balanced and evidence-based regulation, helping to achieve public health objectives
The key challenges faced by the business include the illicit and dutynot-paid tobacco products, inequitable and unsustainable tax increases, protectionist government policies and draconian legislation that inhibits BAT ECAA’s ability to meet the needs of its consumers. “Despite these challenges, we continue to focus on our mission to be the best at meeting our consumers’ needs. We will provide innovative quality products while pursuing opportunities to enter new markets to further grow shareholder value,” explains Wafula. “In order to be the best at satisfying consumer moments in tobacco and beyond, a central part of our strategy is to achieve a portfolio of inspiring and innovative products,” states Darryn Bassa, Area Head of Marketing. From an innovation perspective, we have introduced new-to-market capsule offers which deliver multiple flavours in one cigarette for key brands such as Dunhill, Rothmans and Benson & Hedges into markets such as Somalia, Kenya and Mauritius.” Tolga Kilic, General Manager for
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East African Markets adds: “BAT has a long history in the ECAA region and therefore the consumers in these markets trust our brands and have interacted with them for many years. For example, the Company has been in operation in Kenya for over 100 years and has been listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) for almost 50 years.” The BAT Group has been a leading tobacco company in the world for over a century and is now the largest publically traded tobacco company in the world after its acquisition of Reynolds American in mid-2017. The combination of these factors has enabled BAT ECAA to build valuable knowledge to support and build its brand portfolio, combining local strength and global trends, satisfying current consumer requirements.
One of the corporate values of the Company is long term commitment and this is embodied by its relationship with British American Tobacco in Kenya and Eastern Africa, which begun in 2009 as an international freight forwarder and continues into 2017, where the Company now handles multiple supply chain operations for BAT, including the main logistics services centre – which is responsible for the supply of all outbound exports to 17 markets in East & Southern Africa, among other services. With presence in 46 countries in Africa, and 105 countries globally, the Company offers end-to-end supply chain efficiency and control, affording its clients the convenience of a singular accountability for all their logistics requirements. The Company invests in the human resource, equipment and infrastructure necessary to optimise supply chain operations including online based platforms to aid its clients in decision making, cargo tracking and supply chain management, all with a view to improve the efficacy and visibility of the logistics chain. The Company holds a stellar record in health and safety compliance, as well as customs and regulatory matters. Add value to your supply chain – Call Bolloré Logistics today.
Building a legacy of leaders
In order to keep up the excellent standards that the Company has been delivering for the past century, its recruitment processes ensure that the right talent is sourced for the right roles.
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T: +254 20 642 1000 E: info.nbo@bollore.com
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With an integrated worldwide network of 601 agencies in 105 countries, Bolloré Transport & Logistics develops unique tailormade supply chain solutions for your business. Our services include: Multimodal Transport • Customs & Regulatory Compliance • Global Supply Chain • Value-Added Warehousing • Industrial Project Logistics Bolloré Transport & Logistics East Africa Head Office Tel. +254 20 642 1000 • Email: info.nbo@bollore.com Bolloré Transport & Logistics East Africa Head Office www.bollore-transport-logistics.com
Working in partnership with retailers both large and small to add value to their business. Efforts are directed at ensuring products are available to adult tobacco consumers in the region reguardless of where they are
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EXP KENYA
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xp is Africa’s largest and leading Experiential Marketing Agency, using Live Experiences to Amplify Reach, Convert Customers and Drive Sales. We believe in the Brand Experience to bring communication to Life and Empower Brands. Through our proprietary Sixth SenseTM strategic tools, Exp evaluates the Brand opportunity against the Consumer reality, developing a strategy that delivers value to both the consumer and the brand. From this strategy, we conceptualise the idea and develop the Live+ experiential campaign – a multidimensional cross media approach that delivers the communication. Our service offering includes Brand Activation; Event Marketing; Sponsorship Marketing & Social Marketing.
The organisational culture is founded on open-mindedness to energise employees
“Our focus is to recruit locally within the territories we operate. Primarily we hire by utilising a direct sourcing model on our company’s careers portal (www.bat-careers.com),” Razeeah Belath, Area Head of HR describes. “Our recruitment staff undergo accreditation through our ‘Licence to Hire’ course, enabling them to focus on the right people, their capabilities and future potential. “We also have an internal referral initiative named, Like Minds’, serving to boost employee advocacy through referring like-minded individuals while rewarding its staff for their efforts.” Alongside the various initiatives across ECAA, BAT’s global footprint provides numerous opportunities for staff to acquire global exposure through cross-geographical courses and assignments in addition to the cross-departmental opportunities available locally. “We aggressively export talent to our sister companies across the
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www.expagency.biz group which contributes in developing our talent for senior leadership roles. We are extremely proud of our local staff who are cuurently lending their expertise to other BAT entities, including the BAT Asia Pacific Area office, BAT Denmark, and BAT Vietnam,” continues Belath. “We believe in providing a ‘great place to work’ for our teams and building a winning organisation through our guiding principles, one of which speaks to ‘strength from diversity’. We harness the diversity of our people, cultures, viewpoints, brands, markets and ideas to strengthen our business. “Thanks to our superior HR practices, we have been recognised as a top employer in Kenya and Africa, by the top employer institute, most recently in October this year.”
Building a sustainable business
“As an international business, we play an important role in the communities we operate. Beyond our corporate social
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investment initiatives across ECAA, we have programmes that ensure the long-term sustainability of our tobacco leaf supply chain and enhance farmer livelihoods,” explains Seyi Adeyemo, Area Head of Operations. “Our long and proud history of working directly with farmers and advancing agricultural practices, benefits our farmers by giving them the resources and support they need to be successful, as well as helping to secure our long-term supply of tobacco leaf and ensuring the integrity and quality of our products to satisfy our consumers.” Simukai Munjanganja, Area Head of Legal & External Affairs adds, “While we have experienced an increase in the restrictions on the manufacture, packaging, marketing and sale of tobacco products across ECAA, we are clear that we support regulation that is based on robust evidence, respects legal rights and livelihoods and delivers on the intended policy aims. We will thus continue to seek opportunities
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in Kenya
to contribute to the debate, offering information, ideas and practical steps and work with the regulators addressing industry issues.” “Moving forward, while traditional tobacco products continue to be the mainstay of our business, as a group, BAT is also at the forefront of developing products that offer consumers potentially less risky alternatives to regular tobacco products. These Next Generation Products (NGPs) include Vype, our vapour product, and glo, our tobacco heating product. The BAT Group has invested more than US$1 billion over five years in developing a world-leading portfolio of products in the NGP category – not just because they are an exciting new opportunity, but also because they have the potential to reduce smoking-related diseases.” concludes Munjanganja. Looking ahead, BAT ECAA is excited about their business outlook and continues to invest towards this promising future.
SERVICES OFFERED:
MMA Engineering Services Ltd is one of the country’s leading integrated engineering outsourcing companies. Success is driven by its people and their commitment to get results the right way by operating responsibly, executing with excellence, applying innovative ideas and capturing new opportunities for profitable growth. The Company is involved in virtually every facet of the engineering industry and its vision is to become a professional, well managed and well organised engineering services provider in the region.
• Steel fabrication • Machine installation • Factory machinery maintenance services • Engineering supplies and installation • Automotive maintenance • Plumbing services • Machine shop services • Electrical services • Masonry and tiling services • Carpentry services • Compound cleaning and maintenances • Factory cleaning and support services
The Company provides safe and quality service that is sustainable and rewarding to its stakeholders through competent employees, dependable processes and superior technology.
Tel: 00254 722 634 911 ogutu@mma.co.ke
PO Box 4909-01002 Madaraka, Nairobi, Kenya
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08 Likoni Road Industrial Area Nairobi Kenya Tel: +254 711 062 000 info_ke@bat.com
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