How was 2022 for Bunzl ANZ?           

I think we can admit 2022 had some challenges we thought we had left behind in 2021, but both Australia and New Zealand were marred by a more contagious strain of COVID in the early months. However, we worked closer than ever with our customers to see a very fruitful year with customers significantly growing month on month across all the sectors.

The tumultuous start to 2022 was only the beginning with labour shortages continuing throughout the year, and COVID rapidly spreading throughout Asia with stringent lockdowns created for some interesting supply chain challenges on the global scale.

Thankfully, our team did an amazing job of managing the turbulent time, purchasing stock far in advance and managing freight pathways 24/7 for months on end to deliver a consistent and high inventory uptime mitigating the risk for our customers.

We also got to stretch our grey matter in other ways and worked consultatively to problem solve our customers’ challenges, finding meaningful solutions to manage their own challenges in resourcing.

Having worked remotely for the 24 months prior, 2022 allowed the meaningful return of face-to-face interactions with our team, suppliers, and customers. We were able to reconnect and find common ground over the challenges we all faced. Within the sector, the importance of having varied solutions to help us customer keep their customers safe became front of mind .

The other highlight was our suppliers and customers willingness to share their challenges, allowing us to provide support with some of the insights that we had gleaned from other sectors we service. I appreciate the openness and willingness to support each other that people shared throughout covid and hope that it continues well past 2023.

What do you see as the main challenges the market is facing in 2023?

Workforce availability will continue to be a major challenge for 2023, however, there are many solutions now available to help address these challenges. Innovation in robotics has come a long way and now present a very viable way to create greater accuracy and coverage of intricate and large spaces alike.

Outside of the robotics space, there is now also greater efficiency in new equipment, allowing cleaners greater freedom with battery power being lighter and more efficient, presenting a meaningful alternative to mains powered devices.

Innovation in products will help the sector deliver a leaner and greener solution that addresses all the environmental challenges we face, once again gaining accuracy and efficiency whilst leaving our environment in a better place.

Lastly, we can now truly say we live in a connected world. Therefore, why should cleaning and hygiene be any different? Technological solutions are now available that help us connect the spaces we use with the people that clean them, allowing for real-time reporting, action and follow up.

For the facilities management sector, FM will be finding alternatives to more efficient ways of operating including robotics and automated systems that control chemical applications, ultimately requiring less training and over-seeing of ‘people’ processes.

What are Bunzl’s main priorities for 2023?

2023 will be no different for Bunzl as it continues working on meaningful innovation and efficiency. Perhaps that is the reason it has been in business for more than 165 years.

We have many exciting launches planned for 2023 and look forward to sharing some of these early in the new year and as part of our Innovate8 series that travels the country providing meaningful insights for the sector and our customers.

Are there any key sustainability commitments/targets Bunzl ANZ has made for 2023?

Bunzl ANZ has released its Net Zero targets, which includes products with better start/end-of-life. Our teams across Bunzl spend a considerable amount of time assisting customers in this space. We have a unique place in the supply chain that enables us to source the best product to provide the solution.

What’s the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

Leaders today, more than ever before, have had to navigate through a dynamic working environment that has brought about a complete pivot to the way we work, greater focus on mental health support, and now a balance to find the right mix of individual flexibility and continuous collaboration.

Combine this with the challenging supply chain environment and labour shortages, leaders have had to be the greatest chameleon, pivoting from one challenge to another.

As leaders we need to be the ones to create, maintain, and continue to drive a culture that supports diversity and allows employees to bring their best selves to work to ultimately achieve our overall objectives.

What advice would you give to fellow leaders in the cleaning industry?

Continue to challenge yourself on how and why we do things. No one could have prepared us for what we came to face in March 2020, it disrupted the way we work on a major scale. Decisions were made quickly, and I have no doubt we didn’t get everything right but making sure the impact was assessed and the change required was managed closely, we got through it. Don’t wait for another major event to assess the way we do things in our day to day.

Is there a message that you would like to share with the industry?             

The industry is inundated with lots of information making your choices difficult. Work with your supplier to understand the full picture including global trends, what the behind-the-scenes activity is that protects you and your business. Gone are the days of features and benefits, now more than ever it is the whole supply chain environment including all the sustainability requirements for your large contracts.

Consultation is where the value is generated and any good supplier should bring multiple solutions to the table, making you aware of the benefits and risks of the choices you make, ultimately making you feel comfort in the decisions you have and will make.

This first appeared in the January/February issue of INCLEAN magazine. 

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