Mark Phelan Commercial Director – Professional

How was 2021 for Oates (Freudenberg)? What were the highlights? What were the challenges?

Like most, 2021 was a rollercoaster year. Having survived the challenges of 2020, we were finally recovering our service levels and improving our supply chain whilst focussing on our overriding strategy of hygiene, efficiency, and sustainability. Then nearly 60 per cent of the population went into hard lock down in June/July 2021.

This had a big impact on those involved in the commercial cleaning industry. Hospitality, offices, education, shopping centres and venues suddenly found themselves with no people and a greatly reduced need for cleaning.

Our emphasis on healthcare, however, helped to offset some of these declines with unique products focussed on virus removal critical for hospitals, vaccination centres and COVID hotels. We are grateful that lockdowns are looking like a thing of the past and that people are out and about meaning all markets are requiring the “next level clean”.

What will be the immediate focus for Oates (Freudenberg) in 2022?

Our immediate focus is twofold. Mitigating risk and delivering cleaning outcomes.

In terms of mitigating risk, this is also twofold. Number one is securing supply chain, managing demand and ensuring critical cleaning supplies are landing in our warehouses in a timely manner.

We have increased safety stock levels and incorporated a significantly increased lead time into all our import programs in order to ensure a secure supply chain in the current difficult global supply climate.

Number two around risk mitigation is working with our key partners to deliver products and systems that assist in reducing risk in many facets – hygiene, OH&S, and labour costs to name a few.

In terms of delivering of cleaning outcomes, our extensive local sales teams are working through a continuous improvement program focussed on training, development, education and certification.

This allows our people to offer advice and specialisation whilst partnering with distributors and end users as trusted advisors in cleaning.

What are the major opportunities you foresee for Oates (Freudenberg) in 2022?

Our opportunity to continue to invest in our people is a key focus. Through our trusted partnership with ISSA, our entire Professional team are in the process of completing various training and accreditation programs.

This will allow all our team to have an even more intimate understanding of the industry, the key requirements, the challenges and the opportunities to support.

With certification and accreditation, our teams will be in a unique position to provide specific consultation to the broader market and move into the position of trusted advisors related to cleaning.

Understanding problems, challenges, causes and providing relevant and tailored solutions based on a higher level of knowledge, is an obligation we have as one of the most trusted brands in cleaning.

Are there any new products to be launched by Oates (Freudenberg) in 2022?

We have an active year of new product development and launches planned for 2022 and 2023.

Whether it be new developments under Oates in high tech microfibre, Vileda Professional in innovative new equipment and textiles developed by Freudenberg (“Innovating together”) patented technology, or refocusing and expanding our Research brand of chemicals to link with our cleaning equipment and textiles.

The year ahead is an exciting one for us to work with the cleaning industry to help be even more hygienic, efficient, and sustainable.

What the opportunities and challenges you see for the wider market in 2022?

The most immediate challenges to accept and solve right now are those relating to supply chain and access to labour. The ongoing global constraints related to manufacturing and shipping will impact many markets, including that of cleaning until at least mid 2022.

This allows the opportunity for ways and processes to use that create efficiency and less usage but also for manufacturers and suppliers to help their partners mitigate risk of out of stocks.

We are fortunate at Freudenberg that we are able to leverage a number of global arrangements to secure supply chains and reduce product supply risk.

The issue of labour shortages is impacting many areas. In a labour-intensive industry, there has never been a more important time to think beyond those historic and entrenched cleaning products and processes.

New innovation, developments, sustainability initiatives and technology in systems that reduce the overall need for labour, whilst delivering an improved cleaning outcome, is an opportunity for old school to move to new school and really adapt to deal with the labour challenge.

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

Work hard to gain an understanding of what is important to your clients. Establish what matters to and what the expectations are of the business, its people and its customers.

Once you have established this, work hard to set up your business, your processes, your systems, your people, and your contracts to over deliver against these expectations.

Look outside of the box for new developments and innovations to help you achieve this whilst not compromising hygiene, safety and sustainability.

Our opportunity is to continue the high levels of cleanliness that COVID has brought upon us and to ensure the environments people are in are as hygienic as possible to help prevent the devastating impact viruses can have.

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

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