Interview
„GELITA wants to be
a strategic partner on
an equal footing.“
„We want to speak the same language as our customers.“
Samy Jandali joined GELITA as a new employee in March 2021, and has headed up the new Performance Solutions business unit since the start of 2022. In this interview, he talks about his start at GELITA, the focus on Performance Solutions, and explains what benefits customers will gain from the new alignment.
Mr. Jandali, how did you use your first few months at GELITA?
Samy Jandali: I was lucky that I came to GELITA when the new organization did not yet exist. So, I was able to jump straight in with the Commercial Excellence topic and look at all the commercial processes in the company, such as the planning process, among others. And, think about where we can be better – in the interests of our customers. This was a great opportunity to immediately touch base with a lot of my new colleagues right from the word go and gain a profound insight into the company. From September 2021, I was then able to transitionally manage our global sales for gelatin and thus become even more familiar with GELITA. I worked with teams worldwide and soon got to know some of our customers as well. When the new organization came into effect at the beginning of the year, I had already gained a great deal of experience. Already a fast-track familiarization, with the processes on one side and the operational issues with customers, negotiations, etc. on the other.
What was your first impression of GELITA?
Jandali: I was immediately struck by my colleagues‘ enthusiasm and passion for the products and areas of responsibility. People‘s true passion for their work and how they put their heart and soul into everything they do here really amazed me. And although many employees have been with GELITA for a long time now, there is still a great deal of flexibility and willingness to change. External impulses are readily addressed and people have come up with a very constructive way in which to work together. I was also impressed by their level of professionalism. We have an incredible wealth of knowledge and a huge amount of expertise. What is more, GELITA has a good understanding of what makes our customers tick and what is important to them.
Click to edit...
„Many of our customers are GELITA fans. There is an emotional connection.“
GELITA has restructured its organization and created the new Performance Solutions business unit. What prompted GELITA to take this step?
Jandali: Traditionally, GELITA‘s business units were tied to individual product ranges. The aim of the new alignment is to achieve a stronger market alignment by positioning ourselves according to market segments. This had led to the creation of two business units, namely Nutrition & Health Ingredients and Performance Solutions. This allows us to better align ourselves with our customers and speak their language.
What is Performance Solutions focused on?
Jandali: Performance Solutions is a global business unit that focuses firstly on the pharmaceutical industry, the area that produces hard capsules, soft capsules, etc. Secondly, it focuses on industrial applications, which involves a larger segment of technical applications requiring a great deal of expertise. Thirdly, GELITA Medical belongs to Performance Solutions. Here, we produce gelatin sponges for hemostasis.
What goals have you set for yourself?
Jandali: We definitely want to be a preferred supplier, but also a recognized partner for customers. To this end, we are establishing contacts at decision-maker level. We want to talk to our customers about their challenges beyond the traditional supplier-customer relationship. We want to talk about their business: What are their strategic goals? What are the challenges in their markets? What do we need to do to work with them in order to address them? We do this on the basis of extensive expertise and strong technical know-how. It is important that we network even better with our customers. Last but not least, of course, we want to grow profitably.
Dr. Abend: Ich habe bis auf eine kurze Zeit in meiner gesamten industriellen Karriere in einem B2B-Ingredients-Geschäft gearbeitet. Ich war immer in artverwandten Märkten, hauptsächlich im Home and Personal Care Bereich, mit ähnlichen Geschäftsmodellen und vergleichbaren Dynamiken unterwegs. Ich habe schon viele Herausforderungen erfolgreich bewältigt, in vertrieblicher, organisatorischer und in operativer Hinsicht. Mein breiter Erfahrungsschatz hilft zudem, den status quo immer mal wieder zu hinterfragen sowie neue Ideen einzubringen und so eine neue Dynamik zu entfachen.
„We have an incredible wealth of knowledge and a huge amount of expertise.“
You want to be closer to your customers in the future. How do you go about achieving this?
Jandali: I just got back from a major trade show in the USA, where we asked customers more intensively than ever what was going on in their markets. Not all customers are used to this level of interest in their business. We will also address other contact persons, i. e. decision-makers, management, product managers – in other words, people who are responsible for part of the sales portfolio. When you talk about the customer‘s challenges, show understanding and speak their language, the discussion reaches a new quality. Then you sit down together and ponder the future of XY‘s pharmaceutical market rather than whether we have two tons of a certain material left. This is very well-received and I can only encourage interested customers to actively approach us here. We are open to this.
What will change for your customers as a result of the new alignment? What are the advantages for customers?
Jandali: Initially, they won‘t see any changes in operative business. But there will certainly be changes in the way we work together. Because we can now access the entire product portfolio and the complete pipeline of our innovations in both business units, i. e. in Nutrition & Health Ingredients and in Performance Solutions. This will make it easier for our customers to take advantage of GELITA‘s expertise and product portfolio in the future.
We don‘t just want to talk about our products with customers; we want to be perceived as a strategic partner, too. That means spending more time at the challenge level. If we jump into solutions too early, we are limited by what the customer thinks we can do for them and may miss out on an even better solution.
Where are the challenges?
Jandali: Of course, we remain a reliable partner for our customers. But this more intensive strategic collaboration does not work with the entire customer portfolio. Because it means a great deal time commitment and possibly also financial commitment from both sides. It will be a challenge to find the customers who are able to recognize the potential added value. GELITA has the basis, the technical knowledge, the expertise and the willingness to change. However, this is an expanded form of market cultivation, and the associated changeover will take time.
One focus is on innovation and expertise. How do you plan to drive these areas forward?
Jandali: We will invest even more in building up the knowledge of the teams and network the expertise spread across the globe more closely. Whenever a problem arises, there has usually been a similar problem in a GELITA business unit somewhere in the world – and a solution to it. We will also network even more closely with players in the industry, with universities, other producers or machine manufacturers, for example. This will enable us to find better, holistic answers to customer questions.
What does the Performance Solutions team look like?
Jandali: It‘s a wonderful team that I‘ve had the opportunity of getting to know over the past few months. We have two product management groups that take care of the entire marketing mix. And we have created the new Customer Management unit. This includes all our colleagues from various disciplines such as sales and technical support, as well as our colleagues in the back office who look after customers remotely. Our colleagues from Customer Management have the highest contact frequency. They are positioned regionally, but are grouped together in a single unit. Finally, Performance Solutions also includes an important global unit that deals with application and product development.
You previously worked at BASF for many years. What appeals to you about your new role here at GELITA?
Jandali: GELITA is a much smaller company, but by no means is it small. I like the breadth of responsibility, i.e. the fact that you have all the means of control at your disposal and make quick decisions. I am also impressed by the customer focus. The customer is important at GELITA. Apart from that, many of our customers are GELITA fans – there is an emotional connection. I have not experienced this before. You can build on that in a completely different way and feel confident about the future.
How do you switch off from work?
Jandali: Very easily (laughing). I have five children. With such a big family, there‘s always plenty going on at home. Having played in a band, I also like to listen to rock music and have now started playing drums. Then, if I have any time left, I like to go running.
Share on:
