General Management
While discussing the different Business Sectors I have been employed in, I stated that it is my task to ‘run and enable the organisation to conquer the Business Sector’. To do this I have to enable my staff to become the best they can be. This does not merely mean to support and stimulate them; it also means to provide them with the right tools. To ensure that I truly provided them with these tools I had to use the skills I acquired during my study, but also, to some extent, acquire the skills on the job. In my General Management functions I had to be able to provide amongst others:
- Finance: without sufficient funds you cannot provide the tools, so this is paramount
- IT: at company after company I had to (re)introduce IT:
- At Atlas (2004-2012) I opted for MS Dynamics AX 2009 in a private cloud, I was personally responsible for the financial reports, dashboards & integration with our desktop applications. Aspects like logistics and sales were, in cooperation with me, spearheaded by the relevant department heads
- At B. Braun (1989-1998) I first introduced automation to, after a few years, head the switch from BPCS to SAP/R3, newly adopted by the German HQ
- HR: Obviously HR has to supply the means for training but even more so, it has to be seen to be transparent, honest and as objective as possible
- Logistics: Again here it is vital to provide the right tools to facilitate this function, be it proper vans for your salespersons (Friesland Foods 1985-1989), the latest in warehouse technology (B. Braun) or a top notch ERP system (Atlas).
- Etc.
Some of my Cases
Improving Quality & Efficiency
Obsoleting myself through a JV
See also: