Dogfight in Venetia – decision making the RB way

Wednesday, 11.06.2008
7.00 AM.
I’m waiting on a mountain pass in Austria, there are only a few other drivers strolling around the motorway station at this time of the day.
My car is parked in front of the roadhouse; it will have to stay there for a while.
The same time yesterday, I had no idea at all that I would be standing here watching the wafting mist in the valleys. What happened?

Well, we are actually right in the middle of a Reckitt Benckiser sourcing study! To reduce the cost of delivered goods and improve the effectiveness of operations, sourcing studies are a kind of internal cost benchmarking conducted between two RB production sites, aimed at finding an optimal sourcing solution.

The last couple of weeks, we were therefore thoroughly calculating the manufacturing cost of a product range that potentially could be sourced cheaper from our Austrian production site, and initiated a common sourcing study with our colleagues from Italy.
All RB sourcing studies are conducted under supervision of corporate HQ, who also acts as a neutral mediator between the two production sites and takes the final sourcing decision.
Deadline for presenting the incremental cost impact on the total business is end of this week, and we still had some cost differences we didn’t fully understand yesterday.

So here I am now, waiting for the Austrian site director to pick me up for the five-hour drive to Italy.
Last evening we decided on the phone that it would be best to discuss the remaining issues face-to-face, and so I had to get up early…

Wednesday, 11.06.2008
4.00 PM.
Just a few hours ago, we were welcomed with open arms by our Italian colleagues, and now we find ourselves in one tough dogfight!
Although the tone might be rougher than in other companies, we are actually now in a real RB meeting where every figure is prone to be challenged and the general conversation volume is a bit higher than usual.
After all, we are discussing the competitiveness of our respective production sites. What an unforgettable experience!

Wednesday, 11.06.2008
9.00 PM.
Having all numbers sorted out, we finally came up with a common recommendation and also identified best practices that will help to save cost for both factories.
That is indeed quite a positive outcome!�
The dust has settled and we are now dining in one of the best seafood restaurants I have ever been to (I think I stopped counting when they served the tenth starter or so… ).
I never thought I would actually be joking again with these people the very same day!

Thursday, 12.06.2008
10.30 AM.
Aaah! My car is still there. We skipped breakfast and left the hotel very early. I arrived just in time.
In a few minutes, I will have an appointment with my Finance Director to discuss next year’s plan for the factory…