When running a multi-national operation as our customer does, finding a consistent, reliable, and effective service provider that handles security, operations, and safety matters all in one can be challenging. Our customer in Tanzania has operations in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mbeya, and Mwanza, as well as 13 other depots throughout the country.

With their large footprint throughout the country, they had become increasingly dependent on external service contractors to keep their operations efficient and running smoothly. However, their previous service provider didn’t deliver the level of security, operational excellence, and truck turnaround time (TAT) that ownership demanded. The low-quality security service led to:

• Theft of products, raw materials, packaging crates, bottles, fuel, and vehicle spare parts
• Damage or loss of office equipment such as laptops, phones, TV screens, etc.
• Poor access control for on-site staff, visitors, contractors, and subcontractors
• Misallocation or misplacement of office and vehicle keys, causing delays in projects
• Inadequate productivity monitoring for staff and contractors
• Delayed search methods for late arriving trucks, leading to increased TAT
• And more

Large TAT numbers indicate a severe problem for our customer because the rapid distribution of finished products and empty crates is critical for success in their business. The longer it takes for them to distribute or collect, the more significant their revenue loss, market share loss, and production inefficiency. Without an efficient logistics and trucking process, financial losses became burdensome and difficult to keep up with.

THE GOALS

There was an apparent lack of understanding of the customer’s operational model from the previous security provider, resulting in significant challenges throughout their relationship. Therefore, they sought a service provider able to handle all of their major challenges under one contract, so they partnered with G4S on how we could address their pain points with our end-to-end solutions. The goals were to:

• Identify health and safety incidents and promptly report them for corrective action.
• Improve access control at their facilities to ensure safety for employees, visitors, and others.
• Eliminate or minimise losses on raw materials and finished products by mitigating theft, property damage, etc.
• Overhaul distribution process to ensure timely deliveries and dispatches of their product to reduce TAT.

We demonstrated through our discussions that we had the expertise, knowledge, and resources to manage the complex operations throughout their organisation and in the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) space. Not only were they excited about the partnership, but the price was highly competitive compared to other vendors they had considered.

THE SOLUTION

Before being awarded the opportunity to work with this customer, G4S conducted a significant and in-depth risk assessment analysis of their business to get a better understanding of the true nature of their challenges. All of this information was presented to the customer to ensure a mutual understanding of the type of security solutions we’d be proposing throughout our contract engagement to deliver the type of results they expected. The solutions deployed were:

1. Integrating technology-enabled, and advanced security solutions, which included security guards, CCTV monitoring, and control and response measures to our customer’s facilities.
2. Installing modern security systems in one of the plants to detect intrusions and keep incident records updated and accurate.
3. Implementing an effective 24/7 control centre to respond to routine and emergency calls, preventative maintenance service requests, and other property-related inquiries.
4. Incorporating time and attendance software to provide access control to facilities and hourly staff timekeeping.

G4S’s ability to understand how the customer’s business works, the risks and challenges they faced, and the types of unique solutions they needed were why they selected G4S as their all-in-one security and operations vendor. After becoming partners in June 2020, solutions were up and running within just one month, and the results have been significant ever since.

THE RESULTS

Over the two years of the initial contract terms, the turnaround in productivity and safety for the customer’s business has been fantastic. The primary benefits of our effective and cost-efficient partnership have been:

• Standardised and automated KPI reporting. Rather than relying on outdated reporting methods, our customer now has modern and high-tech ways to track their various departments’ workflow, efficiency, and productivity.
• Improved occurrence management, incident reporting, and debriefing. There are far fewer mistakes or employee mishaps occurring daily throughout their organisation.
• Reduced risk of non-compliance to standard operating procedures. With a clear security and management system in place, non-compliance has become much more of a non-issue.
• Improved proof of presence management. Proper tracking and reporting have made it far easier for our client to identify if one individual, department, or team is responsible for an incident, success, etc.
• Enhanced security based on real threats and operational information. With CCTV and other high-tech security solutions on-site, our client can use real-time data, video, and warnings to make educated decisions on how to keep their site and people safe.
• Reduction of theft and loss. Effective access control and time and attendance monitoring have made the facilities far safer, reducing the frequency and severity of burglaries and property damage incidents.

Under a very complex and challenging environment, G4S could meet the customer’s expectations without needing external resources.