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INFORMING AND SERVING THE FUEL INDUSTRY GLOBALLY }{
WWW.PETROLWORLD .COM ISSUE TWO 2011
008 Section1 Feature>CompanyProfile:Tokheim,TheQualityFocus
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Tokheim:TheQualityFocusForalong-establishedcompany,Tokheimhasembracedrapidchangeinrecentyears.PETROLWORLD speakstogroupPresidentandCEOPatrickBerthonandCOOBaudouindelaTourtofindouthowthecompanyhasgrowninrecentyears,whatseparatesitfromcompetitors,andwhatitseesasthemajorchallengesforthefuture.
Eversince1898–whenaNorwegianmerchantnamedJohnJ.TokheiminventedoneofthefirstgasolinepumpsintheUnitesStates–thecompanyhefoundedhasbeenbuiltonareputationforconsistentquality,marketleadingtechnologiesandinnovation.
From1996aseriesofmergersandconsolidationofEuropeanmanufacturersresultedinthewider,globalTokheimCompanyweknowtoday.Furthertoaleveragedmanagementbuyoutin2003,headquarterswereestablishedinParisandfromthatpointonthenewjourneyhascontributedfurthertothehistoryofTokheim.MeetingattheirDundeeManufacturingfacilitiesit’sclearthatthecompanyanditsstaffareinbuoyantmood.
Above, left: Patrick Berthon, CEOAbove, right: Baudouin de la Tour, COO
Feature>CompanyProfile:Tokheim,TheQualityFocusSection1 009
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RecentlytheyhavebeenawardedbusinessbyShell,TotalandOMV,withShellthishasalsoextendedtomaintenanceandglobalsitesystems.Theirgrowthintheservicesectorispartofawiderstrategyanditappearsthemarketlikeit–Tokheimhaswonnumerouslong-termregionalandlocalmaintenancecontractsrecently.
“Duringtheseeightyears,wehavecontinuedourstrategyoffurtherdevelopingourglobalcoveragethroughorganicgrowthandacquisitions,”saysPresidentandCEOPatrickBerthon.“Wegrewourrevenuefrom€329minourfiscalyearof2003-2004to€591mintheyearthatjustendedinApril.Today,wehave5,275employees,andweareby
farthelargestemployerinourindustry–notforthesakeofbeingbigger,buttoallowustobetterserveourcustomersatalocallevel.”
Berthon,whohimselfjoinedTokheimaspartofthegroup’sacquisitionofRPSSchlumberger,isalsokeentoemphasisethatthecompanyhasadaptedevenasithasintegratedothercompanies“ThestructureofTokheimisverymuchalive,notrigidorfixed.Whenweacquireacompany,wereallymakealotofefforttointegratetheirskillsandtheircultureintothecultureofTokheim.Generally,wekeepthemanagement,becauseit’sagoodcompanywithgoodowners.OurgoalistogrowthefamilyofTokheim,soin99%ofthecaseswekeep
thesamepeople,”heexplains.
Global Experience, Local KnowledgeIt’sclearalsothat,ingrowingtheTokheimfamily,thecompany’smanagementteamhaveaclearobjectiveinmind:aglobalfootprint,withalocalpresence.“Wehaveacommitmenttobedirectlypresentwherewedobusinesswheneverthat’spossible.Obviously,thatisn’tpossibleallthetime.So,eitherwehaveadirectpresence,oraverystrongandusuallylong-standingrelationshipwithdistributors,overwhichwehaveaverystrongcontrolintermsofservicequality,”saysCOOBaudouindelaTour.“Throughthisnetworkofsalesandservicepeopleineachcountry,weareveryclosetothecustomerbase.
The structure of Tokheimis very much alive, not rigid or fixed. When we acquire a company, we really make a lot of effort to integrate their skills and their culture into the culture of Tokheim.
Below: BillArundel,DirectorofSalesandMarketing
tostandbehindourproducts,becausewe’regoingtobeworkingwiththeseproductsandlivingwiththemasourcustomersare.”Thecompany,delaTourcontinues,thereforehasadepthofinvolvementinitsclients’business–intandemwithanextraordinarybreadth–thatisunmatched.“Wehaveglobalequipmentcompetitors,orglobalmaintenancecompetitors.Butthere’snoonewithTokheim’scombinedglobalwidthandscopetoday-becausethisauniquestrategy.Thedownstreamfuelretailsectorhasclearlyembracedtheapproach,asTokheimcurrentlyhassome40,000stationsundercontractaroundtheworld.Wemaintainallthosestations,andyoucanonlyimaginehowmanyinterventionsthatis!2,500techniciansaremobilisedeveryday-repairing,fixing,doingmaintenancework.Allthisprovidesawealthofexpertisethatweusetoimproveourprocesses,andalsoourproducts.Thisexpertisealsocontributestosomethingweknowisessential,safety.”
Cross-polinisingThesafetyissueissomethingthat
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Wehaveagoodlocalorganisationfurthersupportedbyastrongstructure,andtouchcustomerswheretheyare.Weknowboththemajorsandthesmallercompanies,andthat’sabenefit,becausethecustomerbaseisalwayschanging,”headds.
ThatlocalpresenceisallthemoreimportantgiventhenatureofTokheim’sgrowthinrecentyears.Intandemwithitsoriginalmissionofmanufacturingproductsforfuelservicestations,thecompanyhasaddedtoitsservicingandmaintenancefunctions,becomingapartnerforretailfueldistributionorganisationsworkingwiththemfortheconstructionofastationandifrequiredthedecommissioningofsites.“Weareveryfocusedonretailfueldistribution.Forthesecustomers,wetendtodoeverything:notjustequipment,butwehavetheabilitytobewithourcustomersfromcradletograve.Weneverjustsellandgoaway,whichisneveragreatwaytodolonger-termbusiness,becausemaintenanceofforecourtequipmentisourcorebusiness,”explainsdelaTour.“Wecandemonstrateacommitment
bothdelaTourandBerthonspeakpassionatelyabout–afterall,it’sonlythroughhumaningenuityandvigilancethatthebusinessofdistributingfuelismadesafe.Thatingenuityandvigilanceisreinforcedbyastructurethatmakessafetyapriorityonalocallevel,whilealsofosteringanongoingdialoguetoimplementup-to-datebestpracticefromaroundtheworld.“Safetyisacoreconcern.ThereisaHealthandSafetyManagerworkingwiththeCountryManagerandreportingbestpractice.Wehavetheseprocessesthatarecommonlyacceptedandimplementedacrosstheboard,andwehavepeopletobringthewholenetworktogether.It’sachallenge,always,butforus,it’swhatworksbest,”saysdelaTour.
IndeedhavingadialogueacrossthewholegroupisimportantforwhatTokheimseesasitscorechallenge:maintainingandimprovingqualitygloballywhilestillremainingflexibletoworkinvariedenvironments.“Manycompanieswilltellyouaboutmatrixoptimisation.Wearemoresimple:wehavelocalsalesandservicedivisionsthatworkwiththededicateddispenserandsystemsbusinessunits”saysdelaTour.“Itissometimesachallengetokeepthesynergiesandtheconsistency.Ourwayofbalancingthelocalwiththeinternationalistokeepcoretechnologiescentral.Allthecomponentsweuseinourproductsarecentrallydevelopedandmonitored.Ifyoulookatservicesandprocesses,weareusingcutting-edgesoftwaretomanagethoseprocesses–they’vebeenrefinedthroughthelastsevenoreightyearsanddeployedinseveralcountries.Thisallowsustohaveaconsistentapproachacrosstheorganisation.Then,forsofterelementssuchasbestpracticeorbenchmarking,wehavesmall,dedicatedcentralteamswhosejobistocreateinformalnetworks.Theywillbringtogetherthemaintenanceoperationmanagersofdifferentcountriesandmakethemworktogetheroncommonprojects.Atthehighestlevel,whichistheCountryManager,weorganisewhatwecallbestpracticesessions.It’sanopendoor,wherethecountrydisplayswhattheydo–whattheydowell,andwhattheydon’tdosowell–andtheothercountrymanagershaveachancetoeitherlearnfromthemorgivethemadvice.Wedothisforserviceandhealthandsafety,”revealsdelaTour.“Becausewelearnfromthebest,andcanbenchmarkandcross-polinise,wearealsoabletohelptheindustrygrowand
010 Section1 Feature>CompanyProfile:Tokheim,TheQualityFocus
Left: Quantium 510, with all-in-one Media Screen & Calculator (TQC-VGA), integrated payment terminal (Crypto VGA), Tokheim’s new TQC calculator plus its TQM meter. Tokheim’s Quantium 510is regarded as having a lowertotal cost of ownership.
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aboutconstantlyimprovingtheirproductsorservices–fewdoitquiteastangiblyasTokheim.Forproof,youjustneedtolookatthelatestTokheimdispenser,whichhasbeenradicallyoverhauledinthelastthreeyears.“Wehavecompletelyreplacedthekeycomponents:themeter,thepumpingunit,andthecalculator.Thefeedbackfromourcustomers,whohaverecentlyawardeduswithsomeverylargeglobaltenders,isthatthesecorecomponentsweresomeofthekeydecidingfactorsforchoosingTokheim’sdispensers.”
TheglobalreachofTokheimhelpsinthisimprovementprocess,particularlyontheserviceandmaintenancesideoftheoperation.Withmaintenanceinterventionsconstantlytakingplacearoundtheworld,thishasallowedthecompanytobuildupahugebankofdatatofurtherimproveproductsandservices.“Wekeeptrackofeachandeveryintervention:whenatechniciangoesintothefieldtorepairadispenser,systemorpaymentterminalwhetherit’soursoracompetitor’s,wekeepalogofwhathe’sdoing,whatwaswrong,whatmoduleorcomponent.Allthisgoesintoadatabasethatorganisestheinformation.Wearethenabletoanalysethisdataandunderstand,indepth,whatcangowrong.Thisisfedbackintoourproductdevelopmentprocesstoimprovedesign”delaTourexplains.“Weunderstandwhyourproductsarebetterthanourcompetitors,becausewedealwithbothonadailybasis.Youcanseenotjustwhatiswrongwithacomponent,butyoucanseewhereatrendmaybedeveloping.Youdon’thavetowaitforthepointwhereyouhavetodoahuge
servicecompany.Thatserviceisdonebypeople,sosomethingwetakeseriously
istodevelopandmotivateourpeople.Thatcouldbejustwordsbut,in
ourcase,wereallyfeelthatifwedon’tdoit,wecan’tgive
servicetoourcustomers.Itstartsin-house,”says
deleTour.“Partofourcultureiscontinuousimprovement–neverbeingsatisfiedwithwhatwehave.Itappliesacrosstheboard.Youcangotoafactoryand,hopefully,theywillshowyoutheverytangiblethingsthathappenontheshop
floorwiththeworkerstakingtheirenvironment
intheirhands,toimproveefficiency,toimprove
quality,tomakeitflowbetter.Everybodyinthefactoryisor
willbeinvolvedthisyearinsomeimportantproject.It’sacultureof
smallsteps,butanever-endingprocessatallthelevels,”heexplains,addingthatthisalsoholdstrueforTokheim’smaintenanceandservicebusiness.“Inthemaintenanceindustry,it’saboutlabour,spareparts,andgasoline.Onthosethreeelements,there’sanalmostendlesslistofthingsyoucandotoimprove:tohavetechnicianswitheasierroundsandmoredensityofsites,sothere’slessdistancetotravel,tohavespareparts,easieraccesstothestations.It’sanever-endingprocess.”
Action on the groundOfcourse,manycompanieswilltalk
develop,fromMOCstoindependents.Eventhesmallestcompany,wecanhelpgrow,becauseit’snotalwayspossibleforasmallmaintenanceoperationtohavethislevelofexpertise.”
A culture of excellenceThatcross-polinisingeffort,delaTourandBerthonexplain,isakeyparttooneofTokheim’smainadvantages:acultureofexcellenceandconstantimprovement.“Weareaservicebusiness:anequipmentcompany,anda
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Tokheimaimstominimisethecostoftheequipmentnotjustintheinitialpurchaseprice,butthroughthetotalcostofowningandoperatingaproduct.“Forusandforourcustomers,totalcostofownershipiskey.It’snotgoodenoughtojusthavethelowestacquisitioncostifthatdifferenceincostislaterbeingspentonmaintenance.”saysdeleTour.Thatconcepthaswon-overforward-thinkingsmallercompaniesandindustrygiantsalike,asTokheimrecentlyannouncedthatithasbeenselectedastheEuropeansupplieroffueldispensersforShellfuelservicestationsinEurope.“Itdemonstratesthetrustthatisplacedinthequalityandinnovationofourproductsbyourcustomersatagloballevel,”saysBerthon.
A changing marketWinningandholdingthattrustiscriticalinanindustrythatischangingrapidly–sotooisbeingconsciousofthetectonicshiftsinthesector.
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retrofit–youspotthetrendsastheyemerge,andthenyoufixtheissuebeforeit’stoolate.”
Payment and SecurityOutsideofdispensersandservice,Tokheim’sothercustomeroffering,systems,hascontinueditsgrowthoverthelastdecade.TheCompany’sEPOSandpaymentterminalsarenowinstalledacross48countries.PatrickBerthonsays,“SystemsandPaymentarekeytoprovidingaflexibleofferingtoourcustomers.Wehavedevelopedsystemswiththehighestlevelofsecurityintheindustry-ourpaymentterminalwasthefirsttobecomplianttoPCI(V3),whichisfutureproofedto2020.Ourhardwareandsoftwaresolutionsarescalableandweprovideawholehostofadditionstohelpourclientsmanagetheretailaspectsoftheirbusiness.Thisallhelpsdeliverbettercustomerservicetotheend-user.”
Total Cost of OwnershipTheTCOapproachisanewwayofthinkingaboutfueldistributionanditsassociatedcost.Inprovidingandmaintainingessentialproductstothefuelretailsector,Tokheimemphasiseswhatitcallsthe‘TotalCostofOwnership’.Overthelifecycleofadispenser,theinitialpurchasepricewillbepaidagainseveraltimesoverinmaintenanceandotheroperatingcost.Evenmorewillbepaidifadispenserislackinginqualityorreliability,throughfuellossordowntime,resultinginlowerthroughputandsales.Therefore,
FortunatelyforTokheim,thecompany’sseniorexecutivesarekeenlyawareofthedevelopmentswithintheirindustry.“Thecustomerbaseischanging.Weseethatmoreandmore.MajoroilcompaniesaredivestingcertainpartsoftheirexistingnetworksandweseetheemergenceandgrowthofotherNationalOilandindependentgroups.What’sinterestingisthatthesenewcustomersaremoreandmorefocusedontheirretailbusiness–they’vebecomeretailspecialists.Ourstrategyhasalwaysbeentobeclosetoourcustomers:tohaveaflexibleapproachtothebusinessisbestforthesecustomers,becausetheycanfocusontheirretailbusiness,”saysdeleTour.
“Anotherchangeisthatthemarginsaresqueezedmoreandmore,andoperatinganetworkofstationsismoreandmoredifficult.Therearealotofconstraints,fromenvironmentaltotax-wise,andthemarginonthefuelisreallylow.It’satoughbusinessand,again,whenyouthinkofwhatwebring–expertise,theabilitytohelpcustomersthoughthelife-cycleofastation–itgivesustheperfecttoolstoaddvalueandhelpthembemoresuccessful,notjustonthesaleoftheequipmentbutthroughoutitslife.Thatcomesintotheconceptofthetotalcostofownership,”headds.“Anothertrendthatisthatfuelpricesarehigh,andlooklikeremainingsofortheforeseeablefuture.Itisalreadyveryimportant,andgoingtobecomemoreimportanttohelpourcustomersavoidfuelloss.Fuellossisthenewfrontier
012 Section1 Feature>CompanyProfile:Tokheim,TheQualityFocus
Fuel loss is the new frontier for stations. They’re already very good at tendering for equipment, maintenance, and pushing their overall costs down. But there’s still this big pot of gold, which is the fuel loss that any network, any station can experience.
Below: Fuel POS offers a full integrated forecourt control and an intuitive graphic user interface for monitoring and managing all types of fuel dispensers on a touch screen. In addition, the forecourt control focuses on reducing drive-offs by providing built-in alerts, video integration and fuel prepayment.
Right: Crypto VGA, Secure Payment Terminal.
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forstations.Theestablishedplayersarealreadyverygoodattenderingforequipment,maintenance,andpushingtheiroverallcostsdown.Butthere’sstillthisbigpotofgold,whichisthefuellossthatanynetwork,anystationcanexperience.Thisisgoingtobeveryimportantforthefuture,andTokheim’sportfolioofproductsandservicescanhelpthemwiththiscorepartofthebusiness.”Finally,saysdelaTour,thereisachangingspectrumoftechnology–andcompanieswhoimaginethateveryinnovationwillimprovetheirbusinessmaybedisappointed.“Innovationcanbringcomplexitiesandproblems–ifit’snottherightinnovation.There’sinnovationonthedispenser,systemsandpayment;allkindsofnewfeaturesthatareoffered.Someareuseful,andsomelessso.Weseeourroleasworkingwithandhelpingcustomersbringintherightkindofinnovation–
Patrick Berthon, President and CEOPatrickBerthonjoinedTokheimin1998aspartoftheRPSacquisitionfromSchlumberger.HeisthePresidentoftheGroupsince2003.
Priortothis,PatrickwasPresidentofTokheimEuropeandAfrica.WithintheSchlumbergergroupfrom1975till1998,heservedasFinancialController,MarketingManagerandChiefOperatingOfficerofvariousbusinessunits.
HeisagraduateofEcoleSupérieured’ElectricitéinFrance(B.S.inElectronics)andholdsanMBAfromINSEAD.
Baudouin de la Tour, COOBaudouindelaTouristheChiefOperatingOfficerofTokheimsince2010.HejoinedtheCompanyin2007withtheoverallresponsibilityforTokheim’sglobalnetworkofSalesandServiceDivisions(SSDs).
PriortojoiningTokheim,BaudouinwasManagingDirectorofThomsonElectronics’DigitalBroadbandbusiness,thenadivisionofaGermanGroupactiveintheautomotiveindustry.
HehaspreviouslyheldfinanceandbusinessdevelopmentpositionsatanumberofEuropeancorporateenterprises.HeisagraduateofInstitutd’EtudesPolitiquesdeParis(I.E.P),holdsaMaster’sdegreeinLaw,andanMBAfromH.E.CSchool,Paris.
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theinnovationthataddsvalue,thathelps.Wehavetodelivertherightinnovationtothemarketattherighttime.Thatneedsexpertise,ofcourse,anditalsorequiresanunderstandingofhowthestationoperates–thisiswhatwedo.
There’severyreasontobeconfidentthatTokheimwilldeliveronthispromise–andotherpledges–longintothefuture.Afterall,it’sanorganisationthathasthrivedthroughharnessinginnovation,fromaNorwegianmerchant’s1898inventiontoworld-leadingmanufacturingtechnologiesanddatatrackingthatgivesitarguablythebest-informedmaintenanceoperationintheworld.Embracingchangeandstrivingtoimprovehasworkedforoverahundredyearsnow,andlookssettocontinue.
Above: TQM Meter. Minimal drift over the lifetime of a dispenser. Left: Crypto VGA payment terminal is combining
a completely unique design with a revolutionnary fraud protecting housing system.