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Welcome to The Chemical Show™, where chemicals mean business. Featuring interviews with industry executives, you’ll hear about the key trends impacting chemicals and plastics today: growth, sustainability, innovation, business transformation, digitalization, supply chain, talent, strategic marketing, customer experience and much more.
Episodes are published every Tuesday.
Hosted by industry veteran Victoria Meyer, The Chemical Show brings you the latest insights into the industry. You will hear from leading industry executives as they discuss their companies, business, markets, and leadership. You’ll learn how chemical, specialty chemical, petrochemical, material science and plastics companies are making an impact, responding to the changing business environment, and discussing best practices and approaches you can apply in your business.
A key component of the modern
world economy, the chemical
industry delivers products and
innovations to enhance everyday life.
It is also an industry in transformation
where chemical executives and workers
are delivering growth and industry
changing advancements while responding
to pressures from investors, regulators,
and public opinion, discover how
leading companies are approaching these
challenges here on the chemical show.
Join Victoria Meyer, president
of Progressio Global and
host of the chemical show.
As she speaks with executives across the
industry and learns how they are leading
their companies to grow, transform, and
push industry boundaries on all frontiers.
Here's your host, Victoria Meyer.
Victoria: Hi, this is Victoria Meyer.
Welcome back to The Chemical Show,
where chemicals means business.
As I record today's episode, we
are in early second quarter, 2024.
We started the year with a foggy
outlook, according to Steve
Lewandowski, who was our guest on one
of the first episodes of the year.
Go check it out.
And since then we've seen some ups and
downs and a sense of mild optimism.
Not just because of the markets, although
they certainly seem to be doing better
this year than they were a year ago.
But also because of the actions
that companies have taken to be more
resilient in these flat, challenging,
foggy, and uncertain markets.
We're in the early days of the first
quarter earnings reporting season.
Ooh, that's a tongue twister and it's a
little too soon to tell, but some of the
early reports are better than expected.
And frankly, I expect some
to be worse than expected.
Um, the focus for this episode is
on the strategic actions needed
to ensure business resilience.
During uncertain markets.
Now this is a repackaging of episodes 120,
122, and 124 that I recorded recorded.
Um, mid-year last year.
When it was really apparent that
there was a downturn in markets and
companies were struggling and really
needed to revisit their playbooks.
And to ensure business
resilience and longevity.
Well, it is clear that some companies
have done very well with this
commercial discipline playbook.
And others are still working
to execute a few more plays..
So based on the discussions I've been
having with folks recently, I thought
it's a time to bring this back, um,
and to focus in on these elements
that's critical for companies to
continue to take here in 2024.
And so what you're going to hear is
a replay of three episodes that were
separate episodes back in last year,
we've combined them into one this year.
And the three elements that
companies are really focusing on is
number one, commercial discipline.
And we talk about how commercial
discipline and those elements of
commercial discipline that companies
are using to drive business resilience.
The second aspect is customer centricity.
And what I define as true customer
centricity, not to be confused with
customer satisfaction and oh, let
me just keep my customers happy.
No, it is really about driving
true customer centricity, which is
finding value for yourself and your
customers and figuring out where
the most valuable partnerships and
opportunities are to ensure that
business resilience and longevity.
The third is diversification
of customers and markets.
And this is a play in the playbook
that I see continuing to happen.
In fact, recently I met with a couple of
companies who talked about the fact that
they are seeking new markets that they are
developing and growing into new markets.
One to manage the, the current
market narrative, not just
short-term, but long-term.
And also just to build
this long-term resilience.
That's what we're covering
today is those three aspects.
If you want a download on commercial
discipline best practices, we've
developed a great download for you.
Visit the show notes where
there's a download link and
you can get that information.
And if you have any questions,
again, just reach out.
You can shoot me a DM.
You can leave me a message on LinkedIn
and we'll respond to get back to you.
Now., onto today's episode.
In episode 118, I shared Some
insights from the second quarter,
2023 chemical earnings reports.
In that episode, I talked about kind
of the themes that came through, which
were flat markets due to inventory,
de stocking sluggish economies and
overproduction in some markets.
And also highlighted three approaches
that companies are taking to create
business resilience in these markets.
Those three approaches
include commercial discipline.
Customer centricity and diversification
of markets and customers I'm going
to be unpacking these approaches
and sharing the approaches that
leading companies are following.
Commercial discipline.
It means different things to different
people in different companies.
And so I thought it was useful to
unpack some of those approaches that
companies are taking that maybe your
company is taking, or maybe it needs to.
Get a little bit more focused in taking.
During a down economy, companies often
face challenges, and we've seen this
chemical companies are facing challenges
that require them to implement various
strategies to help support business
resilience for today and for the future.
Applying commercial discipline
involves making really informed
and strategic decisions to optimize
resources, control costs, and
maintain strong market positions.
And, you know, I talked about this in
episode one 18 and it came through in
a couple of earnings reports that I
referenced, control what you can control.
So to me, it's Some of this aspect
of commercial discipline, as we
see companies implementing it,
is about control, controlling
what you can control and clarity.
And I'm going to get into that a
little bit more as we go along here.
So here are several ways that
companies I've talked with are applying
commercial discipline to create
business resilience in a down economy.
First of all, Cost optimization.
I mean, this is a play
playbook that we often hear.
Companies focus really on identifying
where they can control costs,
um, and reduce costs without
compromising essential functions
without compromising their customers.
Um, sometimes this involves
maybe renegotiating contracts,
streamlining operations,
eliminating unnecessary expenses.
To me, this is really
about clarity on value.
Cost optimization is not
just about controlling costs.
It's about controlling the right costs.
How do you know they're the right costs?
Because you understand the value
that you're realizing as a business
with your customers and in your
bigger picture for your strategy.
The second piece of this
is clarity on costs.
Um, and And it's really, when we talk
about getting clear on your costs and
getting that clarity, it involves getting
to the real and the actual, not just
using rules of thumb and assumptions.
So one of the things I've talked
with a leader recently, we talked
about, um, margin management and
getting really crystal clear on cost
management and margin management.
And in the particular instance, it was
really about, um, moving from assumptions.
In some of their cost basis, particularly
in areas of logistics and transportation,
where a number maybe got assessed for
the whole year and plugged into the S.
A.
P.
system.
And then you're managing against
that using standard rates.
It is a simplification.
Simplifications are awesome.
And so many times, however, when you're
really getting disciplined about your
costs, when you have to get commercially
disciplined to deal with these flat
markets that we're seeing, you have to
go beyond those simple rules of thumb.
So getting more current
with their real costs.
The other thing I hear from leaders, and
I hear this from business leaders who are
You know, making decisions around pricing
and margins, they are sometimes lagging.
Their financial people, their
finance analysts, or whomever is
providing some of those cost data
to them, um, are often lagging.
Um, again, making assumptions using old
data, um, around manufacturing costs,
production costs, sales costs, what
have you, when your information is.
Not current, or when you're using
rules of thumb, um, it is really
difficult to effectively manage
margins to set your prices, to reach
your target margins and EBITDAs.
Um, And, and get the business
performance that you want without
understanding those actuals.
So my second point here is clarity on
costs is critical and is a critical
element of commercial discipline.
The third piece is cashflow management.
I think these one, two,
three go together by the way.
So you know, one cost
optimization, two clarity on costs.
Because it's tough to
optimize if you're not clear.
Um, the third is cashflow
and cash is King.
Um, I've said this before.
You've heard this in other places.
This involves really better control of
invoicing collections and payments, right?
I think that's where we often
see this cash generation engine.
I'm also hearing the pros
and cons of this, right?
So I talked to a leader recently
who, who basically said there.
Some of their customers
have gotten extraordinarily
nitpicky on invoices, right?
So, there's a typo, there's
something wrong and kicking
it back to the beginning.
So it's, it's delay.
It's a strategic delay of
invoice payment and processing
to manage costs and cashflow.
But it's also frankly, this goes
on both sides of the equation,
cashflow managing invoices, managing
payables and managing where your
cash is going is really critical.
Hopefully you're doing it in a way that
quite frankly is respectful of your
business partners, customers and suppliers
because everybody's in the same boat.
I've seen it.
You guys have seen it sometimes that
the, you know, the 800 pound gorilla,
if you want to use that term often
has better and more stringent control
on some of this cashflow management.
But it's across the value chain, right?
So cashflow management is critical.
The fourth thing is business
efficiency and optimization.
So this falls into a couple
of different categories.
One is just automating and
streamlining processes.
So I have talked to a number of
leaders who have said, we have, we
are taking a really hard look at our
business processes, making sure that
they are streamlined and efficient.
Again, one, why it takes costs
and time out of the system, right?
So time is one of these things that's.
actually quite costly.
But it's also the right
way to do business.
It allows you to be more efficient with
your, your people with your finances,
with your production and how you're moving
products to and fro with your customers.
So automating and streamlining processes,
one element of this business efficiency.
Optimizing supply chains, right?
I think that's something
that always happens.
Taking a sharper look when you
have clarity, as we already talked
about clarity on what those real
supply chain costs are, you're able
to better effectively optimize.
So that's one of these elements.
And then the other pieces of
aligning business systems.
So I've heard from several leaders
recently that they are taking this time
when business is a little bit slower.
They are taking this time to really
align and combine business systems.
This is particularly true of
companies that have, formed
through mergers, um, and maybe are
operating several business systems.
When you look at the activities of
2020, 21, 22, they were running and
gunning, moving fast, didn't necessarily
have time to focus in on business
systems and business processes and
efficiencies because they were serving
customers and serving their business
needs while there was that opportunity.
As things slow down, they've taken
that time and one leader in particular
said, you know, we're working on inter
internal processes and getting that
fixed, slowing down so that when the
market speed up, we can go fast, right?
So that whole concept of slow down,
fix it, and then go fast is absolutely.
Essential and it's a critical part
of this business efficiency and
optimization and one element of
commercial discipline that we're seeing.
The fifth thing that I'm going to
touch on and the final thing I'm
really touching on today is around
prioritizing and optimizing products
and solutions, getting clear.
So clarity on the most profitable
products, services, and solutions
that you're able to offer.
So this aligns with two of those
other topics we're going to be
talking about which is customer
centricity and diversification.
So, you know, we're going to be getting
into more depth there because obviously
when you're prioritizing and optimizing
on your best, and I'm going to use
that term loosely and it gets defined
differently in different places.
Um, but when you're optimizing on
that, you can't do it in a bubble.
You have to do it in the context of your
markets and your customers and the rest of
the value that you bringing, but figuring
out what those best or optimal products
and services are and selling more of them.
Is critical cutting
the dead weight, right?
So there are, we all know this in
our business businesses, there are
products and services that are.
Um, less optimal that are not
as profitable, not as effective.
Um, and it's tempting, I will say in
a down market, it is really tempting
to do everything for everyone.
Ooh, can you make this product?
Sure.
Can you do this service?
Sure.
However, commercial discipline
basically involves saying no more often.
Right.
Um, you are really focused in on making
the right decisions for your business,
for your profits, for your people,
for your customers and your suppliers.
And that involves this whole aspect of
prioritizing and optimizing products
and solutions, cutting the dead
weight, saying no, rather than saying
yes to things that are suboptimal.
Um, so those are my five things
applying commercial discipline
requires a combination of short
term cost cutting, margin.
Maximization measures.
Why?
That's a triple M's there as well
as long term strategic planning.
So right.
So you've got to look short term
and long term at the same time.
Companies are really focused on
effectively balancing those aspects.
Okay.
Customer centricity.
What.
Is it?
Customer centricity is often
confused with customer service and
it aligns with customer experience.
The reality is there is
not one common definition.
Gartner says customer centricity
demands that the customer is the
focal point of all decisions related
to delivering products, services,
and experiences to create customer
satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy.
Oh, that's a long definition.
I actually like to tighten this up
because the reality is this is not
about all customers or rather all
customers are not created equal.
And in fact, Wharton professor
Peter Faber, who wrote a book
called customer centricity, I'll
link to it in the show notes.
What he says is customer centricity
is about focusing on the right
customers to create strategic value.
As I like to say, you can't be
everything to everyone, right?
So companies that try to
be everything to everyone.
It is a slow and painful, maybe not a
death, but certainly not reaching the
standards of business performance and
business resilience you want, right?
So you have to be able to say, no,
you can't be everything to everyone.
Customer satisfaction
doesn't pay the bills, right?
So again, customer centricity is
not necessarily about having a
high customer satisfaction score.
You can have an amazingly high customer
satisfaction score and have no customers
or have very few customers and not
not getting the right profitability,
not getting the right value out
of those customer relationships.
So really customer centricity is really
about serving the right customers.
In the right way with the right
products and services at the right time.
One of the things that stood out in
those second quarter 23 earnings reports
and this came from Eastman CEO, Mark
Costa, he, one of the comments he made in
that report was we continue to benefit.
From momentum in our premium
products and markets, right?
And the subtext in that as well is
recognizing that those products are
going to the customers that value them.
And customer centricity is a
whole lot about understanding
and matching what you do.
And how you serve your customers
and putting the right customers
at the center of your business.
So key elements in this, you
know, I actually think this is
not an overnight exercise, right?
So this is a journey that takes a
couple of years really to get right.
And part of this first
piece is just phase one.
I call part of discovering
and understanding, right?
The elements that that really you
can focus in on when you're thinking
about customer centricity and dry
using it to drive business resilience.
So first of all, customer lifetime value.
Which is really the value that
business relationships have over time.
So, you know, thinking about value,
I really think about this in terms of
margin and growth and kind of the overall
value you're getting with your business.
You can measure it a
couple of different ways.
It is really forward looking, right?
So if we think about.
Projects, capital projects,
innovations, et cetera.
When you start looking back at sunk
costs, some costs don't matter.
I hate to say this, but in many ways
that sunk business relationship, the
relationship that's behind you, it
matters, but it's not the primary focus.
It is one element of assessing
customer lifetime value.
Customer lifetime value
is forward looking, right?
You are recognizing the value of that
company of the business leader being
okay with some ups and downs, right?
Because we've seen in these last few
years, there's been some great highs.
There's been some great lows in
business across the chemical industry.
But it's really about looking at
value, looking at cost to serve
this customer and this relationship.
Not just really in the ways that
we sometimes think about it, which
would be the cost of goods sold
and just raw materials and looking
at just a pure profit margin.
But it's also resources, time, logistics,
labs, innovation, understanding the value.
And you know what, the
value equation is two way.
Let's be clear about that
value is never just one way.
It is two way and your customer
lifetime value in thinking about.
Those customers, your most strategic
customers that create the most value
for you and together you for them is
critical and customer centricity involves
understanding the right customers.
Customer lifetime value
is one way of doing that.
The second piece of this is
around strategic alignment, right?
So that also aligns with customer lifetime
value, but the value that you, companies
that are strategically aligned to you.
Value you and your services more.
You are aligned in long term objectives.
You're aligned in the ways of doing
business, your strategies around
growth, around customers, around
markets, around other elements
of your business are aligned.
You have strategic alignment.
Companies that you have strategic
alignment with, they're better.
Quite possibly a, one of your,
you know, right customers, right.
That you want to align to the third piece
of customer centricity and really in this
discovery phase of figuring out who are
your key customers that need to be at that
center of your business, um, segmentation
and ensuring that you're doing the
right things for the right customers.
I actually talked a lot about segmentation
and personalization in episode 110.
If you haven't listened,
go back and listen.
We'll also link it to the show notes,
but segmentation is critical because
when you're using customer centricity
and driving your business to creating
a higher level of customer experience,
a higher level of customer value,
You need to know which segments of
your customers are you achieving that
with and are achieving that with you.
And then the fourth thing really
ties in with employee buy in.
And I actually, I've lumped this
here in my phase one discovery and
the reality is this becomes of your
part of your design and definition.
Once you understand right, customer
lifetime value, strategic alignment,
your segmentation, you're able to take
the next step and say, okay, now what?
Who are the right customers that we need
to put at the center of our business
that drive the greatest strategic value?
And again, I think of it
like a bullseye target.
You're not necessarily getting rid of
customers, but you are understanding
the most valuable premium customers,
greatest customer lifetime value, and
ensuring that you're getting the That
you are serving them appropriately.
When you think about your next year
of customers, you might be serving
them a little bit differently, right?
So driving customer satisfaction,
doing the right things for the right
customers, being customer centric and
putting your customers at the center.
Of your business processes,
your customer activities, but
also prioritizing them, right?
I'm going to go back to what Mark
Costa said Eastman CEO, Mark Costa
said, which is around, we continue
to benefit from momentum in our
premium products and markets.
Customer centricity is key.
I've heard this from a number of leaders.
Customer and centricity is one of those
key levers that we have to exercise.
Um, you know, being customer centric
requires clear understanding, strategy,
decisions about your approach to
customers, the customer experience and
customer value, being the right supplier
to the right customer at the right time.
Today.
I am talking about market and
customer diversification and its
role in creating business resilience
during flat and inflationary markets.
The events of the last three years
have really highlighted the need
for diversification, whether it be
in your customer base, the End use
markets, you're selling into geographic
locations that you are, your customers
are in, or your suppliers are in.
And in fact, even just supplier
diversification, just like we
talk about in financial markets.
And if you guys are investors and you're
looking at your financial portfolios,
diversification has long been critical.
The same is true with chemical companies
and across the chemical industry.
So, Let's talk a little bit about
just what is diversification?
Diversification is really when
companies change or expands their
products, offerings, markets,
both end use and geographic.
And it was really first noted in the
1950s as one of four critical growth
strategies by Igor Ansov, who's a
mathematician and business manager.
And if you want to go learn more about
him and his theories, you can do so.
Find a link and add it to the show notes.
Often.
It's interesting.
He viewed it in a pretty narrow
connotation, which I kind of find
interesting and ironic because to me,
diversification is about growing the
pie, expanding your opportunity base.
And yet he often talked a lot
about products and services.
I personally think it's really appropriate
to think about diversification in the
sense of geographies, manufacturing
locations, your supplier base,
your customer base, and more.
Now, the reality is diversification
is not a quick exercise.
When you're thinking about diversifying
your manufacturing locations,
To create better resilience,
better cost basis, et cetera.
That's something that takes a couple
of years to implement depending on the
products and that you are servicing and
the customers and suppliers you've got.
And when I talk to leaders about business
performance over the past year, some
of the benefits of diversification are
deeply rooted in the business decisions
they've Already taken case in point in
a global business leader at a leading
materials company that I've spoken with
has stated her business and her part
of the business is rocking this year.
Great performance, sales, exceeding
expectations, consistent growth, which
is a great counterbalance to her.
Colleagues business, which focuses in
a different market area, in his case,
supplying products that go into a
medical fields and medical applications,
which is not meeting business plan.
So from a leadership perspective,
that diversification of.
End uses of markets is really successful
because when one business is doing
great and the other business is not
doing great, it provides balance.
And that's certainly what we've really
seen over the past year and really in
many ways over the past three years,
because the pandemic, the supply
chain disruptions we've seen as a
result of that, as a result of the
Russia Ukraine war, as a result of.
Energy prices as a result of what China
is and isn't doing has really driven
the need for better diversification
and manifesting those results.
Why do companies diversify?
Number one, to beat the competition,
doing something that the competition
isn't doing so that they get a step ahead.
Growing profits.
And I think at the end of the day,
every company exists to grow its
profits, um, exists to create.
greater value for its shareholders,
as well as its employees and its
customers and its business partners.
It provides strength during downturns.
And that's really the focus of where
this highlight of the benefit of
diversification of markets and customers
and how companies are seeing real
resilience in these flat and rocky times.
Thank you.
It's critical, right?
It provides strength.
It provides resiliency.
And the fourth reason is really
around navigating industry changes.
There is no doubt in my mind, there's
no doubt in your mind that the chemical
industry, our customers, the markets
that we sell into, consumer demand.
Is changing as a result of economic
shifts, as a result of net zero
sustainability and ESG, which is driving
us towards greater diversification
away from perhaps some of the
traditional chemical feedstocks that
we typically see flowing through
the value chain into more green and
natural and sustainable products.
How do we take advantage of
diversification from where you
are today and where you're going
forward is really number one,
assessing where that market is going.
Where does your business
fit in the future markets?
Companies create success with flexibility.
It's not about being
everything to everyone.
I've talked about that before.
You're not going to be diversified
to the point where it's disparate
and it doesn't make sense.
And in fact, the best opportunity
for diversification, I like to think
of it as a Venn diagram, right?
So you guys are familiar with the
Venn diagram where there's the.
Two circles, let's just say market
a market B and where the overlap is.
You want to have overlap and synchronicity
in your diversification because
otherwise you're just assembling a
business and a company that requires
double the resources, double the
products, double the efforts.
And Effective diversification is
linked linkages to existing products,
linkages to existing markets and
seeking out the greater opportunities.
So you know, and this comes in
supplier diversification, I've
touched on that a little bit,
customer diversification, right?
So understanding what
customer finds value.
In your products, in your services,
in your offerings and figuring out,
well, what are the parallel markets
that then find value in the same
things and going after it, extending
your reach and diversifying where
you're going and geographies.
So I think we're in a real interesting
time right now, especially from
a geographic diversification.
The signs indicate that we are maybe
shifting to more regional supply chains.
which implies more
regional business models.
So you would say, does
diversification still hold true?
Yes and no.
And it really depends on products, right?
What we're seeing is that some
businesses are a more local business and
understanding where your local businesses
are and how they tie together is critical.
Global businesses, um, have
a greater reliance on global
markets, global suppliers.
That's not always a great thing.
Putting all your eggs in one basket
in terms of where you're sourcing in
terms of where you're selling creates
risk and less business resilience.
For me, this, this aspect of
diversification and where companies
are really finding value is when they
are Taking the business they have today
and looking at what's successful and
then finding out the customers in the
markets and the business opportunities
that extend, that diversify so that
they're not relying on the same basis
and that take them to the new place.
So that's it.
This is a quick and easy snapshot
of the benefits of diversification.
There you have it folks, the
three elements to ensure resilient
companies and resilient businesses.
They were true.
In 2023 there too in 2024.
And frankly they're true
in pretty much all markets.
Um, and those three things
are commercial discipline.
True customer centricity.
And diversification of
customers and markets.
So I hope you enjoy today's episode.
Leave me a message on LinkedIn.
Go ahead and rate and review.
If you are not currently subscribing
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Um, remember we've got a great download
for you today on commercial discipline.
Best practices.
The link is in the show notes.
The link is also on this episode
page on the chemical show.com.
And thanks for listening today.
Keep listening, keep
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And we will talk with you again soon.
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