Editorial

What is your role at Fonterra? Logistics Planning Manager. What do you do? My team is responsible for supply chain resource forecasting and distribution planning across our 80 plus warehousing network in NZ. Where did you start your working life? Zimbabwe, I completed an Electrical Engineering degree in Canada. After graduating I went back to Zimbabwe ready to contribute to my country. Doing What? My first job was in Electrical Wiring for new commercial buildings, I did that for three months and decided I needed something more exciting, so I moved into Supply Chain Consulting. What projects do you enjoy doing?  I enjoy strategic and business improvement projects that strongly leverage IT and automation. I think I enjoy these sorts of investments because they create opportunities and purpose for our people and free them up to be able to focus on value added tasks. How do you find current business conditions? At the back Covid 19 or before. Challenging as many others are, but as part of the food supply chain Fonterra’s operations were considered an essential service. Our farmers, our factories and our supply chain continued to work and ensured that we provided access to dairy nutrition across all our markets. Has the Covid-19 had much of an impact on your company’s activities? One of the strengths of our Co-op is our ability to adapt to change in the global market. We have learnt a lot over the last few years and build resilience and BCP capability. Like many businesses we had to respond to changing business requirements, for example redirecting milk meant for “out of home” (cafes and restaurants) consumption to ingredients and retail categories Looking back, I am very proud of our leadership at Fonterra through Covid.  We were all focused on doing the right thing for our […]

Melbourne: Rio Tinto will start planning for the wind-down of operations and the eventual closure of New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) following the conclusion of its strategic review which has shown the business is no longer viable given high energy costs and a challenging outlook for the Aluminum industry. As a result, NZAS has given Meridian Energy notice to terminate the power contract, which will end in August 2021, when the wind-down of operations is expected to complete. The strategic review concluded that the smelter, which has made Rio Tinto an underlying loss of NZ$46m in 2019, is not economically viable due to energy costs that are some of the highest in the industry globally, coupled with a challenging short to medium term aluminum outlook. Extensive discussions with a wide range of interested parties have failed to secure a power contract that will enable the operation to become both competitive and profitable. During the next 14 months, NZAS and Rio Tinto will work closely with partners as detailed planning is undertaken to wind-down operations, and eventually close the smelter. Rio Tinto Aluminium chief executive Alf Barrios said “We recognise the decision to wind-down operations at NZAS will have a significant impact on employees, the community and our customers. “It is not a decision we have made lightly and without significant careful consideration. It is very unfortunate we could not find a solution with our partners to secure a power price reduction aimed at making NZAS a financially viable business. We will therefore terminate the power contract and move to close the operation. “We are committed to working with our partners as we progress through detailed planning towards closure and we will do all we can together with the government to find ways to support the Southland community.” NZAS is a […]

Apprenticeship and trades training support will help firms get the skills they need and position New Zealand well for the future, says BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope. “The suite of trades training initiatives supports a range of different models to help people get the skills they need. The Budget package provides a real opportunity for companies and education providers to work together to find ways to turbo charge the skills development New Zealand needs. “A skilled and adaptive workforce will be an important part of the economic recovery, and position New Zealand well for the future. Being able to get the people and skills they need to thrive is critical for New Zealand businesses. It is good to see the Government acknowledge the critical role that industry leadership needs to play in our skills system.” As well, the Government will provide a more than $200 million boost to NZ Trade and Enterprise to expand the scope and intensity of support provided to firms. In addition, a $10 million fund is being set up to provide incentives and grants to encourage e-commerce, train more digital advisors and provide information and support for SMEs wanting to incorporate e-commerce into their business models. Budget 2020 also sets aside $80 million to encourage entrepreneurs and businesses to develop new products by enabling them to claim tax deductions for unsuccessful or abandoned assets. BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope says small to medium-sized businesses are the lifeblood of New Zealand’s economy. “We are glad to see the Government provide further support to small businesses and encourage entrepreneurship. “New Zealand might be small, but we have proven it can produce strong global companies and with the right support the next Xero, Pushpay or Rocket Lab can emerge.” In addition, the Government has put aside $150 million for […]

With the number of migrants to New Zealand likely to significantly reduce in the next few years, employers will have to look to other diverse groups in our workforce to ensure their business thrives. Massey University’s Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley says the Covid-19 crisis means the supply of temporary and permanent migrant workers to New Zealand is currently turned off. “And it might remain turned off, depending on the visa category, for between 12 months to three years,” he says. Diversity Works New Zealand Chief Executive Maretha Smit says this means businesses who have relied on immigration to fill labour and skills shortages will have to look at different ways to bolster their workforce. “We would like to see New Zealand organisations more engaged with the older generation in the workforce. Employers should be talking to their wisdom workers to find out how they can retain their skills and institutional knowledge while still accommodating the different ways they may want or need to work as they age,” she says. Fewer migrants will also mean that businesses need to more actively reach out to our younger New Zealanders. “If our economy slows down, there is a risk we could end up with more NEETs (young people not in education, employment, or training),” Smit says. “Forward-thinking leaders should be planning now to invest in those young people and bring them into their organisations to create the workforce they need for future success.” Spoonley has been leading the team analysing data from the 2020 New Zealand Workplace Diversity Survey. The survey report will be made public on Wednesday, 6 May but initial findings suggest ageing and employment transition for younger staff do not appear to be important considerations for employers. But he believes that, for some industries at least, they will become increasingly […]