ALD MHC – NESTLÉ, interview
- Jeremy Cleary, Regional CCO South East Asia ALD MHC Mobility Services
- Ng Yit Ming, Regional Procurement Manager Car Fleet ZAOA (Asia,Oceania,Africa), Nestlé
Nestlé contracts ALD in Malaysia
Only a few months ago, ALD Automotive announced its entry into South-East Asia and opened shop in Malaysia with its first Joint Venture with partner Mitsubishi HC Capital: At the start of the second quarter, ALD MHC is very pleased to have signed up with one off its key global clients, Nestlé, in Malaysia.
Selecting the right vendor
Ng Yit Ming, Regional Procurement Manager Car Fleet ZAOA (Asia, Oceania, Africa) explains how the deal came to life. “As your readers will know, the leasing proposal in the APAC market is different from what Europeans or Americans would expect. It’s a maturing market, which we understand and accept. Nonetheless, representing Nestlé, we’re always keen to find suppliers who deliver services that correspond to the highest standards at the right pricing.”
Ming continues: “When ALD Automotive decided to start operations in Malaysia, we have been there to support them; we have a global partnership in place and collaboration is key to bring expertise to our markets. Nonetheless, this certainly did not imply that the contract would go automatically to ALD MHC. We issued a formal tender and an e-auction to identify the right vendor.”
A tough win
Jeremy Cleary, Regional CCO for South-East Asia at ALD MHC confirms: “The tender process was a tough one. We were challenged on services and pricing, and we’re used to that, but also on the very concept of operational leasing. Malaysian companies still tend to buy vehicles rather than lease them, and consequently, a substantial part of the tender consisted of promoting our lease versus buy study and convincing Nestlé stakeholders of our value proposition. We had to crunch the numbers, provide cash flow projections and tax modelling to support the switch to leasing.”
Stakeholders
Ming: “Jeremy is right. We used to buy our vehicles and it’s a challenging job to change behavior. At the same time, we wanted to do it right and involved several stakeholders to ensure full alignment and support for our new way forward. The main business unit was invited, and so were the colleagues from Finance, HR, Facility Management and Legal. We sought approval right at the top of the company. A challenging process indeed, but the right way to implement a foundation for change.”
Cherry on the cake
The first vehicles to be delivered will be dedicated to a project that is of key importance for Nestlé: ‘Project Relief’. Ming explains: “Project Relief is a reforestation project. Nestlé is committed to become net zero by 2050, which might sound like a long time from now, but it includes all our operations, also manufacturing and logistics. You’ll appreciate that this is a sizeable transformation project. Ideally, we would have chosen electric or hybrid vehicles, but as they’re not yet available on the market, we’ve selected the most sustainable alternative.”
Jeremy: ”The ability for ALD MHC to contribute to such an impactful project makes the deal even more worthwhile. ALD MHC is truly committed to a sustainable future and ready to make a positive impact in the South East Asian Region.”
Importance for ALD MHC
Jeremy concludes: “Delivering vehicles to Nestlé in South East Asia means a lot to us. It illustrates the trust that our global customers have in our company and confirms our strategy of delivering services of the highest quality wherever we go. Our operations in Malaysia are young, but we’re benefiting from years of experience in opening new locations; I’m proud to say that we are, a mere few months from go-live, a well-structured business. We also want to take this opportunity to thank Ming and the Nestlé team for recognizing this and for their support to ALD MHC.”