Gries Deco wins Supply Chain Management Award 2017

Gries Deco Company, the home accessories and small furniture retailer behind the ‘Depot’ brand name, has won the Supply Chain Management Award 2017. The prize was presented on September 26 as part of “Exchainge – The Supply Chainers’ Conference” in Frankfurt’s House of Logistics and Mobility (HOLM).

The four finalists – Adidas, Airbus, Covestro, and Gries Deco Company – presented their ideas live to the audience before the jury sat down to make its final decision. For the third year in a row, the winner was chosen right then and there during the ceremony. Industry professionals attending the event had the opportunity to submit their votes, and the result was considered by the jury during its on-site deliberations.

A winning idea Gries Deco Company made the decision in recent years to create a digital supply chain solution that consolidates the movements of goods across borders without losing preferences, guaranteeing full control of all important steps in the value chain. One of the primary hubs for this solution is the company’s highly digitized distribution center for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. A cross-border cloud solution reduced inventories and operating costs and greatly enhanced material flow transparency.

Praise from the jury “Gries Deco impressed the jury in all the evaluation criteria – strategy, processes, organization, and innovation”, explained Dr. Bernd Rosenkranz, who accepted the award last year on behalf of the PERI Group and presented this year’s award. “The supply chain plays a critical role in the company’s success, and this project really drives that point home.”

“Gries Deco is the role model for a highly digitized global supply chain. Global transparency combined with the insourcing of critical supply chain activities allows efficiency to really take off”, emphasized juror Harald Geimer, a Partner at PwC Strategy&.

Fellow juror Dr. Petra Seebauer, publisher of the trade journal Logistik Het, adder her thoughts about the award-winning solution: “Gries Deco presented a cloud-based supply chain solution that combines automation and material flow transparency to achieve end-toend efficiency. They recognized the value of the digital supply chain as a competitive factor and worked to fully implement it within the company, bringing their own employees and supply chain partners on board for a concerted effort. The jury was particularly impressed by Gries Deco’s unconventional cloud based solution for the delivery route from Asia via Germany to Switzerland, despite of different customs systems.”

“We are pleased that our performance in the digital supply chain is appreciated and has been honored by recognized experts, and we are proud to have won the award”, responded Patric Spethmann, Managing Director and COO of Gries Deco Company. “What makes us especially proud is that the digital supply chain at Depot is an interdisciplinary achievement that came about in large part thanks to those in charge of general logistics, inbound logistics, and IT. With a team like that, I feel extremely confident facing the challenges of digitization and Industry 4.0 that lie ahead.”