Green helps to keep Woolworths quality intact

Ray Smuts MALCOLM GREEN would dearly love to fly, but is keenly aware fledglings first have to get the fundamentals right before taking wing. Armed with a sound operational track record that latterly included Portnet - he was port operations manager and port manager in Cape Town - Green was appointed managing director of Universal Product Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of Woolworths, last April. This young company acts as supply chain service provider for the giant retail group, a seemingly daunting task considering Woolworths has 236 owned and franchised stores and is not only present in Africa but in Dubai and Australia (through Country Road). The group turned R7.4 billion in the last financial year for an operating profit of R472m. Our interview has just begun when Green poses the question: "Think Woolworths and which attributes readily come to mind?" We agree premium products, quality, freshness, availability, world class and value - for starters. "In order to achieve all of that as a brand offering, the distribution and logistics network has to be able to meet those expectations, so we thrive very much on effectiveness and efficiencies which will support the brand and we take "care" in everything we handle (including flowers). Reflecting on his early days at UPN, he says, "Core competencies were in place but we were being too ambitious with the growth of the company. We reworked our strategy and agreed that we would focus on getting the fundamentals with our existing customers right. It is imperative that we pass value back to Woolworths so that they improve their competitive advantage in the market place." With revenue of R350m per annum, Green has indicated his intent to treble the previous year's returns and is well on track to achieve this.