How DSM-Firmenich Transformed its Partnership into a Profitable Collaboration with its Top Dairy Customer
"Triple Fit Canvas has not only strengthened the partnership for my company DSM-Firmenich with one of our top dairy customers, but has also driven significant growth and sustainability initiatives, resulting in a remarkable 10% year-on-year growth.”
Virginie Jackson, Director Regional Sales, DSM-Firmenich
Value Creation Award Winner 2024
When DSM-Firmenich implemented the Triple Fit Canvas with its top dairy customer, it facilitated a deeper understanding of the relationship dynamics. The Triple Fit helped identify key hurdles in the areas of People, Relationships, and Solutions, leading to the formation of a customer value creation team. This initiative resulted in significant improvements, including a 10% year-on-year growth for DSM-Firmenich and its customer and enhanced collaboration on sustainability initiatives.
The Situation
The situation involved DSM-Firmenich, a division of a multinational company in the life science industry, that supplies ingredients to a major global dairy manufacturer which aimed to grow through sustainability efforts. By applying the Triple Fit methodology, a deeper collaboration was established, enhancing the relationship and resulting in increased share-of-wallet and turnover within six months of implementation.
The Challenge
The challenge for DSM-Firmenich was to expand its partnership with the customer beyond a long-standing preferred supplier relationship in one product segment, where it held an 80% share-of-wallet. Despite this success, many account managers struggled to penetrate other growth segments due to a lack of dedication and focus on these areas. The areas of the Triple Fit that needed to be addressed included People (building credibility and engagement with the customer’s Fresh Dairy R&D), Relationships (enhancing the relationship at the R&D level and ensuring better communication) and Solutions (identifying strategic fits and value-added projects to support the customer's growth, particularly in the organic segment).
The Benefits
The customer experienced a reduction in costs by decreasing the number of SKUs, which contributed to an increase in overall share-of-wallet and turnover for DSM-Firmenich within six months of starting the Triple Fit approach. There has been a continuous year-on-year growth of 10% with the customer, which is considered a strong benchmark in the industry. The collaboration provided additional insights and opportunities for DSM-Firmenich to be involved in the customer's growth strategy through co-development initiatives. The collaboration allowed the customer to become successful in the growing organic segment, further enhancing its market position and profitability.
The Solution
The Triple Fit Canvas (TFC) helped by facilitating a deeper understanding of the relationship between DSM-Firmenich and the customer. It served as a "door opener" that broke down barriers and pinpointed key hurdles in their collaboration. The TFC allowed for a structured assessment of the relationship, revealing strengths and weaknesses, and led to the formation of a 'Customer' Value Creation Team. This internal alignment of actions and resources ultimately supported the customer’s growth strategy and enhanced collaboration.
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