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SAFELY ON YOUR WAY


Yokogawa relies on timely delivery of PPE by itsme

Nothing, but nothing, is as important to Yokogawa as safety. Also for our own employees, who go out and about for Yokogawa's solutions for process automation. You bet the people are well equipped. With the required knowledge. The right tools. And also all necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) supplied by itsme.

A listed multinational. Active worldwide. Figures are important, of course - but not the most important. Because above all, Yokogawa feels like a family business. Like a hot bath, Niek Jansen articulates what every employee experiences here. There is attention for vitality. For flexible working hours, for a good balance between work and private life. Can something promote the well-being of employees, no matter how small? “Then the company implements that. It says a lot about what we at Yokogawa stand for. ”

Niek himself is team leader procurement, at the Dutch office in Amersfoort. Around five hundred people contribute daily to Yokogawa's process automation solutions, primarily for the oil and gas industry worldwide. In those sectors, many remained the same for many years, with the rise of renewables much changing there too. So it's up to Yokogawa to jump in on that. And to support the customer as well as possible with what is to come. Hence also Yokogawa's slogan Co-innovating tomorrow, says Niek. Because can it be smarter? Better? Yokogawa comes a long way with a healthy pioneering drive. “Constantly looking for improvements; that typifies us. "
 

Efficiency up to ERP

The range of Yokogawa products is diverse. Think of field instrumentation and test and measuring equipment. Or to software solutions and operating systems. Everything is aimed at more efficiency at the customer, up to the level of an umbrella ERP system. Yet there is certainly more, Niek emphasizes. Because no matter how innovative, every solution must above all be safe. “Safety is paramount in everything we do. Not only for our customers, but also for ourselves. "

Take, for example, the Yokogawa employees who go to work on a platform at sea. Their equipment must match. Being complete and of the best quality. Safety glasses, hearing protection, the right shoes and clothing: it is just a small selection of their personal protective equipment (PPE). Supplied by itsme, that Yokogawa also provides electrical and mechanical components in addition to PPE. The collaboration with itsme is therefore broad, which is not a coincidence, according to Niek. “Rather one good, reliable supplier than dozens of individual ones. We achieve cost savings with supplier reduction. And just as important: it also offers certainty. At Yokogawa we mainly work on a project basis. That requires a lot of product availability. They simply have to be there and delivered on time. With itsme, we have a supplier who takes care of that. "
 

Longtail wanted and found

Started the delivery of PPE to Yokogawa with clothing, now itsme provides the multinational with everything needed for equipment for a project. Moreover, it is about more than just delivery, says Peter Begeman, product specialist Safety and Work Environment at itsme. “For example, think of the right bag. It must be suitable for offshore use. And also have the right size. Such a bag is not always part of our standard assortment, so we start looking. After which we find such a longtail product and save the customer time. "

The latter is also central to itsme's kitting procedure, says Peter. “We put the goods together in advance in consultation with the customer, reduce everything to one order number with a price agreement and link a parts list of items to it. Instead of ordering all items separately from us, the customer has to deal with only one number. So easy and versatile, for example for clothing packages and assembly goods. ”

Moreover, itsme is not tied to a specific brand. "That makes our advice complete and independent," says Peter, who emphasizes that safety at itsme extends beyond just PPE. “Safety and Work Environment: that is also about lighting. About tools, machine safety and ergonomics. "mpliance.
 

EDI coupling speeds up the purchasing process

The bottom line is that itsme meets every customer need as specifically as possible, says Robin Veldhuis, account manager at itsme for Yokogawa. "Anyone can deliver, but what added value do you offer?" Hence the EDI link with Yokogawa, says Robin. EDI stands for Electronic Data Exchange, meaning that tasks such as order processing or reading order confirmations do not take minutes but only a few seconds. "Such a link greatly speeds up the exchange of data for a purchasing department."

And whether it stays there? Who knows, in the near future Yokogawa will also benefit from a VMI system, with which itsme manages the stock of non-project specific in the customer's warehouse. This way, the customer not only saves time, the inventory value also decreases. Although still in the exploratory phase, according to Niek, Yokogawa is certainly interested in such a system. “Setting it up and maintaining it is not a core business for us, itsme can do it much better. So yes, such a VMI system can certainly be of value to us. It saves us a lot of work, we prevent misunderstandings and not unimportantly: we know for sure that the quality of every product is good. ”
 

Active for more than a century

The kilowatt hour meter; it started with that for Yokogawa in 1915 in Japan. Could founder Tamisuke Yokogawa have thought that his company would grow into the multinational it is today? With more than eighty branches worldwide, Yokogawa now serves the process industry with a wide range of solutions and products. This is also the case in Europe, with its head office in Amersfoort. Around 500 people work there, and in total Yokogawa now has around 19,000 employees. Together they serve many markets, such as pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals in addition to the oil and gas industry. And always based on the same code of conduct: trust, respect and compliance.
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