As 2023 winds down and we look ahead to the holiday season, it’s an opportunity to reflect on the year that has been and to consider what’s to come in 2024.

2023 has been a year of guiding our customers through ever-changing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) requirements and expectations. We have done so through a focus on effective supply chain management, vendor consolidation and risk mitigation.

Here, we take a look back at some of the key moments of 2023 for Team Snell.

A Continued Commitment to Partnering with our Customers

This year, our commitment to acting as a trusted advisor to our customers’ businesses was acknowledged by the results from our yearly market research survey, conducted by independent agency, Market-Eye.

These results reinforced the following:

• The depth of expertise, insight and support Snell provided as we emerge from the COVID-19 period resulted in a high Net Promoter Score (NPS). 
• Our account managers continue to deliver relevant insights which offer a source of competitive advantage.
• The overwhelming majority of those surveyed rate Snell as easy to deal with. This speaks to our continued focus on providing a high level of customer service, timely communications and ensuring product is delivered on time and in full, whenever possible.

Over the course of the year, we collaborated on projects focused on managing the inflationary cost pressures facing their businesses. This included proactively offering price decreases to reflect the decrease in freight costs for imported product. We will continue to work with Snell customers in this capacity next year.

Looking ahead to 2024, we will be sharing several new insights with our customers with a focus on staff safety and wellbeing, supply chain management and more. In addition, we are pleased to continue connecting our customers with our in-house experts in flexible food packaging and load containment. We see these experts as critical in helping our customers to manage risk within their businesses.

We will also be working towards achieving FSSC 22000, a Global Food Safety Initiative, on the back of retaining our ISO and HACCP certifications year on year.  

Supporting our People

This year, we were pleased to launch two new programmes for Team Snell with a focus on professional and personal development.

Following a successful pilot of a Get Sorted at Work programme which was led by an external facilitator from Sorted (part of the Retirement Commission), this financial education programme has been delivered to 15 employees so far with plans to continue this training in 2024.

The programme has focused on providing participants with the tools to make informed decisions regarding their money. The topics of discussion included personal budgeting, managing debt and retirement savings.

In addition, we are pleased to have offered high-performing senior leaders in our business the opportunity to participate in situational leadership training through Blanchard New Zealand, an established leadership consultancy and training business with an international presence.

Over the course of five months, a cohort of 12 engaged in training exercises and group discussions with a focus on developing their ability to adapt their leadership style to different situations and the needs of their team members.

With key leaders across sales, marketing, technology, procurement and operations having taken part in the programme, we are seeing the positive impacts of the training across our business.

Furthering our own Sustainability Journey

After four years of calculating our carbon footprint data, we have completed the in-depth process of having our data independently verified by McHugh & Shaw, an independent and New Zealand-based assurance provider.

By completing this process for our own business, we are putting our business under the same microscope as our customers so we can have the utmost confidence in our own sustainability efforts.

We look forward to sharing our audit results next year in the form of a sustainability report.

Reconnecting with our International Suppliers

Following the development and release of our Supplier Code of Conduct, the Snell team was pleased to reconnect in-person with our international supply partners across Taiwan, South Korea and China for the first time since 2019.

These visits provided a unique opportunity for Group Procurement Manager, Andrew, and CE, Shaun, to reconnect with our suppliers in-person, to thank them for their support which allowed us to deliver for our customers throughout COVID times, and to discuss our commercial requirements going into 2024.

Our visit also allowed us to reconnect with and thank our China-based team in-person for their efforts throughout the COVID pandemic to keep our supply chain open at a time in which many businesses faced unprecedented supply chain challenges.

Aligning the Digital & the Physical

Following the launch of our refreshed brand identity in late October, we are looking to build on this foundation in 2024.

Our key areas of focus next year include:

• Improving the digital experience – Through triangulating the feedback of our customers, salespeople and in-house Technology and Marketing teams, we are pleased to share that we have commenced the process of developing our website so it reflects the ease of the in-person experience of engaging Team Snell. In 2024, our focus is on further improving site speed, providing critical notifications, improving product search functionality, and making more detailed product information available via our website.
• Sharing new insights across new channels – Supported by our refreshed brand identity, we look forward to sharing refreshed insights in customer conversations and reviews. In addition, we will share select insights on our website and LinkedIn. Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest updates.
• Bringing our people to the forefront – As our yearly Market-Eye report card tells us, the people of Snell must be credited for our success. For this reason, we will bring the people of Snell and their expertise to the forefront to enrich the customer experience.

Thank You

On behalf of Team Snell, thank you for continuing to partner with us. We look forward to continuing to work together in 2024 and beyond.

We wish you a safe and relaxing holiday season spent with loved ones.