Transparency, symbiosis, co-creation, collaboration and communication were all key words in the session ‘The challenges of the relationship between suppliers, agencies and clients’, which was moderated by Joaquim Silva (Feeders), Luís Matos Chaves (Multilem), Ricardo Bonacho (Imppacto) and Sónia Brochado (Btrust).
Luís Matos Chaves said that customers want ‘transparency in the relationship, “flexibility and agility” and to be an “active part of the process”. And all of this means that the synchronisation between agency and supplier must be ‘total’. Joaquim, Silva also believes that value chains today are increasingly ‘pressurised to respond more quickly and more agilely; therefore, the role between everyone is increasingly symbiotic’.
What is increasingly sought after in catering services is co-creation, creativity, personalisation and customisation, according to Ricardo Bonacho, who pointed out that it is then the ‘financial component’ that ends up influencing the end result, which can be more creative, differentiating or personalised.
And the challenges of the relationship between suppliers, agencies and clients, according to the head of Imppacto, exist in three dimensions: communication, ‘to manage the expectations of what we’re going to present in relation to what they expect our service to be’; deadlines, ‘the time we have to make proposals ends up being none’ and when it comes to food you need time; and budget, ‘you often want to make omelettes without eggs’, and so it’s difficult to ‘be creative, innovative and sustainable’. He argued that the caterer should be involved from the start of the process.
For Luis Matos Chaves, the challenge is to maintain the ‘principle of excellence’ in a context of tight timings and increasingly demanding customers. That’s why the entire value chain must have ‘availability and dedication’. Retaining talent is also a challenge and he pointed out that, in this area, you need people with the profile and aptitude for adrenaline peaks, but that you also need to ‘compensate them appropriately’. After all, ‘people are the greatest asset in this industry, so we have to know how to look after them’.
Joaquim Silva believes that ‘everything comes down to timings, to time’; time that is needed to look for disruptive and sustainable solutions. We need to value time, which is ‘fundamental’. In addition, Luís Matos Chaves advocated the use of tools so that time is used ‘efficiently’ and more transparency in relationships.
Other ideas that emerged from the session were that there is greater synergy between industry players after the pandemic; that briefings are better the more exhaustive they are; that the more transparent, open and objective the communication between the parties, the easier it is to manage expectations; and that the ethics and conduct of partners are important, as are seriousness and trust.
