Other news articles

• 30.10.23

  Speaker at Katoen Natie: How to Approach Gen-Z

  In only 3 years Millenials and gen Z will make up 50% of the workforce, and this will have an impact on relationships in the workplace. Since we never stop learning at Katoen Natie, we wanted to learn more about this topic. We decided to invite keynote speaker, Tom Palmaerts, who shared his insights and ideas with our HR and operational departments. Tom Palmaerts, who is a futurist and trendwatcher enlightened us with his passion and expertise about the different generations. Working all together, we can learn and continue to grow, both in our work and personal lives. We, at Katoen Natie don’t see this as a problem, on the contrary, we see this as an opportunity to learn from each other. To say it with a quote of Tom: “You can’t create the future alone”.     Underneath you'll find some handy tips & tricks to keep in mind for the future:

  1. Allow Technology Access
     • Future generation values technology; create a tech-friendly workplace policy.
     • Limit phone use during meetings but let the future generation feel comfortable with personal technology during work hours.
  2. Respect Worldviews
     • Acknowledge political polarization; address potential workplace conflicts.
     • Consider policies like banning political apparel or providing diversity training.
  3. Build Trust in a Way They Understand
     • Foster trust between managers and employees.
     • Adapt communication methods for the future generation, e.g., texting or emailing.
     • Encourage bonding opportunities in and out of the workplace.
  4. Think Self-Management Whenever Possible
     • The next generation prefers self-management and flexible work arrangements.
     • Highlight self-management opportunities during the hiring process.
  5. Offer a Stake in Projects or Business
     • The future generation values ownership; offer partial ownership or stock options for career progression.
  6. Encourage Work-Life Balance
     • Promote work-life balance and use incentives other than promotions or raises.
     • Provide empathy training for managers to support next generation employees during life events

  Read more
• 22.09.23

  Katoen Natie Support Lifelong Learning

  Founded in 1854, Katoen Natie started as a cotton guild and has since grown into one of the largest full-service suppliers of logistics and technical solutions. The company counts over 18000 employees in 35 countries. Despite its tremendous growth throughout the years, Katoen Natie remains a family business at heart that takes pride in the added value they deliver, their organisational culture and their employees. The Challenge Katoen Natie strongly believes that its people make the difference. Therefore, the company invests many resources in the development and performance of their employees in order to cultivate an environment where critical minds can flourish and feel supported.  s emphasis on employee development and performance, as well as their expanding workforce prompted Katoen Natie business unit Consumer Goods & Industry to start their search for an LMS. Up until that point, all learning & development data was tracked manually in different spreadsheets, and performance evaluations were done on paper. This created a lot of administrative burden and complicated reporting and analysis. Consequently, the business unit Consumer Goods & Industry (CG&I) at Katoen Natie decided to investigate ways to digitize and automate these processes. The Solution After carefully considering various contenders, the CG&I business unit of Katoen Natie decided that Totara would best fit their needs. Totara was not unknown to Katoen Natie. Their location in Singapore had already been using this software since 2020. What really tipped the scales, though, was Totara’s great price/quality ratio and the flexibility it offers. In order to leverage this flexibility to the maximum, Katoen Natie Belgium decided to partner with Deloitte, which provided a team of Totara experts and developers that guided them through every step of the process.

  “The nice thing about Totara is how customizable it is. It allows you to go beyond the standard functionalities of the platform, without having to touch the core code.”

  Together with Deloitte, Katoen Natie implemented both Totara Learn and Totara Perform in their CG&I business unit. The combination of these two modules allows them to closely track and manage learning and performance, in order to help employees to grow their skill set and remain compliant with company requirements. Katoen Natie offers training to both blue- and white-collar employees across multiple departments. Therefore, they make frequent use of (certification) programmes and audiences to provide tailored learning materials. Thanks to Totara Perform, Katoen Natie can also follow up on coaching and feedback processes more easily, leaving evaluations on paper in the past. By setting up different audiences, they can tailor these processes to their diverse workforce. In addition, the platform automatically tracks competency development based on completed programmes and courses. This allows managers to keep an overview of their team’s development to identify and close skill gaps early on. Furthermore, each business unit at Katoen Natie consists of multiple sites. This is no different for the CG&I business unit. Therefore, they decided to set up multitenancy on their platform. Segmenting the LMS into tenants enables each site to have its own way of working in terms of managing users, learning, and performance and ensures privacy protection. While the platform uses a general catalogue that allows each user to see which learning materials are on offer across the entire business unit, learners can only access those courses and programmes that belong to their tenant, and user data remains within each tenant. Similarly, each site manages its own performance evaluations, without having to share that data outside of its tenant. The Result The implementation of Totara Learn and Perform in the Consumer Goods & Industry business unit at Katoen Natie has upgraded, simplified and automated both learning and performance management. The administrative burden of tracking everything in various spreadsheets or on paper has been lifted. The business unit now has an easy overview of all internal and external training completed by their 5500 blue-and white-collar employees, as well as the employees’ competency development and performance data. This helps GC&I to ensure that their workforce keeps growing their skill set and remains compliant with training and certification requirements. Thanks to Totara’s flexibility and Deloitte’s team of Totara experts, Katoen Natie was able to create a Talent Experience platform that is easy to use and completely tailored to their organizational structure and the needs of their diverse employees. The implementation has been such a success, that other business units at Katoen Natie have now also started their own Totara implementation, relying again on the help of Totara Platinum Partner Deloitte.

  “We’ve really enjoyed having Deloitte at our side throughout this process. They are fully engaged in every step of the way, to make sure our ideas and requirements are realized. They also ensure that we have a lot of autonomy on the platform. They share their knowledge, rather than keeping it in-house.” Marijke De Paepe – Human Resources at Katoen Natie

     

  Read more
• 19.09.23

  Warehousing Benefits Near Gdansk and Katoen Natie's Strategic Advantage

  Unlocking the Advantages of Katoen Natie's Warehousing Expansion Near the Thriving Port of Gdansk

  In a strategic move tailored to cater to the surging demand for warehousing space, Katoen Natie, a renowned logistics and industrial service provider, has unveiled its latest endeavor in Poland. Two brand-new warehousing sites, strategically positioned in Kutno and Wroclaw, are set to deliver a host of benefits for businesses seeking proximity to the thriving Port of Gdansk.

  Capitalizing on Economic Prosperity

  The decision to embark on this expansion journey was fueled by the resounding demand among customers for warehousing facilities in close proximity to the rapidly ascending Port of Gdansk. This thriving port has been at the epicenter of Poland's economic rise, with its continuous surge in transshipments. Particularly noteworthy is the exceptional dynamism in container turnover, which can be attributed to the presence of the largest DCT container terminal in the Baltic Sea. This impressive growth trajectory has not only captured the attention of businesses but has also ignited their enthusiasm to establish their warehousing operations either at the port itself or in its close proximity.  

  A Strategic Nexus for Warehousing: The Port of Gdansk

  At the heart of this expansion strategy lies the Port of Gdansk, an economic powerhouse that has been on an upward trajectory for some time now. Katoen Natie's decision to open these new warehousing sites in Kutno and Wroclaw is testament to the port's pivotal role in the region's economic landscape.

  Unrivaled Connectivity: Road, Rail, and Ocean Links for Warehousing

  One of the standout features of this development is the unparalleled connectivity that the Port of Gdansk offers, providing significant benefits for warehousing operations. With convenient road and railway transport connections seamlessly linked to the port, businesses stand to reap substantial benefits. The regular and direct ocean links that the port enjoys not only bolster international trade but also translate into tangible advantages for warehousing needs. Reduced costs for cargo transshipment, storage, and transportation are some of the key benefits that businesses can expect to harness from their proximity to this flourishing hub.

  A Future-Focused Approach to Warehousing

  Katoen Natie's investment in these new warehousing sites near the Port of Gdansk underscores their commitment to providing cutting-edge warehousing solutions that align with the demands of a rapidly evolving global economy. As the Port of Gdansk continues to rise as a significant player on the global trade stage, Katoen Natie's warehousing presence in Kutno and Wroclaw will undoubtedly serve as a critical link in the supply chains of businesses looking to leverage the port's strategic warehousing advantages. In a world where speed, efficiency, and accessibility are paramount for warehousing operations, Katoen Natie's strategic expansion near the Port of Gdansk is poised to offer a seamless and cost-effective warehousing solution to businesses looking to tap into the economic vibrancy of this thriving region.

  Read more
• 19.09.23

  Benefits of warehousing close to Fos Port

  Marseille is on the Mediterranean coast in the south of France, in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. On a national scale, Marseille is the 2^nd largest city in terms of population after Paris. Therefore, Marseille benefits from all the infrastructures present in a capital city. A particular advantage is Marseille Fos port, which is one of the Major Seaports of France. Below are several advantages of this port, along with an overview of how the 3PL Katoen Natie has strategically positioned itself just 30 kilometers away from this port.

  Strategic location on the Mediterranean coast

  Considered as a major southern European port, Marseille Fos port looks out over the Mediterranean Ocean. The access that it provides is important because of its location in the south of France, thus offering wide variety of connections:

  • Italy – connections with the island of Sardinia
  • Africa – connections between Europe and northern and western Africa
  • Asia – via the Suez Canal, Marseille Fos port allows you to get to the Middle East
  • Island of Corsica

  Marseille Fos port is made up of two areas. The East area has an area of 400 hectares. At the heart of the city, this urban port zone is known as the local port for goods and passengers. The West area is in the industrial area of Fos-sur-Mer, which has 10,000 hectares including 3000 hectares of natural space. This part of the port is dedicated to international commerce and to the logistics and industrial sectors. A multimodal port: river, rail, road and pipeline The Marseille Fos port offers 4 ways of circulating goods to cover the needs of each business sector. Road network The terminals of the port, which make up at least 80% of all transport, are connected to the French road network which is connected to Europe. Rail network Although rail transport makes up 15% of goods transportation, one of the port’s aims is to triple the volume transported by rail in 4 years’ time. Some important figures:

  • 7 million tonnes of goods
  • 150 trains per week
  • 22 destinations in France and 9 in Europe
  • Combined transport thanks to 5 operators: Naviland Cargo, Greenmodal, T3M, Ferovergne and Delta rail
  • Investment of 20 million euros since 2008 to improve railway infrastructures

  River network With 6% of good traffic, one of the unique aspects of this port is the river connection between the Mediterranean and the Rhône-Saône axis. This has been possible thanks to Medlink Ports, which brings together seaports and internal ports from this axis with the support of river and rail infrastructures. Important information:

  • 3 million tonnes of goods
  • 5 regular services per week to Valencia, Lyon and Macon
  • 500km of network on a large scale

  Transport by pipeline This system allows for the movement of bulk liquids in a secure way, notably crude or refined hydrocarbons. This modality is closely linked to the river network, as this part aims to triple the volume transported by pipeline.

  ---

  Goods and traffic at Marseille Fos port All types of industrial goods are welcome at this port. The sectors which are already established there benefit from different services and infrastructures at the Marseille Fos port. Conventional goods

  • Regular shipping lines for heavy parcels to 7 Mediterranean countries
  • 2.5 million tonnes of traffic
  • 1 ro-ro ramp with a capacity of 800 tonnes

  Containers and reefers

  • 1^st port in France in terms of transport of containers
  • Extension of 2.6km, the longest dock in Europe
  • Port is located at the crossroad of international shipping routes
  • Journeys to 500 international ports
  • 25 ship stopovers per day
  • Capacity of 3 million m² of storage

  ---

  Finally, Marseille Fos Port is a critical gateway to France and Europe, with many strategic advantages for businesses in the area. Katoen Natie has established itself as a prominent player among these companies by strategically locating its major multicustomer platform in Saint-Martin-De-Crau, just 30 km from this bustling port. Saint-Martin-De-Crau position as a major gateway, acting as a crucial access point to both France and the larger European continent, is further cemented by this strategic posture, which also highlights Katoen Natie's dedication to effective logistics and seamless connection. Katoen Natie's presence in Saint-Martin-De-Crau is a tribute to the lasting significance of strategic position and easy access in today's globalized economy as firms continue to look for innovative solutions to satisfy their changing supply chain needs.

  Read more