ABZ Diervoeding
ABZ Diervoeding produces animal feed for all types of farm animals. ABZ Diervoeding is a cooperative, the farmers who purchase their products are also co-owners and are represented on the Supervisory Board. With five production locations, ABZ Diervoeding is one of the larger animal feed producers in the Netherlands. That also makes it a challenging and fun customer, says Raf Hulsman, consultant at Schouten Advies. “You get very different questions from a large, complex company such as ABZ Diervoeding than from a smaller company.”
Schouten Advies has been involved with the company’s predecessors since 2003. ABZ Diervoeding was created in 2012 after a merger between the Arkervaart-Twente and Brameco Zon cooperatives. Raf then helped to align the quality systems of the two companies. Nicolette van den Brand, KAM coordinator: “Before the merger, we were a smaller company. As a result, our duties were more diverse and we needed more from Schouten Advies. Now that we have grown, we have a lot of in-house knowledge, but it is still nice to have someone with whom you can spar. Sometimes we are stuck in the way we work. Because Schouten Advies looks at various companies as a consultancy, we develop a broader view with them. ”
Schouten Advies helps if extra capacity is needed, such as during the merger. “Raf has been involved with ABZ Diervoeding for so long that he knows which way we are going or want to go. That saves a lot of time in explaining vision. It is nice that we have a permanent contact at Schouten Advies. But if Raf is absent, we are also helped quickly. At Schouten Advies there is a whole team behind your consultant, which is really an advantage. ”
Schouten Advies recently provided a number of training courses at ABZ Diervoeding, about sampling, among others. In-company training can take into account, for example, shift work, so that every employee can also be trained at a suitable time. ABZ Diervoeding works according to the VLOG standard. Van den Brand: “Staff training is compulsory under VLOG. We have decided to outsource it to Schouten Advies. With an external party we can show that we take the training seriously. Because the training was given in-company, it was also well focused on our business practice. ”
