Annual Report 2012/2013 5.09 MB - Nobina AB

Nobina NorwayNorwayREQUIREMENTS FORA FUNCTIONINGORGANIZATIONA YEAR OF FLUX“A great deal of focus during the 2012/2013 financialyear was on improving internal processesand creating the right conditions for profitablecontracts, which requires changes to the organizationand culture.For Nobina Norway, this has definitely beena year of flux. We concluded the contract inHedemark and started up services in Oslo(West) and Tromsö. This replacement representsaround half of our total revenue. A largeportion of the management team for theNorwegian organization is also new: I havebeen the managing director since autumn 2012and we have several other new employees in keypositions.It is excellent that we now have operationsin Oslo again, after an eight-year absence,thanks to the contract for Oslo (West). Thestart-up of services there has been successful.However, we have faced a number of challengesin connection with starting up services inTromsö. There are always a number of risksassociated with the start of services for a contractthat has been publicly tendered for the firsttime. Unfortunately, though, the problemswe’ve encountered in Tromsö have been moreserious than one might expect. We are continuingforward with a high level of motivation todevelop the organization and ensure that wehave the right employees at the right positionsthroughout the organization. The path forwardhas already been staked out. Withrenewed energy, we will work hard to make theNorwegian organization the best that it canpossibly be.”Philipp Engedal, President of NobinaNorwayThe Norwegian operations had sales of SEK 946 (718) million in 2012/2013,which was SEK 228 million higher than the previous year. Operating profit/loss improved to SEK –25 (–128) million. Indexation adjustments were inadequateand maintenance costs were high. The start-up costs for Tromsö inparticular were also higher than expected.OPERATIONSFOCUS ON ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONSNobina Norway obtained new leadership during the financial year, along withseveral new employees in key positions who have extensive experience in changeprocesses and logistics. For example, the company now has a new President,CFO and Head of HR. It also has a new manager for tendering and business development,as well as a number of new operations managers for various traffic areas.We’ve also made organizational changes to create a flatter structure with morefocus on operations. Although employee turnover and changes to the organizationalstructure have consumed considerable resources, it was necessary inorder to run the Norwegian business successfully.Our revenue was consumed by increased costs and accordingly, marginswere low. For this reason, we have initiated a cost-focused streamlining programme.Important components of this are more well-defined working methods,leadership development and follow-up with employees. We also face theproblem of difficulty recruiting personnel for some of Nobina Norway’s contractsand sick leave figures are also relatively high.The staffing problems, cost challenges and sick leave are three factors which,together with incorrect specification of buses, have made the start-up of servicesin Tromsö (northern Norway) particularly difficult. This is a large contract. Itinvolves around 300 employees and 32 of the buses are hybrids. These types ofbuses have never been used in winter conditions before and the results have notbeen good, with both delays and vehicle damages. We’ve worked hard at implementingnecessary improvements like winter preparations, filing claims withsuppliers, cooperation with the PTA (TFT), organizational changes and recruiting.We set up a task force to solve critical problems in a concrete plan of action.We also reinforced our leadership.The new Oslo (West) contract came into force in October 2012. It encompasses78 buses and 230 employees. Unlike Tromsö, it has been successful andit also demonstrates our ability to efficiently start up new services. On the whole,everything has been implemented according to plan. We have not had any staffingproblems and services have run smoothly. We will now continue streamliningthe organization and establishing efficient routines for eliminating damages.34