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COVER STORY<br />
Adrien Thominet, ECS Group CEO<br />
Digitalization is<br />
essential for our industry<br />
and we must accompany<br />
this change. Obviously,<br />
the change is already<br />
taking place but without<br />
everybody's backing, it<br />
will take longer for the<br />
process to be<br />
implemented entirely.<br />
Performance<br />
improvement and<br />
making our daily work<br />
easier should offer the<br />
means of overriding any<br />
reticence in changing our<br />
way of working.<br />
Adrien Thominet, the CEO of ECS<br />
Group, has been with the company for<br />
more than 23 years. An economics<br />
graduate, he first worked in New York<br />
and Tokyo before settling back to his<br />
roots, Paris, France.<br />
Constantly looking out for growth,<br />
this pragmatic and dynamic business<br />
leader who helped steer the company<br />
to new heights in the GSSA industry,<br />
shares more insights with <strong>ACU</strong> on<br />
different issues facing the air cargo<br />
industry.<br />
As someone who has been in the<br />
GSSA business for many years,<br />
please briefly tell us the perks of<br />
nurturing a career in this industry.<br />
Our industry is somewhat watertight<br />
but it does actually offer<br />
thousands of opportunities. With the<br />
constantly growing demand, the air<br />
cargo industr y is developing<br />
continuously, and the field of<br />
possibilities is as open as ever. The<br />
industry players are all driven by the<br />
same concern for performance and<br />
renewal.<br />
The industry is particularly effective<br />
for those who dare. In this line of<br />
thinking, it is also possible to bring to<br />
the fore innovative ideas, and to move<br />
the traditional ways of doing things. In<br />
short, it means constantly maintaining<br />
action and taking up new challenges<br />
every day. From a more personal<br />
standpoint, I have had the opportunity<br />
of working in a group which has never<br />
stopped its expansion in terms of<br />
performance and geographical<br />
coverage. My job is especially<br />
interesting, as is the group in which I<br />
work. Being constantly in the field, face<br />
to face with the players who make and<br />
keep this industry alive is an experience<br />
which is a long way from the humdrum<br />
will never be a simple routine.<br />
The Yellow Vest Movement in<br />
France is gaining momentum,<br />
what's your stand on issues being<br />
raised as one of the biggest<br />
employers in the GSSA industry?<br />
Above all, the Yellow Vest Movement<br />
is a protestation movement reacting to<br />
the government policy (tax on<br />
automobile fuel, increased cost-ofliving).<br />
At ECS Group, we do not "do”<br />
politics but at the heart of our concerns<br />
lies the well-being and development of<br />
our cooperators. There is a very strong<br />
team spirit at ECS group and we want<br />
to develop it, by setting up various<br />
tools and processes, by internal<br />
communication, organization and<br />
above all, by involving the teams to the<br />
utmost so that they feel that they are<br />
supported by the group.<br />
The Yellow Vest Movement has not<br />
affected our group in any way and has<br />
not had any impact on our quality of<br />
service and our in-house organization.<br />
In terms of innovations, please<br />
share with us your latest projects in<br />
this front.<br />
Internally, we have begun to deploy<br />
business intelligence and reporting<br />
tools. These innovative solutions will<br />
revolutionize our way of working and<br />
dealing with the various markets. Not<br />
only are these tailor-made tools easy to<br />
use, but they also represent a<br />
considerable gain in time and boost<br />
our performance enormously. We will<br />
soon be announcing a new product.<br />
Innovation is therefore the heart of<br />
our concerns and our everyday work,<br />
without it being a constraint. On the<br />
contrary, we see it as a tool, a driving<br />
force and a target. That is why<br />
innovation is part of the 5 values at ECS<br />
Group.<br />
In your opinion, how can the air<br />
cargo industry in general address<br />
problems with digitalization?<br />
As mentioned previously, the matter<br />
of innovation, digitization or any other<br />
conversion of our methods should not<br />
be seen as a constraint but as a chance.<br />
Change is often considered warily,<br />
whereas it should be greeted<br />
enthusiastically.<br />
Digitalization is essential for our<br />
industry and we must accompany this<br />
change. Obviously, the change is<br />
already taking place but without<br />
everybody's backing, it will take longer<br />
for the process to be implemented<br />
entirely. Performance improvement<br />
and making our daily work easier<br />
should offer the means of overriding<br />
any reticence in changing our way of<br />
working.
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