Carl Zeiss Vision South Africa

Carl Zeiss Vision South Africa has been making use of strategic partnerships in order to improve visibility across the supply chain and underline its commitment to excellent customer service.

Carl Zeiss Vision, the global leader in precision optics,has been active in various fields of optical solutions for more than 160 years, and has become synonymous with the latest in the innovation and technology of spectacle lenses. From microsurgery to scientific research, Hollywood film-making and the US space programme, ZEISS is fast-becoming the obvious choice for professionals who require the best in clarity, precision and quality.

In 2005, the optical business of Carl Zeiss in Germany and the US lens supplier SOLA merged. Two of the world's most renowned companies in the optical sector united to form something completely unique: the first provider to serve all spectacle needs in all price segments. The new global company was named Carl Zeiss Vision.

Specifically, the Carl Zeiss Vision business in South Africa is a manufacturer of spectacle lenses, and a distributor and agent for a range of frames, brands and optical equipment, with six sites in the region and distributing to 1,500 retail outlets. Carl Zeiss Vision has been represented in South Africa since 1934, and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Carl Zeiss Germany since 1974. The South African company headquarters were completed in 1990, and are home to the Instruments and Consumer Optics division. In addition to the Johannesburg office, regional offices exist throughout South Africa, in Randburg, Durban, Cape Town and East London.

Ever-aware of the need for continuous improvement, the company recently established a strategic partnership with Berco Express, a South African full supply chain solutions provider, to integrate technology in terms of scanning and tracking to deliver a better and faster service. “This was necessitated by our technically specific industry where every pair of spectacle lens is personalised to each customer and specific frame choice, which also directly affects the initial lens selection and/or material type selection,” explains Donald Currie, Carl Zeiss Vision’s managing director. “We process thousands of deliveries, twice a day, to customers in core centres. Our national network of stores therefore expects excellent service delivery.”

Berco Express was established in 1992. With 16 branches and four warehouses situated across South Africa, the company is able to offer extensive national geographic coverage. Berco also specialises in several services such as domestic and international courier, which Carl Zeiss Vision is able to make use of.

The market is changing within the practice of eye care practitioners as regards the diagnostic equipment as well as the product awareness of patients—thus placing pressure on all players in the value chain to capture data electronically at practice level, and then for the manufacturer to integrate this data directly into the calculation engine software for manufacturing and edging processes. Vertical integration and a 360 degree approach from order entry at the retail practice linked to order tracking and timely fulfilment for the customer is thus developing into a science in itself.

Carl Zeiss Vision’s ability to manufacture and deliver highly technical and personalised optics in a turnaround time of between one and 10 days has been improved, thanks to Berco Express’s POD (proof of deliveries) scanning and electronic tracking technology. Having images of PODs readily available for verification purposes adds further customer value to the distribution network. By refining Carl Zeiss Vision’s paper trail and making use of electronic invoicing, improvements have been seen in the cash-to-cash cycle as well as the turnaround times in the delivery of parcels, documentation and payment.

Currie continues: “Carl Zeiss Vision was looking for a long-term partner to handle its logistics both locally and internationally—and, with its problem solving approach, Berco Express was the logical partner.” A number of key recommendations were made by Berco Express which have resulted in major cost savings for Carl Zeiss Vision, along with improvements in a number of other areas.

“Providing practical business solutions for our clients is what we do best”, says Wilnand Vlok, commercial executive at Berco Express. “It was important for our Business Solutions division to spend time with the decision makers at Carl Zeiss Vision so we could understand their business and identify those areas where improvements could be recommended.

“Visibility throughout the supply chain has been important for both parties since the start of the process. This resulted in problem areas being identified and tackled timeously by implementing customised as well as best practices for Carl Zeiss Vision,” explains Vlok.

Berco Express, with the aid of the Business Solutions division, has also introduced the principles of optimal service utilisation and consolidated billing. “We are the only courier company in South Africa that offers automated consolidation,” concludes Vlok. Some of the key factors that have been addressed and are part of the continuous improvements for both parties are change management, customisation and third party relationship management. http://www.better-vision.zeiss.com