I
of the brewery's total portfolio ("Almaza is part of the culture here," says
Bou Nassifi) in new 33 cl bottles, with a suitable price increase.
Astoundingly, Almaza only had to close for another two days during the
rest of the 32 days of the war. The main rule for continuing operations was
"no risk to people, premises or assets, in that order," says Voorn. "Our
people were not endangering themselves to protect property or assets.
And no one at our company was allowed to drive along routes known to be
unsafe."
Keeping clients and customers supplied under difficult circumstances
required commitment and flexibility. As Tony Mehanna, Sales Director at the
brewery recalls, this meant compiling a new marketing plan and changed
sales routes. Sales routes were evaluated on a daily, sometimes hourly
basis. "The new routing plan was based on selling only the necessary items
in each case," he says. "We were serving our customers indirectly. Because
of the war, they weren't going out, so we had to ensure that our beer got to
the supply points."
The new marketing plan also required some creativity. In the Beqaa
valley, Mehanna hired small open pick-ups to do the deliveries, because
large trucks could be targetted. "The transport costs were around twice as
high as normal," comments Bou Nassif, "but we supported the high cost
because we wanted to continue the business as long as we could."
As Mehanna saw it, the brewery's main task was to "keep Almaza in the
heads of our customers. We kept prices at the same levels as before the
war, and this gained us the appreciation of a lot of our customers.
[Lebanese pounds declined on the international market as soon as the war
began.]
"People told us that they were very reassured to see our trucks coming
down the road with their stocks of beer onboard," says Mehanna. "They said
it was as if normal life could continue."
During July and August the brewery achieved sales of about 13,000
hectolitres each month. The fact that they were able to do so was the result
of a purchasing policy by which they kept at least one months supply in
stock at all times, says Bou Naassif.
Global companies that operate in regions of conflict are often faced
with the dilemma of whether to continue business or to close down
temporarily, of course, as Dov Frohman, a former head of Intel Israel,
writing in the Flarvard Business Review [December 2006], points out.
"To this day, I remain convinced that meeting our commitment to Intel
during the war was critical to the future evolution of Intel Israel," he says.
His experience taught him three main lessons for dealing with a crisis, he
says: focus on long-term survival, go against the current and trust your
instincts.
The results achieved by the Almaza team in Lebanon during those
difficult days are a real tribute to the commitment of the whole team there -
and to their instinctive understanding of the same lessons that Dov
Frohman learned. "Resilience is an important trait of the Lebanese," says
Voorn. "They have a 'never give up' attitude here, and that's what got us all
through."
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