The cooperation between HELLA and Faurecia continues to progress under the FORVIA umbrella. As tomorrow marks Day 100, the two Chief Integration Officers Gabriele Herzog (Faurecia) and Jan Hellmich (HELLA) report on the status of the collaboration.

Thursday 2022-06-09

You have recently been appointed Chief Integration Officer (CIO). How long have you been working for Faurecia or HELLA? Can you tell us about your previous role?

Gabriele Herzog: I have been with Faurecia since 2002 and have held management positions in various areas of the finance organization. In my last role as Chief Financial Officer for Europe, my main task was to give Global Business Services a face in Europe. I have now been Chief Integration Officer since April 1, 2022, and look forward to continuing to drive forward the integration of Faurecia and HELLA.

Jan Hellmich: I started at HELLA six years ago as Managing Director of the Corporate Center in Shanghai. Since September last year, I have been back in Germany and responsible for Strategic Projects and Transformation in Lippstadt. On March 1, 2022, I officially took on the role of Chief Integration Officer at HELLA. But I was also intensively involved in Project ONE before.

As CIOs, what is your mission post Day-One? Isn’t the work already done after the completion of the acquisition and the creation of the umbrella brand FORVIA?

Herzog: On the contrary, the work has only just begun. In the first phase, we have identified areas where we can bundle synergies. Initially, however, we were unable to share certain information due to antitrust restrictions. This has changed with Day ONE. In the meantime, we have implemented the first measures and can now also develop and openly communicate the new strategy. We have the opportunity to create something great. But there is still a long way to go before the companies will actually cooperate fully and speak the same language.

Hellmich: I agree with that. We first need to define what the group we want to create should look like in the first place. We currently have a window of opportunity of a few months to create something great. It depends on all of us what we make of it. The job of us, the Chief Integration Officers, is to provide the right framework to give FORVIA a successful start in life.

Integration has been progressing at a fast pace since day one. Can you name the highlights?

Herzog: One highlight that everyone can already see and use is the new FORVIA e-mail addresses for all employees. With Teams employees can also work across companies, as we have adapted the IT landscape accordingly. In addition, Faurecia products are sold in the aftermarket under the HELLA brand name and can thus also be found, for example, at major online retailers. Such traces of FORVIA can now be found everywhere. But in the end, those are just the obvious things.

Hellmich: A lot also happens behind the scenes, of course, especially where cross-company teams come together. This is particularly the case in the areas of purchasing, marketing and sales. Joint teams from HELLA and Faurecia negotiate contracts, visit customers together or organize joint trade fair appearances under the FORVIA umbrella. A personal highlight for me was a visit to Nanterre after Day ONE. The FORVIA logo could be seen everywhere and gave me an impression of what we can achieve together.

On Day One, 10 key synergy projects were announced as the focus of the first 100 days of the combined Group. How are we progressing on that front?

Hellmich: By and large, the synergy projects are making good progress. Our synergy figures and targets have been verified several times in various ways over the past few months and they remain absolutely realistic. Based on these figures, we have now defined more specific targets. Some may wonder why you don't see success in the current figures yet. This is partly because we have set ourselves a long-term synergy target up to 2025. Of course, there are also interim targets for 2022, for example, but the most important targets are on a scale of several years. We have to proceed slowly and carefully. However, we are already seeing immediate successes with some workstreams, particularly in purchasing.

Herzog: Of course, we must not make the mistake of comparing apples with oranges. First of all, concrete key performance indicators have to be defined, which are then used to put the figures into perspective. If the figures do not match expectations, the causes must be identified and appropriate countermeasures taken. And we are already seeing this in the workstreams: progress is being made, we are identifying areas for improvement and making adjustments. However, the successes achieved will only be reflected more clearly in the figures in a few months' time. Defining such figures and processes simply takes time and is not done overnight.

What are the next steps?

Herzog: The next steps are to continue the journey and implement synergies in concrete terms. To give an actual example: On the IT side, HELLA has decided to implement SAP S/4 HANA for some time. Faurecia and HELLA will now define the future S4 Hana landscape in a common concept phase for the automotive business. We must also not ignore the fact that we live in troubled times. There are numerous disruptive events as well as legal requirements that we have to take into account and that require additional resources in addition to integration measures. That's why we have to be especially careful to use the resources we have well and to make sure we don't give our teams unfulfillable tasks. Even if we would like to be even faster here and there, we have to proceed with a sense of proportion.

Hellmich: We must also not forget what great potential this cooperation means for us. Especially in such challenging times as these, with a pandemic, component shortages and the war in Ukraine, an alliance on the scale of FORVIA offers additional security. The sooner we can take advantage of the opportunities, the better we will be able to work together efficiently under the FORVIA umbrella.

You lead project teams in which FORVIANs from both companies are represented - what do you notice most about them?

Hellmich: To be honest, I didn't expect how compatible our employees actually are. Although our teams speak different native languages, they speak the same language when it comes to content. That's really fascinating. I had not expected it in this form. As far as corporate culture is concerned, there are of course differences. So I absolutely agree with Patrick Koller when he says that HELLA has a writing culture, but Faurecia has a speaking culture. At HELLA we really write a lot, we use numbers and a lot of abbreviations. At Faurecia, things are very different. And here I can quote Patrick Koller again: "The truth or the optimum lies somewhere in the middle." Now we have the opportunity together to define the new optimum for FORVIA.

Herzog: Yes, I completely agree. HELLA usually approaches issues in a very structured and orderly but central manner, whereas Faurecia delegates tasks and accountabilities. At the work level, I am surprised by the openness of the people in both companies. Problems are addressed directly and, given the tasks that still await us, that is constructive and good.

A final word?

Hellmich: I am looking forward to intensively accompanying the further process. We now have the unique opportunity to create something new that draws on the best of both worlds. I think I speak for both of us when I ask everyone to support us and do his or her part. Be open and talk to us. We highly appreciate all of your support.