Turning Pandemic Effect Into An Opportunity For Positive Change

As the pandemic’s effect began to be felt around the world, Goodpack CEO Eric Gregoire decided to turn it into an opportunity for positive change.

- Anne Majumdar

NAME: Eric Gregoire

COMPANY: Goodpack

POSITION: CEO

LOCATION: Singapore

When the business world slams on its brakes as the uncertainty of a worldwide pandemic sets in, why not take the opportunity to reassess your entire business? That is exactly what Goodpack CEO Eric Gregoire did when he noticed the cogs starting to slow. Since The CEO Magazine last spoke to Eric in April 2018, he has been busy overseeing a massive overhaul of the business.

The Singapore-based company, bought by private equity group KKR in 2014, operates a global network of intelligent, returnable containers, which help businesses reduce supply chain costs, inventory, waste, damages, environmental footprint and capital spend.

“We’ve globalised the business, decentralising operations in order to make quicker decisions and to be closer to the market,” Eric reveals. As part of the rethink, Goodpack’s tagline was changed from Goodpack Growing Partnerships to Network @ Work. The company culture was also refreshed with a new framework focusing on safety, quality, delivery, cash and cost, known as SQDCC. “It used to be totally focused on cost,” he explains.

The period has also seen the company develop new containers designed to cater to the needs of specific markets. On top of that, there has been a digital transformation that has introduced the serialisation of the fleet of containers and the use of artificial intelligence for planning, as well as a new track-and-trace capability.