Meet the Master Baker

But it is a problem that Allied Bakeries believes can be largely overcome by sales and marketing operations working more collaboratively with production departments so that any obstacles thrown up can be successfully resolved.

"The joke that Martin Brewis, the sales director, and I have is that I have more sales people on my operations team than he has,"​ remarks Allied Bakeries' group operations director, Nick Law.

"It means we have to be totally aligned on strategic initiatives to do with a particular customer to ensure I've got the people to make it happen and deliver it. So it means you've got to work very closely together."​

Law is responsible for 11 Allied Bakeries sites across the UK, which employ around 4,500 people. Each site has a general manager who reports to Law. When I met him last month, it was at Allied Bakeries' West Bromwich facility, which employs around 450 staff under general manager Andy Hodson. Hodson previously worked in the dairy sector and has been with Allied Bakeries for around two and half years. He is responsible for manufacturing and distribution for the region, as well as a team of local sales reps and territory managers and reports to Law.

West Bromwich is one of a number of the firm's plants benefiting from an investment programme. It's part of a five-year series of projects designed to transform the business (several facilities are over 50 years old) and make it fit for purpose for the next 30 to 40 years.

Law, 43, did a degree in economics and politics at the University of York before cutting his teeth as a graduate trainee in the food industry within United Biscuits' (UB's) KP division, where he stayed for around 10 years. He was latterly responsible for the new Hula Hoops facility at Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire.

Production legacy​

What he achieved at Ashby is something he still feels extremely proud of, having left what he believes to be a legacy that those taking over from him have been able to build on.

"It was a fantastic opportunity to start a new factory and to look at new ways of working and to understand the full range of products, brands and new product development,"​ says Law. "So that was quite a pivotal moment in my career."​

He moved to Allied Bakeries, part of family-owned Associated British Foods (ABF), about 10 years ago and became operations director four years ago. "What I like about ABF and what I liked about UB at the time was that it seemed to have a longer-term vision of where it was going." ​That long-term vision is exemplified by Allied Bakeries' huge investment programme.

The move to Allied Bakeries also gave Law the chance to get involved in the whole business unit and run his own site. He has had to work very closely with retail customers as well being involved in the development of new products.

"So, for me, I got a wider understanding of the marketplace as well: how you make these things happen,"​ remarks Law. "I was used to talking to technical people, but how do you talk to buyers? And how do you convince them to take your products rather than someone else's? How do you get the costing right so that everyone gets a margin out of the product that you are making?"​

It is a series of lessons he has clearly learnt and puts into practice across the various business units for which he is now responsible.

"Internally it was a great chance to work with sales teams because you can look like you're making money on the sales side of your accounts, but you might be losing money on an operational side," ​warns Law. "By joining up the two [sales and production] to make sure that our standards are right, when we are talking with customers we absolutely knew where we were making money and where we wouldn't make money and that is really, really important."​

Law continues: "So that you know where that line is and, when you have these conversations, you know where your 'walk away' position is." ​He admits that, in those early days, Allied Bakeries did undertake some business that "really didn't make sense"​.

Law adds: "You can do complexity, you just have to make sure you cost it out. The classic one is if the volume doesn't appear as everyone has predicted what that impact is then going to have on your cost base.​

"For me, it was a very useful time to go through that and work very closely with the sales teams and get in front of customers to see what that means and how we were going to deliver it; time-scales it was a great learning process."​

Now based at the company's Maidenhead offices, Law makes it clear that, within his current role, he is a lot more than just an operations director: "I am part of the business leadership team and we've all got a key role to play." ​

While devolving local responsibility and "ownership" to each production site's general manager, Law makes a point of formally visiting each site twice a year.

He is particularly proud of the increased product availability that Allied Bakeries now offers its retail customers (99.5% compared with 98% when he first started). Quite an achievement when as much as 40% of the product range is transhipped between different factories.

"We are about business objectives now," ​he remarks. "I am not interested specifically in whether one site has a great service level or a great quality record, because our customers expect the right Kingsmill quality wherever you are in the UK. It doesn't matter whether one site is better than another."​

Law also expresses pride in the much improved safety record within the company especially within its transport operations over the past three to four years.

Competitive environment​

Law stresses the competitive environment of the UK's plant baking sector: one in which change is constant and price sensitivity is fierce.

That's why it is crucial, he believes, to be the best in the business operationally. But striving to achieve this presents its own challenges in changing the way people think and operate. It is necessary to work closely with staff to get the best out of them, he asserts.

"If you ask about my ethos: I totally believe in teamwork," ​he says. "It's not cuddly and friendly and easygoing; you have to really work at it and be clear about what everybody's role is. Teams require really strong leadership. So I look for strong leaders who are really clear about what they are trying to achieve for their teams."​

With input costs particularly milling wheat and fuel soaring over the past year or so, stringent control of costs is an essential element of the business. And while Law mentions various initiatives introduced to reduce waste, he notes that it has also been necessary to pass on some of the cost increases to customers. "It's been a very tough year and we have had lots of conversations with our customers."​

Law views the current transformation programme as a "huge challenge"​ but one that is crucial to establish the foundations for Allied Bakeries to thrive as a business going forward. His ambition, he says, is to see the programme through to completion.

"I'd like to leave the legacy for the next set of bakers coming in who will look at what we have done here and have a platform that makes this business successful for many years to come."​ Law is clearly a man who believes his career is defined by the legacy he leaves behind.