The Leader - September/October 2008 - (Page 69) “ Like raw materials and commercial products, logistics and infrastructure, innovation intersects with the people who create it. ” innovations to mass markets. “We don’t make the car, we make it more colorful” is one example. In this case, the innovation is BASF OEM paints for new cars made by major auto manufacturers. Finding and keeping talent is a third driver, not only in CRE but across the enterprise. “Form the best team in the (chemical) industry,” is how Glatte positions it. “Find the right people, put them in the right position to drive the business and be an industry leader.” The fourth key driver, sustainable development, helps the company realize its talent, customization and financial strategies – as does CRE. “With our focus on sustainability, we have a very big advantage,” Glatte notes, and BASF has realized ROI on its integrated set of sustainable practices. Its portfolio of nearly 1,200 sites and properties, half of them dedicated to industrial operations, is a big part of that. “We have to use this resource, real estate, to its best and optimal extent.” verBuND Glatte is enthusiastic about BASF’s Verbund concept, which is a German term implying integration but with other meanings. Verbund is the company’s metaphor for blending a three-level hierarchy of products and raw materials to create competitive advantage. Verbund links raw materials to an intermediate product level and then to a commercial product level. It also implies a broad synthesis of resources. Of course, as CoreNet Global has demonstrated over time, CRE should facilitate the sharing of resources and help deliver an integrated set of solutions. In that sense, BASF’s centralized CRE model aligns with the enterprise, like Verbund. Verbund is a networked combination of production plants, energy and waste flows, logistics, and infrastructure. Ludwigshafen, where Glatte is based, is one of BASF’s Verbund sites. At 3.8 sq. mi. (10 sq. km.) and with 350 plants, it’s also the world’s largest chemical site. There’s a triple-bottom-line-type of benefit to the concept, Glatte relates, that’s based on improving economic and environmental performance. Both come mainly through efficient use of raw materials and energy, conservation of natural resources and lower emissions and waste. Each offers CRE a series of leadership opportunities. maNDate for cre Glatte oversees an internal global team of 20 CRE professionals whose primary focus is optimizing the portfolio (14 are in Germany). “We’re currently building up a European facility management organization,” reports Glatte, who announced a department reorganization 2 0 0 8 th e le aDe r 69 septemBer / octoBer
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