b'PARTNER CONTENTHow the war in Ukraine made us rethink the way we do businessO ur company headquarters is in Bulgaria, closeas possible, to re-organize their schedules and fit in for to Ukraine, and we are doing a lot of businessfuture export to Ukraine. in this currently war-torn country. So, I thought IThe EU assisted with some funding and that is would share with you my experiences during the pastgood because it encouraged the people to continue months. In the beginning of the war, there was quitewith their work on the fields despite the situation. some chaos in terms of supply. As most companies, weHowever, the truth is that the farmers need all harbours were not prepared, and there was a period of uncon- re-opened as soon as possible. Otherwise, all the effort trolled market. Prices were increasing literally everyand help will be worthless.hour. And even with those high prices, there was a high deficit of materials on the marketespecially metals,OUT OF THE BOX SOLUTIONS which are our primary raw material.Like all professionals, we must evaluate the situation So, we had to make some changes. from different aspects. Yes, we all suffer and lose a lot in BY: STELLA IVANOVA, HEADour businessesno doubt about that. It is easy to close OF SUPPLY CHAIN AT ELICACHANGING COURSE deals in perfect conditions, but partner relations are PROCESSING The last two years have been hard due to COVID. Webuilt in challenging situations like the current ones. We have a wide range of materials we purchase from allare using this period to establish a sustainable supply over the world, complicating the supply chain evenchain for ELICA, where the place has only suppliers who beyond the current insecure economic situation. We areare ready to share the risks and profits with its partners. planning 6 to 9 months ahead, and for some materialsMore specifically, we are dealing with the current even up to one year. This advanced planning gave uschallenges by working closely with our suppliers and a kind of sustainability to go through these 2-3 monthsgiving them priorities so that they can modify their of blind market spot and prevented us from takingplanning program according to our needs. Also, we the wrong decisions. increased our search range and started using our sup-Initially we struggled somewhat with delays ofpliers contacts who can connect us with new suppliers materials of already confirmed orders. So, we adaptedfrom their countries, even if it is not in their scope of pro-our approach and started acting proactively andduction. In this way, we find alternatives and individual search for backup solutions with a better delivery timesolutions for our customers in the short term.and the same high quality that we always provide to our customers. In the chaos of the market, we followedABOUT ELICA PROCESSINGflexible strategies for each separate project, ensuringNearly 20 years the machines and technologies under that our customers would receive their machines in athe brand of ELICA are being designed and manufac-reasonable period.tured in Bulgaria, in the town of Silistra. The combination Currently, some of the prices of raw materialsof an ambitious young team and the pursuit of innova-(metals) have started to go down. Still, the prices of alltion keeps creating newer and better solutions on the other materials with a high added value, are going upmarket.due to the constant increase of operational expenses.ELICA Processings main expertise is delivering Speculations in the market are extensive. Unfortunately,grain, seed, and food turnkey solutions. The compa-we cannot avoid them, but we are following a meth- nys portfolio includes transport equipment for handling odology which is helping us to minimize them for ourand storage of bulk material, processing equipment business. for cleaning, calibrating, and treating grain and seeds, dehulling systems for sunflower seeds, as well as lab-INSECURE TIMES oratory equipment.Before the war had begun, we had already success- The challenge for the company is to create prod-fully made all the deliveries to our clients. And we areucts that at the same time meet customers needs, now ready to restart all negotiations and continue withregulatory requirements, and good manufacturing each project. The problem is that our partners and cus- practices. Over 15 design engineers take care of tomers feel insecure regarding the future of their invest- realization of our clients individual requirements. By ments. They just dont know what will happen tomorrow.delivering equipment that features high performance, Therefore, we are all in a stand-by position and this issmart automation, and stylish design, we successfully not ideal. On the other hand, our sales representatives,maintain the reputation of ELICA Processing as a relia-production department and assembling teams will tryble business partner.EUROPEAN-SEED.COMIEUROPEAN SEED I 17'