Could you please briefly introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your company?
Let me introduce myself ̶ I am Marco Candiani, Managing Director of STEF Italia. I graduated in Mechanical Engineering and hold a Master in Business Administration. My professional experience was acquired at logistics multinationals such as Christian Salvesen and Kuehne Nagel. I have been part of the STEF Group since 2013.
STEF is the European specialist in temperature-controlled logistics. Our wide range of services is tailored to our customers in the world of production, distribution and catering, with our goal being to transport food products in the best possible conditions. To achieve this objective, the Group relies on a network of 230 sites in 7 European countries.
Our 18,000 employees work with passion, so that our customers can focus on their core business; their shared passion is based on our four values – Enthusiasm, Respect, Rigour and Performance.
The STEF Group’s shareholders are the employees and managers: this creates a strong sense of belonging and a drive to achieve the company’s objectives. The STEF Group pays particular attention to the development of its human resources; our two-year Graduate Programme for managerial growth has now been running for about 20 years. Most of our current and future managers are generated by this scheme.
In your opinion, what new challenges have arisen in the area of Supply Chain and Operations?
In any field of business and, therefore, also in that of Supply Chain, change is the only constant: we must learn to understand the signals and to put the individual and society at the centre of our thinking.
Without a doubt, we can expect a future in constant motion, and this will be at an inconceivable speed and heading in unexpected directions. And because these changes are unpredictable, we must prepare to be aware of the signs and adapt our behaviour and our methods of managing them accordingly. Consumption is changing, both in terms of timing and method ̶ the market is not static, nor is it either stalling or declining; however, the environment in which we live and work is changing , in a fluid and frenetic way.
How is STEF Italia facing these new challenges?
We are paying attention to the signals being sent by the marketplace, proposing innovative solutions and value-added services to our clients, and testing out different approaches with our partners (customers, suppliers and recipients) with the aim of underpinning their development and their ambitions.
Why has STEF Italia decided to become one of the GEMOS Corporate Advisory Board partners?
What better partner could a leading company in its field hope to find? The international flavour and the prestige of this Business School constitute, for us, the ideal terrain for positioning our ideas and expanding our horizons.
In your opinion, what mutual benefits does this partnership bring to your company and to the GEMOS students?
STEF is a living, working laboratory, where logistics professionals can realise their innovation projects, develop and refine technological and organisational solutions and make the most of their education by getting real experience in the field of what they are studying in their coursework.
Professionals can have their say at STEF and are motivated to do so; they can give voice to their creativity and the force of change. Our door is always open ̶ we are happy to listen and new ideas are always welcome.
