10-02-2021
2021 will be the year of great changes
“This past year has taught us that we can change if we must. For this reason, we will be supercharging multiple initiatives in green transition, digitalisation, and innovation.” – CEO Michael Frihagen
In the early days of 2021, I must start with an admission. Over the years, our organisation has been too slow to transform new initiatives from words to action – especially in terms of digitalisation.
In many ways, 2020 was a year, which we had rather been spared. It was, however, also a year in which we were forced to innovate, and a year filled with valuable lessons. At H. Daugaard, we will strive to fully utilise this knowledge in 2021, rolling out several new initiatives beneficial to you.
Before diving further into details about these new initiatives, I want to take the opportunity to say thank you. You have my sincerest gratitude for the way in which you have handled the obvious challenges arising from total and partial lockdowns of our society. It has been a pleasure to see how we have managed to stay in contact virtually, even though we do miss meeting you in person again.
I want to direct a huge thank you to all our staff. It has been nothing short of amazing to see how each of you has handled the situation. Honestly, initially I was sceptical about the idea of working from home. However, not at any time during 2020 did we experience production decline – quite on the contrary. To a certain degree, voluntary remote workplaces will be a permanent feature at H. Daugaard in future. I see this as an important tool in our efforts to achieve a good work-life balance.
Ambitious sustainability goal
Sustainability is one of the top items on our 2021 agenda. In my clear opinion, trade and industry is obliged to and must take responsibility for the green transition in the years leading to 2030. For this reason, H. Daugaard will not be buying carbon offsets unless there is a guarantee of actual carbon footprint reduction.
Instead, we will facilitate an actual reduction of our carbon footprint, providing you with a real reduction of the total carbon footprint of your goods. We have already achieved part of this goal through investments in a modern and environmentally sound fleet, bringing the average age of our entire fleet down to 2.5 years. In addition, we have achieved considerable carbon footprint reductions from our trucks by training our drivers in eco-friendly driving.
These initiatives are far from sufficient in terms of the services we want to offer you. For this reason, we are currently in the process of implementing a new type of fuel, and we are getting a clearer picture of how much our carbon footprint must be reduced by 2025. I cannot yet reveal the figure. I can disclose, however, that our goal is highly ambitious.
Bringing light to good ideas
As I already mentioned, 2020 has taught us to fully embrace digital transformation, however unfamiliar it may feel. As early as the summer of 2020, we put digitalisation high on our strategic agenda, and we continue to digitalise our organisation and our services in 2021. This process is done step by step, ensuring that we have everyone along for the journey. We strive to implement new ideas within 30 days to ensure that nothing is lost in the sands.
Several of the new digital initiatives will be of direct benefit to you. One good example is the option of track and trace, which we expect to implement to all customers in the second quarter of this year.
In addition, I look forward to a more flexible process in terms of innovation. I want to personally advocate that innovation should not always come from management. Brilliant new ways to do things most often arise among our staff. We already take great care to test new ideas in practise before implementing them if possible.
Management will be placing an even bigger focus on bringing good ideas from staff to light, ensuring that we create an innovative organisation which everyone feels ownership of. In this way, I am certain that H. Daugaard will continue to deliver logistics and transport services of the highest calibre.
All in all, 2021 will be an exciting year! Along with the rest of management, I look forward to keeping you updated in future newsletters.
Michael Frihagen, CEO
