Bringing three proud organisations together around a shared future

In 2021, two of the biggest names in beer, wine and spirits+ (BWS+) logistics, Hillebrand and Gori, found themselves on the same team. Long-standing rivals, newly acquired by DHL Global Forwarding, with a chance to build something none of the three could have built alone: the Powerhouse in BWS+ logistics. And all of it happening in the middle of a pandemic that was reshaping global logistics by the week.

The challenge: rebuilding expertise, passion and belief

The merger brought together three companies with: distinct cultures, proud histories, different ways of working and customer relationships built over decades. They needed to unite under a shared strategy and a culture that would enable success. One that would build on the strengths of Hillebrand and Gori in BWS+ and leverage the power of the DHL Global Forwarding network. 

As employee turnover climbed across the industry, Hillebrand Gori also had to recruit at pace. Many new joiners were strong on logistics, but most had come from general freight backgrounds. The knowledge and the feel for the category, the thing that had set both Hillebrand and Gori apart for generations, had been diluted. Many new joiners didn’t yet fully understand why a shipment of Bordeaux, created with care, passion and expertise, required as much care, passion and expertise from a logistics provider. 

So the brief was three-fold. Give 3,000 people a reason to believe in the strategy they were delivering together. Unite three companies under a shared culture. And reignite category expertise to ensure operational and customer excellence. 

The solution: a multi-day experience to build belief, belonging and craft

Before the programme launched, we worked closely with the project team and senior leaders to define the new organisation’s values. We then designed a bold, immersive face to face programme for 3,000 employees, built around a strategic narrative that connected the heritage of all three organisations to the future they were now shaping together.

The experience worked on three levels.

Aligning behind one strategy. The narrative drew a clear line from where the three companies had come from, to where the combined business was heading, and how every person in the room contributed to becoming the Powerhouse in BWS+. People left understanding the strategy, their part in it, and how they were collectively responsible for delivering this.

Living the values. We used the learning experience to make each value real. What does it look like to be passionate about a customer’s products? What behaviours ensure you can safely ship valuable products that react to movement, temperature and external environment? How do you take ownership and proactively solve problems for customers and colleagues? Participants left knowing not just what the values were, but how to bring them to life in their own role.

Reigniting the passion for beer, wine and spirits+. We immersed participants in the category. The story, provenance and craft that goes into the global BWS+ business. How logistics is a key part of ensuring the product reaches the glass tasting how the producer intended. By the end, everyone in the room could speak the language of the customer, not as freight specialists, but as trusted partners in a centuries-old trade.

The creative: sommeliers of culture

The creative concept took its cues from the very thing colleagues moved every day. Wine, with its rituals, its language and its sense of occasion, gave us a theme we could use to create memorable moments throughout the programme. 

Participants arrived as honoured guests. Facilitators played the role of sommeliers of culture – curating conversations, drawing out expertise, hosting the journey with the care you would receive in a vineyard tour. Materials, environment and tone all used the imagery and the language of the trade.

Just like raising a glass, the experience invited people to mark the journey so far and toast what’s ahead.

It wasn’t theatre for theatre’s sake. It was a deliberate choice to make the new joiners feel the magic of the category, and to remind the long-timers why they fell for it in the first place.

The results: aligned, engaged, expert

The programme scored an average of 9.2 out of 10. 90% of participants left feeling positive about the new organisation. They described feeling “united and engaged,” with “a deeper understanding and empathy for each other.”

One participant captured the shift: “The passion, expertise and the future of the company is outstanding. With DHL’s support becoming the BWS+ powerhouse is achievable. Our people make the difference.”

Three thousand people. One strategy. One culture. And the category craft that makes Hillebrand Gori the provider of choice in BWS+ logistics.