Dossche Mills: Navigating volatility with strategic agility

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Marius van Mierlo shared how the company isn’t just addressing shifting market demands, but is also committed to pursuing growth through strategic acquisitions rather than relying on low-margin sales. Instead of competing solely on price, Dossche Mills emphasises creating win-win scenarios for both the company and its customers. Dossche Mills invests in partnerships by focusing on high-quality products, excellent service and supply guarantees. A key selling point in its approach is the “assurance of supply”. Marius van Mierlo is a strong believer in active commercial management and has therefore further optimised the company’s strategic commercial plan by designing well-defined key performance indicators (KPIs) and a new remuneration policy. This helped further shift the focus to growth and profitability. 

Recognising the challenges posed by fluctuating raw material prices, Dossche Mills has prioritised an agile pricing strategy to adeptly navigate the volatile commodity market.  Factors such as the economic and political landscape significantly complicate export operations to regions like Africa. One of the main challenges the company faces is harvest dependency. According to van Mierlo, it’s crucial to manage this actively via a combination of effective price purchasing, sound hedging practices and proficiency in calculation and pricing, as well as qualitative discussions with customers driven by its focus on long-term partnerships. Dossche Mills continuously engages with its customers to inform and educate them about raw material cost fluctuations and help them make the right purchasing decisions. Meanwhile, the company is strategically expanding its footprint, for example, through specialty products in Latin America, recognising that traditional flour shipments don’t meet the required value proposition for the market without local plants.

Sustainability remains at the forefront of Dossche Mills’ initiatives, with goals aimed at meeting CO2 reduction targets by 2030. In line with these objectives, Dossche Mills is developing specialty products from wheat by-products and has assembled a team of bio-engineers who explore innovative uses for extraction waste, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and product optimisation. While some resistance exists among clients regarding premium pricing for sustainable products, market research conducted by the company reveals that approximately 70% of end consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable options, not just reaping the rewards themselves but also presenting Dossche Mills with a valuable market opportunity.

Digital transformation is another key pillar of Dossche Mills’ strategy. Marius van Mierlo emphasised the necessity of focusing on digital initiatives, including automation and artificial intelligence (AI), to enhance customer service. A prime example of this is the successful pilot of the generative AI (GenAI) sales assistant, named Donna. This innovative tool has already demonstrated its potential to streamline sales enablement by assisting with visit reports and meeting minutes, marking a significant stride toward driving commercial success and efficiency. He expressed the ambition to further invest in the company’s commercial IT infrastructure to further reap the benefits from tools like Donna.

As Dossche Mills continues to navigate industry challenges, it’s well-positioned to lead with a blend of innovation, sustainability and strategic adaptation. The company exemplifies its commitment to responding quickly to changing demands, thus securing its status as a recognised leader in the milling sector.

At PwC, we partner with companies to reshape their business models, making sure they’re well prepared to navigate uncertainties and challenges. Together with our clients, we go on a transformative journey, helping them achieve commercial excellence while future proofing their businesses.

Just as Dossche Mills exemplifies strategic agility in its way of working, PwC recognises the transformative potential of GenAI within the business landscape. Only two years after GenAI appeared on the radar of most executives, companies around the world are adopting it at scale. What’s more, many CEOs are seeing promising results. PwC’s 28th Annual Global CEO Survey reveals that over half (56%) of CEOs have observed increased efficiency in employee time management thanks to GenAI. Although GenAI is still in the early stages of its technological development and widespread business adoption, enhancing employee skills is crucial to unlocking its full potential. Looking ahead, nearly half of CEOs identify integrating AI, including GenAI, into technology platforms and business workflows as a top priority for the next three years.