Taking Time to Daydream

If there were a motto Nuntawan Suwandej lives her professional life by, it would be to ‘break all the boundaries’. Indeed, as the CEO of beauty and consumer goods manufacturer and distributor Do Day Dream (DDD), it’s essential that she has her finger on the pulse, and is always looking for ways to revolutionise and reshape the industry.

“I have the courage to change the organisation in the right way,” she tells The CEO Magazine. “Put in other words, I dare to disrupt, create, innovate and look for new opportunities to grow our business.”

Nuntawan completed her Bachelor of Business Administration and Marketing at the Prince of Songkla University in Thailand and then temporarily relocated to the US to obtain her Master of Arts and Communications at the University of West Florida. Today, her more than 25 years of experience spans industries and locales from working as the Managing Director of Asia Books to the Senior Vice President of Central Group.

Since joining DDD  in 2019, Nuntawan has made it her task to continue evolving the company and “maximising my experience to get the fundamentals right, grow our bottom line and triple revenue in three years’ time”.

Her efforts have included a focus on producing in-house in order to increase factory utilisation with the economy of scale, as well as a shift to an integrated back-end operation with a shared service centre. She has also established a distribution, fulfilment and logistics centre while also deploying a new system which leverages cloud technology.

Nuntawan’s strategies have already paid off. Since launching as an original equipment manufacturer in 2010, DDD has expanded significantly, launching its first brand, Snailwhite, in 2013. Now it has more than 20 brands across skin care, personal care, beauty equipment, and sports and wellness, producing more than five million units per year within Thailand.

DDD’s innovative ethos has seen it become the first brand in Thailand to launch cutting-edge products such as essence water and whitening toothpaste with hemp seed extract. It is now considering expansion to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

“Recently, we also announced our new business goal to hit US$90.7 million in three years as we are seeing many opportunities amid the pandemic – increasing demand in our personal care products portfolio, for example,” she explains. “We need to move quickly and capture those business opportunities to enable the company to operate in a more sustainable way.”

At present, DDD has been working towards implementing a multisystem IT landscape, which hasn’t been an entirely straightforward process, but which will have immense benefits. “New servers needed to be set up and provisioned quickly to support our growth,” Nuntawan says.

“We are using the SAP Business ByDesign package Netizen Arabica, the all-in-one cloud ERP platform, as a powerful and flexible business management tool that helps us grow faster. It is scalable and can streamline processes, as well as manage and connect important functions of our business such as purchasing, inventory, distribution network and warehouse logistics – all in one platform without the need for expensive IT resources.”

This would mean that, thanks to a standardised process operating from a single, cloud-based platform, DDD would have “full accurate visibility 24/7”, she enthuses. “The platform will enable us to optimise manufacturing capacity, manage warehouse consolidation and the distribution network, improve forecast accuracy, and drive overall operational efficiency so management can focus on innovating new products that matter for customers.”

“By working together, we can tailor our supply chain to meet our business objectives.”

One element that Nuntawan sees as setting DDD apart from its competitors is the relationship the company has with suppliers, which she has worked to strengthen in order to increase efficiency, minimise price volatility and reduce ongoing costs. She emphasises that it’s hugely beneficial to make suppliers feel like they’re part of its business.

“If we appreciate their work, let them know. If something’s not working for us, let them know. Relationships grow stronger and deeper with clear and frequent communication,” she stresses.

“By cooperating in a mutually beneficial relationship with key suppliers, we can strive for cost savings over the long-term. Because at the end of the day, by working together, we can tailor our supply chain to meet our business objectives – meaning that processes can be consolidated, costs can be reduced, and the end products for the consumer can be improved.

“Good working relationships with suppliers will not only deliver cost savings but also reduce availability problems, delays and quality issues – and that means a better service for our consumer.”