Evolving Risk Management in a Global Operating Environment

 

Anora Group Plc is a Finnish-Norwegian publicly traded company that was formed in 2021 through the merger of Altia Plc and Arcus ASA. As a result of the merger, the company has become one of the leading brand houses for wines and spirits in the Nordic region.

Operating in seven countries, Anora’s revenue in 2022 was approximately 702 million euros. As a company with a wide range of brands, Anora exports its products to over 30 markets. The company also engages in industrial activities, including distillation, bottling, and logistics services, as well as the production of technical ethanols, beverage ethanol, feed raw materials, and barley starch.

Anora employs around 1200 professionals. In pursuit of global growth through a responsible business strategy, systematic risk management plays a crucial role in Anora’s operations.

 

“With Granite, we gain a real-time view of the entire risk situation in our operations.”
Roger Saarikangas, Director, Procurement, Facility, and Risk Management, Anora Group Plc

 

Anora Group Plc uses comprehensive risk management as a tool for leadership to advance strategic goals at a practical level. Anora Group’s risk management is built on the risk management policy set by the leadership. Integrating risk management into leadership and decision-making processes understandably creates extensive data needs, so risk management must be based on comprehensive risk identification. Successful business in a global operating environment requires consistent risk management principles, uniform risk identification and assessment, and the ability to provide a transparent overall view of the organisation’s risk situation.

Traditional risk management tools and models that emphasise compliance alone do not always serve forward-looking business objectives in the best possible way. While traditional tools allow for data collection and a certain degree of accountability, their reported view of the risk situation is insufficient for proactive actions due to its static nature. Comprehensive risk management requires more than just meeting minimum requirements.

 

“You can only manage business risks when you are aware of them. Granite provides visibility into the entire risk situation.”
Roger Saarikangas, Director, Procurement, Facility, and Risk Management, Anora Group Plc

 

Effective and goal-oriented risk management gathers crucial information about the risk situation and risk levels of operations. Therefore, risk data must be collected quickly and in a standardised format.

Granite has elevated the practices of our risk management to a new level. While information about risks, threats, and risk-related events and deviations had been collected earlier, the rapid growth and development of the business required more extensive data analysis. Previously, risk data was stored within the company’s intranet, and analysis relied on standard spreadsheet-based assessment templates. Although the traditional operating model mostly aligns with the best principles of risk management, maintaining a comprehensive risk management package is more labor-intensive and time-consuming without the right tools. A unified risk management system provides structure to risk management that everyone can follow. Simultaneously, it streamlines risk management work by standardising risk assessment and reporting methods. This way, data is put to good use.

 

“Granite reporting adds concreteness to risk management.”
Roger Saarikangas, Director, Procurement, Facility, and Risk Management, Anora Group Plc

 

Risk management practices practically guide the organisation’s operations. Therefore, when developing a risk management model, one must consider both business objectives, critical data needs for decision-making, and the organisation’s risk management culture and maturity level. Understanding one’s own operations helps create a risk management process that promotes goals while enhancing organisational resilience. While risk management software, systems, or tools do not inherently lead risk management in one direction or another, they are essential when risk management needs to be led in a structured manner.

Anora Group Plc’s risk management model is tailored to the organisation’s needs and is systematically developed in relation to these goals. Therefore, risk management systems must be able to adapt and evolve along with the users’ risk management needs.

 

“Granite has supported the development of our risk management and has agilely adapted to its changing needs.”
Roger Saarikangas, Director, Procurement, Facility, and Risk Management, Anora Group Plc

 

The responsibility for developing Anora’s risk management rests with the risk management team, which reports on the risk management situation and development to the executive team and audit committee. Harmonising and quantifying risk assessment allows measuring the risk situation with the same principles as other areas of the business are measured.

Risk management can include various perspectives even when implemented throughout the organisation; in Anora’s operations, for example, risk assessment at factories occurs on a very different scale than strategic risk management work serving the information needs of the executive team.

It is natural that the degree of risk management deployment is directly related to the organisation’s risk management maturity level, as it reflects not only operating models but also the goals set for risk management. As part of Anora Group’s strategic work, risk management affects several different business units and operational functions, where managing the risk situation is critical not only to meet customer needs but also for the integrity and resilience of partner and supply networks.

 

“With Granite, we communicate our risk management needs understandably in relation to our goals.”
Roger Saarikangas, Director, Procurement, Facility, and Risk Management, Anora Group Plc

 

Identifying current threats and risks and taking timely corrective actions are essential for the success of any business. Risk management is a tool for development and should always be part of a company’s financial and operational planning.

Anora Group’s growing risk management needs, both in terms of business risks and continuity management, have benefited from Granite’s flexible and easily maintainable tools. Risk management is always a part of everyday business at Anora Group, and it strives to guide the process professionally and expertly.

When the risk management process is under control and regularly reviewed, it can be developed into concrete actions. This helps Anora Group avoid risks and ensures that its business is safe and sustainable.

Anora Group – Evolving Risk Management in a Global Operating Environment

Well-planned risk management enables proactive business planning, rather than market changes forcing hasty decisions and reactivity. The successful development of risk management at Anora Group Plc has required defining work and accountability.
While user-friendliness of risk management tools is essential, their use requires the organization’s commitment and responsibility for identifying and managing risks.
Granite’s risk management system features have helped Anora identify bottlenecks in its risk management and enabled the continuous development of risk information. As a result, the foundation for decision-making has become stronger and more capable of responding to market changes and demands. Decision-making based on up-to-date, readily available risk information is key to implementing the strategy and promotes the company’s resilience.