S2 Ep6: Bec Unicomb — Partnerships, Pizza & Procurement

[00:00:00] It has to be really built on a win-win. Well, we call it win-win-win because obviously we also have that element of a franchise partner. So everyone in the circle has to win. And you know, there was something that was shared recently by our chairman where it's, you know, rather than talking about the slices of pie and who gets what bit of pie, let's just make the pie bigger. So I love that. It's a great comment. It is a great comment. Yeah. I'm Matt Cooper and this is Bite Sides.

[00:00:33] Welcome to the latest edition of the Ausfine Bite Sides podcast. This is a really special day because we've got a very close friend here with us today. We've had a very long standing relationship with Domino's Pizza, but particularly this person since she's come on board, we've just gelled with really deeply, which we're very thankful for and thankful also for having her with us today in the podcast studio.

[00:01:01] Normally I wouldn't read from my notes, but I am going to today because Sides has done a really good job as an intro. So our guest today, Beck Unicum is the ANZ procurement manager of Domino's Pizza. Beck brings deep experience across procurement, supply chain and supplier partnerships. Having spent many years in food service before stepping into a current ANZ leadership role at Domino's.

[00:01:27] Known for a collaborative approach and sharp commercial mindset, Beck works at the intersection of quality, efficiency and long-term partnerships, an area that's more important than ever in today's food industry. Beck, welcome to the podcast. What do you think about that? What a wrap. You know, I'm honoured to be here.

[00:01:46] I think it's, yeah, it actually covers some really interesting areas that I think, you know, from our relationship are quite unique in the relationship that particularly Domino's and yourself have with suppliers and that deep integration and appreciation for each other, which we'll get to in due course. Because I really want to unpack that because I think it is a really special, unique place. But before we get there, Beck, what's your background story?

[00:02:15] How do you come to be sitting in front of us today? How did I get here? So first and foremost, I mean, my first job was actually Domino's. I'm a maker by blood. So represent- On the make line? On the make line. Yeah, yeah. First make. You know, there is a difference between first and last, but I was always first make. Sorry, do tell. What's the difference?

[00:02:42] To be fair, it probably is more in my head, but the shop layout that we had, if you were last in line, which obviously is responsible for making a pizza look good, you also had to walk to the oven. Whereas I just wanted to be there, kind of sauce, cheese, pepperoni and, you know, slide it down. I felt like maybe I was more in charge of something being first make. Yeah. Just sounds better as well than last make.

[00:03:08] Just, again, just before we go on, when we go to the Domino's rally and they're doing the pizza making competition and there's ingredients flying everywhere, that's kind of what I imagine that place to, that first make to be like. Sauce going on crazy and cheese flying everywhere. It is. Is that what it's like? Yeah, 100%. A little bit more controlled in a store environment. But, yeah, look, I mean, it's probably where your passion grows, right? It was my first job. I did it through high school. I did it through university.

[00:03:37] Yeah, yeah. And then, you know, it kind of came to a crossword where it was either, you know, you're going to buy a store or you're going to go into, you know, the corporate world. So I went from Domino's to the state government. Of which state? Queensland. Okay, so you're a Queensland girl born and bred. I was, yeah. So I worked at the Office of State Revenue. Okay. Stam duty assessment, first homeowner grant.

[00:04:05] And I did that for quite a while, to be honest, for around seven years. And then I... Sorry. Sorry for interrupting once again. But going back to your first job, and your first job always is quite meaningful, I think, in, you know, your first entry into the workforce. Domino's, from our position looking in, has always been the hustle culture of, and it's been promoted right through from head office down to store level of hustle, hustle, hustle.

[00:04:35] And to your point on the make line of, you know, getting pizzas out the door as quickly as possible. And as I said, it goes right the way through to head office, really from what we saw spearheaded by Don, who would, whenever he was giving a presentation, would run to stage, run to the stage and to give his presentation. So you've gone from that to what I would imagine is a pretty lower key state environment of state government. How did you... How was that transition? Yes.

[00:05:04] It's probably while I'm not there today. Look, you know, look, it is 100% a different pace. And it wasn't for me. So, you know, look, I was young. It gave me a lot of diverse interactions. And then I stumbled my way into accounts for a goldmine company.

[00:05:35] Right. Yep. And then from there, I will never forget this. This is the day that my career kind of turned, that the procurement team in the goldmine, it was Christmas and they were getting all of these supply gifts. And I thought... All the wine and the chocolates. Yeah, back in the day, you know, because it was quite prevalent. Substantial. Yeah. And I thought, I want presents. To be fair, you know.

[00:06:04] And so I said to one of the guys, how do I get into this? And he's like, oh, well, actually, and they do a lot of expediting there, right, where it's like pushing and pulling of purchase orders and things like that. Because obviously with mining, you've got a lot of contracts and long lead times. I mean... Yeah, very long. Six plus. Yeah. Nothing's one or two days. Yeah. But I thought, oh, I can do that. I can, you know, somebody says that purchase order, it's urgent, kind of push and pull.

[00:06:32] So I got into it being an expediter. For that same gold mine? For the same gold mine. Yeah. And then I thought, yes, you know... Just out of interest, where was that gold mine? They were actually offshore. So they were, yeah, the one that I looked after was Solomon Islands based in Papua New Guinea. Yeah. So it was owned by an Australian gold mine. But, yeah, so Simbiri Gold was what it was called. But they were offshore, expat-driven gold mines.

[00:06:59] So was that quite unique in, because of its remoteness, like have its own procurement challenges of getting supplies to the mine? So they had local supply chain, inventory, all of that. Right. It was more centralised, onshore was all of your contract, big cost centre-driven purchase orders. Okay.

[00:07:24] But to be fair, you know, originally as an expediter I thought, yes, bring on next Christmas, you know. Where's my wine and chocolates? Where are my wine and chocolates? And then I realised really quickly that, you know, there is that many different types of drills, nails. It was not my world. Yeah, right. At all. Okay. Did it for a little while. And then, unfortunately, there was a cyclone that came through the Solomon Islands.

[00:07:55] Shut down the gold mine. Expats got evacuated out. And in my head I thought, because we were contractors back then, it was kind of, there was no permanent position. You were just, you were a contractor. I thought, oh, this is not going to end well. Went on to seek and I found PFD Foods and thought everyone needs food and applied.

[00:08:18] And the rest is history when it came to then getting into the food world. Yeah. It's funny, just, again, just a little side note, everyone needs to eat. That was my history with Ozvine, obviously started by my uncle, Don, and that was his motto as well, was everyone's got to eat. Yeah. So it's a good industry to be in because everyone's got to eat. It is, 100%. That's one thing AI can't disrupt either, is us eating.

[00:08:47] Yeah, correct. So into PFD. So that's a unique world as well, the food service world. Thousands of SKUs, I'd imagine huge number of interactions with suppliers and procurement partners. What was that world like? Was it, did you kind of have that relationship with suppliers as you did when you moved to Domino's or was it more transactional? No, definitely.

[00:09:14] Look, there is a time and place for everything, and I think with PFD, and to be fair, it was more supply chain based. Okay. Was my leadership there as a state-based role. You're moving boxes. So there's no kind of innovation or anything. You're moving boxes for, obviously, end users and things like that.

[00:09:36] And, you know, because obviously you do need choice as a consumer, it's probably, let's say, more transactional based. I think that there's still, obviously, partnerships that form and everything. But I definitely can see compared to, you know, where I am now that, yeah, there is obviously a lot more transaction based relationships. Okay.

[00:10:03] And then so coming to kind of the more contemporary part of the story for us anyway, how did you find your way to Domino's? Yeah, so it's coming up three years. I randomly actually received an email from Paul, who was our previous chief partnerships officer for ANZ. Great man, Paul. He was. And my girlfriend actually, I had still some connections in Domino's.

[00:10:32] So I originally, I'll never forget, I ended up calling my girlfriend going, it's got this really random email. You know, were you up to it? And she's like, I know nothing about that. Anyway, and I, you know, I'd been at PFD for nine and a half years. I had recently come back from maternity leave. I was really comfortable in my role at PFD. I kind of felt like you, I could be blindfolded and do my job. Yeah, yeah, sure.

[00:11:01] So I guess there was this point where I thought, you know, look, do I go and have a conversation and see and, you know, am I ready to take that next step? So, yeah, I ended up having a couple of conversations there. And I know this is going to sound really weird, but it felt like home. You know, I felt like I was back. And, you know, maybe that's the definition of a true Dominoid. But, yeah, so I made the decision to leave PFD after nine and a half years.

[00:11:31] Shout out to them. But, yeah, it's been and here we are today where it's been a whirlwind, to be fair. Yeah, and what are three years to experience? No doubt you've seen the great and the challenging across those three years.

[00:11:50] But going back to kind of your first, say, six months in the role, from your experience in procurement in PFD and food service world to the way that Domino's worked with their procurement team, what was the most stark difference that you saw? Yeah, definitely. Look, I am humble enough to know that I came into really great foundations.

[00:12:13] You know, my global head of partnerships and that, I mean, the foundations were really strong from a supplier point of view. You know, look, even the terminology, we don't refer to our suppliers as suppliers. We 100% call them business partners. And I mean, that was one of the stark realities is that, you know, it's even just the language that you use.

[00:12:39] And so I find it really hard sometimes to say to suppliers because, you know, it's just not terminology that we use. But I'm humble enough to realise that. But I guess for me it was kind of but I have enough ego to go, I still want to do things my way. You know, there's still going to be a little bit of flair and it's got to be kind of the back way in line with obviously the, you know, strategy and decision that's kind of already pathed out.

[00:13:06] But the biggest difference apart from now we're not moving boxes, it's ingredients and innovation and all of the fun things. It's the differences of relationships. And we're talking, you know, some business partners, it's 20 plus years, which, you know, kind of blew my mind to be fair.

[00:13:27] Yeah, it's funny, you know, you go to some organisations and they talk about values or, you know, any mattress that they might use. They put up on the wall and a lot don't live by what's up on the wall at all. They'll have it up on the wall but do the kind of complete polar opposite. But this is more a comment than a question really is that you guys referring to your suppliers as business partners.

[00:13:53] I honestly do believe it having worked with Domino's now for 15 years. And, yeah, there's times where there's challenges but when those happen it's very much how can we solve it together. Correct, yeah. And even the relationships we've formed with other business partners through the years and what they have been willing to do for Domino's is pretty amazing.

[00:14:18] If I think of Toboldi during the COVID period of families standing on the make line to make sure that the bacon got delivered to Domino's and talking to Brendan from Vizzy and, you know, some of the undertakings they've done over periods of time to make sure you guys have got the pizza boxes you needed and the design and rushing out new designs, it's pretty unique.

[00:14:43] And I think that, I don't know if this is true, but do you find that difficult when the pressure is on cost savings to balance that with those longstanding relationships and partnerships? You know, you've kind of got two opposing forces here in some respects of, you know, you rightly need to have cost savings but you have these deep ingrained relationships as well.

[00:15:10] Do you find that difficult or you find that you're able to navigate that fairly easily? I'll be honest. I actually think it's an easier conversation. Look, I mean, there's always going to be hard conversations to be had. I mean, that is the world that we live in when it comes to procurement and that. I don't feel that they are as challenging because you have that relationship. You know, if we talk about what a relationship means, you know, and to me it's built on trust and communication.

[00:15:39] So if I'm going to value that relationship, I should be able to come to you openly and honestly and have those conversations about commercials. Look, commercial viability is everywhere and it has to be viable. It has to be viable. And it has to be win-win. The thing is we can't win without our business partners. We can't win without great products. But it has to be commercially viable.

[00:16:04] And you guys also aren't going to do it because, you know, you love dominoes. It has to be really built on a win-win. Well, we call it win-win-win because obviously we also have that element of a franchise partner. So everyone in the circle has to win. And, you know, there was something that was shared recently by our chairman where it's, you know, rather than talking about the slices of pie and who gets what bit of pie, let's just make the pie bigger. So I love that.

[00:16:34] It's a great comment. It is a great comment. Yeah. It is a great comment and it's a great observation because I think that that's true as well. If you do have that deep partnership that we're talking about, talking about cost savings is part of that. And it's not an unexpected conversation. And you can have some really open and transparent conversations around that as well as opposed to being guarded and just say, well, this is the reality of the situation. This is how much things cost in the world, which are sometimes unavoidable.

[00:17:04] But perhaps we can look at it a different way. Yeah. And come at it from a different angle, which, you know, is an innovation from the way we've done it previously as well. So it unlocks some creativity. Yeah, correct. I mean, problem solving is 101, right? I mean, I would say that one of the things is problem solving, you know, and how do we work together? Two heads are better than one. Three heads are better than two, you know. Problem solving, you have to be able to think outside the box.

[00:17:33] I mean, gone are the days where, you know, it's easy sailing. I mean, there's challenges left, right and centre. And, you know, inflation is real. You know, the cost of living is going up. We, you know, everyone is feeling the pressure. The pie is under pressure, you know. Like the pie is under pressure. We're trying to grow it, but it is under pressure. We are. You know, we need to add some more, I don't know, yeast and, you know, to prosper. But, you know, look, there's some great ingredients.

[00:18:03] And the whole point of not being transactional, and that's one piece, and it's how do we get creative to navigate in an ever-changing, you know, I mean, consumer demands and everything. Everything is changing. It's not how it used to be, and that's okay, but it's how do we navigate it together to get the best. No, that's right.

[00:18:33] Yeah, that's exactly right. And I think that it's a challenge faced by everyone. It's no one's unique in this chain. I'm actually interested just talking about the challenging and changing world of pizza in general. And I know that obviously your world is procurement.

[00:18:52] And so this is more, this is not necessarily just about Domino's, but the pizza area just in general and your observations on it being so close to it. And my take is that it has definitely changed for pizza because of the aggregators and the home delivery. And the pizza, sorry, home delivery used to be the realm of pizza.

[00:19:18] And you guys, being you in the industry, owned that piece. And if you're going to get something home delivered, nine times out of ten it was a pizza. That's all changed. Number one, do you think that that's true? And number two, what do you think, how serious is it as opposed, is it a threat to the pizza industry, do you think?

[00:19:43] Yeah, look, so, I mean, Domino's delivery experts, you know, first and foremost, I think that that was kind of what grew. So this is also, again, I mean, it doesn't take a rocket science. We're under pressure. I mean, the QSR market in general, we've got, you know, fake away from a retail version. So people, you know, are changing. You've got aggregators, you know, which have now become everything is deliverable.

[00:20:13] But I think, you know, the fact of the matter is we, everyone loves pizza. It is a shareable moment. You know, you have a, if you're celebrating, I mean, there's so many facets that we still have a role to play. And I think that the fact is we can still dominate being a delivery expert.

[00:20:35] You know, and we talked a lot about that this year when it comes to leading as a delivery expert. So making sure that that product, which is designed to be delivered, you know, we still own that space of a product that is hot, fresh and tasty the moment that you get it from your door. So. Yeah, that's so true in the sense of, yes, you can get anything delivered, but is it going to be good?

[00:21:05] And you guys have, as part of your DNA, making sure and the R&D that's gone into it be the hot, what do they got, hot boxes, hot packs? Hot sale. Yeah. That is designed for that great experience on delivery. Whereas so many of the other meals you get through Uber Eats or whatever it might be just turns up in a brown paper bag, cold as hell and pretty unenjoyable and uninspiring when it kind of comes to you.

[00:21:32] Whereas you guys, you know, it's in your DNA and it's your heritage. Yeah, definitely. To, for the product to turn up. So it'll be interesting, and I know you can't give away any IP or anything like that, but is that the differentiator, do you think, that way you guys can reestablish that right to win? I think it is one of the ways. I think, you know, look, let's be honest.

[00:22:02] We also need innovation, and innovation has many forms, but if I, you know, can talk about from, I guess, my world, it's finding that next, you know, I have a saying at work where it's like we want to have that next viral thing, right? I mean, really, if we live in that day and age now where, you know, Dubai chocolate, as an example, and, you know, it just sells out everywhere and we have a pistachio shortage.

[00:22:27] I mean, we are now all in the race to kind of work out what is that next best thing that is, you know, going to bring consumers into us. Yeah. Yeah, that need to innovate is, it's funny though, isn't it? Because you've got the core of who you are and what you do, which is pizza, but that need to innovate as well. So trying to find that mix between the two, I'd imagine, is often a tightrope that you guys are walking.

[00:22:57] Yeah, definitely. You know, we 100% are a pizza company, but yeah, you, you know, consumers demand choice and they, you know, want different things. And so innovation is still key. So if you know what that is. Million dollar question. Tell me after this. To go to ideas where you can have that viral moment. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Tell me how to become viral.

[00:23:23] A little kind of change of focus, but I'm often, I've often wondered this, the different demographics and markets that you see in Australia. So when we first started working with you guys, we'd noticed the volume difference between a New South Wales and Queensland and Victoria. Victoria being still, you know, a high population, but relatively not as strong as you guys were in New South Wales and Queensland.

[00:23:51] Do you know, what are the main differences you notice in the different demographics and population centres in Australia? Yeah, definitely. Look, I think depending on also store counts and things like that, but, you know, Victoria for the QSR market is just a hard market to crack, I think. Is that true for all QSRs? Yeah, it is. Yep. So, you know, it's, I guess you guys are homegrown in, you know, independent.

[00:24:18] You want your choice and maybe it's perceived of, you know, large brands. You want more authentic independence. But, you know, the thing that I'll say about Victorians and also even just the people from our brand, you know, these franchise partners are local community members who own the local store and things like that.

[00:24:44] So, yes, it is, you know, obviously a global brand, but these franchise partners are homegrown community members, you know, and yeah. Yeah. I've definitely noticed that from what I've seen.

[00:25:00] Quite often 30 pizzas will turn up at the local football club or the fire station or, you know, if there's fire, bushfires going on, you guys are very making sure you're part of the support network for those, you know, disaster relief or local community sporting events. Now, I know a lot of that is kind of driven culturally through from head office, but I think also the franchisees have a part to play independently of that.

[00:25:30] Yeah, definitely. 100% that depending on what it is. But, yeah, like when it's local community, it's normally the franchise partner who has been in direct contact with either the school, sporting clubs, things like that. And that's off their own, you know, we realise that as a community, I mean, it's that whole win-win, right? You don't win alone and it's you win by having that community engagement and things like that.

[00:25:56] Yeah, which is kind of breaks down that view of it being this big global behemoth faceless somewhat a little bit to actually know that store is part of the community and the owner is a local resident as well. Yeah, definitely. Change of pace a little bit, leadership. So I'm often interested in people's take on leadership and how would you characterise your leadership style and what do you like in a leader?

[00:26:27] Yeah, look, I think I am very self-aware, I would like to think anyway, you know, and I like to reflect. I think, you know, leadership for me and especially in the role that I am currently, it's kind of you're not influencing, you know, just one way.

[00:26:50] It's kind of I like to think, you know, I'm kind of leading as a peer-to-peer. I'm managing up, I'm managing down. It's kind of managing all around. I manage you. You do. You do manage me, you're right. Yeah. Yeah, I think that, you know, look, I don't like working in silos. I think, you know, that kind of if you see something pointed out and kind of, you know, in the right way.

[00:27:20] You've always, you've got to have tact, you've got to, you know, you've got to know when to push, when to pull back. I think, you know, that's probably come with a little bit of years of experience. You know, I can sometimes be a little bit cheeky and rogue. But, yeah, it's knowing when to go, hang on, actually, Rebecca, you cannot say that, which I still struggle with sometimes. I'm not perfect. I haven't actually witnessed that just yet, but I'm sure it's happened.

[00:27:49] I'm sure it has. And, but, you know, look, for me, it's about listening. I think that if I go, okay, well, what are the great leaders that I've had? And I have been lucky enough to have a couple. I feel like they validate that they listen because sometimes you just want to be heard. And then that validation comes after it where it's, you know, whether it's praising, you know,

[00:28:17] I sometimes think that for me especially, I'm a little bit of a golden retriever. I like pats. I was wondering where that was going. Yeah. Where did you go fetch them? That's my analogy. You know, I always have to reference it to an animal. But, yeah, look, you know, I think a lot of people are like that. I think that we are quick to, you know, if somebody is doing something wrong, that will pull them up straight away. Whereas, you know what, I think we forget sometimes to praise little things,

[00:28:45] which can go a long way for employees and that. So, and then build a great culture. Yeah. Fantastic insights. And it's funny what you just mentioned around that, particularly going back to your point about silos. And you like being able to be across lots of different parts of the business. And if something's, you know, you're seeing something either wrong or an opportunity that you're able to engage with that. That's something we're working on right now. So it's really pertinent.

[00:29:14] And it's funny how different workplaces can have similar challenges, I guess, and you're going through a similar journey, even though you may not be in exactly the same kind of industry or type of company. Yeah, I agree. I think that, you know, you would rather a team of passionate people, you know, passion can sometimes be, yeah, look, people are emotive and things like that.

[00:29:39] But if you can bring people in and have them passionate about your brand, you know, the first thing that then they have in their mind is, is this the best thing for the business? You know, it's going to be a much better productive environment if you've got people who are passionate about your brand and your business. And you've got to bring them on the journey. Great call. It's so true. So really, really good observation. Yeah.

[00:30:07] Very pertinent at the moment, actually, for some of the stuff we're working on. But no, it's – I could not agree with you more. We're actually coming towards the end of time, actually. This has been a wonderful chat. Really, really great. Just before we get there, one last question, just a future – a bit of crystal balling. What do you think the future holds over the next couple of years in regards to food and, you know, your world of procurement? Yeah, look, I mean, it's interesting.

[00:30:36] I mean, we are in a really fast – it's changing rapidly. You know, we've obviously got geopolitical, which is a really uncertain, unsettling environment. I wish I did have a crystal ball, though. It would make a lot of – It would make a lot easier. It would, you know, it's – but AI also, it's like, you know, how AI is going to change,

[00:31:02] obviously, the way that we do business and, you know, working out how do we use AI, you know, to – obviously, we're all time poor and things like that. So there's a lot of great things coming. So who knows where we'll be in two years? I mean, look, I'd hope that, you know, Domino's world domination still. And you found that viral moment where it's just – And I found that viral moment. Where it's just – Beck Unicom with a viral unit. Exactly, yeah. Viral moment.

[00:31:31] You're like, yes, nailed it. I've gone viral. I mean, that's my – you know, that's what I want. I just want to become viral. I don't know if that's the best ambition, but anyway. Yeah, correct. Sounds like a weird disease or something. No, it's very difficult to predict. I grant you that. But it's, I think, staying lean and being able to react pretty quickly. Yeah, we're just going to be agile.

[00:31:59] And that's been your guys' strength for a long time is the ability to react and be agile. And everyone still needs to eat. Everyone still needs to eat. Beck, thank you very much. It's been a fantastic chat. Thank you very much. Really appreciate you coming in. Thank you for having me. I hope you've enjoyed it. And thanks for coming on the Bite Sides podcast. Thanks, everyone. Thanks.