Philippe Romano (KBRW): “In business, it’s easier to take risks when you’re young”

Leaders League: Philippe, you co-founded KBRW in 2009, straight after graduating from college. What inspired you to set up your own company at such a young age?
Philippe Romano: After engineering school and internships at Total and Orange – which gave me valuable insight into how a large group operates – I quickly became interested in entrepreneurship. It’s easier to take risks when you’re young, because you’ve got nothing to lose, but that meant I had to continually train myself to live up to my ambitions. Entrepreneurship is a way of gaining insight into society and the issues facing the world.

KBRW is the result of four friends with a crazy and ambitious idea: to revolutionize the order cycle of companies. We do this by taking into account all the areas that touch on this issue, such as factory management, but also the management of personal data in Asia, the rise in customs duties in the United States or the implications of a return to French industrial sovereignty.

What was behind KBRW’s early success?
Supply chain players used to have a limited approach. KBRW differed in that we operated alongside a company’s internal and third-party ecosystems. In other words, we were able, for example, to not only tally what vehicles an automotive supplier had in stock, but also to compare this inventory with those of its dealership customers, in order to forecast what models they might need.

I don’t trust blindly, but I try to empower my colleagues as much as possible

Regardless of whether we’re working for companies in the luxury goods sector (where customers are extremely demanding), the automotive industry or the retail sector, we have to help each of them make their promised lead times more reliable. This applies not only to the “classic” supply chain, but also to reverse logistics, i.e. customer returns and the circular economy.

Does this mean managing everyday supply chain issues, or specific risks such as tariffs?
It involves both. Obviously, we need to cover structural issues, such as a company’s capacity to produce, prepare orders, deliver, etc. Then there’s its ability to produce additional capacity in response to unforeseen events. Companies also need to develop additional capacity to respond to cyclical ups and downs. The major French groups are used to this. Even if they can’t predict everything exactly, they know their potential risks well, and we help them anticipate these risks as far as possible. Having deployed our tools in 123 countries, we are keenly aware of how regulatory or geopolitical developments can affect orders.

You’ve never raised any funds. Why not?
Due to its very nature, supply-chain management is a global and complicated activity. My partners and I preferred to focus on phased growth, gradually adding new solutions to our offering. You can’t create an IT project in a month. Just like a baby, it needs time to mature if it is to meet new challenges.

What is your management style?
Personally, I see myself as an energetic boss. I’m capable of delegating once I’ve cleared and understood the task at hand. Then, I surround myself with people who are better at the job than I am. I don’t trust blindly, but I try to empower my colleagues as much as possible. KBRW is a learning company, one inspired by the Toyota and Michelin models. We offer young people a month’s training as soon as they are hired. After that, we invest in their career development. This is important in order to remain attractive to candidates. We also convince them to join us by offering professional challenges and a remuneration package in line with the market. As a learning company, we also recognize that you never get it right the first time. We value failure and learn from it.

What’s your approach to failure management at the company level?
A company that doesn’t innovate dies. While American businesses are known for not being allergic to failure, it’s not their prerogative alone – major French groups that succeed internationally are proof of this, they know how to take risks and bounce back from failures. In Asia, where Buddhist culture holds sway, change is highly valued. In America, companies do business as if they are setting out to conquer the Wild West. Taking an interest in how countries were created helps us to understand how their societies function.