In its latest special insert “networks in Nice,” our colleague Le Point discussed a number of very influential ones in the capital of the French Riviera, but not a word about the DCF network.
Obviously, the network of Commercial Executives of France is not confined to the Alpes-Maritimes department; it extends across the entire territory and its major cities.
As it does every two years, it organized the first local stage of the Commercial Performance in nearly fifty major conurbations of France.
The Riviera branch chose the setting of the Château de Bellet for its awards ceremony and to designate the companies selected for the national final.
A Difficult Ranking to Determine
Four categories for this Week of Commercial Performance (International Development, Innovation, Customer Service Development, and Overall Performance).
For DCF Nice Côte d’Azur, nearly 1000 companies were contacted before a first selection of about forty and a “short list” of eight for the final jury.
Two main criteria to be part of this selection were local anchoring and a certain longevity of the company. The size was not as decisive as one might think, which encouraged Studio Gentile to apply and moreover in two categories against larger units like body shop Albax or elevators Koné.
The jury, composed of specialists in finance, commercial service, and customer relations, had a hard time determining its ranking as mentioned by Christian Fournier, president of DCF Côte d’Azur.
It must be said that the competition was very fierce for the “Customer Service Development” category and that of “Overall Performance.”
In the other two, “Innovation” and “International Development,” there were fewer debates but always as much performance.
The winner of the Innovation, Gap Hygiène Santé, is an engineering office based in Le Cannet and specialized in the environmental, hygiene, and health professions. Expertise that allows it to position itself as an expert in the global management of hazardous waste, particularly medical waste.
In the chapter of International Development, it is Actifh, whose headquarters is in Sophia Antipolis, that won its “ticket” to Paris, a city where the company also has an office. This auditing and consulting firm in tourism complemented by engineering in hotel training, after convincing the large national groups, has successfully tackled prestigious establishments on the other side of the Mediterranean.
Regarding Overall Performance, the competition was tough between the Italians from Green Has and the trio Albax, Studio Gentile, and Convers. Eventually, the Nice-based telemarketing company won out. It must be said that it represents a role model with notably a very low turnover rate (only 7%) whereas its counterparts in the Paris region are around 50% according to surveys, and an average seniority of 4 years for its staff, from which “seniors” are by no means excluded, on the contrary…
The last category, Customer Service Development, where the underdog Gentile nearly toppled the major elevator manufacturer Koné and was in competition with Apiphone, a branch of the major group BFG. The power, human resources of the Finnish manufacturer, the efficiency of its French subsidiary with its policy on sustainable development, its Foundation and a number of innovations for customers, of which the local branch is the local showcase, made the difference.
The local winners are selected for the national final hoping to receive a trophy at the Back-to-School University of DCF on October 2 and 3 in Paris.
The Nice Côte d’Azur branch can already boast of having established a twinning with its Italian counterpart from Cuneo since 1993 and of having succeeded in bringing together – in a newly released mini guide on history and marketing – the two vineyards of Borgogno and Bellet.
Adding that the regional president of DCF, Michel Etchegoin — general inspector of AGF Vie — is from Cannes, the vitality of the Azurian section is well present and it’s a network that will have to be increasingly counted on.
DCF Côte d’Azur
“Villa Alsace”
8 avenue Guy de Maupassant
06100 Nice
Phone. 04 93 51 38 96
Email. christian.fournier-dcf06@orange.fr
