Jérôme de Metz, CEO of the Bénéteau Group, answers BoatIndustry's questions on the latest news from France's leading pleasure boat manufacturer. In this first part, we discuss the consequences of the cyber attack of February 2021 and the context of tensions on the supply of raw materials and equipment.
What is the situation almost 3 months after the cyberattack of which the Bénéteau Group was victim and what are the consequences on the activity?
It is a violent and traumatic episode. From one day to the next, you have nothing. No numerical control machines, no printer... 500 servers were attacked within the Bénéteau group. You need a lot of methods in such chaos. As one expert told me, in this case, it's almost war medicine. We had to establish priorities. We made the choice to prioritize production. But we had to shut down production for 3 to 4 weeks, depending on the plant, in the middle of the preparation period for the nautical season, with a good order book. Almost all of the year's growth evaporated in this ordeal. Two and a half months later, we are still not at 100%.
Nevertheless, everything that does not kill us, makes us stronger. Today, we are stronger. This has welded the teams together all over the world. I am an optimist and I think there is a positive intra-group and international dynamic with our colleagues in Poland and the United States.
What help have you received and how can your experience benefit the marine industry?
We have received help from victims of cyber attacks who do not always wish to make it public, but who are numerous in all sectors well beyond boating. The ANSI (NDLR State Agency in charge of computer security) is very competent and helps us to protect ourselves, but in terms of repression, we are in the stone age. We need an international unit on the subject. I promised myself that as soon as I have the time, I will create an international association of victims to put pressure on the States for a real international work.
How is the Bénéteau Group affected by the global supply and logistics problems? What impact is there on boat deliveries?
We must distinguish 2 phenomena:
Firstly, the scarcity of certain materials, but without stock-outs. This is also true for freight. This results in higher costs. We had anticipated this fairly well and passed it on in our inflation balance. We can see this in particular in resin and composites. We were not completely deprived, but it should not turn into a rupture.
The second and more problematic case is precisely this breakdown in supply or logistics as in the first containment. This is happening for some engine manufacturers. There are two possible scenarios. Either the end customer agrees to change the engine and we renegotiate, or we have to postpone the delivery. Engine manufacturers are more than just suppliers, they are partners with whom we work on eco-design or alternatives to internal combustion engines. We are penalized like the whole market. There are delays in delivery, sometimes of several months. The boat is a pleasure purchase and people have a good level of acceptance. There are no cancellations at this stage.
