Unilever Supply Chain report on supplier and partner relationships and the impacts it has on the sustainable supply chain of Unilever
Table of contents
I. Summary 2
II. Introduction 2
III. Discussion 4
IV. Analysis 7
SWOT Analysis
V. Conclusion 12
VI. References 13
VII. Appendix 15
12 principles by the Responsible Sourcing Policy
5 Levers for change
Global Reporting Initiative G3 Index
Millenium Development Goals
Table of Figures
Figure 1 - Unilever 's Sustainable Living Plan with turnovers from 2009, 2010* and 2020** 3
Figure 2 - Unilever 's Greenhouse Gas Footprint 5
Figure 3 - Leaders in sustainability, % of analysts polled 6
Figure 4 - Kraljic 's Matrix of Unilever 's Supply Positioning 7
Figure 5 - Market Segmentation Matrix 8
Figure 6 - Swot Analysis Table 10
Summary
This report’s aim is to study and understand how Unilever builds its relationships with suppliers and partners in order to achieve a worldwide reference supply chain. After that, a link between relationships and Unilever’s objective to achieve a sustainable supply chain will be drawn. Subsequently a SWOT analysis regarding the aforementioned topics and some other external topics (e.g. emerging market development situation) will be done in order to relate the Strengths and Opportunities to the Weaknesses and Threats the firm faces. Finally, recommendations for improvement will be made, taking what has been analysed in consideration, to overcome weaknesses and threats.
Along this report, explanations will be given for the firm’s turnover drop from €51billion in 2012 to €49billion in 2013, decision to seek a sustainable supply chain, and reasons behind relationships with high level of collaboration, coordination and cooperation.
Introduction
In the year of 1930, the British ‘Lever Brothers’ margarine and soap producer joint ventured the Dutch butter and margarine market leader ‘Margarine Unie’, creating Unilever. Through the years, Unilever expanded its product range and set operations around the globe, turning itself into a globalised company acting effectively in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. However,
I. Summary 2
II. Introduction 2
III. Discussion 4
IV. Analysis 7
SWOT Analysis
V. Conclusion 12
VI. References 13
VII. Appendix 15
12 principles by the Responsible Sourcing Policy
5 Levers for change
Global Reporting Initiative G3 Index
Millenium Development Goals
Table of Figures
Figure 1 - Unilever 's Sustainable Living Plan with turnovers from 2009, 2010* and 2020** 3
Figure 2 - Unilever 's Greenhouse Gas Footprint 5
Figure 3 - Leaders in sustainability, % of analysts polled 6
Figure 4 - Kraljic 's Matrix of Unilever 's Supply Positioning 7
Figure 5 - Market Segmentation Matrix 8
Figure 6 - Swot Analysis Table 10
Summary
This report’s aim is to study and understand how Unilever builds its relationships with suppliers and partners in order to achieve a worldwide reference supply chain. After that, a link between relationships and Unilever’s objective to achieve a sustainable supply chain will be drawn. Subsequently a SWOT analysis regarding the aforementioned topics and some other external topics (e.g. emerging market development situation) will be done in order to relate the Strengths and Opportunities to the Weaknesses and Threats the firm faces. Finally, recommendations for improvement will be made, taking what has been analysed in consideration, to overcome weaknesses and threats.
Along this report, explanations will be given for the firm’s turnover drop from €51billion in 2012 to €49billion in 2013, decision to seek a sustainable supply chain, and reasons behind relationships with high level of collaboration, coordination and cooperation.
Introduction
In the year of 1930, the British ‘Lever Brothers’ margarine and soap producer joint ventured the Dutch butter and margarine market leader ‘Margarine Unie’, creating Unilever. Through the years, Unilever expanded its product range and set operations around the globe, turning itself into a globalised company acting effectively in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. However,
References: [2] Unilever, (2013). Sustainable Living Plan. [online] Available at: http://www.Unilever.com/images/slp_Unilever-Sustainable-Living-Plan-2013_tcm13-388693.pdf [Accessed 17 Jan. 2015]. [3] Hoovers.com, (2015). Unilever Names of Competitors. [online] Available at: http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/competition.Unilever.f5614c5e74535482.html [Accessed 17 Jan. 2015]. [4] Aronow, S., Hofman, D., Burkett, M., Nilles, K [5] Adapted from: Unilever, (2014). Annual Reports and Accounts 2013. [online] Available at: http://www.unilever.com/images/Unilever_AR13_tcm13-383757.pdf [Accessed 17 Jan. 2015]. [7] Scientificamerican.com, (2015). Measuring the Daily Destruction of the World 's Rainforests. [online] Available at: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-talks-daily-destruction/ [Accessed 19 Jan. 2015]. [8] BBC News, (2014). Sao Paulo sleepwalking into water crisis. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-29947965 [Accessed 19 Jan. 2015]. [9] Unilever.com, (2015). Unilever Supplier Qualification System | About us | Unilever Global. [online] Available at: http://www.Unilever.com/aboutus/supplier/usqs [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015]. [10] Unilever, (2014). Responsible Sourcing Policy. [online] Available at: http://www.Unilever.com/images/slp-Unilever-Responsible-Sourcing-Policy-2014_tcm13-388879.pdf [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015]. [11] Unilever.com, (2015). Partner to Win | About us | Unilever Global. [online] Available at: http://www.Unilever.com/aboutus/supplier/partnertowin/ [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015]. [13] Fairtrade.net, (2015). Fairtrade International / About / What is Fairtrade?. [online] Available at: http://www.fairtrade.net/what-is-fairtrade.html [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015]. [14] Unilever.com, (2015). UNGC Index | Sustainable Living | Unilever Global. [online] Available at: http://www.Unilever.com/sustainable-living-2014/our-approach-to-sustainability/reporting-our-progress/UNGC-index/ [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015]. [15] Global Reporting Initiative, (2006). Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. [online] Available at: https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/G3-Guidelines-Incl-Technical-Protocol.pdf [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015]. [16] Unilever.com, (2015). GRI Index | Sustainable Living | Unilever Global. [online] Available at: http://www.Unilever.com/sustainable-living-2014/our-approach-to-sustainability/reporting-our-progress/GRI-index/ [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015]. [17] Stateofflux.co.uk, (2015). Unilever - State of Flux. [online] Available at: http://www.stateofflux.co.uk/ideas-insights/case-studies/Unilever [Accessed 25 Jan. 2015]. [18] GlobalScan/SustainAbility, (2015). The 2014 Sustainability Leaders. A GlobeScan/SustainAbility Survey. p.13. [19] Jens Hamprecht Daniel Corsten Manfred Noll Evelyn Meier, (2005),"Controlling the sustainability of food supply chains", Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 10 Iss 1 pp. 7 – 10 [20] Unilever.ch, [23] Unilever, (2015). Inspiring Sustainable Living. Expert insights into consumer behaviour & Unilever 's Five Levers For Change. [online] Available at: http://www.Unilever.com/images/slp_5-Levers-for-Change_tcm13-387353.pdf [Accessed 25 Jan. 2015]. [24] Humphries, A. and Wilding, R. (2004). Long Term Collaborative Business Relationships: The Impact of Trust and C³ Behaviour. Journal of Marketing Management, 20(9-10), pp.1107-1122. [25] Kirkaldy, A. Lecture 11 – Relationships, 2014 [26] Kirkaldy, A [28] Keith Goffin, Marek Szwejczewski, Colin New, (1997) "Managing suppliers: when fewer can mean more",International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 27 Iss: 7, pp.422 – 436 [29] BBC News, (2015)