Supply Chain Management Report: Unilever's Strategies Analysis

This report delves into the intricacies of supply chain management, using Unilever as a case study. It explores various measures for improving supply chain relations, such as supplier evaluation, demand planning, and establishing a strong supply chain structure. The report also examines how managers mitigate supply chain risks, including cyber risks and inventory management, while reducing costs through supplier diversification and transparency. Furthermore, it describes approaches to improving supply chain sustainability, including mapping supply chain activities, setting sustainability goals, and engaging in sustainable sourcing. The report emphasizes Unilever's commitment to environmental, social, and financial responsibility, highlighting the company's efforts to connect with customers globally while minimizing waste and improving labor conditions. The analysis covers Unilever's strategic initiatives, including project planning, training programs, and technological advancements, to enhance its supply chain efficiency and achieve its sustainability objectives.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMNET

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Measures for improving supply chain relations...........................................................................3
How managers mitigate supply chain risk and reduce cost of supply chain management..........5
Describe the approaches of organisation for improving supply chain sustainability..................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
Books and journals....................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Supply chain management is a technique of managing the flow of goods and services
which includes all processes that transform raw material into finished goods. The operations of
supply chain management focuses on whole process of production and the flow of goods or
services which includes raw material to delivering the final goods to market and customers. In
other words, supply chain management is a network of suppliers (Brandenburg and Rebs, 2015).
Unilever is a consumer goods company and is a public limited company which is operating
worldwide. The company is offering wide variety of products which includes instant coffee,
confections, energy drinks, ice cream, baby food, beauty products, personal care, pharmaceutical
and consumer healthcare products. This project report is based on the supply chain management
of an organisation and how operations of this departments are performed. The report will depict
several measures which help in improving supply chain management and how risk can be
reduced for performing functions of supply chain management.
MAIN BODY
Measures for improving supply chain relations
Supply chain management is a technique of management which helps organisation to
maximize the value of customers and helps the business to gain competitive advantage. The
activities of supply chain management involve outsourcing of resources, logistics, information
system and product development. Supply chain relationship is relationship between customers
and suppliers which helps them to easily exchange information demand data and monitoring the
visibility of status. In other words, communication of demand and direction of strategic plans
also helps in improving quality and reduced cost (Chase, Shankar and Jacobs, 2018). Some of the
measures of improving supply chain relations are listed below:
 Evaluate your suppliers- The process of supply chain management begins with the help
of suppliers so by evaluating and improving the supplier relationship will help in
enhancing performance and productivity of the organisation. By identifying suppliers, it
will help in communicating and interacting through which valuable information regarding
supply and demand can be identified and it will ensure reliability. This will also help
maximizing the speed off the supply chain cycle. In context of Unilever, it can be seen

that the company focuses on identifying their potential suppliers which will help them in
identifying the market demands and meet customer satisfaction.
 Use demand planning- Demand planning is a technique which helps in answering the
efficiency of supply chain management and ensures the company is meeting with the
demand. An effective supply chain relation involves planning which helps in forecasting
the demand and meet timely requirements of the changing market trends and customers.
With the help of demand planning, Unilever ensures that all products manufactured by
the company are delivered in time by reducing the supply chain cost (Coughlan and et.al,
2016).
 Establish strong supply chain structure- By establishing a strong supply chain
structure helps a business in maximizing effectiveness and efficiency which will help
them in gaining competitive advantage. An effective supply chain structure helps
business to plan all activities and operations of the management and in informed
decisions which helps in meeting the demands of the customers at right time and at right
location. It is one of the optimal approach followed by Unilever that helps in optimum
utilization of resources and benchmarks can be set through which organisation
performance can be enhanced.
 Increasing the visibility of supply chain- By increasing and promoting visibility and
transparency it will help suppliers to check real time inventory which will give them a
better insight of current situation of the company and plan according for meeting the
future demands. Unilever ensures supply chain visibility which ensures ability to track all
components of products which moves from suppliers to customers.
 Engage with IT department- Due to rapidly changing business it can be seen that IT
department is one of the important department which helps in functioning and performing
all operations of the business through which company can face high competition. Supply
chain management must engage with IT department directly through which they can use
new software and application which can streamline all process of supply chain
management (De Angelis, Howard and Miemczyk, 2018). In context of Unilever, to
enhance the supply chain relation the company use holistic understanding of changing
technologies in supply chain management domain and focus on adopting such

technological change which will help them in performing all activities effectively,
identifying changing market trends and meet maximum customer demands.
 Create training programs- Inhouse training programs are one of the major approaches
which helps the business enhancing the supply chain relation within the business. By
scheduling the time off the training and setting different benchmarks will help in
enhancing productivity and efficiency of all employees. For assessing a successful
training program, a company must monitor the performance of their employees and other
stakeholders and provide required trainings by forming programs which can work with
the motive of improving the weakness (Derwik and Hellström, 2017). Unilever review
the training material and procedures which are required to conduct a training program
and insurance that all materials are up to date and will be helpful in enhancing
productivity. With the help of training program Unilever focus on moral of all employees
and encourage them to perform effectively for achieving the desired performance
standards which will help them and contributing in performing all operations of supply
chain management effectively and building strong supply chain relation.
 Implementation of a strong effective project plan- Increasing the supply chain
efficiency is an ongoing process which can be done through implementing a strong and
effective project plan which will ensure that all employees are working continuously
towards the accomplishment of shared goal. By creating a framework of project plan, it
will help the organisation in making strategic investments and developing distribution
strategy and in facilitating cross functional decision making and good project plan can be
implemented in the organisation. Unilever focus on improving the efficiency of supply
chain management by collaborating across different departments and forming teams
which help them to implement the project plan properly they can get better visibility and
transparency in the activities which are performed within the business. This also helps in
making smart technology investment and enhancing training and creating a path through
which the required objectives can be achieved.
How managers mitigate supply chain risk and reduce cost of supply chain management
Supply chain management is a technique and planned procedure of all activities of
sourcing all raw materials and components which will help the business in delivering products
and services to their customers (Farooque and et.al, 2019). An effective supply chain

management helps the business manage all inventories and reduce the excess wastage and will
also help in reducing the cost and save time of the business. In relation to Unilever, an effective
and strong supply chain management helps the business in minimizing the supply chain risk and
reduce the cost of operations of supply chain management and gain the competitive advantage.
It can be seen that there are different types of supply chain risk which can be faced by the
companies, this involves internal and external risk (Green and et.al, 2019). Internal risk is related
to manufacturing, business, planning and contingency risk factors. Whereas, external risk factors
of supply chain management include environmental, business, supply and demand risk. There are
several strategies and approaches which are taken by Unilever for reducing the supply chain risk
and it will also help in reducing the cost of supply chain management, some of the approaches
which are opted by the company are described below:
 By managing cyber supply chain management risk: This will help in strengthening the
cybersecurity defenses which can be done with the help of forming compliance standards,
defining the roles of users and providing an effective and brief training session through
which they can gather knowledge regarding the technological use in the supply chain
managerial activities. In relation to Unilever, the company focuses on providing quality
training to their employees through which they can perform all assigned roles effectively
and follow all procedures and protocols of the organisation which will help in reducing
the cyber risk which can be faced by the company. By defining the terms and boundaries,
it helps Unilever to communicate the requirements which must be fulfilled by the
employees while performing the activities of supply chain management through which
risk can be minimized.
 Inventory management- With the help of an effective inventory management strategy, it
helps the business in reducing the supply chain cost which can be incurred at the time of
performing functions of supply chain management. Unilever focus on their inventory
management with the help of forming strategies such as procurement plans which helps
them to manage all goods properly and avoid under and over stocking of products
through which they can reduce the supply chain cost (Hong, Zhang and Ding, 2018).
 Identify current risk- Critically monitoring and analyzing the business will help the
organisation to identify areas with high risk exposure. The manager of Unilever regularly

monitors the changing business environment which helps them to identify the supply
chain disruption scenarios which can create an adverse impact on the functioning of
supply chain management and will affect the supply and demand of the goods and
services manufactured by the company.
 Through diversifying suppliers- By not relying on a single source of materials and
products it will help the business to diversify the suppliers and engage with different
suppliers who can timely delivery all production services and help in reducing the cost.
Unilever focus on establishing reliable secondary suppliers of different regions which
help them to minimize risk and reduced cost (Jia and et.al, 2018).
 Through increasing transparency among partners- By sharing all necessary
information by effective communication in the business will bring transparency among
all stakeholders while sharing information related to sale of products and offer right
products to suppliers through which it can help in strengthening the relationship. Unilever
focus on enhancing and encouraging employees for transparency while working in the
organisation which will help all the team members to communicate the progress and
create effective ideas and decisions which can reduce cost and minimize the risk which
can be faced by the company.
Describe the approaches of organisation for improving supply chain sustainability
Sustainable supply chain management involves integration of environmental and
financial practices into a complete supply chain life cycle which starts from product designing to
finished products. There are three elements of supply chain sustainability which includes social
responsibility, financial responsibility and environmental responsibility. There are several
components of supply chain management which includes: planning, sourcing, manufacturing,
delivering and returning (Kain and Verma, 2018).
Supply chain sustainability is a corporate issue which creates an influence on logistics
network for supply chain of a business in relation to environmental, risk, waste and cost.
Sustainability in supply chain help business to deliver profitability and sees opportunities which
will help Unilever to gain competitive advantage from their operations. In relation to Unilever,
supply chain sustainability help the company to connect with the customers by offering all
products and services across the globe. The company focuses on all three important aspects

which are environmental, social and financial aspects which help them to minimize wastage and
improve labor conditions. This also helps in reducing the environmental impact and enhances the
continuity of supply of the goods and services. There are several approaches of improving supply
chain system sustainability. Unilever taken several initiatives for incorporating sustainable
supply chain management, some of these approaches are explained below:
 Mapping supply chain activities- Mapping the activities of companies in managing
inventory suppliers and identifying environmental and social challenges which will help
in prioritizing efforts with suppliers. Unilever focus on establishing strong and effective
partnerships with the suppliers and reduced the number of suppliers through which they
can maintain loyal and potential suppliers who will be helpful in meeting the demand of
the market (Koberg and Longoni, 2019). By prioritizing suppliers, it helps Unilever on
focusing on continuity of the business and minimize the risk. With the help of suppliers
Unilever gathered valuable information which helped in forming sustainability programs
and focus on continuous development and improvement of the business.
 Communicate expectations- Sustainable supply chain management of a company must
communicate expectations to their employees that will help them to clearly identify the
values, cultures and standards of the business that needs to be accomplished. In relation
to Unilever, the business focus on prioritizing the value chain and sees more
opportunities for enhancing and improving sustainability of the business by sharing the
benchmarks what their employees needs to accomplish.
 Ensure ethical sourcing- By ensuring all the activities performed by suppliers and how
they are producing and extracting raw materials will help in following all supply chain
sustainability guidelines. This will also help in reducing transportation time and cost and
all the activities will be followed by the required procedure and guidelines. In context of
Unilever, it can be seen that the managers of the company regularly monitors if all
suppliers are manufacturing and extracting raw material and what procedures are
followed completion and for finished goods (LeMay and et.al, 2017).
 By determining the potential problems- Identification of potential problems helps
business to determine the inflow and outflow and progress of all activities through
customer demand can we met. Unilever focuses on identifying such problems which can

create an impact on the sustainability of supply chain management and overall
organisation is this the business to take corrective measures for resolving issues.
 Improve inventory management- This can be done through various software and tools
which will help employees to maintain records and allocate resources regularly (Marshall
and et.al, 2015). This will help the business to forecast sales, identify actual orders,
confirm product delivery date and reduce incorrectly filled orders. In context of Unilever,
the company focuses on maintaining all records of all the resources and inventory which
are used by the company, as it will help them in forecasting the demand and identify the
supplier and also help in saving time cost and money.
 By enhancing and managing socio-economic performance- Environmental
performance throughout the process of supply chain will help Unilever in making
optimum use of resources, processes and form innovative and creative ideas which will
help in performing managerial activities effectively in gaining competitive advantage
(Russell and Taylor, 2019). To ensuring sustainability and supply chain management it
helps the business to perform all functions effectively which will enhance productivity,
save time, cost and promote the corporate values of the company.
CONCLUSION
From the above project report, it can be seen that supply chain management is one of the
most important operation of the management. An effective supply chain management strategy
helps a business in reducing risk and costs through which higher sales and profits can be
generated and business can meet the demands of the customers and marketplace at right time and
at right location through which utmost customer satisfaction can be met. It can be seen that there
are several approaches of organisation which helps in improving the relations and sustainability
of supply chain management.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Brandenburg, M. and Rebs, T., 2015. Sustainable supply chain management: A modeling
perspective. Annals of Operations Research. 229(1). pp.213-252.
Chase, R. B., Shankar, R. and Jacobs, F. R., 2018. Operations and Supply Chain Management,
15e (SIE). McGraw-Hill Education.
Coughlan, P and et.al., 2016. Operations and supply chain management. International Journal of
Operations & Production Management.
De Angelis, R., Howard, M. and Miemczyk, J., 2018. Supply chain management and the circular
economy: towards the circular supply chain. Production Planning & Control. 29(6).
pp.425-437.
Derwik, P. and Hellström, D., 2017. Competence in supply chain management: a systematic
review. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal.
Farooque, M and et.al., 2019. Circular supply chain management: A definition and structured
literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production. 228. pp.882-900.
Green, K. W and et.al., 2019. Comprehensive supply chain management model. Supply Chain
Management: An International Journal.
Hong, J., Zhang, Y. and Ding, M., 2018. Sustainable supply chain management practices, supply
chain dynamic capabilities, and enterprise performance. Journal of cleaner
production. 172. pp.3508-3519.
Jia, F and et.al., 2018. Sustainable supply chain management in developing countries: An
analysis of the literature. Journal of Cleaner Production. 189. pp.263-278.
Kain, R. and Verma, A., 2018. Logistics management in supply chain–an overview. Materials
today: proceedings. 5(2). pp.3811-3816.
Koberg, E. and Longoni, A., 2019. A systematic review of sustainable supply chain management
in global supply chains. Journal of cleaner production. 207. pp.1084-1098.
LeMay, S and et.al., 2017. Supply chain management: the elusive concept and definition. The
International Journal of Logistics Management.
Marshall, D and et.al., 2015. Environmental and social supply chain management sustainability
practices: construct development and measurement. Production Planning &
Control. 26(8). pp.673-690.
Russell, R. S. and Taylor, B. W., 2019. Operations and supply chain management. John Wiley &
Sons.
Sajjad, A., Eweje, G. and Tappin, D., 2015. Sustainable supply chain management: motivators
and barriers. Business Strategy and the Environment. 24(7). pp.643-655.