Supply Chain and Logistics Management of Unilever: A Detailed Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Unilever's supply chain and logistics management. It begins with an overview of Unilever's history and its operational scope, focusing on its products and global presence. The core of the report examines Unilever's supply chain and logistics operations, highlighting key characteristics such as vertical excellence and flexibility. It delves into the activities that ensure sustainable supply chain management, including demand-driven planning and the use of renewable resources. The report also explores Unilever's collaborations with suppliers and logistics partners, emphasizing the importance of infrastructure investment and CSR programs. The conclusion summarizes the findings and recommends the implementation of sustainable practices and continuous adaptation to changes in customer and supplier relationships. References from various academic sources support the analysis.

Running head: SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Supply Chain Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Executive Summary
The report has helped in analysis of the supply chain management of the respective company
named Unilever. The proper analysis of the operations and scope of the operations of the
company has been analysed in an effectual manner as this has helped in overcoming the
different kind of challenges. The proper analysis of the different kind of supply chain
management characteristics has been analysed and identified that has created proper
collaboration between the suppliers and end customers of the company as well.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
History of Unilever....................................................................................................................3
Operations of Unilever and Scope of Operations......................................................................4
Supply chain and Logistics Management of Unilever...............................................................5
Characteristics of Supply Chain and logistical operations of Unilever.....................................6
Activities included in ensuring sustainable supply chain management.....................................7
Collaboration with Suppliers and logistics partners...................................................................8
Conclusion and Recommendations............................................................................................8
References................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The report helps in analysis of the supply chain and logistics management of Unilever
Company. The history of the enterprise along with the market has to be analysed wherein this
will be operating in an effectual manner will be analysed in an appropriate manner. The
supply chain along with logistical operational activity has to be analysed in an effectual
manner wherein this will make sustainable in nature. The collaboration with the different
suppliers as well as logistics partners has to be identified that helps in ensuring satisfaction of
the end-customers with the different kind of products and services as well.
The main aim and purpose of the report is to identify the different kind of logistics
and supply chain management of the Unilever Company in an appropriate manner. The
history of the enterprise has to be analysed that will help in identification of the market
wherein Unilever is operating effectually.
The structure of the report includes the different kind of activities as this will help in
ensuring that the supply chain and logistics of the organization is working in an effectual
manner. The three activities have to be analysed in an effectual manner that will help in
collaborating with the logistics partners and suppliers.
History of Unilever
Unilever is one of the British-Dutch transnational consumers goods organization that
is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The respective company has introduced
different kind of products that included food, beverages along with personal care and
cleaning agents. It is one of the largest consumer goods organization that has been able to
gain huge revenues in the entire market as well (Unilever global company website, 2018).
There are more than 169,000 employees who are presently working with Unilever Company

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in the entire world and the revenues that has been earned by the company is more than
€53.715 billion (2017). It has been noticed that the respective company is mainly focusing on
satisfying the needs of the customers in an effectual manner with the proper implementation
of different strategies. The website of the respective company Unilever contains different
kind of products that is to be sold by them to the customers in an effectual manner as well.
Operations of Unilever and Scope of Operations
Unilever is operating in the transformational goods company that deals with different
kind of personal and food and beverages products as well. The main vision of the respective
company is to grow the business with improving the health and well-being of the different
individuals in the economy. The other vision of the company is to reduce the environmental
impacts such as sustainable kind of sourcing and reduction of emission of the green house
gases as well (Beske and Seuring 2014).
The respective company is positioned in an effectual manner wherein they are trying
to expand the development of the market along with providing proper approach that is
focused in nature to innovate the different kind of activities that are sold and offered by them
to the customers. Unilever Company has tried to design the different kind of services and
goods that suits the organization. The layout and location strategy of the organization is
effective in nature and this is making the operations of Unilever more effectual in nature
(Mangan, Lalwani and Lalwani, 2016).

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Supply chain and Logistics Management of Unilever
Supply Chain Management is the proper flow of goods and services that includes the
storage and movement of the raw materials along with work-in-progress and finished goods
from the suppliers to manufacturers to wholesaler and retailer. Supply chain management
helps in optimizing the operations of the department in order to maximize the efficiency and
speed of the goods and services as well (Khalid et al. 2015).
Furthermore, the supply chain management of Unilever consists of more than 100
manufacturing plants and the products are distributed in the entire country through the proper
implementation of network of more than 5 warehouses. HUL has more than 40 agents along
with more than 7500 wholesalers and there are number of large institutional customer and
there are more than 7000 redistributions stockiest as well. It has been seen that proper IT
powered system has been implemented to the supply stocks to the redistribution stockists as
well (Chin, Tat and Sulaiman 2015).
Brandenburg et al. (2014) has commented that proper supply chain strategy will help
Unilever in achieving efficient kind of fulfilment and this will help in making the inventory
readily available for the customers who uses the products and services of Unilever. Logistics

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Management is the small portion of the supply chain management that helps in dealing with
management of different goods in an efficient manner. The supply chain management of
Unilever has pioneered different other channels that includes health and beauty services and
this helps them in managing their services effectually. Lastly, proper primary and secondary
channels has to be analysed in an effectual manner wherein this has helped and assisted the
company in gaining proper kind of distribution network in an effective manner (Monczka et
al. 2015).
Characteristics of Supply Chain and logistical operations of Unilever
Unilever’s supply chain management is effective in nature wherein the company
focuses more on the following aspects:
 Focus on the vertical excellence is done by Unilever wherein the companies focus
more on vertical kind of excellence of the respective company and this helped them in
distributing the activities in an effectual manner (Schorsch, Wallenburg and Wieland
2017)

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 The supply chain management is flexible in nature and this has helped Unilever in
getting interconnected to other emerging markets as well (Simpson et al. 2015)
 Supply Chain Management has helped in reducing the operating costs wherein it
helped Unilever in boosting the experience of the customers in the entire market and
improved their financial condition as well
Activities included in ensuring sustainable supply chain management
There are three kinds of activities that helps Unilever in ensuring sustainable kind of
supply chain management in Unilever are as follows:
 Adoption of demand driven planning and business operating model that helps in
shaping of the demand includes the proper analysis of the risks and reduce the
calamities in an effectual manner. proper sustainability is required to be maintained
by Unilever as this is the key insight in leveraging different kind of opportunities and
mitigate the different kind of challenges in an effectual manner. Proper contingency
planning tool is required by Unilever in providing agile kind of supply chain with the
usage of the cloud technology in an effectual manner (Fernie and Sparks 2014)
 Secondly, proper building of adoptive and agile supply chain with proper planning
and integrated kind of execution is essential in nature as this helps Unilever in
deploying planning capabilities along with fine tune operations to ensure that the
sustainability is maintained in an effectual manner. It is required to understand that
the company needs to use the renewable energy resources with recycling the different
kind of operations in an effectual manner (Stadtler 2015).
 Proper sustainability can be maintained by Unilever by introduction of the purpose led
brands as this will help them in generating proper sustainable practices along with
different kind of other sources applications that includes usage of usage of the plastic
has to be reduced by the company in order to make the entire system sustainable in

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nature. Both the primary and secondary sales are required to be taken into
consideration wherein this has helped the company in engaging into sustainable kind
of practices as well (Fernie and Sparks 2014)
Collaboration with Suppliers and logistics partners
Proper collaboration is required by Unilever with the different suppliers and logistics
partners wherein it includes the following:
 Proper investment in the right kind of infrastructure is essential in nature that helps in
collaborating with the suppliers and logistics partners. Proper kind of sustainable
relationships with the individuals will help the company in operating in a smoother
manner along with the technological advancements as well (Carter, Rogers and Choi
2015)
 Secondly, proper CSR program has to be analysed by the company this helps the
company in maintaining the relationship with the customers in an effectual manner
and the benefits are been gained by all the individuals in an effectual manner as well.
proper CSR programs help in maintaining different kind of mutual relationship with
the customers in the future in an effectual manner as well
Conclusion and Recommendations
Therefore, it can be concluded that the supply chain management is one the essential
kind of functions in the organizations. Proper supply chain and logistics management is
essential in maintaining a proper sustainable relationship with the different clients in an
effectual manner. The supply chain management of Unilever has helped in understanding the
different primary and secondary sources of Unilever along with importance of collaboration
with the employees and customers.

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Therefore, it can be recommended that proper supply chain management with
different CSR practices has to be implemented by Unilever as this helped the entire company
in incorporating sustainability practices that will help them in gaining competitive advantage
in the entire market. It is requiring by Unilever to understand the different kind of changes
that is required to be analysed wherein the relationships will be diverse with the customers
and suppliers of Unilever in the future as well.

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References
Beske, P. and Seuring, S., 2014. Putting sustainability into supply chain management. Supply
Chain Management: an international journal, 19(3), pp.322-331.
Brandenburg, M., Govindan, K., Sarkis, J. and Seuring, S., 2014. Quantitative models for
sustainable supply chain management: Developments and directions. European Journal of
Operational Research, 233(2), pp.299-312.
Carter, C.R., Rogers, D.S. and Choi, T.Y., 2015. Toward the theory of the supply
chain. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 51(2), pp.89-97.
Chin, T.A., Tat, H.H. and Sulaiman, Z., 2015. Green supply chain management,
environmental collaboration and sustainability performance. Procedia CIRP, 26, pp.695-699.
Fernie, J. and Sparks, L., 2014. Logistics and retail management: emerging issues and new
challenges in the retail supply chain. Kogan page publishers.
Khalid, R.U., Seuring, S., Beske, P., Land, A., Yawar, S.A. and Wagner, R., 2015. Putting
sustainable supply chain management into base of the pyramid research. Supply Chain
Management: An International Journal, 20(6), pp.681-696.
Mangan, J., Lalwani, C. and Lalwani, C.L., 2016. Global logistics and supply chain
management. John Wiley & Sons.
Monczka, R.M., Handfield, R.B., Giunipero, L.C. and Patterson, J.L., 2015. Purchasing and
supply chain management. Cengage Learning.
Schorsch, T., Wallenburg, C.M. and Wieland, A., 2017. The human factor in SCM:
Introducing a meta-theory of behavioral supply chain management. International Journal of
Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 47(4), pp.238-262.

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Simpson, D., Meredith, J., Boyer, K., Dilts, D., Ellram, L.M. and Leong, G.K., 2015.
Professional, research, and publishing trends in operations and supply chain
management. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 51(3), pp.87-100.
Stadtler, H., 2015. Supply chain management: An overview. In Supply chain management
and advanced planning (pp. 3-28). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Unilever global company website. (2018). Unilever global company website | Unilever
Global. [online] Available at: https://www.unilever.com/ [Accessed 27 Apr. 2018].