About Unilever
Unilever is one of the world’s most significant transnational companies. When it got formed, back in 1930, it was involved in a diverse set of operations ranging from food production to the production of cleaning products. Today, it has grown and branched out, is a consumer and household products manufacturer, and it is the biggest soap producer in the world. According to Unilever themselves, more than 2.5 billion people in the world use their products daily (Maljers, 1992). Every one of us has a Unilever brand product in our homes, be it cleaning products, personal care products, or even food, like bread spreads. Unilever, therefore, is a company that has a firm grip on the world. Running a giant conglomerate of such proportions is likely to raise some concern, especially with many companies choosing profits over the wellbeing of their customers and the planet. Unilever, however, has a different approach to the whole running aspect of the company.
Unilever’s corporate vision is “to make sustainable living commonplace.”(Young, 2017). In sustainable living, Unilever can stay aware of the challenges facing the world, from global warming, wealth gap as well as food shortages. The company has three primary missions: to reduce the company’s environmental impact, to enhance the livelihoods of its workers and customers, as well as to improve global health and wellbeing (Young, 2017). Graciously, these goals have not been mere talk, as Unilever has recorded gradual drops in the production of harmful waste as well as increased sustainability in production. Additionally, the company has created initiatives that have helped improve the lives of millions of women around the globe (Young, 2017). Unilever’s promise of sustainability and quest to help save the planet, have enabled them to stay afloat as a promising conglomerate that runs more than 400 brands in close to 200 countries.
Marc Engel is Unilever’s chief supply chain officer. He was appointed to the role in January 2016, having got promoted from his earlier role as Executive Vice president in Unilever’s East Africa business. In his previous position, Engel was responsible for preparing the way for the growth of emerging markets. His career with Unilever spans more than 20 years, where he has worked in many locations, including Brazil, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Kenya, the Netherlands, and Singapore (Armstrong, 2019). In those years and roles, Engel acquired vast experience in supply chain operations, having got involved in finance, logistics, strategy development, and procurement. Engel is an Executive Board member of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers as well as a member of the Supervisory Board of PostNL (Armstrong, 2019).
Engel joined Unilever in 1990, working at Unilever Meat Group in the Netherlands. He was involved in building the Ragu tomato sauce factory, where he later became Production Manager. Engel took a brief hiatus from Unilever in 1993 but returned in 1995 (Armstrong, 2019). Three years after his return, in 1998, he moved into supply chain operation and held various positions in Latin America, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. He got appointed as Unilever’s first Chief Procurement Officer in 2008, which put him in charge of procurement of third party goods and services, managing a workforce of 1500 across 67 countries, and controlling a budget of more than 25 billion euros (Armstrong, 2019). Engel is the mastermind behind the Partner to Win program, which aided Unilever’s goal of Sustainable Living.
Engel credits his success to his passion for his job. He says, “if you’re not doing a job that you enjoy, it’s unlikely that you’ll excel.”(Armstrong, 2019). He adds that five things helped him make his career success, tips that ought to help anyone. First, he says, is luck. Being in the right place at the right time does help. Second, he explains that herd work does make a difference. He says that if you give something all the effort it deserves and put some work in it, there ought to be a success. Third, is to stay authentic to yourself and your purpose. He says that you can only succeed if you know yourself well enough to know what you want in life, and that is the strategy he used, instead, that helped him get to his position today. His passion is to make a difference in essential things. Fourth, is to enjoy your work. He says life is too short to spend in an unfulfilling job. If you cannot learn to love your job, it is better to change careers. He credits excellence to passion. The last tip to success is to have a circle of people who challenge and support you. Everyone has a social life, and he says that the best circle of close people should be those that will give honest feedback or criticism, those who are genuinely committed to your success. These people can be either from your profession or private life. These individuals will help as you advance in your career, as they will offer the right balance between support and criticism (Armstrong, 2019). As a chief supply chain officer (CSCO), Engel has the responsibility of accounting for the global end to end supply chain for Unilever. He is directly responsible for product innovation to product delivery for all of Unilever’s brands (O’Brien, 2017).
The purchasing department is in charge of the company’s procurement process. At Unilever, the purchase and supply department is responsible for buying goods, equipment, and other essential materials and services the company needs to manufacture its products and prepare them for sale. The department is also required to carry out its objectives in a timely and organized manner to ensure the smooth flow of production. Unilever’s department of purchase and supplies usually has several goals: sourcing raw materials, the quantities needed, and when. They also have to find reputable and cost-effective suppliers, who are reasonably priced and discuss terms of delivery. They also coordinate deliveries with their warehouses and logistics teams, ensuring that the entire process provides the best value for the company (Thompson, 2019).
The purchasing and supplies department’s core objective is to get the right quality products at favorable prices, not to find the cheapest materials for better margins. The department can choose a more expensive supplier if they are offering better products, or if they have a lower defect rate and shorter delivery times (Thompson, 2019). Unilever, for instance, is very keen on purchases, as they have to deliver products that respect their Sustainable Living objective. Unilever is known to quickly adapt its products to market demands, even going as far as adjusting their products and product range, despite the effects it may have on their profit margins (Young, 2017). It, therefore, is effortless to understand that Unilever is a company well committed towards the achievement of its objectives. Without a doubt, then, it is safe to say that Unilever is a global brand that is on a different field from the competition as well as other companies, making it a company expected to hold the reigns at the top of their field for much longer.
References
Armstrong, H. (2019, March 15). Marc Engel, Unilever: “Supply chains will be at the heart of winning businesses in the future.” Supply Chain Movement. Retrieved May 2, 2020, from https://www.supplychainmovement.com/marc-engel-unilever-supply-chains-will-be-at-the-heart-of-winning-businesses-in-the-future/
Maljers, F.A. (1992, October). Inside Unilever: The Evolving Transnational Company. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved May 2, 2020, from https://hbr.org/1992/09/inside-unilever-the-evolving-transnational-company
O’Brien, P.L. (2017, October 23). Inside the Mind of the Chief Supply Chain Officer. Russel Reynolds Associates. Retrieved May 2, 2020, from https://www.russellreynolds.com/insights/thought-leadership/inside-the-mind-of-the-chief-supply-chain-officer
Thompson, J. (2019, June 13). Purchasing Department Goals and Objectives. Bizfluent. Retrieved May 2, 2020, from https://bizfluent.com/list-7215994-purchasing-department-goals-objectives.html
Young, J. (2017, February 21). Unilever’s Vision Statement & Mission Statement (An Analysis). Panmore. Retrieved May 2, 2020, from http://panmore.com/unilever-vision-statement-mission-statement-analysis