Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Unilever Management Project
Unilever Management Project
Way,
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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Introducing Unilever
150 million times a day, someone somewhere chooses a Unilever product. From feeding
your family to keeping your home clean and fresh, our brands are part of everyday life.
Life partner
Our brand portfolio has made us leaders in every field in which we work. It ranges from
much-loved world favorites including Lipton, Knorr, Dove and Omo, to trusted local
brands such as Blue Band and Suave.
From comforting soups to warm a winter's day, to sensuous soaps that make you feel
fabulous, our products help people get more out of life.
We're constantly enhancing our brands to deliver more intense, rewarding product
experiences. We invest €1 billion every year in cutting edge research and development,
and have five laboratories around the world that explore new thinking and techniques to
help develop our products.
Continuous development
Consumer research plays a vital role in our brands' development. We're constantly
developing new products and developing tried and tested brands to meet changing tastes,
lifestyles and expectations. And our strong roots in local markets also mean we can
respond to consumers at a local level.
By helping improve people's diets and daily lives, we can help them keep healthier for
longer, look good and give their children the best start in life.
We also believe that the very business of conducting business in a responsible way has a
positive social impact. We create and share wealth, invest in local economies and develop
people's skills – both inside our organization and in the communities around us.
Today Unilever employs 179 000 people in 100 countries worldwide, and supports the
jobs of many thousands of distributors, contractors and suppliers. Health & personal care
First launched in France in 1983, our leading male grooming brand, Axe, now
gives guys the edge in the mating game in over 60 countries
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Our oral care brands Mentadent, Peposodent and Signal have teamed up with the
world's largest dental federation, the FDI, which represents over 750 000 dentists
around the world
Lux became the first mass-marketed soap when it launched in 1924. Today it
achieves annual global sales of over €1 billion
Domestos is a best-selling brand in nine of the 35 countries in which it's sold
Hindustan Lever in India has launched a hand-wash product, Surf Excel Quick
Wash, with a low foaming formulation, reducing the amount of water needed for
rinsing by up to two buckets per wash
Recent breakthroughs at Rexona include Rexona Crystal, a deodorant that
eliminates unsightly white deposits on dark garments
Foods
Knorr is our biggest food brand with a strong presence in over 80 countries and a
product range including soups, sauces, bouillons, noodles and complete meals
We're the world's largest ice cream manufacturer, thanks to the success of our
Heartbrand which includes Magnum, Cornetto, Carte d'Or and Solero, and Ben &
Jerry's and Breyers in the US
Lipton's tea-based drinks include the international Lipton Iced Tea range, the
Lipton range in North America and Lipton Yellow Label, the world's favourite tea
brand
Becel/Flora pro.activ products have been recognized as the most significant
advancement in the dietary management of cholesterol in 40 years
In the mid 1990s we led the industry with our programme to eliminate almost all
trans fat from our margarine
AdEs, our soy-based fruit drink, has been growing at the impressive rate of 35%
since its launch in 1997 in Latin America
The company had a turnover of Rs. 18.2 bn (Euro 329 mn) in 2004,
and enjoys a leading position in most of its core Home and Personal
Care and Foods categories, e.g. Personal Wash, Personal Care,
Laundry, Beverages (Tea) and Ice Cream.
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Accountable to our stakeholders
Since the time Unilever Pakistan began its operations in 1948, the Company has been
closely connected to the Pakistani people and its brands have been an integral feature in
their daily lives. In fact, the nature of our business enables our brands to be the pulse and
heartbeat of the 155 million people in Pakistan.
This is a huge commitment, which makes us responsible and accountable to all our
stakeholders and society as a whole and strengthens our resolve to:
History
Unilever's corporate mission – to add vitality to life – shows how clearly the
business understands 21st century-consumers and their lives. But the spirit of this mission
forms a thread that runs throughout our history
In the 1890s, William Hesketh Lever, founder of Lever Bros, wrote down his
ideas for Sunlight Soap – his revolutionary new product that helped popularize
cleanliness and hygiene in Victorian England. It was 'to make cleanliness commonplace;
to lessen work for women; to foster health and contribute to personal attractiveness, that
life may be more enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use our products'.
This was long before the phrase 'Corporate Mission' had been invented, but these
ideas have stayed at the heart of our business. Even if their language - and the notion of
only women doing housework – has become outdated. In a history that now crosses three
centuries, Unilever's success has been influenced by the major events of the day –
economic boom, depression, world wars, changing consumer lifestyles and advances in
technology. And throughout we've created products that help people get more out of
life – cutting the time spent on household chores, improving nutrition, enabling people to
enjoy food and take care of their homes, their clothes and themselves.
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Balancing profit with responsible corporate behavior
In the late 19th century the businesses that would later become Unilever were
among the most philanthropic of their time. They set up projects to improve the lot of
their workers and created products with a positive social impact, making hygiene and
personal care commonplace and improving nutrition through adding vitamins to foods
that were already daily staples. Today, Unilever still believes that success means acting
with 'the highest standards of corporate behavior towards our employees, consumers and
the societies and world in which we live'. Over the years we've launched or participated
in an ever-growing range of initiatives to source sustainable supplies of raw materials,
protect environments, support local communities and much more.
Through this timeline you'll see how our brand portfolio has evolved. At the
beginning of the 21st century, our Path to Growth strategy focused us on global high-
potential brands and our Vitality mission is taking us into a new phase of development.
More than ever, our brands are helping people 'feel good, look good and get more out of
life' – a sentiment close to Lord Leverhulme's heart over a hundred years ago.
2000s
The 21st century starts with the launch of Path to Growth – a strategy to transform the
represent 93% of sales.
At the beginning of the century we open the Unilever Health Institute (UHI) – a
centre of excellence in nutrition, health and Vitality. UHI quickly plays a leading role in
creating nutrition-based foods and providing evidence to support the nutritional health
claims of our brands. Environmental issues remain a high priority and in 2002 we launch
the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative in partnership with Danone and Nestlé, to promote
sustainable agriculture practices.
Our new mission 'to meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care
with brands that help people feel good, look good, and get more out of life' was launched
in 2004. Focusing the business on 'bringing Vitality to life' provides new opportunities to
grow by meeting consumer needs for a healthy lifestyle, convenience and occasional
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indulgence. Launching the new mission with the new Unilever brand helps clarify what
Unilever stands for around the world.
Highlights
2000
Best foods are acquired in the second-largest cash acquisition in history. Other
acquisitions include Slim. Fast Foods, Ben & Jerry's and the Amora-Maille culinary
business in France. Becel/Flora proactive spreads with cholesterol-lowering plant sterols
are launched and become the first functional food to win FDA and EU approval. The
Unilever Health Institute – a centre of excellence in nutrition, health and Vitality – is
launched. Unilever screens the first interactive advertisement: it‟s broadcast on Sky's
Open channel and promotes Chicken Tonight
2001
By 2001 Unilever has cut its brands from 1,600 to 900. Diversely Lever,
Elizabeth Arden and Unipath are sold. Unilever Best foods establish its Global Nutrition
and Health Network. Unilever screens the first interactive TV commercial on a
mainstream terrestrial channel in the UK; it promotes Colman's and Olivio
2002
The portfolio is reshaped and enhanced through acquisitions and the sale of 87
businesses without acceptable growth or margin potential, generating €6.3 billion of sale
proceeds. The Skin, Hair and Deodorant businesses grow by nearly 11%, partly through
the continuing success of Rexona, Lux and Dove. Dove sales are well in excess of €2
billion and its extension into the hair category is rolled out across Europe and Latin
America. Unilever Australia wins a Cannes Media Lion Grand Prix award in recognition
of excellence in advertising for Magnum's Seven Deadly Sins campaign. The successful
launch of Becel/Flora proactive continues.
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2003
Unilever Health Institute opens regional centers in Bangkok and Accra, Ghana.
Unilever is consulted by the WHO regarding the development of a Global Strategy on
Diet, Physical Activity and Health (published May 2004). Our Nutrition Policy and
Nutrition and Health Academy are launched. Unilever leads a UK cross-industry
initiative to reduce salt levels in soups and meal sauces and the Healthy Heart Brand
signs a three-year sponsorship deal with the World Heart Federation. By the end of 2003
the business is buying half its fish from sustainable sources and water consumption per
tonne of production is down by 13%.
2004
The Vitality mission is launched and the new Unilever brand rolled out, including
the new logo which represents the diversity of Unilever, our products and our people. At
the end of Q3, Unilever revises its earnings guidance for the year to low single-digit
earnings per share growth (beia) and announces that the development of leading brands is
likely to be lower in Q3 than Q2.A variety of factors have led to this, including further
decline in Home & Personal Care markets in Western Europe and competition remaining
intense in Laundry and Hair in Asia. Unilever‟s popular weight management system,
Slim. Fast, is also hit by huge new consumer interest in low-carbohydrate diets,
particularly in the US. Simplification and cost-saving activities proceed and Unilever
chairmen Antony Burgmans and Niall Fits. Gerald comment that “We are stepping up our
marketplace activity, including putting additional A&P funds behind a number of high
priority marketplace initiatives.” Axe Touch is launched with great success in the US and
Sunsilk is rolled out in Europe.
2005
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executive, responsible for all operations. A review of the Group structure is also
announced. The changes are designed to provide greater clarity of leadership and a
platform for Unilever to focus on the needs of customers and consumers, and so reignite
growth. In May, Unilever sells its global prestige fragrance business, Unilever Cosmetics
International (UCI), to Coty Inc, of the US. The sale is in line with Unilever‟s strategy to
focus on core categories. The Nutrition Enhancement Programmed is completed, through
which 16,000 products have been assessed for levels of trans fats, saturated fats, sodium
and sugars, and where necessary, action taken.
By far the largest consumer products company in Pakistan, UPL is a part of the consumer
products giant Unilever.
UPL was established some fifty years ago in the then newly created Pakistan. The town
of Rahim Yar Khan was the site chosen for setting up a vegetable oil factory in 1958 and
that is where the first UPL manufacturing facility developed.
The UPL Head Office was shifted to Karachi from the Rahim Yar Khan site in the mid
60's. By this time the once dusty and sleepy village was the hub of activities for UPL. A
residential estate situated near the factory is the home of UPL employees at Rahim Yar
Khan.
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Our mission
Our mission is to add Vitality to life. We meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and
personal care with brands that help people look good, feel good and get more out of life.
Vitality is at the heart of everything we do. It's in our brands, our people and our values.
Vitality means different things to different people. Some see it as energy, others view it
more broadly as a healthy state of body and mind – of feeling alive.
Whatever their personal definition, millions of people around the world use our products
daily to add Vitality to their lives - whether that's through feeling great because they've
got shiny hair and a brilliant smile, keeping their homes fresh and clean, or by enjoying a
great cup of tea, satisfying meal or healthy snack.
Ever since the 19th Century when William Hesketh Lever stated that the company's
mission was "to make cleanliness commonplace; to lessen work for women; to foster
health and contribute to personal attractiveness, that life may be more enjoyable and
rewarding for the people who use our products," Vitality has been at the heart of our
business.
Vitality defines what we stand for: our values, what makes us different, and how we
contribute to society. It's the common thread that links our brands and it‟s central to the
unique way we operate around the world.
Our Vitality mission commits us to growing our business by addressing health and
nutrition issues. We focus on priorities including children and family nutrition,
cardiovascular health and weight management.
Our culture also embodies Vitality. Adding Vitality to life requires the highest standards
of behavior towards everyone we work with, the communities we touch and the
environments on which we have an impact.
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The growing demand for more Vitality in life provides us with a huge opportunity for
growth. The way we work and the products we develop are shaped by consumer trends,
along with the need to help raise health and hygiene standards in both the developing and
industrialized regions of the world.
Our people
In many respects, we think of Unilever as a community, rather than an organization. This
community is shaped and led by its people, who operate creatively within a framework of
shared values and business goals.
Because our people are fundamental to the way we do business, they‟re at the centre of
everything we do. Their professional fulfillments, their work/life balance, their ability to
contribute equally as part of a diverse workforce… these are all issues to which we give
priority.
We grow as a company by growing our people. This insight is behind all our efforts to
keep our people fulfilled and committed. It‟s also why we stay connected with – and
connect together – our employees around the world, conducting surveys and „pulse
checks‟ which then feed into the future direction of our business
Conducting our operations with integrity and with respect for the many people,
organizations and environments our business touches has always been at the heart of our
corporate responsibility.
Positive impact
We aim to make a positive impact in many ways: through our brands, our commercial
operations and relationships, through voluntary contributions, and through the various
other ways in which we engage with society.
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Continuous commitment
We're also committed to continuously improving the way we manage our environmental
impacts and are working towards our longer-term goal of developing a sustainable
business.
Our corporate purpose sets out our aspirations in running our business. It's underpinned
by our code of business Principles which describes the operational standards that
everyone at Unilever follows, wherever they are in the world. The code also supports our
approach to governance and corporate responsibility.
We want to work with suppliers who have values similar to our own and work to
the same standards we do. Our Business partner code, aligned to our own Code
of business principles, comprises ten principles covering business integrity and
responsibilities relating to employees, consumers and the environment
Our purpose
At the heart of the corporate purpose, which guides us in our approach to doing business,
is the drive to serve consumers in a unique and effective way. This purpose has been
communicated to all employees worldwide.
A vitality mentality
Unilever's mission is to add Vitality to life. We meet everyday needs for nutrition,
hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more
out of life.
Our deep roots in local cultures and markets around the world give us our strong
relationship with consumers and are the foundation for our future growth. We will bring
our wealth of knowledge and international expertise to the service of local consumers – a
truly multi-local multinational.
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To succeed also requires, we believe, the highest standards of corporate behavior towards
everyone we work with, the communities we touch, and the environment on which we
have an impact.
This is our road to sustainable, profitable growth, creating long-term value for our
shareholders, our people, and our business partners.
Our principles
Our code of business principles describes the operational standards that everyone at
Unilever follows, wherever they are in the world. It also supports our approach to
governance and corporate responsibility.
We conduct our operations with honesty, integrity and openness, and with respect for the
human rights and interests of our employees. We shall similarly respect the legitimate
interests of those with whom we have relationships.
Unilever companies and our employees are required to comply with the laws and
regulations of the countries in which we operate.
Employees
Consumers
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Products and services will be accurately and properly labeled, advertised and
communicated.
Shareholders
Business partners
Community involvement
Public activities
Unilever companies are encouraged to promote and defend their legitimate business
interests. Unilever will co-operate with governments and other organizations, both
directly and through bodies such as trade associations, in the development of proposed
legislation and other regulations which may affect legitimate business interests. Unilever
neither supports political parties nor contributes to the funds of groups whose activities
are calculated to promote party interests.
The environment
Innovation
In our scientific innovation to meet consumer needs we will respect the concerns of our
consumers and of society. We will work on the basis of sound science, applying rigorous
standards of product safety.
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Competition
Unilever believes in vigorous yet fair competition and supports the development of
appropriate competition laws. Unilever companies and employees will conduct their
operations in accordance with the principles of fair competition and all applicable
regulations.
Business integrity
Unilever does not give or receive, whether directly or indirectly, bribes or other improper
advantages for business or financial gain. No employee may offer, give or receive any
gift or payment which is, or may be construed as being, a bribe. Any demand for, or offer
of, a bribe must be rejected immediately and reported to management. Unilever
accounting records and supporting documents must accurately describe and reflect the
nature of the underlying transactions. No undisclosed or unrecorded account, fund or
asset will be established or maintained.
Conflicts of interests
All Unilever employees are expected to avoid personal activities and financial interests
which could conflict with their responsibilities to the company. Unilever employees must
not seek gain for themselves or others through misuse of their positions.
Compliance with these principles is an essential element in our business success. The
Unilever board is responsible for ensuring these principles are communicated to, and
understood and observed by, all employees. Day to day responsibility is delegated to all
senior management of the categories, functions, regions and operating companies. They
are responsible for implementing these principles, if necessary through more detailed
guidance tailored to local needs. Assurance of compliance is given and monitored each
year. Compliance with the code is subject to review by the board supported by the audit
committee of the board and the Unilever executive committee. Any breaches of the code
must be reported in accordance with the procedures specified by the joint secretaries. The
board of Unilever will not criticize management for any loss of business resulting from
adherence to these principles and other mandatory policies and instructions. The board of
Unilever expects employees to bring to their attention, or to that of senior management,
any breach or suspected breach of these principles. Provision has been made for
employees to be able to report in confidence and no employee will suffer as a
consequence of doing so.
In this code the expressions 'Unilever' and 'Unilever companies' are used for convenience
and mean the Unilever group of companies comprising Unilever N.V., Unilever PLC and
their respective subsidiary companies. The board of Unilever means the directors of
Unilever N.V. and Unilever PLC.
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Our brands
From sumptuous soups to sensuous soaps, our products all have one thing in common.
They help you get more out of life.
Healthy living
Foods
Unilever is one of the world's leading food companies. Our passion for
understanding what people want and need from their food - and what they love about it -
makes our brands a popular choice.
Blue Band
Brooke Bond Supreme is part of life for the Pakistani consumer, bringing families closer
together with its rich taste and traditions
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Brooke Bond A1
Brook Bond A1 is the strong cup of tea that gives the strength to face challenges and
stand up for what you believe in.
Lipton
Pearl Dust
Lipton Pearl Dust is the Sindhi soul that imbues intimacy and warmth in a couple‟s
relationship
Wall's
Home care
In many parts of the world we lead the home care market, with brands such as
Omo, Surf, Comfort and Cif. It's more than just hygiene – with homes and clothes that
are clean and cared for, we help you get more out of life.
Comfort
Comfort was launched in Pakistan in July 2007 and is available in 3 variants: Comfort
Floral Pink, Comfort Classic Blue and Comfort Pure White.
Surf excel
Remember when you were a child? How you were free to explore, returning home
covered in dirt and other stains that you wore like the badges of an intrepid discoverer?
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Wheel
Wheel knows that you are most confident when your clothes look, feel, and smell great.
Personal care
Our personal care brands, including Axe, Dove, Lux, Pond's, Rexona and Sunsilk,
are recognized and respected around the world. They help consumers to look good and
feel good – and in turn get more out of life.
Clear
Close Up
Our mouths are our gateway to life. We use them to eat, drink, talk, laugh, smile and
what not!
Lifebuoy shampoo
Lifebuoy soap
Lifebuoy's goal is to provide affordable and accessible hygiene and health solutions.
Lux
Pond's
Making a real difference to women's skin and the way they live their lives.
Rexona
With Rexona you know your deodorant won‟t let you down.
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Sunsilk
SWOT Analysis
The following diagram shows how a SWOT analysis fits into a strategic situation
analysis.
Situation Analysis
/ \
Internal Analysis External Analysis
/\ /\
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
|
SWOT Profile
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The internal and external situation analysis can produce a large amount of
information, much of which may not be highly relevant. The SWOT analysis can serve as
an interpretative filter to reduce the information to a manageable quantity of key issues.
The SWOT analysis classifies the internal aspects of the company as strengths or
weaknesses and the external situational factors as opportunities or threats. Strengths can
serve as a foundation for building a competitive advantage, and weaknesses may hinder
it. By understanding these four aspects of its situation, a firm can better leverage its
strengths, correct its weaknesses, capitalize on golden opportunities, and deter potentially
devastating threats.
Internal Analysis
Company culture
Company image
Organizational structure
Key staff
Access to natural resources
Position on the experience curve
Operational efficiency
Operational capacity
Brand awareness
Market share
Financial resources
Exclusive contracts
Patents and trade secrets
The SWOT analysis summarizes the internal factors of the firm as a list of strengths and
weaknesses.
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External Analysis
Customers
Competitors
Market trends
Suppliers
Partners
Social changes
New technology
Economic environment
Political and regulatory environment
The last four items in the above list are macro-environmental variables, and are addressed
in a PEST analysis.
Models for delivering advising services may be categorized as one of three organizational
structures:
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In case of Unilever Pakistan the organizational structure is almost shared structure in
nature. As it is a multinational organization and almost all such type of organizations
have decentralized structure. Unilever has also decentralized structure in mostly
departments but in almost departments there is a shared structure which is the
combination of decentralized and centralized structure.
HR's overall function is to devise and implement strategies and policies to ensure that we
have the right people with the right skills. Within that, there are numerous options for
you. For example, it could be covering culture change, leadership development, strategic
talent management, coaching and skills development or alignment of reward with
performance.
Working in HR is high profile, rewarding and demands the ability to take tough,
insightful decisions - and translate them into action.
Unilever's success depends on the performance of all our people. HR promotes the
capabilities needed to turn strategy into business results. We achieve this through
developing the leadership qualities, skills and workplace culture that enable every
individual and team to give their very best performance.
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An Investing in people:
We're transforming the way HR delivers value to the business and have created a shared
services organization in the UK - Unilever PeopleLink - which delivers HR services such
as payroll, employee benefits and recruitment. Unilever PeopleLink also contains
Expertise Teams that provide expert advice to HR professionals within the business units
on talent management, learning, and employment policy & reward. In Unilever Pakistan,
HR has also pioneered an internal HR shared service system called 'Me and U' that allows
members to access HR services from any Unilever location across the country.
You'll benefit from broad exposure to the business and will typically gain experience in
culture change, leadership development, talent management, employee relations and the
alignment of reward with performance
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DEPATMENTALIZATION
UNILEVER has three branches of Business.
1) HPC Business
2) Foods Business (Beverages and Best Foods – UPFL)
3) Ice Cream Business (Walls Business)
Customers and Channel Development (C & CD)
Supply chain Department (Production – Factories)
Finance Department
Human Resource department
Category Management
A category is a portfolio of products irrespective of brand, for example, the
hair-care category includes all our shampoos and conditioners. Some aspects of category
management are Marketing's responsibility, but C&CD Management also plays a vital
role by working with customers and being responsible for:
FINANCE
Finance is at the heart of our company. It provides an objective measure of performance
and the analysis to support decision-making. Choose this function and you'll gain a
unique insight into how a major international business works, contribute to value creation
in all areas and enjoy a wide range of career opportunities in Pakistan and overseas.
Our finance professionals play a vital part in all key business activities, from helping
develop major brands like Lux, Magnum or Lipton, to providing insightful product and
market analysis.
As a finance manager, you'll play a pivotal role in implementing strategy and act as a
business partner in driving growth. In broad terms, you'll aim to increase profitability by
calculating the financial impact of business issues - from securing the best deal on raw
materials to developing strategies for e-business. And you'll need to react quickly, as
Unilever operates in an environment where market conditions are constantly changing.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing takes place in either our own or third-party factories and has two sub-
processes: processing and packaging. We have a great reputation in manufacturing with
some of our factories considered the best in their country. Your challenge here will be to
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ensure products and packaging is made as efficiently as possible and helps factories adapt
to changing consumer needs. You'll be responsible for teams running production lines
focusing on quality, output and costs and might also spend time in Engineering, where
you'll be responsible for designing, building and maintaining high-speed production lines.
Marketing
Careers in Marketing don't get any better than this. Unilever continues to rewrite the
marketing rulebook, developing some of the world's biggest brands, creating
groundbreaking campaigns and finding new ways of Marketing requires an expert
knowledge of your brand, the people who use it and how to communicate with them. So
as a marketer, you need to develop a sound understanding of our business goals, spend
time with consumers learning about their needs, preferences and lifestyles, and absorb
and analyse a wealth of information concerning market and consumer trends.
You'll focus on identifying opportunities to grow your brand, which will involve working
closely with professionals from a number of different areas. Externally, you'll team up
with agencies specialising in PR, advertising, package design, in-store theatre and
consumer activation as well as with retailers throughout Pakistan. Internally, you'll be in
constant contact with our Brand Innovation Centres across the world, Supply Chain and,
to ensure implementation runs smoothly, Customer Management teams.
In everything you do you'll need to be passionate about your brand and be able to inspire
people around you. You'll need a clear vision of where you want your brand to go and the
ability to create plans based on a combination of sound analysis and gut instinct. And
while you won't need to write advertisements or design in-store merchandise, you'll need
to be able to judge creative work - so lateral and creative thinking is absolutely vital.
Logistics
Planning links all the other sub processes together and consists of Demand Planning and
Supply.
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Supply Management
Sourcing is the front end of the Supply Chain. It is concerned with both raw and
packaging materials. Astute sourcing of materials and goods can greatly reduce costs.
Here you'll be responsible for managing the interface between our suppliers and our
business, including contributing to the rollout of new product innovations.
Supply chain
The Supply Chain process supplies the flow of products and services that generate
Unilever's sales revenue. It covers all the processes from the sourcing of materials and
services from our suppliers to the delivery of finished products to meet
customer/consumer demand. In a global company producing over one hundred million
branded items everyday, the supply chain makes a major impact on success. So a career
in Supply Chain offers a wide range of opportunities and a lot of responsibility. Our
Supply Chain manages all stages of the process known as 'plan, source, make and deliver'
- from sourcing raw materials to ensuring that products are delivered in time to keep
supermarket shelves and cabinets well stocked. Here are some of the roles you could play
1) Competitive Rivalry
2) Power of suppliers
3) Power of buyers
4) Threats of substitutes
5) Threat of new entrants.
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:
The term 'suppliers' comprises all sources for inputs that are needed in order to provide
goods or services.
· The market is dominated by a few large suppliers rather than a fragmented source of
supply,
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· There is the possibility of the supplier integrating forwards in order to obtain higher
prices and margins. This threat is especially high when
· The buying industry has a higher profitability than the supplying industry,
· The buying industry hinders the supplying industry in their development (e.g.
reluctance to accept new releases of products),
Similarly, the bargaining power of customers determines how much customers can
impose pressure on margins and volumes.
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2.3 Threat of New Entrants
The competition in an industry will be the higher, the easier it is for other companies to
enter this industry. In such a situation, new entrants could change major determinants of
the market environment (e.g. market shares, prices, customer loyalty) at any time. There
is always a latent pressure for reaction and adjustment for existing players in this
industry.
The threat of new entries will depend on the extent to which there are barriers to entry.
These are typically
· Cost advantages of existing players due to experience curve effects of operation with
fully depreciated assets,
· Existing players have close customer relations, e.g. from long-term service
contracts,
4 Threat of Substitutes
A threat from substitutes exists if there are alternative products with lower prices of better
performance parameters for the same purpose. They could potentially attract a significant
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proportion of market volume and hence reduce the potential sales volume for existing
players. This category also relates to complementary products.
Similarly to the threat of new entrants, the treat of substitutes is determined by factors
like
· Current trends.
· There is not much differentiation between players and their products, hence, there is
much price competition
· Low market growth rates (growth of a particular company is possible only at the
expense of a competitor),
· Barriers for exit are high (e.g. expensive and highly specialized equipment).
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DECISION MAKING STYLE
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Chief Executive
Officer
Senior
Executive Non-Executive Unilever
Corporate
Directors director executive (UEX)
Officer
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
company.
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