Strategy, integration, and applications
Roberto Michel, Editor -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 2/1/2002 7:00:00 AM
Steve Cox's title says a lot about the state of supply chain management. He's vice president of supply chain strategy and integration for Unilever Home and Personal Care North America. In other words, the organization—which Unilever refers to as HPCNA—sees integration and supply chain management as practically inseparable.
HPCNA is out to build a world-class supply chain, Cox tells MSI, and integration is a big part of that effort. In 1997, HPCNA was formed by joining Lever Brothers Co., Chesebrough-Pond's, and Helene Curtis into a single consumer goods business group.
Cox says the ensuing consolidation work drew much of the group's focus through the close of 1999. But by early 2000, HPCNA was ready to reengineer its supply chain strategy. Part of the change was to create a "matrix" organization, says Cox, in which his team could help operational managers with strategy, process excellence, and supply chain integration initiatives.
Those efforts include continued heavy use of electronic data interchange, says Cox, but new Web-based systems also forge a tighter supply chain. "One effort we've embarked on is vendor managed inventory, using a Web system to allow our suppliers to monitor real-time inventory levels at our sites," Cox says. "Primarily, it helps them schedule their operations to stay in better sync with our production."
Other collaboration efforts include a Collaborative Planning, Forecasting & Replenishment (CPFR) program with retail giant Target; deployment of a supply chain visibility solution from McHugh Software; and a Web-based system for sharing product specifications between plants.
The group also is rolling out an enterprise system from SAP. Cox says that project has proceeded methodically, replacing one legacy system at a time from the group's pre-merger days. Cox contends that both enterprise systems and collaborative applications are needed to excel. "We wanted to get the core system right, while moving forward with Web-based projects," he says. "If you focus on building peripherals, without getting the core right, you'll be building interfaces until the cows come home."
This month's special focus examines a wide range of applications that support supply chain management. We hope you find the coverage useful. But strategy ultimately drives solution choice. For HPCNA, Cox says integration, inventory reduction, and speed are strategic goals. So is collaboration. "We're working very hard to become externally focused," he says. "If you're trying to become a world class supply chain, you must have a good eye to the outside."
The basic truth is this: there are many valuable supply chain applications, but strategy and integration reveal the right fit for each company.
