NexGen Tech Capabilities:
Enabling the Rise of Future Hubs to make Unilever Supplier #1
BACKGROUND
Unilever has a rich history spanning decades in the FMCG industry
with over 400 brands in over 190 countries, with a turnover in 2022 of
over 60.1 billion €, and 13 brands with sales of over 1 billion €.
Unilever aims to further solidify its position as the Supplier#1 in the
market through connected supply chain - delivering superior
products, superior service, and superior value.
This is based on the pillars of:
• Agility & Resilience - We listen to signals and drive timely actions to
orchestrate the end-to-end value chain to deliver superior service.
• Reshape asset and cost base- We optimise our cost and asset
base to drive competitive growth.
• Digital transformation- We harness the power of data and 4th
industrial revolution technologies to transform end to end value
chains, creating a sustainable, competitive edge.
• Positive for people and planet- Through our everyday actions we
strive to improve the health of the planet and contribute to a
fairer more socially inclusive world
• Customer Obsession-Our customers is at the heart of our
business, and we want to establish a collaboration to win together
Unilever was also recently awarded Gartner Master for
the fifth consecutive year for our future-fit global supply chain.
From mapping the relationships between our
suppliers to help manage supply, to understanding the
environmental impact of our supply chain, technology is vital for
both building resilience and agility and achieving sustainable
growth.
With the target to become Supplier#1 for our customers Unilever
progressed on a journey of integrating its customer operations
processes enabled by Hubs for superior customer experience.
This process was enabled by products that were created on
technologies.
CUSTOMER TECH PRODUCTS
In today’s dynamic Supply Chain world, effective forecasting,
integrated business planning, and agile sales and operations
processes are essential for Unilever’s success. To meet these
demands, Unilever leverages various advanced technologies such
as Kinaxis, Trade Promotion Analytics (TPA), Trade Promotion
Management (TPM), PEGA, HighRadius, Oracle Transport
Management (OTM), and Azure.
Our products span across the verticals right from Forecasting,
planning to Logistics. This is what makes our Supply Chain one of
the best across the globe.
Our capabilities span across :
• Integrated Forecasting and Business Planning
• Order Management and Stock Allocation
• Transportation Management
• Claims and Collections Management
• Data Management
HUB Network
Unilever has 7 live hub locations operated by two strategic partners
Genpact and Capgemini across the globe mention in the picture
below. Hub is a location where the partner resources work 24*6
globally to run the operations, controls, and continuous
improvement agenda for all the live markets. Currently we have
2600+resources working in these hubs which is planned to expand
to 4000+ resources with full scale implementation of IOPS
across markets.
Prior to hub operating model, Approx 160+ processes were operated
in multiple locations in the markets which are now consolidated in
these 7 hubs that helps Unilever drive standardization, agility, and
value. With the expertise of our partners the focus is to operate with
standard model across process, technology, and organization both
in implementation and adoption.
Currently these hubs are working to support the respective markets
and the focus is to drive synergies and crosspollinate the good work
and learning amongst all the hubs. The biggest challenge is how do
we that in the ecosystem of two partners and multiple markets.
ASK
Your team being a strategic advisor to VP Customer Tech, Customer
Experience, and Customer Operations, the ask is to build a strategy
for Unilever to develop a comprehensive strategy to transform their
current operations into touchless and automated "Hubs of the
Future." The Consulting team is required to identify key areas of
improvement within Unilever's supply chain and operations, and
propose innovative solutions utilizing, for e.g., but not restricted to
the newer gen technologies (AI, ML, Gen AI, Web3, and blockchain).
The organization is interested in proposals that drive process
improvements, increase operational efficiency, and amplify
customer experiences within the Hub.
The proposal can cut across the multiple functions of Forecast, Plan,
Deliver, Collect, or can be focussed on a single function but should
touch all the core pillars of agility, resilience, Sustainability, and cost
optimization are adhered to. Teams are encouraged to think
critically, envisioning how these technologies can be synergistically
integrated to unlock novel solutions and transform Unilever's
Operations Hubs into the ultimate drivers of Supply Chain
excellence.
Through this case study, Unilever aims to unleash the
transformative potential of next-gen technology in optimizing
supply chain operations and achieving customer-centric excellence
leveraging the Hubs of the Future and pioneer a more efficient and
innovative Supply Chain landscape.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
Criteria
Weightage
Understanding the core challenge and
comprehensiveness of approach
20%
Practicality of the solution
20%
Measurement and Benchmarks
20%
Innovation through Future of Technology
40%
GLOSSARY
Augmented AI and ML-Powered Precision: Unleashing the prowess
of augmented AI, Unilever's Hubs will ingest massive data streams,
unleashing predictive and prescriptive analytics. ML-driven
algorithms will craft precise demand forecasts, meticulously
optimizing inventory, supply, and production. These intelligent
systems, integrated seamlessly with Unilever's product suites, will
ensure swift and informed decision-making across the value chain.
Generative AI: Catalyst of Innovation: Generative AI will become the
catalyst of innovation, propelling Unilever to create pioneering
eco-conscious packaging solutions and personalized products. This
creative revolution will thrive through synergies with Kinaxis, forging
cross-functional collaborations that redefine product ideation and
execution.
Blockchain-Enabled Trust and Transparency: Embracing blockchain
and Web3 technologies, Unilever will elevate transparency and trust
across its supply chain. Smart contracts will automate claims and
collections, ensuring fair, secure, and frictionless interactions.
Immutable decentralized ledgers will empower customers to verify
authenticity, ethically sourced materials, and sustainability
Blockchain-Enabled Trust and Transparency: Embracing blockchain
and Web3 technologies, Unilever will elevate transparency and trust
across its supply chain. Smart contracts will automate claims and
collections, ensuring fair, secure, and frictionless interactions.
Immutable decentralized ledgers will empower customers to verify
authenticity, ethically sourced materials, and sustainability
Sustainable, Agile, and Customer-First Logistics: The future Unilever
Hubs will champion sustainability with AI-optimized transportation
systems, harnessing delivery drones and autonomous vehicles to
reduce emissions and streamline last-mile logistics. These
interconnected Hubs will act as beacons of agility, proactively
adapting to market demands while preserving eco-consciousness.
Touchless Customer Experience Redefined: With AI-driven chatbots
and virtual assistants, Unilever will unlock the potential of
touchless, hyper-responsive customer experiences. Azure's cloud
infrastructure will provide a seamless repository of customer data,
enabling real-time personalization and anticipatory service that
surpasses expectations.
Here is a brief description of the capabilities of Unilever Customer
Tech products
• Integrated Forecasting and Business Planning
The integrated forecasting product utilizes advanced algorithms
and machine learning to analyse historical data, market trends,
and consumer behaviour to generate accurate demand forecasts.
This enables Unilever to optimize inventory levels, minimize
stockouts, and enhance overall supply chain efficiency. We
manage a monthly inventory of about 1.4 Billion Euros, which is
comparable to the annual GDP of several smaller countries.
We have an integrated suite of products for effective forecasting
and planning. Kinaxis provides a collaborative platform for
cross-functional teams to align their plans and strategies. It
integrates sales, marketing, finance, and supply chain data to
create a holistic view of the business. This facilitates
decision-making, risk assessment, and scenario planning to
respond effectively to dynamic market conditions. TPA is an
advanced analytics tool that unlocks market data insights,
powered by a built-in baseline with cannibalization engine and a
future scenario event planning module. TPM is a trade-fund
management solution for the entire life cycle of promotion
planning. These are just some of the many products of our
Integrated S&OP solution.
• Order Management and Stock Allocation
Unilever has suites of products in order management system,
powered by PEGA that ensures efficient capturing and no-touch
validation of customer orders. It optimizes order-to-cash cycles,
provides real-time order status updates to customers and internal
stakeholders. Unilever uses SAP AATP platform for intelligent stock
allocation, enabling the company to allocate orders optimally
among different customers based on reservation, stocks,
production plan. This minimizes stock imbalances and enhances
customer service levels. So much so that we deliver 8.5 Million of
total orders in a year with 84% of our orders being fully automated.
• Transportation Management
The OTM (Oracle Transportation Management) system is
implemented for efficient and cost-effective transportation
management. It optimizes route planning, carrier selection, and
freight consolidation to streamline logistics operations and reduce
transportation costs. Unilever does about ~4 Return trips to the Sun
every year with 400K Shipments/month 20K Trucks on road and
1500 Vessels on Sea at any time. Every hour, 600 Trucks and 3 Ships
start their Unilever journey!
• Claims and Collections Management
Unilever employs PEGA and High Radius platform for claims and
collections management. It automates the processing of customer
claims, refunds, and returns, ensuring timely resolution and
customer satisfaction. Additionally, it aids in efficient collections
management to reduce outstanding debts and improve cash flow.
Unilever has no touch cash application automation of 75%,
bringing down overdues to best-in-class industry level of
below 7%v
• Data Management
Data serves as the backbone for all the capabilities we employ in
our Supply Chain Management. Azure provides a secure and
scalable cloud infrastructure for storing, processing, and
analyzing vast amounts of data from various sources. This
empowers Unilever to gain actionable insights and make
data-driven decisions across all aspects of the business. Our Data
Platform is in the Petabytes, supporting over 100 analytics
products and 38k monthly users. Data is powering all parts of the
business today from Demand Forecasting, through Trade
Promotion Optimisation, to Prescriptive sales recommendations
which go to the handheld devices of our sales team in the field at
any of our 15 million retailers worldwide.
By leveraging all the above technologies, Unilever is enhancing
operational efficiency, optimizing inventory, and responding
rapidly to market changes, ultimately leading to increased
customer satisfaction and sustained business growth.