Unilever Business Project

Unilever is a company that operates easy layly over the world. They produce a wide range of products, concerning every sorts of food, detergents and etc. For a large company similar Unilever to be successful, they build to implement a genuine strategy and to take a leak vision and mission. For this assignment we ar focusing on the UK market. The pock we chose is bill Dor. To branch with the overall vision of Unilever. They ar looking at developing reinvigorated rooms of doing concern for the early, to increase the benefits for the company, as puff up as to undertake their milieual impact on the nature by Unilevers activities.Their mission, is to get down their business much sustainable. For example, Unilevers program has over fifty targets to achieve. Most of them be focused on assistanting population to advance their well-being and health, reduce the pollution of their products and source the coarse tippy materials sustainably. Sustainability and fair tra de atomic number 18 Unilevers main goals, which atomic number 18 influencing the whole corporation. Regarding the changing weather conditions and scarcity of usable agricultural picture. Unilever introduced a Sustainable Living Plan, that result enable them to source only(prenominal) sustainable materials.According to Unilever, it is withal of vital importance to make water the suitable people with the right talent, skills, creativity and instruction to support the growth of the enterprise. As dispel of the Sustainable Living Plan, the company is looking at healthy and motivated workforces, which would provide them with the right employees. In order to make this plan become reality, they are arranging better work places, which means reducing work injuries, industrial accidents and provide variety of stimuluss. Nowadays, Unilever is fight to create shared values with its customers to provide stability and growth.Companies arse meet accessible needs maculation at the same beat serving existing markets, accessing rising markets and lowering costs through innovation. Unilever has elect the path of innovations, as well as improving quality, quantity, cost, and reliability of inputs and distribution. While at the same time the company is acting as a steward for essential natural resources and drive economic and social development. As stated above, their mission is We work to create a better future every day. We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and serv nuts that are good for them and good for others.We will inspire people to take small, everyday actions that send word chalk up up to a big difference for the world. We will develop new ways of doing business with the aim of multiply the size of our company while reducing our environmental impact. (source http//www. sustainable-living. unilever. com/news-resources/news/inspiring-sustainable-living/) The above comes back again in Unilevers report. For instance, the ir ambition is to double the size of the company while reducing the environmental footprint.Furthermore, they have a sustainable living plan Unilever wants to grow without damaging the environment and increase the social benefits arising from Unilevers activities. This plan has been set in 2010 and has 3 major outcomes, as can be read on knave 20 of Unilevers annual report of 2010 * Helping more than a billion people cleanse their health * Halve the environmental impact of the production and use of Unilevers products * Enhance the livelihood of people in their supply chain. A good example is COMFORT ONE Rinse fabric conditioner. umteen customers in developing countries do their laundry by hand.COMFORT ONE needs only one pail of water for rinsing instead of three. In this way, consumers save time and money. The reason why Unilever is performing this plan, can be summed up in a few points * More and more consumers want products that are sustainably sourced * Retailers have their o wn goals for sustainability and Unilever can work with them * New products and packaging can be developed as part of the sustainability plan * Half of Unilevers sales take place in developing countries, so these countries check a huge future market for the company.These countries face the greatest sustainability challenges * Managing sustainability saves money for Unilever and the consumer. Below we will visual aspect Unilevers structure on both Multinational and wrinkle level. Multinational Level Source (http//www. theofficialboard. com/org-chart/unilever-1) Business Level Source http//www. theofficialboard. com/org-chart/unilever-ventures) In order to explain the march of creating values when making ice-cream, we are liberation to use Porters value adding chain to support the explanation. PRIMARY PROCESSESSUPPORTING PROCESSES - Primary processes inbound logistics fare DOr buy ingredients for the ice-cream production from a variety of suppliers. In order to improve its effici ency the exclusive brand can start performing business procurement. In this way Carte Dor can use purchasing function to reduce its costs and improve their long-term strategic planning techniques to deal with the outgoing costs. Using strategic purchasing would enable them to negotiate for the supply of milk, sugar, cream and ect.In this way the procurement approach would increase the CM (contribution margin). Processing The processing stage would start with the fulfilment of the ordered ingredients in the procurement department. Later on all the ingredients are get together into the assembly process. The Carte DOrs recipe is prepared and the ice-cream is prepared. In this press, Carte DOr can take an advantage by integrating the JIT method. This would help them always have odoriferous ingredients and not going to keep too ingredients inventory.This can be implemented by ordering little quantities of ingredients and increasing the supply frequency. Outbound logistics In this p rocess of Carte DOr brand is bear on with the memory of the made ice-cream. The ice-cream package is quite Copernican for keeping the product fresh, protect it during storing, warehousing, transporting as well as to protect the environment form the ice-cream package from the ice-cream package that would be used. So, sustainable packaging would be a major calculate in the outbound logistics of the Carte DOr brand.Packages, which are more eco- intimate and recyclable can take place as well as packs with improved durability. The durability factor can reduce waste, of cracked or broken packs. Marketing gross sales Creating a good encounter for the product office be of vital importance for brand. As, Carte DOr are producing sumptuous ice-cream with a premium quality they need to bind their brand and customers. Carte DOr would add value to their products by detailed research and development, using Customer Relationship Management.Collaborating closely with the CRM department would view as the information about customers needs, wishes, expectations and even tendencies. Due to the workout of this technique the Carte DOr brand set their customers as a starting point for all their products development and concepts. Services - The Carte DOr brand provides their customers with a range of services, as customer care, direct ordering of bigger quantities, B2B and B2C SCM. In addition to that the brand adds value, by applying the differentiation approach.They provide to their customers special fan website, with the full range of products and a TV show with one of the top chiefs in the world. What is more there is a special specify for problem solving callings to Carte DOr cusromer service. - support processes Infrastructure Carte DOr brand adds value with an expeditious assembly line, which gives a high production level during the whole manufacturing process. deed safety and durability is another aspect that whitethorn put emphasis on preventing waste.HRM Carte DO r brand is quite focused at the sort of working force they use, because they are promoting exclusive ice-cream with top quality. They put emphasis on employees suitable skills, efficiency and job enrichment, in order to form the working force. Technological development An approach thag Carte DOr adds value in this field of value chain would be leverage, as maximizing production and effectiveness without any investments increase. Their top goals are effectiveness and efficiency due to decreasing the expenditures and increase profit.Procurement Procurement in is very all-important(a) for Carte DOr brand because this Is a sector where huge expenditures can be significantly reduced. Negotiating for raw materials, auxiliary materials and etc. Carte DOr has a special customer call mall for questions regarding procurement. Relevant dusts that facilitate the primary processes in the value chain ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning) is a relevant organization in the primary processes in the value chain, because ERP is developed to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions.It will hone the communication and information flow between inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, merchandising sales and service CRM is also relevant because it is designed for managing customer service, marketing and operations. MIS stands for Management Information Systems. This system provides the management with the right information to manage an organization effectively efficiently. The system analyzes the primary processes with the goal to optimize them. Why would a company adapt their packaging of ice cream? For a company like Uniliver that wants to be more sustainable, a reason can e to produce a environmental friendly packages. To comply with that, the packages have to be adopted according to the new standards reduced waste, being recyclable and re-usable. different reasons can be to optimize the space available, lower costs or get the attention of c ustomers with new and improved packaging. There are multiple departments mingled when changing a packaging like the explore ontogeny department to design this new packaging. But also the marketing department is involved to do the promotion and management finally makes the decisions.Changes in packaging automatically lead to changes in the value chain. Because machines have to be re-programmed, marketing sales have to use a different promotion strategies (introduction of the product). But also inbound and outbound logistics will change. New materials will be imported so new routes have to be created. Also the company will have to examine which type of transportation is the most efficient in the new situation. It will make a huge difference if a package is labialise or square if you consider transport and storing.Also customer behaviour will change, if a customer admit a problem he or she will go to different phases before actually purchasing a product. First they search for in formation a new package can have an operate on commercial sources. Also the selective perception process will be influenced because the perception on the promotion message will change and this can lead to a different interpretation. Perhaps the military rank will also change because consumers feel that the products offers more benefits. If the new package requires new materials the suppliers will be examined if they are capable to deliver these new materials.If not they need to look for other suppliers. The stakeholders and NGOs can be a threat to the company for example the new package is less environmental friendly than it might happen that they do not longer want to invest in de company. Unilever should pursue a explore Development policy that focuses on sustainability. They can do this by using recycled plastic for the packages and recycled piece of music in spite of appearance their offices. Use biological milk and fair trade ingredients such as chocolate. They can also m ake use of green energy and transport as environmental friendly as possible.The Research Development department has the most influence on the structure. As we have seen the entire value chain will be affected with a change in for example the packaging. The method that we used to come to a package innovation was idea capture internally because of the limited time and resources. But there are other methods appropriate for Unilever like customer focus groups for problem detection while pre-testing to prevent future failure, external idea contest to get to know the customers wants and needs. Last consult partners and vendors to make sure that everyone is recitation from the same page.Process descriptions As shown below, there are a number of steps taken in the process of creating ice cream. (source http//www. foodsci. uoguelph. ca/dairyedu/icmanu. html) When theres a new product packaging, there will be a small change in the primary process. First of all, when ice cream is stored it i s done so in temperatures below -18 Celsius so the packaging has to be able to withstand such a temperature. This is important for two reasons * The prevention of growth of micro-organisms * Maintaining the texture of the product. When using new kind of packaging, the process can be changed.For instance, if the new kind of packaging can withstand a temperature of below -18 Celcius, packaging can be done before storing the ice cream in the freezer and thus saving plastics, waxed paper or cardboard containers since these are used as temporary packaging. There are many activities involved when producing ice cream. Blending, aging, pasteurization etc. Below we will present which activities are involved when producing ice cream. To do so, we used a RASCI-Matrix, a process chart for sustainable activities (the green one) and finally a department-transcending table. RASCI-MatrixColumn1 Column2 Column3 Column4 Column5 Column6 undertaking /Role CEO pecuniary Director Logistics manager Mar keting Sales manager Process Manager Support employees Strategic Planning accountable Informed Informed Informed Informed Informed Financial Planning Responsible Accountable Informed Buying ingredients Responsible Consulted Accountable Responsible Marketing Sales Responsible Consulted Informed Accountable Warehousing Responsible Accountable Responsible Transport Responsible Accountable Responsible Storage Responsible Accountable Responsible Services Responsible Consulted Responsible Responsible Supporting services Responsible Consulted Responsible Responsible Analyzing results Responsible Accountable Informed Informed Informed care Responsible Responsible R D Responsible Informed Consulted Consulted The above RASCI-Matrix show the different roles and tasks. The aspire of this matrix is to show the relationship between the actors and their responsibilities. The abbreviation RASCI stands for R=responsible, A=accountable=support, C=consulted, and I=inform ed. Flow-Chart Transcending-department table Above we have shown the whole production process of Carte Dor ice cream. Starting with blending of the ingredients and ending with the packaging. During this process value is constantly added. Package after the freezing social function the ice-cream is placed into its package. This is the step where a company would be able to take a competitive advantage over its rivals.It can be done in a variety of different ways In particularly for Catre DOr there might be Package size turn into a production a variety of smaller packages, which are relatively more suitable for daily usage The shape of the package may play a major role for example the company can safe cost if they use square or rectangular form of the package. In this way they may improve efficiency of logistics as more packs would be able to place into a box. In this way efficiency and sustainability would be improved as more packs of ice cream can be transported inwardly the same u se of space Sustainable materials materials used for producing the packaging also might be an important factor. In recent years the interest in products which are environmentally friendly has risen.An example of would be a package that is going to be recyclable or bio-degradable as the harm at the environment would be significantly reduced. Hardening The packaged ice-cream is placed into a blast freezer at -30 to -40 C where most of the remainder of the water is frozen. Below about -25 C, ice cream is stable for indefinite periods without risk of exposure of ice crystal growth Storage storage of the produced ice-cream can be sustainably improved, due to a new package shape. With a new package shape, Carte DOr would be able to reduce its storage costs and to improve logistics efficiency. This approach would enable to leverage the logistics process. There would be the same storage expenses, although the packs of ice-cream would me increased.Steps in the process Activity Transport Che ck Wait Inventory time (hours) Blending of the ingredients X X 30mins Pasteurization X X 30mins Homogenization X X 1h Aging X X 12h Freezing X X 15mins Hardening X X 15mins Storage in the freezer X X 60mins Packaging X X 20mins This table shows the average throughput times of each activity. 1 . Our mission. (nd). Retrieved 02 16, 2012, from https//www. unilever. com/aboutus/ourmission/ musical composition&Board Unilever Sustainability. (sd). Opgeroepen op 02 13, 2012, from http//www. sustainable-living. unilever. com/the-plan/sustainable-sourcing/pape