How Unilever Marries Investment in People & Tech to Boost Manufacturing Productivity

While Unilever has been investing heavily in technologies such as digital twins and artificial intelligence within its supply chain over the past several years, it’s a combined people-centric, tech-supported effort that’s leading to significant productivity gains within its manufacturing operations, according to a recent company blog. 

Four of Unilever’s factories for the Knorr and Hellmann’s brands — Pouso Alegre, Brazil; Kilbourn, U.S.; Tianjin, China; and Poznan, Poland — were highlighted as part of the McKinsey & Company and World Economic Forum “Frontline Talent of the Future” initiative, which looks to show how investment in factory frontline talent can drive benefits for business.

Measuring Manufacturing Success

Within all participating sites, pilots showed that prioritizing talent increased productivity, operational health and safety metrics by 28%.

At three of the four Unilever sites showcased, productivity metrics saw a 27% improvement rate between 2020 and 2024, while waste-reduction metrics increased by 41%, on average. They also saw an average 11% improvement in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), which can lead to indirect benefits such as lower costs, increased profitability and improved competitiveness, according to Unilever. 

Jennifer Han, chief product supply officer for the food division, said Unilever gives its factory leaders and local HR the flexibility to adjust and improve solutions as they see fit for their site’s unique needs so they can more proactively respond to local market movements.

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“For instance, while Kilbourn’s talent innovations aimed to address stagnant volume performance, Tianjin’s goal was to upgrade their talent, offering to meet the rapid business growth and digital transformation in the region,” she added.