Why Unilever and Amazon Partner on Kaizen-Optimized Supply Chain Transformation
- Consumer Goods & Services
Fallon Wolken
- 0
- 4 minutes read
The companies turned to a Japanese problem-solving methodology called Kaizen.
Unilever’s partnership with Amazon has required the company to take a distinctive approach to supply chain planning in order to streamline operations and optimize efforts.
The company notes that because Amazon’s range of stock and quantities is so vast, with a significant emphasis put on expedited delivery, the supply chain model is completely digital and necessitates a differentiated strategy. As a result, the companies turned to the Kaizen Japanese problem-solving methodology.
Kaizen emphasizes moving away from conventional assumptions, and so Unilever and Amazon began analyzing the end-to-end supply chain system from a new perspective. They mapped pain points, using data to reduce waste and inefficiencies in the order-to-fulfillment cycle. Additionally, the process focused on collaboration and streamlining operations. Thus far, it has brought together 150 supply chain and business leaders from Unilever and Amazon across six global regions.
Also read: Bel Group Invests in AI-Powered Supply Chain
The company has carried out Kaizen workshops with Amazon in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Europe, Egypt, and India, according to a blog post by Mark Sumner, Unilever’s global digital commerce customer supply chain director.
“Through a series of very open, productive conversations and actions, we have improved 15 key performance indicators and solved over 100 pain points,” he noted.
These are not the only companies using the Kaizen methodology to optimize supply chain efforts. Heineken, for example, used it to develop its Smart Brewery Program, which includes IOT reporting, analytics, and robotics.
“All the information, access to colleagues, and collaboration tools that are needed for the operator is in the palm of their hands,” said Wiggert Deelen, The Heineken Company’s senior director of global supply chain transformation, in a previous webinar hosted by CGT.
