Long term supplier partnerships key to Unilever Sustainable growth strategy

Unilever today signed its thirtieth strategic supplier partnership to support the company’s sustainable growth ambitions. The partnerships now cover more than €3billion of annual spend and support investment in growth, more sustainable practices and bigger and better innovations.

Last year, Unilever launched a specific programme, called ‘Partner to Win’, to work more closely with its key suppliers. ’Partner to Win’ has enabled the company to create more long-term partnerships in co-creating new capabilities. The latest partnership signing took place against the backdrop of the second annual ‘Partner to Win Supplier Summit’ in London. Unilever invited 160 strategic suppliers to meet senior managers from across the organisation, gain a deeper understanding of the company’s strategic priorities and to share latest innovations.

"Unilever has a bold ambition to double the size of its business whilst halving the environmental impact of its products. Our recent financial results and update on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan show we are making good progress in both areas. However to achieve our ambition, it is vital that we work in closer partnership with our strategic suppliers to ensure faster innovations and invest sustainably throughout our value chain. In 2011, our suppliers invested an estimated €1.3 billion in additional industrial capacity to support our growth”, says Pier Luigi Sigismondi, Chief Supply Chain Officer Unilever.

“It’s a similar story when it comes working closely together on innovation. Half of Unilever’s innovation pipeline now comes from our suppliers. From last year’s ‘Partner to Win Supplier Summit’ alone more than 250 innovation ideas were taken into joint development programmes. This demonstrates the strength and commitment of our partnerships and the progress we are making”, Pier Luigi Sigismondi added.