Supply chain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

Supply chain management - Essay Example ght together a wide range of best practices with downstream and upstream partners, collaborative practices, innovations in demand forecasting, and integrated business planning, as well as research based operation techniques (Green, 2013). Unilever’s supply chain management can be termed to be a collaborative one. The collaborative supply chain management is effective in the management activities ranging from supplier selection, environmental scanning, monitoring, and auditing and supplier development (partnerships) (Brammer et al. 2012). Both supply and demand repository stages depend on forecasting as the main source of data that determines by the products in demand and availability from the stores. The production stage adopts push technique that is based on aggregate customer demand forecasts to reduce the uncertainty of stock-outs, safety, and effective resource use and cost minimization (Brammer et al. 2012). Consequently, distribution relies on pull technique for all replenishments required by its distributors through the use of customer relationship management. On the other hand, inventory optimization techniques are adopted in the planning and scheduling to determine the quantity and the time frame for production (Nardone & Monahan, 2007). Unilever believes that partnerships in its supply chain management are essential practices because it is a powerful technique to deliver customer experience and value proposition (Unilever, 2012). The main partners include Barry Callebult a main partner in cocoa, Givaudan, The Dow Chemical Company, Metsa Board Corporation, WRI, LEAF, ALPLA, CCL Label, SAP & Accenture and Linfox Logistics. These partners help in business development, world class business support, capacity development, sustainability and business innovation in Unilever (Unilever, 2012). Unilever also aimed to increase its transparency of essential commodity supply chains that is aimed at helping terminate tropica deforestation through its partnership