Randy Littleson
12/18/2008, 07:10 PM
The Business Courier of Cincinnati has an article entitled “P&G blueprints future supply chain (http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/12/15/story1.html?b=1229317200%5E1746558)“ that says the company is undergoing the most aggressive expansion in its history, with plans to build 19 production plants over the next four years. Before you check to see if the date on the article is 2004 or something, I can tell you its current (December 12th to be exact).
Why would a company be doing this in the midst of this potentially historic downturn? Because P&G takes a long-term view and uses a downturn to strengthen its position in anticipation of renewed growth. According to P&G, the plan is necessary if they are to reach the additional 1 billion consumers it intends to capture by 2010. It now reaches 3.5 billion people, of 6.5 billion worldwide.
Here’s a great quote. “What we’re really creating is a road map,” said Keith Harrison, P&G’s global product supply officer. “What speed we’re driving down that road is a different question.”
This is an excellent insight into what makes P&G P&G. They have a long-term view and they never take their eye off of those goals. They may speed up or slow down depending on current conditions, but they never lose sight of that end goal.
Is your company doing the same? I’ve had the fortune of speaking to some P&G executives in the past, and I can tell you they are an impressive company. No matter what industry you’re in, I think P&G should be a benchmark company when you look at best-in-class supply chain management practices.
Randy Littleson (rlittleson@kinaxis.com) is a Vice President for Kinaxis (http://www.kinaxis.com/), provider of the on-demand RapidResponse (http://www.kinaxis.com/supply-chain-response-management-products/index.cfm) service that empowers multi-enterprise manufacturers with the collaborative and integrated demand-supply planning, monitoring, and response capabilities.
Why would a company be doing this in the midst of this potentially historic downturn? Because P&G takes a long-term view and uses a downturn to strengthen its position in anticipation of renewed growth. According to P&G, the plan is necessary if they are to reach the additional 1 billion consumers it intends to capture by 2010. It now reaches 3.5 billion people, of 6.5 billion worldwide.
Here’s a great quote. “What we’re really creating is a road map,” said Keith Harrison, P&G’s global product supply officer. “What speed we’re driving down that road is a different question.”
This is an excellent insight into what makes P&G P&G. They have a long-term view and they never take their eye off of those goals. They may speed up or slow down depending on current conditions, but they never lose sight of that end goal.
Is your company doing the same? I’ve had the fortune of speaking to some P&G executives in the past, and I can tell you they are an impressive company. No matter what industry you’re in, I think P&G should be a benchmark company when you look at best-in-class supply chain management practices.
Randy Littleson (rlittleson@kinaxis.com) is a Vice President for Kinaxis (http://www.kinaxis.com/), provider of the on-demand RapidResponse (http://www.kinaxis.com/supply-chain-response-management-products/index.cfm) service that empowers multi-enterprise manufacturers with the collaborative and integrated demand-supply planning, monitoring, and response capabilities.