Unilever Invests to Create Demand-Driven Supply Chain

IGD Supply Chain Analysis

October 18, 2011

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When Unilever’s chief supply chain officer Pier Luigi Sigismondi revealed during a recent conference presentation that the company is expanding implementation of Terra Technology’s Demand Sensing solution across its global operations, the industry analysts took note. IGD’s weekly news update reported that Sigismondi discussed the value of Terra’s solution in context of the company’s strategic shift to a demand-driven value chain and a focus on sales growth instead of just cost-cutting alone. According to IGD, Sigismondi stated that the Terra forecasting software allows Unilever access to granular retailer POS data, which planners use to gain insight into inventory and demand information. “With this level of data,” IGD reported, “Unilever now bases forecasts on POS data, instead of how much is being pushed out to retailers, which has significantly enhanced forecast accuracy, reduced loss and waste and lowered distribution costs.”