Procurement holds a pivotal position within Unilever’s business groups, actively shaping the overarching business strategy and playing a critical role in achieving the company’s P&L objectives. The function’s role extends beyond traditional procurement; it collaborates with strategic partners to elevate brands, foster innovation, and achieve top-line growth. In 2023 alone, supplier partnerships fuelled the launch of 15 ground-breaking and innovative products. This is only possible through the partner ecosystem that Unilever generates, helping it to build unmissable superiority.

Unilever’s bottom line significantly benefits from procurement’s activities by optimising competitiveness, having delivered €400m in additional savings for the company’s business groups in 2023. Key to delivering these savings was the digitalisation of procurement processes, bringing predictability and stability to buying processes in volatile markets that have been particularly acute over the last two years. These precise pricing methods have been a game-changer in improving forecasting and market insights, reducing forecast bias by 3%, showcasing enhanced accuracy, and even in a deflationary market such as 2023, Unilever had positive performance in commodity risk management.

Finally, Unilever’s procurement teams operate in an agile manner, swiftly implementing strategic plans while nurturing key talents. This focus on talent development positions procurement as a robust talent powerhouse, with the function boasting 50% more ‘high potential’ talent compared to the overall company.