Spotlight on Success
To accomplish its goals, Nestlé has journeyed to becoming
a lean enterprise and one that priorizes its people’s develop-
ment. The company has implemented its Nestlé Continuous
Excellence (NCE), which aims for the organization to become
lean in all functions. The staff-driven NCE culture has prolifer-
ated throughout the organization with senior management’s
support. Its implementation allows everyone globally to operate
in a common improvement language. Staff are empowered to
correct problems, as a way of life. Reliable and accurate informa-
tion-sharing with customers and suppliers is also an important
NESTLÉ IS CERTAIN THAT
BEING A GLOBAL LEADER
BRINGS NOT ONLY A DUTY
TO OPERATE RESPONSIBLY,
BUT ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY
TO CREATE LONG-TERM
POSITIVE VALUE FOR SOCIETY.
component of this program’s success, and as the world’s largest
single user of SAP enterprise software, Nestlé in Canada has a
progressive decision-support strategy,
Nestlé is not immune to the many challenges of running a
global company. Some of these include:
■ ■ Reliability of movement is extremely important as Nestlé
Canada produces many products directly in Canada, but also
relies on imports for half of what it sells. Any interruptions
could have serious implications for its supply chain;
■ ■ Ensuring the highest standards for its ingredients and
products and accomplishing this through responsible
sourcing audits with all partners to ensure traceability as
appropriate from farm to fork;
■ ■ Predicting and managing consumer demand is very
important especially with a lean operation;
■ ■ Canadian dollar fluctuations are top of mind and are always
a consideration in Nestlé’s global strategies;
■ ■ Consumer demand for fresh products and the retailers’ drive
for on-shelf availability (OSA).
A recent change in consumer behaviour has also presented
supply chain challenges. “People are buying smaller amounts
more often, where in the past they bought larger amounts less
frequently,” says Christopher. “We have to produce and move in
the same manner, but we’re not designed globally to do that.”
SUPPLY CHAIN CANADA • QUARTER 1 2017 • 15