Procurement:
Recently, Procter & Gamble has made a number of important decisions regarding how they handle procurement and purchasing for different raw materials and components. One very important decision that has radically changed the P&G organization is their implementation of a Supplier Environmental Sustainability Scorecard in mid 2010. (Greenconomist) This Sustainability Scorecard was a precursor to a larger sustainability initiative in late 2010, and had the goal of encouraging suppliers to improve across the board. “The new scorecard, asks suppliers to report on a variety of measures, including energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, waste disposal, and adoption of P&G environmental initiatives.” (Greenconomist) Rotha Penn of P&G’s Global Sustainability Media Relations told Greenconomist that “Right now, [the scorecard] isn’t necessarily translating into purchasing decisions. That’s why there is flexibility. After one year, once the initial phase is completed, we will look at the results…Biggest thing is year over year improvement.” (Greenconomist)
Another move that Procter & Gamble has made concerning procurement methods is introducing a close relationship between the marketing and purchasing departments. The core reason for this decision is to improve the return on marketing and advertising dollars. There appear to be two major advantages to this arrangement. First, purchasing has designed a board-level relationship and developed a working relationship with marketing that has greatly enhanced the procurement department’s influence in the company. Secondly, this arrangement has produced a wave of influence throughout the company. Since marketing and purchasing do not have a traditional re...
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The deal is a bold move by P&G Chief Executive A.G. Lafley, who has led the company out of dark times over the past four years. Moving too fast on a restructuring plan implemented by former CEO Jager, the company posted several disappointing quarters and its stock lost more than half its value in 2000. The merger, would create a company with revenues of more than $60 billion that would have even greater clout against mass-market retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which have been pressuring consumer product suppliers to keep costs low. Lafley was optimistic that the company would not be forced to divest many properties as part of an antitrust review.
With forward movement in society, it is important to consider not just what will propel most toward success, but also what will help to sustain the environment along the way. What may have been considered appropriate decades ago, may no longer be socially acceptable due to the changes observed in both the business world and the environment (Fiske, 2010). Therefore, it is important for organizations thriving in today?s economy to consider how they may capitalize most effectively from their product or service of choice while minimizing or eliminating any damages along the way (Knoke, 2012).
Supplying eco-friendly products has been on the Walmart agenda since the early 1990s. After a failed first attempt and much criticism, the company decided to try again. In a speech made in October of 2005, CEO of Walmart, H. Lee Scott Jr., declared Walmart would devise a “business sustainable strategy” to reduce the environmental impact the company had. Walmart could not pull this off alone. If they only focused on the confines of themselves, rather than all that they were involved with, it was estimated that they’d only reduce their impact by about 10%. To reach that goal of 100%, Walmart had to involve stakeholders to make networks which achieve sustainability. These networks proved to be vital in not only Walmart’s goal in minimizing its environmental impact, but recovering their reputation, avoiding criticism, saving money, raising awareness, improving customer satisfaction, and creating incentive for other businesses to work towards sustainability.
The company chosen to demonstrate the marketing mix has been a leader in the industry for many years as well as an innovator in product advertising design. Starting out as a soap and candle manufacturer, more than earned their place in the market place. The company is Proctor and Gamble (P&R) and their earliest beginnings are rooted in strong family tradition and humility from the early 1800s. The Proctor and Gamble of today is far different than the founding company operating in a global marketplace, in 140 countries, distributing their products and services to consumers two billion times a day.
Fortune 500 Ranking. Johnson & Johnson is a “Go Green” corporation. They have goals to keep their culturing compa...
Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., McDaniel, C. D., & Wardlow, D. L. (2009). Essentials of marketing (6th ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: South-Western College Pub..
Alan G Lafley, the former CEO of Procter & Gamble, once said “Let’s execute along this strategy, but know that we’ll probably get some of this wrong, so be open to changing it (AZQuotes.com). Procter and Gamble has undergone many strategic changes in the last 15 years which have had a profound impact on the company’s profits and market share. The strategic changes that Procter & Gamble has undergone have been both positive and negative. While it is important to document the financial impact of the changes under Alan Lafley, it is also important to track the changes and growth under the current CEO David S. Taylor, while also showing Procter & Gamble’s competitive advantage.
To help further explain these misleading claims, a well recognized company by the media is called Terrachoice. “The Terrachoice Environment Marketing Consulting practice converts knowledge of markets, science and marketing into winning, client-centered solutions to help sustainability leaders deliver results” (“The "six sins," 2007). Terrachoice has conducted a study of the “Environmental Claims in North American Consumer Markets” and found shocking results that made them want to give warning to potential consumers about the ‘six sins of greenwashing. The Terrachoice Company was designed to improve the communication between the purchasers and consumers, helping to enhance, strengthen, and prove market relationship.
... P.H. (1988). Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control. (6th ed.). Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs.
Important companies like Shell, DuPont, BP have been reorganised to generate profits from this green market of goods and services. In this sense, it may sound altruistic, "the sustainability", the logic of profitability and competition is what will determine the ability of companies of the future to meet the changing needs of consumers. This premise of "sustainability" as a necessary quality to be competitive, falls short, according to Bryan Walsh of Time magazine. In a 2007 article, the expert shows how "sustainable" is helping to drive out competition, given the approach taken by companies to become more efficient, flexible and cutting waste, which helps them provide better products and reduce costs. Companies that refuse to accept that they will face a strict and demanding environment.
6. Nestle focused more on customization instead of the then resounding and domineering globalization. They believed in customizing a product to suit a local niche one market at a time. That way new product failure rate remained minimal and New product Development grew significantly. This process is referred to as local adaptation by the writer.
The sustainability of ecosystems on which the global economy depends must be guaranteed. And the economic partners must be satisfied that the basis of exchange is equitable” (World). This quote demonstrates the complexities of sustainability. Another thing corporations should focus on when trying to be sustainable is their environmental impact. Annie Leonard in her book The Story of Stuff says that companies can significantly reduce their toll on the environment by changing their design. The design determines “the amount of energy used in making and using the product,” “the length of the product’s life span” and “its ability to be recycled” (Leonard). All these things determine the amount of resources a company must use, so simply changing a product’s design is one way a company can have a large impact on the sustainability of the environment in which it operates. One example of this is that “Wal-Mart attributed more that $100 million of its 2009 revenue to a decision to switch to a recyclable variety of cardboard in shipments” which it sells to a recycler instead of paying to send it to a landfill
As part of its innovation strategy, Colgate Palmolive (CP) decided to manufacture a new product-toothbrush in the early 90s. This was after some extensive research was done to determine consumer purchase behavior and the extent of competitive rivalry in the industry. According to Allprojectsmba.com (2010), research can be done by using a number of methods to collect the data that are analyzed to draw conclusions. Such methods include interviews, focus group, questionnaires and online research. Interviews can be done either one on one or via the telephone where the researcher/interviewer selects a sample that is representative of the whole consumer population. The interviewer asks and interacts with each person in the sample to pick up the information he needs. Alternatively, questionnaires can be produced and mailed to respondents who fill them and ...
This paper examines the legal aspects of procurement management and specifically how procurement management can be used as an effective tool for the overall management of a project. This paper focuses on the basics of common contract laws, the basics of agency law, the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), and some aspects of that pertain to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). A summation of the company’s position in relation to a given supplier (provided the company decides not to procure all of the material in a contract) will be examined along with how that position is strengthened by understanding the legal aspects of procurement management. Finally, the paper will analyze how the project manager is supported by the contracting management function.
Philip Kotler; Kevin Lane Keller (2009): “Marketing Management”, 13th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, pg 61-62