TRAILBLAZER
Making one of the world ’ s biggest supply chain sustainable
Reginaldo Ecclissato , Chief Supply Chain Officer with Unilever , keeps the multinational giant ’ s goods moving , and in a sustainable way
The numbers around Unilever ’ s supply chain are staggering : its total supply chain spend in 2021 was € 35.5bn , and it uses 53,800 suppliers to make sure that its many well-known brands can end up in our kitchens and bathrooms . These include Ben & Jerry ' s ice cream , Bovril , Cif cleaning fluid , Colman ' s mustard , and Comfort fabric softener , to name but a handful .
In charge of all this is Reginaldo Ecclissato , who took up his role as Unilever ’ s Chief Supply Chain Officer in April 2022 . The move was part of a wider management shake-up at the consumer goods giant . Ecclissato ’ s appointment came at a time when Unilever announced it was cutting 1,500 jobs globally – reducing senior
Unilever total supply chain spend in 2021
35.5bn management roles by around 15 % and junior ones by 5 %. The company said the move was designed to make Unilever a “ simpler , more categoryfocused business ”.
Market volatility continues to challenge Upon taking up his latest role , Ecclissato said : “ The impacts of the pandemic , such as record inflation and market volatility , continue to challenge us but , together with our partners , we will continue serving and delighting our consumers , generating mutual responsible growth with our suppliers , and furthering our positive action for people and planet , whatever challenges come our way .”
Since taking up his role , Ecclissato has overseen substantial progress , especially on sustainability .
Recently , the company announced that a further two of its factories – in Tianjin , China and Indaiatuba , Brazil
20 March 2023