TATA GLOBAL BEVERAGES
than just whoever happened to have been used historically .”
The company ’ s procurement overhaul includes a heavy focus on putting in place the right people , the right structure , and the right approach to logistics : “ What we ’ ve got is a regionally-placed but category-led matrix structure ,” King explains . “ There are teams placed in each of our geographies , and each one has a head of procurement . Every other member of each team will also take a global lead in a particular area of spend ; a head of logistics , a head of marketing , of packaging , and so on . That way we can drive a standard strategy and way of operating across our
3,000
Staff are employed by Tata Global Beverages
business .”
This standardised method of operation has ensured that Global Beverages maintains great communication with both stakeholder and consumer groups . It allows the company to discover and establish best practice within each region , and implement it wherever appropriate . So how does King manage a supply chain of Global Beverages ’ s scale ?
“ Because it wasn ’ t attempted before this overhaul , we hadn ’ t been able to test it ,” he explains . “ First we had to look at establishing exactly what we spend . How much ? On what ? With whom ? What are the contractual positions ? We ’ re in the process of putting in
78 April 2016