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Fortune 500 giant in the pressure-sensitive adhesive labelling , tags , and inlays industry , Avery Dennison has grown exponentially from its humble beginnings . Founded in 1935 in Los Angeles , California , the business now operates in over 50 countries and employs around 25,000 talented staff .
One might assume that a business of this size could find procurement challenging , or be laden with outdated legacy processes ; for Avery Dennison , the opposite is true , thanks to a strong sense of continuous improvement , innovation , and people power . An integral part of driving these advantages is VP Global Procurement Materials Group & Corporate Sustainability , Roland Simon .
Notably , Simon spent 23 years with Goodyear , honing his management skills . While he entered the business with a degree in physics , he was looking for an opportunity to work in a factory environment , and went on to spend over two decades as an expat in Europe and Thailand .
Along the way , Simon was able to get more of a taste of procurement and manufacturing , and repatriated to the USA in 2003 in a procurement role . During a four-year stint as Chief Procurement Officer at Ferro Corporation , Simon ’ s future Avery Dennison boss , who was particularly skilled at networking , began communicating with Simon about what he was doing at Avery Dennison . Similarly to Ferro , the company was trying to build a centralised system on top of an old procurement organisation , and worked across a similar footprint . This led to Simon forming a close relationship with him , and becoming fascinated in the vision that he had for Avery Dennison . It
“ R . Stanton Avery had a vision that the best way he could serve his community was through building a business , creating jobs , and building an economy ”
– Roland Simon , VP Global Procurement Materials Group & Corporate Sustainability