Find Out Who Are Unilever’s ‘Partners To Win’

Unilever on Friday signed its thirtieth strategic supplier partnership to support the company’s sustainable growth ambitions. The partnerships now cover more than €3 billion of annual spend and support investment in growth, more sustainable practices and bigger and better innovations, according to the company.

Launched last year, Unilever’s ‘Partner to Win’ program has enabled the company to create more long-term partnerships in co-creating new capabilities. The latest partnership signing took place against the backdrop of the second annual ‘Partner to Win Supplier Summit’ in London. Unilever invited 160 strategic suppliers to meet senior managers from across the organization, gain a deeper understanding of the company’s strategic priorities and to share latest innovations.

“Unilever has a bold ambition to double the size of its business whilst halving the environmental impact of its products. Our recent financial results and update on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan show we are making good progress in both areas. However to achieve our ambition, it is vital that we work in closer partnership with our strategic suppliers to ensure faster innovations and invest sustainably throughout our value chain. In 2011, our suppliers invested an estimated €1.3 billion in additional industrial capacity to support our growth,” says Pier Luigi Sigismondi, chief supply chain officer Unilever.

“It’s a similar story when it comes working closely together on innovation. Half of Unilever’s innovation pipeline now comes from our suppliers. From last year’s ‘Partner to Win Supplier Summit’ alone more than 250 innovation ideas were taken into joint development programs. This demonstrates the strength and commitment of our partnerships and the progress we are making,” Pier Luigi Sigismondi added.

Joint business development Plans (JBDP) are a key element of the ‘Partner to Win’ program. Each JBDP sets out Unilever’s strategic business plans and provides a clear framework of how the two organizations will work together to deliver them over the long term. The plans cover all areas of procurement including packaging, chemicals, commodities and services, according to Unilever.

To celebrate and recognise suppliers who have made a significant contribution in the categories of innovation, sustainability, business integration, world class enterprise support and capacity and capability development, Unilever hosted the ‘Partner to Win Awards’.

Some of the winners incuded:

Givaudan – partner in fragrances – fragrance encapsulation in laundry.


The Dow Chemical Company – partner in plastics – innovative packaging solutions for the Personal Care portfolio.

Mestä Board Corporation – partner in board – sustainable lightweight packaging.


BASF – partner in chemicals – capacity alignment in D&E markets.

CCL Label – partner in R&D – simplify partner inventory management and increase speed to market.