In January the system was launched in four regions – North America; Latin America; Europe; and Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa (AMEA) – covering its strategic and developmental suppliers of external manufacturing, ingredients and packaging. Two modules have been launched thus far – those covering on time and in full delivery to Kellogg facilities and supplier performance management. Data from their ERP system is automatically fed into SupplierBase. For both OTIF and SPM modules, the intention is to reflect on past performance to celebrate and build upon successes, as well as understand opportunities and drive for improvement. The ability to provide informed and constructive feedback to make improvements or increase leverage is foundational to delivering their goals. “The technology ensures current, consistent information is readily available without manual intervention
for both suppliers and the Kellogg teams. It also provides an avenue for repeatable analysis and information display in a way that’s relevant to a particular user, portfolio, region, or otherwise.” Lauderbaugh says this is particularly useful for large global suppliers who provide different components across multiple geographies; while for Kellogg’s it means they can see at a glance if baseline requirements have been met. “Previously the manual nature of exchanging information led to frustration and deprioritisation, or inactivity. For suppliers to get feedback we compiled data in multiple formats applicable to different recipients, crafted emails, coordinated resources and time to go through it, and by the time review took place, information could be well out-of-date.” Reflection and feedback remains important, but now suppliers have access to the same up-to-date data, making the process more efficient and transparent.
The platform has been well received by internal customers and suppliers alike. System training on SPM has been completed for viewing performance results across plant and corporate feedback, covering food safety, R&D innovation, cost, quality and more. The system also acts as a repository for historical information and can be used to create customised dashboards instead of requiring staff to trawl through old emails to examine past trends. “We have been purposeful and diligent when implementing the software, although it has taken time,” concludes Lauderbaugh. “Longevity is important for us, we needed to put a comprehensive change programme in place exhibiting the right tool for the job, which we now have.” Images reproduced with permission of Kellogg’s
Suppliers are segmented into four quadrants, ranging from more transactional to strategic, and this, says Lauderbaugh, is where the hard work starts to happen. “At this point, we have to effectively apply the governance of how to engage these partners and determine the resources needed for success.” Engaging key partners All 400+ of Kellogg’s key suppliers are in its ‘K Partners Advantage’ programme, meaning they benefit from unique opportunities for greater collaboration, be it access to information, resources or heightened engagement. A smaller number – those who fall into strategic and developmental pockets – are also engaged through the company’s K Partners Teams, with assigned people resources and joint business planning activities. Targeted outcomes for these plans include things such as product innovation, cost optimisation, operational excellence, service enhancements and ESG progress. “It’s about looking to the future and preparing for the planned as well as the unexpected with partners who are aligned to our vision and top priorities and will help us achieve mutual success,” says Lauderbaugh. Suppliers across raw materials, packaging components, contract manufacturing and indirect services comprise a current list of 42 strategic and 75 developmental partners. Managing the health of these relationships and fostering continued growth across the seven
strategic behaviours is critical to the success of these partnerships. Together with these key partners, Kellogg’s considers big ticket items that can make the most impact and bring benefit to both parties. These include transformational activities that redefine or represent a major step change in the way we develop, procure, produce, ship, or otherwise do business to fuel our growth and ESG goals. Working together, the two sides develop roadmaps and commit resources to these activities. In addition to all this, Kellogg’s invites suppliers to transparently share 360 feedback, including pain points and concerns, in order to become a better customer and to help avoid surprises. Trialing the new system The business has been steadily rolling out the platform from the beginning of the year. This follows an earlier pilot programme in one region designed to understand requirements and ensure the system could be customised to its needs. “After piloting and taking the time to design the system for optimal performance within Kellogg processes, the company then trialed it with a broader scope of internal Kellogg users as well as suppliers to test it generally, as well as examine its specific functionality. “We wanted to ensure that when we rolled it out globally to 500+ users across Kellogg and direct suppliers, we were set up for a high level of system performance and the best chances for user adoption.”
The successful introduction of new systems relies on the engagement and understanding of those who use it, advises Lauderbaugh. “That goes for your organisation and your supplier,” she says. “My critical tips focus on change management and training to mitigate the revolving door of corporate tech tools we’re all so used to.”
Tips for introducing technology OPINION SNAPSHOT:
Leslie Lauderbaugh, Director of Supplier Engagement and Development
Leslie suggests that organisations: 1. Start small “Pick one business area; a subset of categories; one geographic location; a buyer who will help you champion change; or your most strategic supplier, to get things started.” Kellogg’s completed a limited time pilot with a subset of partners in its Australian operations.
2. Over communicate and carefully communicate throughout the process “New technology will still feel like incremental work for people because they have to learn something new. They need to understand the reason for change and how they fit into the solution.”
3. Figure out how to share success that’s attributed to SRM improvements “Linking benefits back to an SRM programme or technology is not always straightforward. Share positive feedback and successful results from users, continuously encouraging use and adoption. This is critical for the process to be sustainable. You need to be all in, collectively as an organisation, for the long term.”
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