Saurabh Tiwari, AVP-Strategic Sourcing, Kraft @ SOM

In the session Mr Saurabh Tiwari, AVP-Strategic Sourcing & PMO Asia Pacific, Kraft foods gave us a look into the supply chain scenario in the industry & also with relation to Cadbury. Initially he stated supply chain challenges & what are the impacts of it, if they are not prepared to deal with it. He focused his address on customer responsiveness, sustained profitability and Quality. For any organization, the customer is the most important thing & company makes plans by keeping him at the center. Supply chain of the company should deliver the expectations of the customer so that he responds accordingly. But company should not only focus on customer as he can demand anything within limited cost but the company has to make a profit which is sustainable over the period of time. He advised companies to make a supply chain  in such a way that organization & management expectation can be delivered while keeping the customer happy.  Quality is also an important aspect in the organization & company should not hamper it by citing reduction in cost.

He talked about sales & operation integration so that a company could get benefit. Also external & internal integration is essential to achieve targets. All the domains or functions in the organization should work in  a collaborative manner to make a customer driven supply chain. Trust the elements in the supply chain & change dynamically to sustain in the business. He regularly cited & praised automotive industry during his speech.  He explained Inventory management, Vendor Index system, ROI and fixed cycle concept. He also talked about a continuous replenishment system & how it is important in the supply chain of any organization. Leveraging IT in Supply chain is now-a-days essential to remain in a competitive business world as each company has to manage many depots and SKUs with variable demand.

At last he gave the mantra for making an efficient supply chain system i.e. any system has to have a customer service approach, excellent orientation, an attitude of continuous improvement and relentless passion. He also gave insights into supply chain roles & opportunities in the industry. He interacted with students by asking questions & getting feedback. He informed students of the knowledge and skills required to make a  career in this industry.

----
Nikhil Pokharkar
Class of 2014
M.Mgmt
SJMSOM