Mondelez’s executive vice president and chief supply-chain officer Sandra MacQuillan says that the organization is still fragile because of the pandemic it witnessed and continues to do so since the aftermath of Covid has altered people behavior for a long time to come. People who comprise the workforce are making choices in terms of where they want to work and how they want to live their lives with a large chunk deciding to not work and stay at home. This group particularly is of people that Mondelez would like to keep, women and diverse groups.
Meanwhile a few brands have been witnessing supply chain upheaval like the local brands, things like Nilla which is the vanilla wafer cookies. There was a period in time when there were lines that had been in place for a long time but no demand from consumers. This was followed by a sudden surge in demand because people went to more emotionally connected eating, which is a well-known fact about human behavior but we weren’t ready for it at all. This posed a challenge for the supply chain managers.
The recent acquisition of the $2.9 billion acquisition of Clif Bar & Co while being fantastic news is another challenge in itself for our vertical. Clif is an epitome of exemplary technology backed brand but this will require more engagement and support around the overall processes and ways of working. This will entail relooking at the process of buying products, raw materials and packing materials. The cycle is about looking for synergies first, then for gaps and finally filling the gaps.
