Global Supply Chain Task Force

Our Global Supply Chain Task Force enhances the Company’s competitive advantage by improving coordination and reporting systems across the supply chain. As a result, we are improving our return on fixed assets while reducing the environmental impact of our operations. The Task Force also is exploring additional opportunities for global manufacturing optimization as it helps ensure suppliers share the same principles as Heinz regarding compliance.

The Global Supply Chain Task Force is targeting a wide range of initiatives to drive productivity and efficiency that will enhance the Company’s competitive position.
These initiatives include:

  • Value engineering
  • Supplier sourcing and negotiation
  • Indirect purchasing
  • Network consolidation
  • Yield improvement
  • Direct labor efficiencies
  • Packaging standardization
  • SKU rationalization

Heinz also is working to enhance productivity through discretionary spending controls, compensation management, fuel cost savings and indirect procurement savings to help offset high commodity costs, inflation and increased pension costs.

One of the key initiatives developed by the Task Force is the creation of the Heinz Global Performance System, our continuous improvement roadmap that empowers all employees to deliver sustainable, world-class performance. This global, Company-wide effort is aligned with our strategies to help us deliver on our goal to continually pursue world-class status by moving from a function-focused to process-focused culture.

The Heinz Global Performance System should enable us to remain a leader in the marketplace by improving results and leveraging greater value for Heinz, our suppliers and our customers. It will standardize practices and improve performance standards in a logical, sequenced approach that eliminates process inefficiencies and builds the right competencies with our people.

There are currently eight specific locations piloting the Heinz Global Performance System in North America and Europe. By 2010, we expect each pilot location will develop a customized roadmap by completing an assessment, managing a logical and progressive set of actions that guides improvement and training employees in new skills to help them succeed.

In the U.S., we also host an annual Heinz Suppliers Symposium attended by our top 125 suppliers, representing 70% percent of our U.S. supplier spend. At this event, Heinz presented our Corporate Social Responsibility goals and reiterated adherence to our Supplier Guiding Principles.

Heinz is also instituting a supplier locator tool to help match minority vendors with the business.