Unilever Optimizes Forecasting and Significantly Lowers Inventory in Europe with Terra Technology

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unilever (NYSE: UL), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of consumer goods, has implemented Terra Technology’s Demand Sensing and Multi-Enterprise Inventory Optimization solutions across Europe. These implementations are improving forecast accuracy and helping to create a more agile and efficient supply chain, contributing to significantly lower inventory and improved on-shelf availability.

“I started my career at Unilever, so I am particularly gratified that Unilever relies on Terra’s solutions to help improve customer service, lower costs and delight consumers.”

“Unilever implemented Demand Sensing and Multi-Enterprise Inventory Optimization in Europe after a successful implementation in North America,” said Fabrizio Bortolotti, European Planning Director, Unilever. “More accurate forecasting and better inventory management complements our lean manufacturing strategies, allowing us to capture growth opportunities and optimize service to our customers without the risk of carrying excess inventory.”

The challenges of demand volatility are significant in Europe. Improving forecast accuracy and inventory levels across the entire region requires the ability to correctly interpret data from diverse sources and to use this information to quickly adjust to specific shifts in customer ordering behavior for each country.

Robert F. Byrne, president and CEO of Terra Technology: “I started my career at Unilever, so I am particularly gratified that Unilever relies on Terra’s solutions to help improve customer service, lower costs and delight consumers.”

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. Our products are present in 7 out of 10 homes globally and are used by over 2 billion people on a daily basis. We work with 171,000 colleagues around the world and we are on track to generate annual sales of over €50 billion in 2012. Over half of our company’s footprint is in the faster growing developing and emerging markets (56% in 2011). Working to create a better future every day, we help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. Our portfolio includes some of the world’s best known brands such as Knorr, Persil/Omo, Dove, Sunsilk, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Rexona / Sure, Wall’s, Lux, Rama, Ponds and Axe.

Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals are more than 50 time-based targets. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/.

Unilever has been recognised in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes for 14 consecutive years. We are included in the FTSE4Good Index Series and attained a top environmental score of 5, leading to inclusion in the FTSE4Good Environmental Leaders Europe 40 Index. In 2011 Unilever led the Climate Counts Company Scorecard and for the second year topped the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the GlobeScan /SustainAbility latest annual survey (2012). The company is an employer of choice in many of the countries in which it operates and is seen as a symbol for innovation and leadership development.

For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.

About Terra Technology

Terra Technology uses better mathematics to sense demand, optimize inventory and predict transportation and warehousing requirements for some of the world’s best-known companies including Shell, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Mondelēz, Kimberly-Clark, Kraft Foods, ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Kellogg and Campbell Soup. Terra invented demand sensing in 2002 and offered the first solutions which use retailer data systematically to improve supply chain efficiency, enhance service, cut inventory and reduce waste. Information on how Terra enables a truly integrated supply chain can be found at terratechnology.com.