At its bi-annual External Business Partner Summit, Procter & Gamble recognized its top-performing external business partners for their outstanding contributions to P&G’s global supply network transformation. As part of P&G’s efforts to lead constructive disruption during a time of rapid change in the consumer goods industry, P&G has been revolutionizing how it goes to market, redesigning its supply chain to respond seamlessly to real-time consumer and retail customer demand.

P&G CEO David Taylor, Global Product Supply Officer Yannis Skoufalos and P&G leadership celebrate with representatives from the 10 companies that were presented with Partner of the Year Awards. These 10 companies were chosen out of more than 50,000 global suppliers for P&G.

“Together with our valued partners, we are creating an end-to-end, synchronized supply network where P&G, retail customers, physical distribution partners, and suppliers efficiently interact in a seamless ecosystem to best serve consumers,” says  Skoufalos. “We are delivering tangible value to P&G shareholders — optimizing inventory, increasing on-shelf availability of our products, and driving the productivity which fuels the innovation and superiority of P&G’s brands. This wouldn’t be possible without our external business partners who are with us on this journey.”

P&G’s supply network includes more than 50,000 diverse suppliers from around the world and across a wide range of industries and services – from creative agencies to technology partners to materials suppliers. For their contributions during 2018, P&G recognized 10 “Partners of the Year” as well as six other companies who made significant contributions to P&G’s global supply chain transformation or as diverse, upcoming business partners. P&G also awarded more than 30 other companies with the Supplier Excellence Award for sustained business contributions.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Taylor asked P&G’s partners to continue to bring their best ideas and innovations to P&G. “We want strong, lasting relationships with our supplier partners,” he said. “The stronger our relationships are, the greater the opportunity we have to serve consumers better than anyone else. It’s clear that winning today, and in the future, requires seamless collaboration and continually raising the bar together.”

As part of this year’s External Business Partner event, P&G is dedicating a full day to Supplier Citizenship – helping suppliers understand P&G’s approach to diversity and inclusion, as well as the other elements of P&G’s citizenship agenda: ethics and corporate responsibility, community impact, gender equality and environmental sustainability. P&G has spent more than $2 billion with diverse suppliers for eleven consecutive years, and P&G recognizes it will not achieve its citizenship goals without the partnership and capabilities of our suppliers.

Within the hygiene world, honorees included Dow Chemical and RKW, who were named Partner of the Year, and Fameccanica, Gulsan Group, Kleen-Test Products, Pegas, Sandler, Nippon Shokubai, and Savare Specialty Adheisves who received supplier excellence awards.

“I congratulate and thank all of our award winners. They are critical partners in accomplishing our purpose,” says Stew Atkinson, Chief Purchasing Officer, P&G. “P&G’s supplier eco-systems are creating value for consumers, customers, P&G and our suppliers. I am proud of what we have accomplished, and we will continue to raise the bar on superiority, productivity and citizenship together.”

P&G’s supply network transformation began in 2012 and is a critical component of the company’s growth strategy – underpinning P&G’s ability to deliver superior products, packaging, communication, retail execution and consumer value. Since 2012, P&G Product Supply has delivered a cumulative cost of goods sold savings of $10 billion, including nearly $3 billion in the past two years – while leveraging the global supply network as a sustainable competitive advantage.