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Purchasing at Danone
Last update january 2011
::Group-wide, Purchasing accounts for about 60% of turnover, or about seven billion euros. The very size of that figure is indicative of the importance of this function. Purchasing’s role is to buy raw materials, packaging, logistics or other services under the best possible cost, quality and service conditions. On average, a Danone purchasing division deals with around 3,000 suppliers.
Buyers are positioned well upstream in the value chain. The new name for Purchasing – Sourcing and Supplier Development – makes this positioning very clear.
The challenge for the buyers in our subsidiaries is building a lasting relationship with these suppliers, guaranteeing product quality whilst retaining the competitive edge and creating value for Danone. This branch requires an analytical mind, good communication skills, conviction and a taste for challenge.
“My job is to ‘buy’ road transport that takes our end products from the Danone Eaux France sites to our customers. My territory encompasses Europe with deliveries to numerous countries (France, England, Belgium, Russia, etc.). A buyer’s job entails several responsibilities: first, secure our supplies by finding suppliers who best meet our needs; then, through more technical and legal processes involving safety, environment, and sustainable development standards, improve the safety and quality of our purchases; and, naturally, oversee control and reduction of costs. For other purchasing categories, like raw materials, it’s important for us to support innovation on the part of our suppliers and protect our competitive edge.
I serve a support function, which means I partner with my in-house customer, the Supply Chain. Together we outline the needs and specifications that each supplier is asked to respect. The road haulage market fluctuates a great deal in both pricing and volumes transported, so you have to be flexible, responsive, and good at anticipating what’s coming! You also really have to know your market, the strengths and weaknesses involved, and stay in touch with suppliers: they’re the building blocks of the purchasing strategy!
I joined Danone as in intern in February 2005, during my last year of mechanical engineer training. After that first Danone experience, I was hired as a scheduler at the Evian factory and, shortly thereafter, they put me in charge of the procurement department, managing my own team! I changed sectors three years later and moved to purchasing.
I really enjoy this job and the commitment and rigour it requires in so many areas, like human safety, monitoring the carbon footprint, keeping an eye on European legal issues, standards and laws, etc. A buyer has a direct impact on Danone’s image in the outside world through the choices he or she makes, how he or she handles negotiations and relationships. I really love the people contact and my being only 28 years old forces me to stay humble, since my interlocutors are often older! They’re primarily SME owners and it’s important to keep in mind that our choices can have major consequences on the lives of these companies!
Working at Danone is very motivating: Very few companies would give a 28-year-old a position with so much responsibility. Taking risks is encouraged and, thanks to close communication with our managers and the trust they place in us, we can grow professionally every day. They offer a lot of training options and let us expand our networking, which is omnipresent in the group culture. This network covers the entire world, which means we can always find a Danoner to help us and so, in the end, we never feel alone when we’re facing a challenge at Danone! ”
Antoine Pulcini, Evian/Volvic road transport buyer
