Client Name

Lipton Teas and Infusion

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Abdulbasad Shaikh

SBS Thought Leadership Areas

Investment Decision Making

SBS Thought Leadership Area Justification

Thought Leadership Zone The area of thought leadership at IBA School of Business Studies (SBS) that this ELP project relates best is Investment Decision Making. The investment decision-making process is associated with making trade-offs, an efficient allocation of resources, and long-term strategic returns. Within the initiative of Project Unite: • Lipton made investments in its internal production capacity by discontinuing its dependence on third-party manufacturers. • It invested capital in supply chain visibility, digital systems, and supplier contracts. • Return on investment was to be risk-adjusted by optimization of inventory and enhancement of compliance efficiency. • Retention of its knowledge, capability building internally and control of the brand were used as strategic value creators. 4 The project presents the foundation of financial prudence and long-term value establishment, which are the main pillars of investment decisions. In addition, simulations, data tracking, cost avoidance schemes, and process design involved the student team to encounter the real world regarding the formation and assessment of operational investments. That is why this ELP contributes to the corpus of applied knowledge in investment analysis in terms of operations and underlines that process-level decisions (e.g., code enrichment, supplier schedules) have a direct impact on organizational cash flow, lead times, and customer satisfaction. It also provides a roadmap to the MNCs wishing to change their fragmented operations into the fully integrated supply systems in the developing economies.

Aligned SDGs

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Aligned SDGs Justification

This aim is to establish robust infrastructure, establish green industry, and enhance innovation. Project Unite is a direct reinforcement of this agenda, boosting Lipton internal production 3 infrastructures, reducing logistical vulnerabilities, introducing new packaging, and planning tools. The relocation of 3P plants to a centralized factory is the demonstration of industrial resilience.

NDA

No

Abstract

The Lipton Teas & Infusions Pakistan thought of something transformational as an operation project, therefore, Project Unite was initiated as an in-house operation to bring in consolidation and internalization of tea production operations. This was the strategic shift undertaken by Lipton after the company split with Unilever to transfer the manufacturing capacity out of the third-party (3P) manufacturing facilities like AGA to its own manufacturing facility in Khanewal. The overall targets of this Experiential Learning Project (ELP) were: to implement a centralized Master Production Schedule (MPS) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP) system; to assure a comprehensive and accurate Master Data Management (MDM) with no errors through SAP Master Data Governance (MDG) module; to enable easy development of product packaging and branding conformity; to manage the readiness of suppliers and integration of stakeholders towards attaining a successful go-live of production. A cross-functional way of execution was chosen as the basis of the project methodology. Some of the main areas of operation that were a part of the project were Supply Planning, Network Planning, MDM, Research & Innovation (R&I) as well as Branding & Artwork. To accomplish this, the team used a built-in End-to-End (E2E) validation process that runs between material code development through to packaging deliveries and ramp-up of production to be ready and mitigate risks. Primary data was obtained based on internal documentation, stakeholder responses, system trackers and real-time participation in SAP and packaging processes. The project strictly followed ethical issues like confidentiality of stakeholders and proper logging of the system. Material findings indicate that relocation of the AGA location and the concurrent transition of more than 80 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) to the Khanewal facility was executed within the required time. The team realized a 95% SKU readiness level, and compliance challenges were experienced during the start-up of production. MDG enrichment delays, approvals of suppliers, as well as finalization of artwork were properly addressed with the help of escalation dashboards and interdepartmental trackers. The buffers in the inventory enabled the team to keep the supply going and the innovation process in packaging led to the optimization of the SKU configuration on the new production line. The results of the project highlight the significance of practical synchronization, real-time data visibility, and electronic workflow integration in performing massive operational shifts. Besides, iv the ELP has a purposeful overlap with Sustainable Development Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) as it helps to develop resilient infrastructure in the supply chains and package innovation. The project further falls within the IBA-SBS thought leadership domain of Investment Decision Making, and the way a disciplined operational investment decision making can contribute to long-term organizational control and cost effectiveness. Some of the recommendations coming out of this project are centralized planning dashboards should be institutionalized, standard workflows around MDGs and artwork should be codified, suppliers should be put under Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and a scalable playbook on knowledge sharing relating to future plant relocations should be developed. Overall, Project Unite can be regarded as an example of integrated supply chain change and a good source of learning (both academic and strategic planning in corporations).

Document Type

Restricted Access

Document Name for Citation

Experiential Learning Project

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