The Environmental Commitment of Unilever

A sales and marketing professional in Easton, Connecticut, John Finneran works as a self-employed consultant. For 15 years, John Finneran served as a marketing manager with Unilever in Greenwich, Connecticut.

In business for over a century, Unilever is the company behind more than 400 consumer brands that span the food, drink, home care, beauty, and personal hygiene sectors. Since 2010 alone, it has protected and improved the health of approximately 1.3 billion people.

Unilever’s commitment to human wellness reflects a larger commitment to the natural environment that includes saving woodland areas and protecting both water and soil. To further its environmental goals, it works with partners at all stages of production and distribution processes, from helping farmers employ green agricultural practices to making every link in the supply chain environmentally responsible.

Unilever’s ecological accomplishments include sourcing 67 percent of its raw materials sustainably and drawing upon grid electricity that is 100 percent renewable worldwide. It is also firmly committed to working toward zero-emission operations.

A Brief History of Lever Brothers Soap Brands

A Connecticut sales and marketing professional with a career that spans nearly 40 years, John Finneran has been an independent startup consultant since 2007. While working as a marketing manager in the Greenwich, Connecticut offices of Unilever from 1985 to 2000, John Finneran brought market share for the soap brands of its subsidiary Lever Brothers to a segment-leading level.

One of the biggest soap and detergent manufacturers in the United States, Lever Brothers Company is a British company. Its founder, William Hesketh Lever, was an English grocer who entered the soap business in 1874 by marketing a proprietary soap called Lever’s Pure Honey. By the mid-1880s, he had joined forces with his brother James to begin production of Sunlight, the first of many Lever Brothers soaps to benefit from a strategically chosen brand name.

Lever Brothers introduced the Lifebuoy, Welcome, and Lux brands in the 1890s. Lux, in particular, led Lever Brothers to considerable success well into the 1900s. In the middle of that decade, the company released the popular synthetic soap Dove and the heavy-duty liquid laundry detergent Wisk.

Lever Brothers continued to innovate into the 1990s, when it released the market leading soap brand Lever 2000. Today, Lever 2000 includes a full line of soap products for the entire family.

What Is Trade Marketing?

The former marketing manager for Unilever in Connecticut, John Finneran helps startups create their financial and marketing plans as a marketing and sales consultant. Throughout his career, John Finneran of Connecticut has demonstrated a strong ability to improve sales and market share. He has also had significant success with trade marketing with major companies like CVS and Walmart.

One of the oldest methods of marketing, trade marketing focuses on the value chain and point of sale instead of the final sale. With this type of marketing, products are marketed to retailers with the intention of creating demand for the products. This is done by demonstrating the value of the products to retailers so they can see how a company’s products will help them make money. In essence, trade marketing is a business-to-business (B2B) marketing strategy that puts products in front of retailers before they decide which products to purchase.

Manufacturers are the businesses that most often use trade marketing. They direct these efforts towards supply chain partners such as wholesalers and retailers. Trade marketing is particularly important for manufacturers making consumer packaged goods since there is heavy competition for shelf space in that industry. It’s also more important for companies selling in brick-and-mortar locations instead of online.

Strategies to Effectively Reduce Lead Times in Supply Chains

From Easton, Connecticut, John Finneran has worked in marketing for over 30 years, half of which he spent as marketing manager for Unilever home and personal care brands. Among his accomplishments at Unilever in Connecticut, John Finneran successfully implemented local sourcing programs for major retailers that significantly decreased their lead times, which is an essential part of the supply chain.

For decades, lead times have been an issue for the manufacturing industry, as companies have grown to expect to wait long periods for certain products. This causes issues including excess inventory and slow times to market.

Strategically negotiating contracts is crucial to keeping lead times low, as the manufacturer must know exactly what they are getting from the supplier and on what schedule. Contracts are sometimes just focused on price, and the strategic manufacturer will look at every detail This will include prices, delivery schedules, lead times, and any mutual accountabilities.

Diversification of suppliers ensures a steady supply of goods, as they are relying less and less on one supplier for a product. Reducing lead times are going to include looking at multiple suppliers that can ensure an overall supply that won’t slow down production.

Poor lead times can also be caused by distribution issues. With many people now buying online, retail locations have started turning into distribution centers as well, due to in-store pickup and delivery options. Manufacturers must ensure that their end product is distributed in an efficient way, so it doesn’t hold up inventory movement.