Unilever splits marketing procurement into three divisions, aims to be more agile

In a move to "combine scale with agility", Unilever's marketing procurement will now be run by three divisions instead of a corporate centre. According to The Drum, the teams will be allocated to different business segments:  beauty and personal care, home care and foods, and refreshment. Unilever said recently in its Annual Report and Accounts 2018 that its business had been reorganised into the three segments to meet changing trends more effectively as the global digital economy fuels the need in for fast responses in areas such as supply chain, customer development, marketing and brand innovation. Overseeing their respective marketing and advertising budgets and reporting to specific country category business teams, the marketing procurement divisions are expected to provide quicker, more localised responses. The new structure replaces the Unilever's current two-tier system with separate boards of directors to manage marketing and advertising. Unilever chief financial officer Graeme Pitkethly said to the news outlet that the restructuring is the logical next step in the transformation of the company. He explained, "It will drive long-term shareholder value and provide increased flexibility, strengthen corporate governance and enable our divisions to better serve consumers by balancing scale and agility." The FMCG's transformation efforts has been bearing fruits. For the whole of 2018, Unilever reported over €500 million savings in brand and marketing investment. This was achieved through focusing on maximising returns, where Unilever increased expenditure on areas there were driving growth, such as digital media and in-store, whilst reducing spend on production and promotions. However, its chief marketing officer Keith Weed will be retiring from his role this month, after 35 years with the company.