The way to Mars
Paul Myler, supply chain strategy director, Mars Chocolate North America, describes the challenges of his role and its rewards.
What is your background and current area of focus within Mars?
I have an MBA in supply chain management and marketing from Michigan State University. I’ve held various roles at Mars, including procurement, operations, industrial engineering and strategy. In my current role, I oversee supply chain strategy and transformation, as well as the industrial engineering function, for Mars Chocolate North America.
What are the major challenges within the sector?
While the chocolate category is growing, it’s a competitive category with a large percentage of purchases made on impulse. Most shoppers don’t plan to purchase confections, so we try to place products throughout the store to keep brands top of mind and encourage sales. As a result of this dynamic, the category has seen a steady escalation in marketing dollars to place products in the most effective interruption points in the store, as well as sophisticated tools to ensure successful execution. On the supply chain side, commodities are always a challenge. One example is the price of cocoa, which is currently close to historic highs. This means that we have to work extra hard to increase efficiency in our operations in order not to pass on that cost to the consumer. It’s also a challenge to fulfil customers’ requests for unique SKUs and customisation, as this adds a level of complexity in the supply chain.
How have things developed over the past five years?
Overall, many consumer packaged goods have become more customer-centric. Five or 10 years ago, a company could succeed simply by offering great brands that met consumer tastes. Today, the norm is a combination of effective supply chain execution, collaboration to drive category and same-store growth and differentiating products for retailers. This means that the sophistication needed in disciplines like supply and demand planning and inventory optimisation are more important than ever. Working in the supply chain for a CPG company is as thrilling and challenging as ever.
How has predictive simulation supported your programmes/projects at Mars?
We find that simulation tools (such as Witness from Lanner) are great when you’re looking for the range of probabilities around an event happening or not happening. You really can’t do that within static models or optimisation tools. A couple of examples of where we’ve used it are the right-sizing of capital equipment and predicting likely service outcomes given certain conditions.
Have these projects increased efficiency?
In the example I mentioned previously where you might simulate product flows through a factory, simulation increases the efficiency of your capital expenditure, making sure you buy only what you need to achieve the desired throughput.
What is Mars doing to offset carbon emissions?
We have a goal to be ‘Sustainable in a Generation.’ This imperative has driven us to make some major investments and to work hard to find ways to do the right thing for the planet. A few examples are a solar farm outside our M&M’S plant in Hackettstown, NJ, which supplies much of the energy for that site, as well as the recent announcement of a 200MW wind farm in Texas that will generate 100 per cent of the electricity needs of Mars’ US operations. Positive environmental projects like these give me great pride and motivation to help Mars succeed as a company.
Where do you see the industry going within the next few years?
The trends I have mentioned show no signs of abating. In a healthy category with good profit margins, the competition will likely only intensify, putting pressure on all of us in the category to execute more efficiently. There’s also a lot of discussion around how manufacturers can help consumers make healthy choices. Mars Chocolate has a global commitment to health and nutrition, which includes efforts to manage portions and calories. In support of this commitment, Mars Chocolate North America products do not exceed 250 calories per serving. Mars also believes in providing transparent nutritional information to allow consumers to make an informed choice about the products that they are eating, and we have led the industry on front of pack GDA labelling.
Is the human element still important or do you think automated processes are the way forward?
I believe they complement each other, and you can’t really have one without the other. Our Mars associates will always be important to our supply chain operations. That said, we’re constantly looking for ways to live up to our company’s Five Principles, one of which is efficiency. This means we constantly strive for higher productivity. When we automate a task, it can free-up time to concentrate on more value-added activities.
What, in your opinion has been the biggest breakthrough in the sector over recent years?
Supply chain has progressed so rapidly for the past 10 years that every year brings new breakthroughs. Advanced planning tools continue to promise more and more visibility into the supply chain and the orchestration of the supply chain. The technology available is amazing, and the theory of making it all work flawlessly together is very alluring, yet it requires a talent pool with the skills to make it all work.
