The Supply Chain Consulting Group Supports Bean Suntory In Tender Process
The people of Beam Suntory are the custodians of brands that have heritages measured in centuries. In 1795, a farmer and grain mill operator named Jacob Beam produced the first barrel of whiskey that would become Jim Beam, Beam Suntory’s flagship brand, now overseen by seventh generation Beam master distiller Fred Noe.
Over two centuries, Beam Suntory has been crafting the Spirits that Stir the World. Rooted in family heritage, Beam Suntory has evolved into one of the world’s leading premium spirits companies where each employee is trusted with a legacy.
The history of Suntory began in 1899 when the founder Shinjiro Torii started producing sweet wines. He then courageously produced the first Japanese whisky, and today, Suntory is the No.1 whisky distiller in Japan, known for its flagship single malt whisky ‘Yamazaki’, ‘Hakushu’ and the blended whiskies ‘Hibiki’. Entrepreneurial spirit has built Beam over more than 200 years and it is this which guides Beam Suntory as a global leader in premium spirits.
Beam Inc. conducted a network optimisation study to determine the optimal configuration and location of their warehousing requirements in Central and Northern mainland Europe. The result determined that the company should consolidate from their three existing warehouses into two new sites.
Following this, Beam Inc. wished to explore the opportunity for a 3PL provider to manage their total logistics requirements, involving inbound/outbound transportation plus warehousing.
Beam Inc. consulted the Logistics and Tender specialists at The Supply Chain Consulting Group (SCCG) to explore this opportunity through a competitive tendering exercise for which they required experienced and expert support.
The SCCG team provided the Beam Inc. management team, with a list of all potential major providers for approval. Due to the scale of the tender it was expected that no more than ten major providers would have the experience and expertise to deliver a solution.
SCCG subsequently supported the Beam Inc. team in establishing a data-set that allowed all tendering companies to model a robust and accurate solution, whilst also ensuring that there was minimal interpretation of data so each company’s solution was directly comparable; and included historical transaction data, an assessment on the growth strategy, and potential changes to the business profile over the foreseen three to five years. The SCCG team updated Beam Inc. weekly, to ensure each party remained engaged with the process and for Beam Inc. to get a maximum number of responses.
The Logistics and Tender specialists at SCCG supported the Beam Inc. team, with the options of opting for working with a single preferred supplier, or to decide not to progress with a 3PL solution and remain within their current three warehouse configuration and existing suppliers.
The experienced consultants successfully supported Beam Inc. through their Invitation to Tender process for their European Logistics operation.
