Many of the changes have been driven by lingering supply chain and labor issues, as well as stubbornly high inflation, as conditions remain volatile, prompting other industry players hoping to emulate the giant’s success in the years to come. It may serve as a template for
“General Mills has been one of the most agile staple companies in recent years, largely due to other structural changes.”was “Underrated”Barclays managing director Andrew Lazar said at the company’s Global Consumer Staples conference yesterday that it could have competed more effectively at the time.
Among the most impactful and beneficial changes that Harmening cites for General Mills’ recent success are restructuring the internal structure, reshaping the portfolio, investing in a diverse workforce, and defining the company as one. There are new tone settings that allow you to move forward. Harmening explained at the event.
“We have made some significant organizational changes…and understand why they may not have given us enough credit.It is hard to put into spreadsheets and algorithms But that doesn’t mean it’s not important.”He said.
“If you think about what we’ve been doing, especially retail in North America, we’ve gone from sort of a functional silo to having sales, supply chain and marketing all under one leadership. It has allowed us to be more agile.”In terms of pricing and changes to handle confusion, he explained.
This approach also applies to new product development with the launch of GWorks. It uses the Tiger Team approach to innovation that defines and solves by bringing together three experts from different functions including a technical expert, a consumer insight specialist and a business person. consumer issues.
“We also made significant changes to our operations outside of North America to reduce our administrative footprint, but also increased the number of distributors outside our core markets. And we believe we can accelerate our growth in these markets.” Harmening said the benefits began to emerge in the fourth quarter.
In addition, General Mills transferred its convenience store business to North American retailers, “good growth”In the snack business, he said.
This restructuring has enabled General Mills to take an always-on approach to mergers and acquisitions to facilitate much-needed portfolio restructuring. This includes sales of iconic brands such as Sudrinly Salad and Helper, as well as high-profile acquisitions. Core platforms such as pet food Blue Buffalo.
buildingna strong teamna
These changes would not have been possible without “the extraordinary leadership team at General Mills.”
He explained that while gender and ethnic diversity have been in the spotlight in recent years, it is equally important to invite outsiders to foster fresh perspectives and progress.
“We have people like myself who have been at General Mills for a very long time on our team, as well as a lot of people who come in from the outside. We brought someone in and we’ve made great strides.In terms of supply chain, what we’ve done is bring someone in from the outside and we’ve had a lot of success.”He said.
common goalna
But to optimize the team’s performance, Harmening said: “It takes more than talent”You also need a shared vision and a path to that goal.
“If you have talented people going in the same direction, that gives you a fighting chance.”He said.
Equally important, he added, is clear communication and a change in the “current rhythm of operations,” General Mills’ decision during the pandemic.
“In this environment, it’s better to be clear than certain. And what we’ve done is meet every week and talk about tactical things. And we talk about a little more strategic stuff, and then we get together every quarter to talk about more strategic stuff, so what we’re doing now is keep the rhythm between the leadership team. ”It manages both tactical and strategic priorities with “strategic visibility,” Harmening said.
“As we have all experienced over the past two and a half years, sometimes the companies that have weathered the toughest times are not only the ones that have better visibility into the tough challenges, but also the ones that invested in those tough challenges. has proved.”he added.
Combined with reshaping the portfolio and investing in people, Harmening is confident General Mills will continue to grow even as it moves off its higher base as the world eventually begins to normalize. said there is.
