Branded products supplier selects Ariba to help with global cost reduction program
Sunnyvale, CA — March 4, 2004 — The H.J. Heinz Co., a top supplier of branded products to customers in both the retail grocery and foodservice channels, said today that it has selected Ariba Spend Management solutions as a key component of its enterprise-wide cost reduction program.
Heinz said it would use Ariba Buyer, Ariba Analysis, Ariba Contracts and Ariba Invoice to better understand, plan and manage its global spend and to help achieve time and cost savings.
Heinz will use the solutions to gain visibility into its spend categories, as well as to improve contract management, ensure purchasing compliance against contracts, and streamline the reconciliation and payment process.
Earlier this year, William Johnson, Heinz's chairman, president and CEO, launched Project Delta, which involved an in-depth review of the company's operations. Cost reduction opportunities were identified across every discipline, and procurement was identified as one of five key areas of focus under the project. Heinz said it hopes to reduce costs through increased purchasing efficiencies and economies of scale cost reductions.
"Heinz has always pursued continual improvements in operating efficiencies and processes, however Project Delta now sharpens our focus on seeking initiatives that will purge non-productive costs from the purchasing process," said George Chappelle, global chief information officer, Heinz. "The spend management solutions and their integration to each other, and to our back-end systems, will enable us to manage spend across many categories and to capture valuable spend data for ongoing analysis, reporting and spend management planning."
Heinz said it would use the Analysis software for improved visibility into its current spending habits and to identify opportunities for cost savings. The company will also use the Buyer procurement solution to ensure that buyers purchase from negotiated contracts in order that identified savings to be realized. The Contracts solution is designed to automate Heinz's contract management processes, and Invoice is designed to increase payment efficiencies and accuracy.
