'Nano units helping us bridge service gap for new-age channels'

Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the country's largest consumer goods company, runs a network of 28 factories and 35 warehouses, producing over 75 billion units across 2,000+ products annually.

This large operation is fuelled by advanced automation, digital analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure minimal disruptions.

Yogesh Mishra, executive director, supply chain, at HUL, talks to Viveat Susan Pinto about the focus on digital fulfilment centres, utilisation of nano factories to produce in small batches, and how Project Nakshatra is aiding agility. Excerpts:

HUL has often said that what is good for India is good for the company. How does this play out in your supply chain operations?

We have a collaborative and customer-centric approach to supply chain management. We have a multi-category multi-format distributed network comprising 28 own factories and over 50 collaborative manufacturing units producing more than 75 billion units annually. We also strive to be gender-inclusive—for instance, one of our factories in Bundelkhand has over 40% women in the workforce. We are looking to take our female workforce numbers up in our other factories too. At the same time, we constantly strive to be innovative and optimise our operations.

What is Project Nakshatra and how is it helping your supply chain stay nimble?