Philip Morris wins Supply Chain Management Award

Tobacco giant Philip Morris International (PMI) won the Supply Chain Management Award 2023 from Logistik Heute, Strategy& and PwC in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The theme of the contest was ‘Mastering tomorrow’s challenges through business-led tech-enabled supply chain transformations’.

Four finalists – Emma, Infineon, PMI and Siemens – pitched to the jury, comprising supply chain practitioners, academics, consultants and trade media representatives. PMI secured the prize, having significantly transformed its supply chain to support the transition to a smoke-free future.

The development of new products, such as e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products, is fundamentally altering PMI’s supply chain set-up, resulting in extra links in the chain, more complex procurement and manufacturing processes, and more complicated portfolio management. This requires additional functions, such as more detailed forecasting and closer integration between different parts of the supply chain.

Sync Hub

PMI’s new, centralized and standardized platform called Sync Hub provides comprehensive digital visibility into the planning and distribution processes. One of the key prerequisites for flexible and reliable supply chains is integrated risk management. It enables PMI to simulate different scenarios to prevent production downtime, even in crisis situations.

Guillaume Popiol, Vice President SC Synchronization Hub at PMI, expressed his pride at receiving the award. “To be shortlisted among these prestigious companies was already quite an achievement, but then to actually win such an important prize is great recognition of PMI’s efforts to make the smoke-free transformation possible. Now more than ever, the supply chain is a critical pillar of a company’s success. We are at the heart of sustainability, agility, resilience and innovation,” he stated.