Company Website: http://www.unilever.com
LONDON & ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -- (Business Wire)

Unilever achieved 10th place in the 2012 Gartner Supply Chain Top 25, announced today. The result is Unilever’s best-ever performance in the index and an improvement of five places compared with 2011.

The Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 recognises the world’s leading supply chains across all industries. The Top 25 companies were selected from a total of more than 298 companies assessed by Gartner analysts. Unilever was the top European-headquartered company to feature in the list and was rated third among FMCG companies.

Unilever’s recognition in the Gartner ranking reflects the strategic role of its supply chain in achieving the organisation’s ambition to double the size of its business whilst reducing its environmental impact. During the past three years, Unilever’s supply chain has been instrumental in enabling top line growth, enhancing the quality of its products whilst driving significant savings and trade working capital excellence. By partnering with its suppliers, Unilever has achieved important milestones at the core of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan.

Pier Luigi Sigismondi, Chief Supply Chain Officer, said: “We are delighted to be recognized amongst the top ten best supply chains in the world. Our supply chain represents the backbone of Unilever’s success and it is making the difference to our business thanks to our unique blend of global scale and local agility, combined with our focus on speed in execution. We have created a talent powerhouse that has secured us a podium finish among FMCG companies.”

About Unilever:

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with operations in over 100 countries and sales in 190. Consumers buy 170 billion Unilever packs around the world every year, and our products are used over two billion times a day. We have more than 171,000 employees, and generated annual sales of €46.5 billion in 2011.

Working to create a better future every day, we help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. Our portfolio includes some of the world’s best known and most loved brands including thirteen €1 billion brands, and global leadership in most categories in which we operate. The portfolio features iconic brands such as: Knorr, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Dove, Vaseline, Persil, Cif, Marmite and Pot Noodle.

Unilever has led the Food Producers sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes for 13 consecutive years. We are included in the FTSE4Good Index Series and attained a top environmental score of 5, leading to inclusion in the FTSE4Good Environmental Leaders Europe 40 Index. In 2011 Unilever led the Climate Counts Company Scorecard and was named #1 in the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders according to the latest survey findings from GlobeScan Inc. and SustainAbility Ltd.

For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com 
For more information about the Unilever SLP visit http://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living 
For further information about Unilever Partner to Win, visit: http://www.unilever.com/aboutus/supplier/

Safe Harbour

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, including ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as ‘expects’, ‘anticipates’, ‘intends’, ‘believes’ or the negative of these terms and other similar expressions of future performance or results, and their negatives, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and assumptions regarding anticipated developments and other factors affecting the Group. They are not historical facts, nor are they guarantees of future performance. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, competitive pricing and activities, economic slowdown, industry consolidation, access to credit markets, recruitment levels, reputational risks, commodity prices, continued availability of raw materials, prioritisation of projects, consumption levels, costs, the ability to maintain and manage key customer relationships and supply chain sources, consumer demands, currency values, interest rates, the ability to integrate acquisitions and complete planned divestitures, the ability to complete planned restructuring activities, physical risks, environmental risks, the ability to manage regulatory, tax and legal matters and resolve pending matters within current estimates, legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments, political, economic and social conditions in the geographic markets where the Group operates and new or changed priorities of the Boards. Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting the Group are described in the Group’s filings with the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Group’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2010. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Group’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Contacts:

Unilever Media Relations
Flip Dotsch, Corporate Media Relations Manager
T: +31(0)102173715
M: +31(0)611375464

Source: Unilever