Read the case study below and answer the questions that follow. A Deep Dive into Nestls Supply Chain When it comes to the food and beverage market, Nestl dominates over the competition as the world's biggest company of its kind. Established in 1866 by Swiss pharmacist, Henri Nestl, the organization originally specialised in infant cereal. From these humble beginnings, Nestl grew over the years by acquiring other companies into its fold. This mammoth organisation now operates from 70 different countries and hires almost 250,000 people worldwide. Through supply chain analysis, other businesses can learn a lot from Nestl's immense success, as the Swiss company continues to expand and evolve their products. Below, is an exposition of the business's four main strengths, alongside how they have outshone expectations in these areas.

1. Profiling the Consumer To create products that appeal to consumers, Nestl believes in a strategy they call "Brand Building the Nestl Way (BBNW)". One of BBNW's six founding principles is focused on profiling their brand's consumers. Indeed, Nestl is very engaged with their customers, specifically over online venues. The company goes far beyond market research to reach their clientele, as they strive to see who their demographic is and what makes them tick. As a company, Nestl excels at interacting with real-life consumers on social media. For instance, their 850 Facebook pages for various brands carry a total of 210 million fans. It's an inspiring way to gather customer responses quickly and efficiently. To receive a high response level, the company posts around 1,500 new items per day across their online platforms. When it comes to supply chain analysis, having an intimate knowledge of what your customers want from your products is imperative in running a successful operation.

2. Focusing on Responsible Sourcing During the supply chain analysis of Nestl, it's immediately clear that responsible sourcing is a huge concern for the company. With 700,000 farmers working for Nestl, the Swiss company puts a strong emphasis on acting respectfully toward the many families and agricultural communities who are dependent upon them. Consequently, Nestl goes to great lengths to track their food product's origins, thus ensuring that they're compiling with ethical practices. This honourable attitude gains Nestl loyalty from both their suppliers and their consumers.

3. Acquisition for Better Product Diversity With over 2,000 unique brands and 10,000 products on the market, Nestl certainly has its fingers in a lot of pies. Much of the company's supply chain relies on acquisition, as they're consistently bringing new companies into their fold. This wave of buyouts happened after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, opening up the European and Chinese markets.Nestl's first major acquisition was Ralston Purina Company, a popular pet food maker, in 2001. They followed this purchase up with Dreyer's, Movenpick, Jenny Craig, and Gerber over the following years. Nestl commitment to investing in other companies allows them to continuously put new, exciting products on the market. Plus, by buying former competitors, they're eliminating any threats and gaining access to these companies' suppliers in the process.

4. Transforming into a Zero-Waste Company After a media backlash in 2010 against Nestl's environmental practices, the company moved quickly to revamp its policies. Their first change was implementing a "no deforestation" policy, in response to Greenpeace's allegations over Nestl's methods for gathering palm oil. The company's current priority is to eliminate waste in their upstream supply chain. By 2020, Nestl has committed to becoming fully zero-waste-to-landfill, according to Pascal Grverath, Nestl's Head of Environmental Sustainability. Through these practices, the company is invested in improving its supply chain's efficiency. It's clear that Nestl will save itself money in the long run, since no amount of food will be waOverall, supply chain analysis shows that Nestl's business model has a lot to offer all companies. Whether you're a fledgling start-up or a long-standing cooperation, this Swiss conglomerate displays the true importance of market research, responsible sourcing, product diversity, and going waste-free. After all, Nestl didn't reach a $247 billion net worth by accidents

QUESTION TWO [20] Supply chain integration is a large-scale business strategy that brings as many links of the chain as possible into a closer working relationship with each other. Discuss supply chain integration at Nestle.