1.1 Company Background
Benckiser was founded by Johann A. Benckiser in 1823. It is a business derived from industrial chemicals. Over years of development through innovations and various acquisitions, Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is now a world leader in household, health and personal care. Today it is the global No. 1 or No. 2 in the majority of its fast-growing categories, driven by an exceptional rate of innovation – typically about one third of net revenue comes from innovations launched in the prior 3 years. It has a strong portfolio led by 19 global powerbrands which are: Finish, Lysol, Dettol, Vanish, Woolite, Durex, Calgon, Airwick, Harpic, Bang, Mortein, Veet, Nurofen, Clearasil, Strepsils Gaviscon, Mucinex, Scholl and French’s, and they account for 69% of net revenue. The company operates through eight business segments: fabric care, surface care, health and personal care, home care, dishwashing, pharmaceutical, food, and other household.
More than 75% of net revenues in 2007 were generated by brands that are either leading in the market or ranked second in their markets. In the fabric treatment section, Vanish leads the fabric segment globally so does Calgon in the water softeners segment and Lysol and Harpic brands in lavatory care segment. Furthermore, Dettol, Veet and Strepsils are the number one brand in antiseptic personal care products, depilatory products and throat tablet segment respectively while Nurofen, an analgesic, ranks second in Europe. Also, Clearasil is ranked as the number two anti-acne treatment worldwide. The company 's Air Wick is ranked second in the air care segment worldwide. This strong portfolio of brands significantly fuels the revenues and profitability of the company.
In terms of management structure, it is organized in such a way that there are three areas in the world: Europe, which includes Eastern Europe and Turkey; the Americas—North America plus Australia and New Zealand,
References: Charles, C., Bauer, P. and Bauer, M. J. (2001) E-Supply Chain. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, San Francisco, CA. Kalakota, R. and Robinson, M. (2001) E-Business: Roadmap for Success. Addison-Wesley, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Lambert, D., Cooper, M. and Pagh, J. (1998) “Supply Chain Management: Implementation Issues and Research Opportunities,” The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 9. No. 2, pp. 1-19 Our responsibility: How we will achieve it [online] Available at. http://www.rb.com/carbon20/how-we-will-achieve-it [Accessed 20 April 2012] United Nations Global Impact (2010) Supply Chain Sustainability: A practical guide for continuous improvement. Published by UN Global Impact Compact Office,