Uhendran S.

Global Procurement Manager @ Nestlé

About

Hi there - I am Uhen. Currently I manage Nestle's global tropical oils spend (palm + laurics) of 500 million USD. This consists of regions in North America, Asia (including China), and Africa, and over 50 factories/destinations. Besides leading projects to reduce total cost of ownership, I also lead change management and implementation of climate-friendly, deforestation-free, and sustainable value chains within Nestlé's supply chains. I have end-to-end supply chain experience within the FMCG/CPG sector and was an erstwhile consultant with EY Advisory. My professional interests: Oils & Fats, Trading, Hedging, Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain Management, Consulting, Business Partnering.

Country

Switzerland

City

Vevey

Industry

Food Production

Skill

Business Transformation, Infant Nutrition, Healthcare, Oleochemicals, Specialty Pharmaceutical, China sourcing, Commodity Risk Management, Presentations, Commodities, Category Management, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Business Consulting, Tax Advisory, Project Management Office (PMO), Demand Supply Planning, Logistics Management, Factory Planning, Operations Management, Strategic Sourcing, Change Management

Experience

Global Procurement Manager

Nestlé

2025-5 - Present · 1 yr 5 mos

Vaud, Switzerland

Currently managing 0.25 bio CHF global spend of infant grade oils that go into products of Nestle's most sensitive customers - newborns, medically compromised individuals, and the elderly. In addition, exposed to oleochemical sector by happy consequence of managing global spend of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) primarily used in medical nutrition products and premium petfood. Highlights: Driving transformation in vegetable oil supply chains to implement the strictest contaminant standards currently achievable. Optimizing specifications to unlock structural and long-lasting cost savings.

Global Procurement Manager - Vegetable Fats & Oils

Nestlé

2020-4 - 2025-4 · 5 yrs 1 mo

Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Strategic category management of 0.5 billion USD spend consisting of tropical oils, sunflower and rapeseed oils, and soybean oils. (Not all at the same time - sure felt like it though!) Highlights: Doing good for the planet by leading change management of climate-friendly supply chains. Implemented new-to-industry quality requirements on mineral oil hydrocarbon levels. Transformed supply chains to support Nestle's corporate target of 95% no-deforestation. Beat the market 3 years running in terms of commodity price ownership.

Procurement Specialist

Nestlé

2018-1 - 2020-3 · 2 yrs 3 mos

Selangor, Malaysia

Business partnering and direct material spend management of 3 business units (~0.5 billion MYR). Delivered 4% COGS reduction and completed 51 business contingency plans. Category briefing to C-Suite on a monthly basis. Coaching of peers and junior team members.

Strategic Buyer

Nestlé

2017-1 - 2017-12 · 1 yr

Selangor, Malaysia

Managed raw material category spend of MYR 580 million (Sugar, Coffee, Palm Oil, Wheat, Starches). Delivered year-on-year cost reduction of 4%. Implemented CoC spend transition (ltransformation of local procurement model to global procurement model) and other projects.

Management Trainee

Nestlé

2015-8 - 2016-12 · 1 yr 5 mos

Selangor, Malaysia

Full operational stints in Logistics, Demand & Supply Planning, Inter-Market Imports & Exports, Procurement, Factory Planning, and Customer Service. Completed projects within each rotation with various benefits (reduce working capital, increase on-shelf freshness, drive higher customer service level to distributors, deliver cost reductions to COGS).