Building resilient supply chains: The strategic value of regionalisation at BIC

Abstract

Global supply chains increasingly face challenges posed by disruptions, evolving consumer expectations and sustainability imperatives. Traditional centralised supply chains often lack the agility and responsiveness required in contemporary markets. BIC, a leading global consumer products company, has implemented a regional supply chain strategy, designed to combine local responsiveness with global leverage. Anchored on four strategic pillars — end-to-end supply chain, regionalisation, global leverage and value-added procurement — this approach has delivered measurable improvements in operational efficiency, market responsiveness and sustainability. Importantly, regionalisation is reinforced by empowered employees who drive local adaptability, ensuring that people and processes work together to enhance supply chain resilience. While all four pillars are interdependent, this paper focuses in depth on regionalisation, the most physically transformative pillar in BIC’s journey, while showing how end-to-end integration, global leverage and procurement excellence enable and reinforce this transformation. It examines the rationale, operational execution, challenges and strategic outcomes of BIC’s regionalisation strategy, providing actionable lessons for supply chain professionals seeking to enhance resilience and create value across complex international networks. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.