Collaborating To Deliver Mutual Wins and Long-Term Strategic Growth

By Laura Schmidt
Feb 14, 2023 11:50 AM ET
Group of people in a row on a stage. One holding an award.

Jon Moeller, P&G’s Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer said: “You have been critical to our success. Your sustained performance and partnership have enabled our mutual growth. We want to keep strengthening this partnership between our respective companies because we believe it is a source of competitive advantage.”

What I appreciate most about Team Dow is the value we place on collaboration, throughout the value chain, to deliver for our businesses, partners, and each other. We have built a culture that embraces trust and transparency, enabling us to connect and collaborate effectively with many different stakeholders, companies and across markets, such as Home and Personal Care. More than ever, we operate with a high degree of uncertainty. Despite these challenges, we continue to focus on optimizing our commercial and operations excellence to maximize value for Dow and enable our customers’ success with their customers.

This was recently acknowledged by Procter & Gamble (P&G), one of our key strategic customers. P&G’s Fabric & Home Care (F&HC) division exclusively selected Dow to receive their External Business Partner of the Year Award. We are honored and proud to receive P&G’s highest recognition for their business partners.

As Dow’s Account Executive for P&G, I know what it takes to be a reliable, trusted partner. It makes me proud to be part of a driven, determined team that spans across regions and businesses to support our customer. The team continually brings their best and works to elevate our engagement in service and supply to meet requirements in the short- and long-term. I’m truly humbled by this award as it recognizes the potential when you collaborate closely, both internally and with counterparts at the customer, truly speaking each other’s language and building a deep understanding.

Innovation and the power of an extraordinary relationship

At the beginning of this year, P&G requested urgent support from our team to develop and provide a new raw material needed for the launch of a new hard surface cleaner, which was imminently scheduled in Europe. P&G’s original supplier was unable to meet the very tight launch deadline, so they turned to Dow for help with material and formula design. Typically, our development and systems’ approach would take around two years. However, our motivated team was able to develop a technical solution and deliver the scale up and supply plan in a matter of months.

Pulling off supply chain miracles during a pandemic and a freeze

One of Dow’s strategic pillars, aligned with our ambition, is customer-centricity. To meet the specific needs of P&G, we implemented unique, cross-regional shipping lanes to support outsized demand, provided P&G with real-time visibility on deliveries and updates on production plans. Through regular, open communication, Dow and P&G worked together to be flexible during times of supply chain disruption, showcasing extraordinary teamwork between functions, operational excellence, and constant updates, as keys to a successful collaboration.

Leadership for a sustainable future

Sustainability is another foundational pillar of the relationship between P&G and Dow. Both in terms of climate change as well as circularity, we are partnering to innovate and move the needle to create a more sustainable world. Together, we are driving greater sustainable efforts aimed to reduce carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions. We hope to inspire and lead together, lifting partners and industry on this journey.

Inclusive collaboration for today and tomorrow

Beyond the innovative, customer-centric, and sustainable elements of our collaboration with P&G, we also aim to enhance our diversity and inclusion program sharing with the help of our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). There have been many examples between our companies across regions and with mutual support. Recently, a particularly important contribution from our side was during P&G’s global F&HC webinar on inclusion. P&G shared they were inspired by Dow’s leadership and that they could learn and improve from Dow’s insights. Feedback from the discussion and program was overwhelmingly positive and appreciative, and it’s great to know Dow was able to contribute to P&G’s journey for a more diverse and equitable workplace.

Our successful partnership with P&G rests on the shoulders of a talented, diverse, and driven team, that builds relationships, challenges barriers, finds solutions, and perseveres no matter the challenge. This inspires me every day to continue to imagine better and to grow, together with our key partners!

Laura Schmidt, Senior Corporate Account Executive, Dow