Brazilian-based Natura has begun developing suppliers in Mexico as part of its growth strategy in the country, but also because of the potential impacts of tariffs imposed by the United States government.
Adrián Soto, the company’s Acquisitions Leader, mentioned that it is necessary to “be ready” to have different supply chain sources for when external cases arise that may affect our rates, since one of its main lines, body splash , has an American firm as its main supplier.
For this reason, for two years they have developed a strategy to have local suppliers with a social impact and at a very competitive cost.
“If we have a tax, a tariff and we need to make a change, we are ready. The strategy of having pre-validated or already validated suppliers is extremely important, we need to be very proactive and react at the moment,” he said.
In this regard, he assured that they are developing local suppliers in a “strong and sustainable” way , as they also seek to bring various products that are currently manufactured in their plants in Brazil to Mexico. “Today the company has a plant in Celaya and we are making every effort to fill it with products.”
In an interview with T21, he explained that the supplier’s focus is on packaging with a sustainable chain and products that are environmentally friendly, “which allows us to better handle potential risks with the United States.”
He explained that a large amount of packaging they use comes from Brazil, which implies longer delivery times as well as higher costs, which is why this strategy was considered since Avon’s integration with Natura.
“Packaging costs will decrease, but so will the carbon footprint. The less freight there is between countries, that will help us in terms of sustainability,” he said.
He said that the transport of supplies is done by sea, and only in case of emergency is air transport used.
“Any disruptive movement in the chain due to a logistical or political issue, or even a war, extends the timeframe. Last year we had very strong floods in Brazil and this saturated the ports because we had to move to other places, which delayed our deliveries, we had failures. Therefore, we had to make a more precise plan, with inventory coverage, that is why one of the strategies is local production,” he reiterated.
In this regard, he said that they will seek to increase production in Mexico by 30% to 40% , which depends on the development of suppliers, compliance with the company’s specifications and meeting volume goals.
“The company is doing quite well and we hope that this year will be the year we expect for the company,” he said.
Currently, only six Natura products are produced at the Celaya plant , so the goal for this year will be to increase this number.
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