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F4SS (Foundation for Strategic Sourcing) Aims to Improve Upstream Supply Chain in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Industry

Posted on: Tuesday, 18 August 2009, 12:11 CDT

OAKLAND, N.J., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- A less than two-year-old non-profit organization is already having tremendous impact within the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. The F4SS (Foundation for Strategic Sourcing) is a membership of top branded marketing corporations and their suppliers within the CPG industry. The organization was established to start a forum whereby CPG marketers, external manufacturers and secondary packagers can share the best practices toward the creation of industry standards aimed at improving reliability and reducing supply chain costs upstream. This segment of the supply chain has become increasingly more important and strategic in the last decade as branded marketers have continued to outsource more and more, sometimes divesting of operating assets in the process.

"We have an ultimate vision to transform the CPG Industry into one that promotes sustainable health and growth of the total industry, as well as for each individual member company," says Lisa Shambro, Executive Director of F4SS. This is achieved by further developing the CPG industry's potential through the creation of a world class network via collaborative engagement, establishment of industry standards and sharing of best practices. The economic development will retain and attract talent needed to challenge business processes thereby supporting a fundamental shift in the CPG industry to one characterized by long term, trusted customer/supplier relationships.

To date, the organization boasts more than 40 corporate members, including many of the most prominent and established companies in the world such as Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, General Mills, Frito Lay and the Hershey Company. The F4SS organization also maintains a strong affiliation in the educational community with the Supply Chain Management Programs at McGill University and the University of San Diego Supply Chain Management Institute. Membership is open to any organization in the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry that markets CPG products, is a contract manufacturer or is a secondary packager of products. Memberships in F4SS are corporate. A corporate member may designate as many individuals as desired to participate in the F4SS.

The organization schedules two main conferences a year, with recent events the past year held in Montreal and San Diego. A variety of small regional team initiative meetings are held throughout the year to continue the momentum built at the main conferences and to further evaluate and expand key industry initiatives such as CSOP (Customer Supplier Operations Planning), QAI (Quality Assurance Initiative) and CAPEX (Capital Expenditure).

The next F4SS conference is scheduled for October 5-7, 2009, at Walt Disney World(R) Resort, with the conference theme being innovation and how it relates to the CPG Supply Chain and more importantly, how to capitalize on it collaboratively within each of the member organizations. For more information on F4SS and to inquire about membership, please call 201.677.1254 or visit the organization's website at http://www.f4ss.org.

About F4SS

The Foundation for Strategic Sourcing (F4SS) is a collaborative, unbiased, non-profit membership organization within the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry created to enhance the supply chain between branded marketers (customers) and suppliers, defined as contract manufacturers and secondary packagers, by working together in a more innovative, productive manner.

The organization's diverse group of corporate board members includes Procter & Gamble, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, The Campbell Soup Company, Hershey Company, Power Packaging, an Exel company, and Marietta.

Contact: Lisa Shambro F4SS Executive Director Phone: 201-677-1254 lshambro@f4ss.org

SOURCE Foundation for Strategic Sourcing

Source: PR Newswire

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