MACMILLAN EDUCATION
processes by challenging the status quo , and raising the bar for service in whatever capacity he can . Shaun has been responsible for delivering a resilient and agile model based on
“ I could sense the pain , and that level of service was just not going to be acceptable and sustainable , to avoid losing business to our competitors ultimately ”
SHAUN PLUNKETT VP GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN ,
MACMILLAN EDUCATION
regional supply / printing hubs with strategic partners in each continent . The strategy has delivered multi-million euro savings across freight , packaging , inventory and production . Speaking further about his strategy for Macmillan Education , Shaun says that the need for reform was imperative , adding “ The operation I inherited was Far East-focused , where a team of about 30 would report into me , source and brings books to our single warehouse in the UK , and then ship books in some cases out again back to Asia . So you can imagine there were some inefficiencies there .” Soon after he presented his findings to Springer Nature , Shaun was tasked with the job of creating a supply chain system that cut time , costs and dependencies on this single-region sourcing model . Since the manufacturing was Asia-focused , lead times were significant and this created a non-traversable obstacle for Macmillan Education ’ s operations . Shaun remembers one of the early conversations with executives at the company about the frustrations that some of the legacy system was bringing on . He says “ I could sense the
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