Unilever Co.

Soon after the company's formation,the Sun Products' IT team needed establish a new IT environment. This entailedreplacing every software system, including a combination of packaged andproprietary applications, in a five-month time frame.

With 400 brands spanning 14 categories of home, personal care and food products, Unilever touches many people's lives around the globe. Here, the company shares the fundamentals for getting the recall process right, including a powerful tool called the Rapid Recall Exchange.

Doug Sloan, director of Supply Chain Operations for Unilever North America, reveals details of the company's journey to boost its demand sensing and inventory optimization capabilities globally.

Unilever anticipates decreasing safety stock up to 15 percent following the worldwide implementation.

The acquisition makes Unilever the world's leading company in hair conditioning, the second largest in shampoo and the third largest in styling.

The beverage makers have come under fire for making improper statements regarding green tea on product labels and Web sites.

Ronald D. Wilkinson is appointed to the newly created position of president, Ralcorp Cereal Products; Bart Adlam is promoted to president of Post Foods LLC.

The transaction includes the sale of the Italian Findus business, comprising of four of its leading brands.