Navigating supply chain through global shortages and the rising cost of living

Written by Paul Connors, Chief Partnership Officer, Domino’s

The global COVID-19 pandemic highlighted just how interconnected today’s world is. Multiple factors have contributed to the disruption of global supply chains – people, companies, transport, delivery services and pandemic restrictions. As such, widespread shortages, when a lack of supply meets excess demand, are the reality that we live in today.

To navigate global shortages and the rising cost of living, it’s imperative that we focus on building and amplifying strategic partnerships, rather than transactional agreements.

Domino’s Partnerships team, previously known as Domino’s Purchasing team, has recently been renamed to reiterate the importance of partnerships in our field of work, and better represent the responsibilities of our team.

In our team, our number one goal is to ensure we never stop a pizza from going out the door.  Furthermore, our business partners certainly understand that no supply is not an option.

At Domino’s, our longest standing food and distribution partnerships go back as far as fifteen years. When looking at a partnership, our four non-negotiables are: commercial sustainability, innovation, empathy and fit, and passion.

Commercial sustainability

Commercial sustainability is the overall efficient cost to serve whilst maintaining superior quality of product and services that are provided. It aims to strike a balance between economic, environmental, and social impacts through the effective management of resources whilst remaining financially beneficial. When meeting with current and new partners, we openly discuss their sustainable commercial proposition to ensure the partnership is feasible. To satisfy the totality of the three elements (economic, environmental and social), transparency is paramount.

Innovation

Innovation is in Domino’s DNA. We thrive on innovation in our technology and systems, but also innovation in our food. It's important that our partners are invested in, and care about innovation, and are excited to be a part of it. At the moment, a key driver in the innovation space is working towards Domino’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets. See more about this in our latest Sustainability Report here.

Empathy and fit

Empathy and fit are at the heart of partnerships; striking a relationship between a business understanding of our overall supply chain and its functionality, and why our consumers love our brand and product. The value of having the right fit and empathy from the people we are working with, and their understanding of our business, is the key to a successful partnership. Of course, this is a two-way street. As a business, we also need to understand our business partners and indeed need to be the right fit and have the right empathy for our partners

Passion

At Domino’s, we have a saying: ‘If you’re a true Dominoid, you have pizza sauce running through your veins’. A Dominoid is a term we use to describe someone who is particularly passionate about our purpose, ethos and is dedicated to living our values. I’m confident that each of our partners is a Dominoid. They want to come and work in our stores side by side with our franchisees to see how their products perform; they want to attend Domino’s annual Rally event; and like us, they are fundamentally driven by growth and want to grow alongside us.

So, through global shortages, how does Domino’s build supply chain resilience to ensure that our supply meets the demand of our customers? Collaborative, transparent, fruitful partnerships.