1 Suggest how global and regional supply chain groups work together. Our confectionery business is organised into four business segments which we call regions, and six global functions, as depicted in Figure 4.2.

Each region is focused on commercial operations in its geographical and product area, and also maintains teams from each of the six functions. The four regions are:

Britain, Ireland, Middle East and Africa (BIMA); Europe; Americas and Asia Pacific. On 15 March 2007, we announced that we intended to separate our Americas Beverages and confectionery businesses, and this process is currently underway.

The functions are Global Supply Chain, Global Commercial, Science & Technology, Human Resources, Finance and Information Technology, and Legal and Secretariat.

Each function has a small central team and regional presences which are coordinated by the central team. The role of Global Supply Chain is to ensure the reliable supply of product to satisfy our customers' expectations whether manufactured by us or by a third party. Supply Chain's role encompasses sourcing of ingredients and packaging materials, planning, manufacturing, distribution and customer services.