A coffee with Elvira Pinedo, supply chain director luxury at L'ÓREAL

An industrial engineer by training and a logistics background, with more than 15 years of professional career in different areas of the supply chain mainly at L’Oréal and passing through Paris to live in the lungs of the organisation. Having been part of the Boy Scouts since the age of 8 and with all my experiences, I was taught that people and talent have to be at the centre of the operation as an indispensable lever for any business transformation and development.

Empack and Logistics & Automation Porto:

Firstly, tell us what it means to be a director of a luxury supply chain within the company, what does your job entail?

Elvira Pinedo:

What a great question! I would say that my job is to orchestrate a great team to get the product to our customers’ points of sale at the right time, with the right quality and cost. We have a large (and precious) portfolio of brands and are in many distribution models and from my team we have to ensure that all distribution is well nourished with our brands’ product portfolio. Within the supply chain of L’Oréal divisions, we have two very important areas: the first is sourcing and demand forecasting and the second is customer service. And, of course, the coordination between the two is key to have a good End to End process and to ensure the satisfaction of our customers and the availability of our products on the shelves. It is also key in my job to keep a long-term vision in order to adapt to this changing market and to the wishes of the customer and the consumer.

Empack and Logistics & Automation Porto:

After more than 15 years of professional career within the group, what do you think were the biggest challenges you faced and what projects do you remember or would you highlight in your professional career?

Elvira Pinedo:

L’Oréal accompanies our career, giving us the freedom to go further. This materialises in challenges that help us grow personally and are the way to drive the business to achieve the results we are getting. At L’Oréal we believe in transformation and change as a driver for growth and so every phase I have been through over the years I have felt I was facing a big challenge: Including brands in our portfolio (Yves Saint Laurent) as Demand Planner, going to Paris for SOP and managing a global launch of Armani, growing the retail model with Kiehl’s, experiencing the pandemic in the FMCG division with an explosion of colour, the union of Spain and Portugal, and now this year, the biggest challenge: an unprecedented technological project with Spain and Portugal being pioneers in the development of the solution globally where we are moving to SAP Hana. And I cannot forget the transversal challenge of sustainability that we all share together at L’Oréal under the company’s purpose: to create the beauty that moves the world.

Empack and Logistics & Automation Porto:

A year ago, L’Oréal Spain opened its new headquarters in Madrid, an ambitious project of almost 20,000 m2 and capacity for more than 1,170 employees in the heart of Madrid’s new innovation district. L’Oreal’s new headquarters in Spain was built to obtain two of the most important international distinctions in environmental sustainability and well-being. What can you tell us about this project, which has already been in place for a year?

Elvira Pinedo:

It was a long-awaited step because L’Oréal listened to us and built this new headquarters which is amazing and has been designed with strict environmental, technological and wellness criteria. All the spaces in the new headquarters have been designed around three axes:

Go Flex: workplaces are better and we can freely choose the best place to work depending on the moment and the task to be carried out. Key to cohesion, collaboration and innovation.

For its part, Go Tech responds to digitalisation and connectivity, and Go Well is committed to sustainability in the design of spaces and focuses on caring for people. We employees value the fact that the company makes the effort to take care of our health and well-being (gym with classes, health coach, physiotherapy, breastfeeding room…). And we also care about being part of a company that aims to be sustainable.

L’Oréal’s new headquarters in Spain was built to obtain two of the most important international distinctions in environmental sustainability and well-being (LEED Platinum certification and the Well label), in line with the commitments set out in its “L’Oréal For the Future” programme.

Empack and Logistics & Automation Porto:

Finally, do you think that the pandemic has changed L’Oreal’s perspective on business development, and is it possible that there are now areas that have been identified as growth areas due to changing consumer habits?

Elvira Pinedo:

We have learnt many things from the pandemic, especially the power of being flexible, agile and adaptable. One of L’Oréal’s main strengths is its brands and this has not changed, but in business development, the weight of e-commerce is evident, as well as the search for new distribution models. And knowing how to maintain Brick & Mortar and grow e-commerce at the same time is key. In this sense, the pandemic has accelerated the digital development in which we at L’Oréal had already been pioneers, and CRM, which we were already working on, has become essential to know our consumers and define our strategy. On the other hand, the pandemic has put pressure on the logistics industry in many ways, which has also put the supply chain at the centre of attention. It has been a challenge for us, but a very good opportunity to add value and differentiate ourselves. It has helped us strengthen our relationship with customers to make smart decisions and manage rapidly changing demand levels well.