While the procurement team at paper and packing firm MeadWestvaco is focused on reducing commodity costs, it's also taking a lead role in the company's product stewardship and sustainability efforts. And where the two areas of focus cross over, the procurement organization sees much potential.

MeadWestvaco's "Stewardship and Sustainability" strategy focuses on environmental, social and economic responsibility. While procurement is active in all three areas of the strategies, it focuses most on environmental and economic areas. The procurement organization is working with various other internal organizations to combat these trends with some out-of-the-box thinking.

"In a lot of cases, the materials and processes we had been using had been working well for years, so people assumed this was the only way to do things," says Craig Reed vice president, sourcing at MeadWestvaco in Glen Allen, Va. "It was important to take a fresh perspective at what was available."

For example, according to Reed, a major concern for the company is cost of energy and its impact on plastic resins, a major spend area for the consumer solutions division. Rather than focus purely on price, MeadWestvaco has been reassessing how it utilizes the products in its manufacturing of the finished goods.

"In resins, we have been looking at how much virgin material we have to use vs. regrind material, so we can offset the overall cost, but without compromising quality," says Reed.

Value analysis and value engineering techniques have been a useful tool for MeadWestvaco in achieving its sustainability and cost goals. Reed's group tries to re-spec products to reduce the amount of material used as well as the amount of waste that is inherent in the process. The company calls this "lightweighting."

In resins, we have been looking at how much virgin material we have to use vs. regrind material, so we can offset the overall cost, but without compromising quality.” —Craig Reed, vice president, Sourcing, Meadwestvaco.

MeadWestvaco also works with its key suppliers to see if they can recommend any lower-cost alternative materials that still meet the overall performance requirements that it needs for the specific material. While it was not difficult to get members of the internal team to realize the benefits of taking a fresh look at things, the company found that some of its suppliers were initially reticent to participate in the changes, because the traditional ways were advantageous to them, such as existing protocols and procedures in terms of how MeadWestvaco purchased from them.

One critical key to all of the initiatives is adopting the mentality of "owning" the commodities and becoming educated about what is happening in the commodities markets. And from there, the buyer can educate the business about those commodities.