Diageo North America honors top performing partners at the 2019 Supplier Awards

Diageo North America, a global leader in beverage alcohol, celebrated its 2019 Supplier Awards in Kentucky and recognized the supplier and demand partners that have played a critical role in driving value for the company by delivering outstanding quality, innovation, service and performance. In the context of the award ceremony, all the partners enjoyed a visit to the historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery -home to Bulleit Bourbon- one of the most impressive experiences along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail^®.

“We saw growth across our business and brands in fiscal 2019, which is a result of many contributions of our supply and demand partners across our entire value chain,” said Erik Snyder, President, Diageo North America Supply & Procurement. “In its ninth year, this celebration has become a tradition and I’m honored to come together with our valued suppliers to demonstrate our appreciation”.

The awards are given in nine categories, each representing specific supply and procurement criteria that positively impacted the company''s success in the past year and demonstrated strong commitment to Diageo''s business.

Below are the categories and winners for Diageo’s 2019 Supplier Awards:

• Supplier of the Year: Ardagh Group, Metal (Chicago, IL)
• Quality Excellence: Hub Folding Box Company (Mansfield, MA)
• Service Excellence: Midwest Warehouse (Woodridge, IL)
• Innovation Excellence: CCL Industries, Inc. (Toronto, ON)
• Diversity Excellence: Thorium Digital (East Brunswick, NJ)
• Value Creation: Pratt Industries (Conyers, GA)
• Breakthrough Collaboration: Vivid Impact Corporation (Louisville, KY)
• Breakthrough Performance: Nalco Water an Ecolab Company (St Paul, MN)
• Distinguished Honors - Special Projects: Wasserman Media Group (Los Angeles, CA)

Category Descriptions:

Supplier of the Year: This supplier has delivered overall stellar performance and played a key role in helping to make Diageo one of the best performing, most trusted and respected consumer products companies in the world. Collaborative and proactive, this partner has driven value for Diageo by providing superior quality, service, innovation, and value. Award criteria includes outstanding industry performance, social responsibility, and commitment to safety, environmental awareness and sustainability.

Quality Excellence: This supplier has demonstrated outstanding quality of the goods and/or services to Diageo. Award criteria includes the supplier''s contributions to capability improvements, root cause problem solving, and Six Sigma methodology to create and sustain zero-defect processes and supply chains. 

Service Excellence: This supplier has exceeded expectations in flexibility and responsiveness to meet changing supply chain requirements. This partner has also demonstrated a firm understanding of Diageo business needs and successfully delivered finished goods and/or services on time, in full, and as ordered. 

Innovation Excellence: This partner has demonstrated brilliant execution with new Diageo innovations and product offerings. Partnering closely with Diageo on special projects, this supplier has provided breakthrough performance and speed to market despite demanding timelines and changing requirements. Award criteria includes the supplier''s impact on Diageo''s ability to achieve sales growth and market share gain.

Diversity Excellence: This supplier is a diverse enterprise that has exemplified outstanding performance in execution and value creation. This supply partner has demonstrated flexibility to align with continuously changing requirements and exemplifies Diageo''s mission to expand opportunities for diverse supplier enterprises. 

Value Creation: This supplier has demonstrated the deepest commitment to Diageo''s continuous improvement culture while driving year over year cost reductions and overall value. This partner also helps Diageo create and maintain value creation through reliable performance, understanding of business needs and dedication to driving joint value.

Breakthrough Collaboration: This supplier has demonstrated a deep commitment to proactively identifying risks and opportunities in collaboration with key stakeholders across the business, while exhibiting exceptional communications capabilities and fostering an environment of teamwork. 

Distinguished Honors – Special Projects: This supply partner has made a substantial, positive impact on one or more Diageo brands or critical projects, and demonstrated leadership by initiating and propelling new and creative project ideas on time, on budget, and through proactive risk and opportunity identification. 

Breakthrough Performance: This supplier has successfully overcome challenging performance goals by delivering outstanding and measurable improvements in service, quality, and value.