Q4. How can CEMEX provide additional value to its bagged cement customers?

To its bulk
cement customers?
Supply Chain
Characteristics
Agile

Adaptable

Aligned

Bagged Cement
Supply Chain
Medium
Medium flow of information
with customers.
Medium level of development
of collaborative relationship
with suppliers.
Low
Limited use of intermediaries
in logistics services.
High concern about final
consumers.
Low
Limited flow of information
with suppliers and customers.
Limited use of supply
contracts sharing risk, costs or
gains.

Bulk Cement
Supply Chain
Low
No flow of information with
customers.
Medium level of development of
collaborative relationship with
suppliers
Medium
High use of intermediaries in
logistics services.
Medium concern about final
consumers.
Low
Limited flow of information with
suppliers and customers.
Limited use of supply contracts
sharing risk, costs or gains.

Bagged Cement
Introduction of Smaller packages
Cement is usually available in bags of 100 kgs. About 40-50 percent of total Mexican cement
consumption was by self-constructors, using bagged cement. At the micro-level, a homeowner
project (repairs, sidewalk, etc.) currently used bags. Therefore for this purpose they may not
require a complete bag of cement therefore providing smaller SKUs makes sense for these kind
of customers as they will be more readily accepted by the customers. It will also prevent
customers from delaying their buying decisions and help in boosting sales.
One true integrator as opposed to multiple suppliers
Complete integration, turnkey projects and one single contact are terms that have
become of great importance for producers in all industries. Companies that get involved in
bagging operations and focus on maximizing throughput, which minimizes production costs
per unit, should consider an equipment supplier that can provide not only the bagger, but also
the dosing equipment (feeder/scale) and the conveying, palletizing and stretch wrapping
systems. Only a handful of suppliers do the complete manufacturing and are able to integrate
entire bagging lines from A to Z
Improving the packaging of the bag
It is a very common occurrence that cement bags are covered by concrete dust: inevitably, the
wholesalers displays and the customers car trunks become dusty. Once solution to the
problem is the usage of polyethylene bags. They also help in increasing the shelf life of the

bagged product. The use of polyethylene bags for concrete products is totally new to the
industry. In fact, it is not easy to bag a dusty product at high temperatures (140170 C) with
heat sealable polyethylene bags. The reason is that poly bags must be strong enough to resist
high product temperatures but at the same time not be too thick, which would hinder the sealing
process.
Specialised Cement as per application type
Advancements in cement products, often developed or supported by cement companies, have
helped reduce disturbance associated with construction. For instance, self-leveling and selfcompacting concretes can significantly reduce noise associated with concrete applications.
Therefore adding more value to the bagged cement buyer
Improvement in the product
Some currently available products can extend the life of existing structures, e.g., magnesium
phosphate cement composites and polymer concrete applied to surfaces. In addition, concrete
can be formulated for a longer lifetime. Such practices reduce infrastructure-development costs
and decreasing, on a lifecycle basis, resource use and emissions.
Bulk Cement
Life Cycle Analysis
Use of lifecycle analysis and other analysis techniques to better understand the relative impacts
of various possible resource productivity improvements.
Usage of Rail or Pipeline Transport instead of trucks
For bulk cement it can be beneficial and more cost effective to use train or pipeline transport
for transporting the material over large distances. Fixed costs are high, due to rights of way,
construction and installation, but the variable cost is relatively low; and generally, this
encompasses routine maintenance and ongoing inspection/security. On operational
characteristics, the dependability is excellent; but this mode can only be used in very limited
situations and prone to the danger of bunkering.
Mobile Testing Laboratory
The company will take a revolutionary step by introducing Mobile testing laboratories to
provide concrete testing facility to customers at their construction site. Mobile testing
laboratories consisted of latest concrete strength testing equipment. This facility can be started
with a view to provide satisfaction to the customer regarding the quality of the product.
Moreover looking at the marketing aspect civil engineers from the technical cell keep on
visiting construction sites to promote their product by providing them knowledge about their
product and latest construction practices.
Implement Pull Replenishment Across The Value Chain.
To deal with pressure on costs and services, leading supply chain organizations implement pull
replenishment strategies across their entire value chains from customers to vendors. Doing so
requires a solid information infrastructure, regular inventory calibration, and the removal of
artificial demand distortions.