A WORLD LEADER IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION OF INNOVATIVE PLASTIC PACKAGING SOLUTIONS
STRATEGIC PROCUREMENT FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Insights from Jason Gordon, Director of Procurement at ALPLA North America
Jason Gordon, Director of Procurement at ALPLA North America, has dedicated his career to advancing procurement strategies that drive operational success and support sustainability goals. With an impressive background in procurement and supply chain management, Jason has been instrumental in transforming ALPLA’s procurement function into a strategic enabler of the company’s ambitious objectives. In this interview, he shares his vision for the future of procurement at ALPLA, emphasising the importance of digital transformation, innovation, and sustainable practices. Jason discusses how procurement is evolving into a critical component of the company’s broader business strategy, and the role it plays in achieving ALPLA’s long-term goals of growth, sustainability, and operational excellence.
Career Journey and Role at ALPLA North America
Can you share your professional background and the path that led you to your current role as Director of Procurement at ALPLA North America?
I hold a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University at Buffalo, where I also earned an MBA with a focus on Supply Chain and Marketing. I began my career as a purchasing agent for a medical device company, quickly discovering a passion for procurement. Over the years, I have taken on increasingly senior roles within various manufacturing organisations, transitioning from tactical to strategic responsibilities. After six years leading the procurement organisation for the Americas at a major folding carton converter, I embraced a new challenge at ALPLA. In this role, I am leading the transformation journey for the North American region, tasked with evolving an already successful organisation into a strategic business partner. My focus has been on developing and empowering the team to support the company’s growth ambitions.
Procurement’s Role in ALPLA’s Mission
How does the procurement function align with and support ALPLA’s mission to be a world leader in the development and production of innovative plastic packaging solutions?
Since joining ALPLA, the Procurement function has shifted its focus from simply targeting cost reductions to driving value across the organisation. By aligning with ALPLA’s growth objectives, Procurement supports new product development, market expansion, and customer satisfaction, reinforcing the company’s position as an industry leader. Through close partnerships with our commercial and technical teams and collaborative engagement with operations, we are fostering a culture of cross-functional collaboration. A key pillar of our global strategy is achieving top-line growth to $10 billion by 2035. To support this goal, we have aligned our procurement strategy and organisation to focus not only on bottom-line improvements through cost-saving initiatives but also on enabling top-line growth. This approach includes cultivating strong relationships with strategic suppliers to drive innovation and co-development, further cementing ALPLA’s market leadership. Additionally, Procurement plays a crucial role in advancing ALPLA’s sustainability goals by sourcing circular materials, prioritising recyclable solutions through supplier partnerships, and championing the use of renewable resources within the supply chain.
Sustainable Procurement Practices
Sustainability is a key focus for ALPLA. Could you elaborate on the initiatives your team has implemented to promote sustainability and ethical practices within the supply chain?
In 2021, I took on the leadership of ALPLA’s sustainability organisation in North America, recognising the natural synergy between sustainability and procurement. Since then, we have worked to establish a robust culture of sustainability within the region, building on the strong foundation already in place across the ALPLA group. A key focus area is ensuring that we operate as a responsible manufacturer at all production sites. This includes supporting our carbon reduction goals by introducing more renewable energy solutions and increasing the use of post-consumer recycled content. Procurement plays a vital role in driving these initiatives forward. We also extend our efforts upstream in the supply chain, ensuring that our supply partners operate ethically and are well-positioned to support our sustainability goals. Beyond reducing our carbon footprint, we emphasise foundational sustainability principles, such as implementing active recycling programs at every production site to continually reduce landfill contributions. Through these efforts, we aim to drive meaningful progress toward a more sustainable future.
Leveraging Technology in Procurement
With advancements in technology, how is ALPLA integrating digital tools and data analytics to enhance procurement processes and decision-making?
ALPLA is embracing digital tools and data analytics to transform its procurement processes and enhance decision-making. The benefits of this integration are clear: real-time insights and automated processes enable faster, more informed decisions, while improved visibility and analytics support smarter purchasing choices, reducing waste and costs. A key example of this transformation is the implementation of the Icertis Contract Intelligence platform, which streamlines contract management across procurement, sales, and legal operations.
Additionally, I firmly believe that accurate and reliable data is the cornerstone of any procurement organisation’s ability to make strategic sourcing decisions. To that end, we are partnering with Simfoni to integrate their spend analytics platform into our operations. This platform’s advanced algorithms will help us analyse spending patterns, uncover cost-saving opportunities, and minimise maverick spend. These initiatives are part of ALPLA’s larger digital transformation strategy aimed at modernising operations and driving greater efficiency. By leveraging these tools and insights, I am committed to advancing procurement from a cost-focused function to a strategic engine of value and innovation.
Managing Supplier Relationships and Compliance
What strategies does ALPLA employ to maintain strong, ethical relationships with suppliers and ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations?
ALPLA implements a range of strategies to uphold strong, ethical relationships with suppliers while ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations. Central to this is our comprehensive supplier code of conduct, which reflects our corporate social responsibility values. This code sets clear expectations for ethical practices, including adherence to labor rights, environmental stewardship, and anti-corruption measures.
We prioritise transparency through robust management processes, detailed selfassessment and risk analysis guidelines, and proactive engagement with key suppliers. A significant focus is our commitment to covering 100% of our key suppliers under our enhanced Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) program. This program includes regular assessments and monitoring to ensure suppliers meet ALPLA’s quality, regulatory, and ethical standards, among other benchmarks.
Fostering trust, promoting sustainability, and driving operational excellence are at the heart of maintaining these strong, ethical partnerships. These strategies ensure our supply chain aligns with ALPLA’s values and supports our long-term goals.
How ALPLA Transformed
Procurement with Simfoni
ALPLA, a global plastic packaging manufacturer, needed a better way to manage spend, improve data accuracy, and drive procurement efficiency. With Simfoni, ALPLA gained a trusted partner that not only delivered cutting-edge procurement technology but also ensured data integrity, automation, and strategic insights to optimize spend.
—Enhanced Visibility & Data Accuracy
Real-time analytics and proactive data validation ensured credible, high-quality insights.
—Increased Efficiency
& Stakeholder Confidence
Automated processes freed internal resources, while defensible data strengthened procurement’s credibility with leadership.
—Enhance Savings Identification
Improved visibility helped the team identify more savings opportunities - supplier consolidation, purchase price variance, payment terms optimization.
Reinvent your spend management with Simfoni: AI-powered, consumption-based spend management solutions that pay for themselves in months – guaranteed!
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The clarity and insights provided by the Simfoni platform make it easier to align teams and drive data-backed decisions across the organization.
ALPLA for credible, defensible variance, and
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Mark Sloan,
Procurement Manager,
Schedule a Consultation with Simfoni
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About Simfoni
Simfoni is a global leader in AI-driven procurement solutions, helping manufacturers like ALPLA Werke maximize spend efficiency, streamline sourcing, and drive procurement excellence. Simfoni’s AI-powered platform enhances supplier transparency, mitigates risk, and delivers measurable savings across all spend categories. Whether navigating strict FDA regulations or optimizing fragmented tail spend, Simfoni equips procurement teams with real-time insights, automation, and flexible sourcing strategies to improve efficiency and strengthen supply chains.
At the core of Simfoni’s platform is the Strategic Spend Terminal—a fully integrated solution that unifies Spend Analytics, eSourcing, Sourcing Pipeline, Savings Tracking, and Contract Management into a seamless ecosystem. By automating workflows and leveraging AI-powered analytics, Simfoni enables procurement teams to make faster, smarter decisions—unlocking measurable savings and long-term value.
Simfoni’s AI-powered platform automates data classification and spend analysis, providing real-time visibility into procurement activities. These insights help teams identify cost-saving opportunities, optimize sourcing strategies, and mitigate risks with confidence.
According to Jason Gordon, Director of Procurement at ALPLA Werke, “Their commitment to data accuracy has been remarkable—at times, they’ve shown even more dedication to ensuring precision than we did ourselves. It’s genuinely refreshing to see them fully deliver on their promises.”
Simfoni’s Enterprise Tail Spend Management solution helps organizations gain control over fragmented spend, reduce transaction costs, and streamline supplier management— driving efficiency across the procurement lifecycle.
“Tail spend reduction has been a key focus for us, and Simfoni’s platform is helping us streamline low-value transactions and negotiate better pricing with preferred vendors.”
With a unique SaaS + Services model, Simfoni offers flexibility, allowing companies to selfmanage procurement or leverage expert sourcing support. Its cloud-based, rapid deployment model delivers ROI in weeks, not months, by providing instant access to market insights, supplier performance data, and dynamic sourcing events. To further maximize value, Simfoni offers a consumption-based pricing model, ensuring organizations only pay for the value they receive—aligning costs with usage and measurable savings.
Connect with Simfoni
To learn more about how Simfoni can help your organization unlock procurement excellence, contact us at www.simfoni.com or click here to schedule a demo.
Strategic Collaboration with Simfoni
Can you elaborate on the strategic partnership between ALPLA North America and Simfoni? How has their technology and expertise enhanced spend visibility and streamlined procurement processes for your organisation?
Our partnership with Simfoni is still relatively new, but it has already proven to be an incredibly positive experience. The Simfoni team has been highly responsive, ensuring a smooth and refreshing onboarding process. Their commitment to data accuracy has been remarkable—at times, they’ve shown even more dedication than we would have expected from an external partner. It’s genuinely refreshing to see them fully deliver on their promises, embodying a service-first approach.
Their technology, particularly their spend management platforms, consolidates data from multiple sources into a single, comprehensive dashboard. This will significantly enhance the credibility of our data, empowering us to make more informed business decisions. I’m especially excited to begin utilising their AI-driven analytics tools, which will allow us to uncover trends, identify outliers, and pinpoint opportunities for cost savings.
Ultimately, this partnership is set to reduce manual effort for my team while enhancing the depth and precision of our spend analysis. I’m confident that things will continue to improve from here.
Data-Driven Decision-Making
How has Simfoni’s solutions empowered ALPLA North America to make more data-driven procurement decisions, and what measurable impact has this had on your overall operational efficiency and cost management?
We are still in the onboarding phase, so while I can’t yet speak to specific decisions made using the Simfoni solution, I’ve already seen enough to feel confident that it’s the right fit for us. Our engagement with their team has already helped us identify gaps and inaccuracies in our data, which has started to yield tangible benefits.
By addressing these inaccuracies, my team now feels more empowered to make data-driven procurement decisions and has gained a fresh perspective on how we view and utilise data. This shift has also fostered greater collaboration with other departments, as we can now leverage more credible data on spending habits to influence actions and drive alignment.
This is just the beginning. Once the spend management platform is fully live and integrated into our daily processes, we anticipate a significant boost in procurement efficiency and substantial cost improvements.
Optimising Tail Spend Management
Tail spend is often a challenge for organisations. How has your collaboration with Simfoni helped ALPLA North America tackle tail spend management, and what benefits have you observed in terms of cost savings and supplier relationships?
Effectively managing tail spend is a challenge that keeps even the most experienced procurement professionals up at night. Simfoni’s approach to addressing tail spend through their technology solution is what initially drew us to them. Their ability to consolidate and categorise tail spend data provides clear insights into spending patterns and supplier activity.
Tail spend reduction has been a key focus for us over the past three years, and with Simfoni’s platform, we’re confident this will finally help us streamline the number of suppliers for low-value transactions, while enabling us to negotiate better pricing and terms with preferred vendors. I’m particularly excited about our first opportunity assessment with the Simfoni team, which will focus on leveraging their solution to uncover cost-saving opportunities specifically in the area of tail spend.
There are several benefits I’m confident we can achieve. Chief among them is the ability to transform tail spend from a persistent challenge into a strategic opportunity. We anticipate this will lead to measurable cost savings, stronger supplier relationships, and improved operational efficiency.
Adapting to Market Volatility and Supply Chain Disruptions
The global market is subject to volatility. How does ALPLA’s procurement function adapt to changes in market conditions, such as fluctuations in commodity prices or supply chain disruptions?
Adapting to the volatility of today’s global market, including fluctuations in commodity prices and supply chain disruptions, requires a proactive and flexible approach within our procurement organisation. Prior to joining ALPLA, enforcing a force majeure clause in contractual agreements was uncommon. However, in this industry, our key material suppliers frequently experience qualifying force majeure events, necessitating a highly resilient supply chain.
From hurricanes and winter freezes in Houston to the challenges of COVID-19, I have navigated numerous disruptions and successfully ensured that our plants remained operational and our customers consistently supplied. To mitigate risks, we partner with multiple suppliers for critical raw materials, reducing reliance on any single source. We also balance global and local sourcing to minimise the impact of geopolitical or logistical challenges and collaborate closely with suppliers to strengthen their resilience and ability to adapt to evolving demands.
Looking ahead, I aim to harness the growing potential of AI technologies to enhance our capabilities in predictive analytics and scenario planning. These tools will further protect against price volatility and supply chain disruptions, ensuring continued success and reliability in our operations.
Supporting Innovation through Procurement
How does the procurement team collaborate with other departments to foster innovation and bring new solutions to enhance ALPLA’s product offerings?
ALPLA’s procurement team collaborates closely with other departments to foster innovation and enhance product offerings through several key strategies. We emphasise cross-functional collaboration. ALPLA forms cross-functional teams that include members from procurement, our tech center, commercial, and operations. These teams work together to identify market needs, develop new products, and improve existing ones.
Engaging our suppliers is another collaborative tool we employ. ALPLA organises events where suppliers can present their latest innovations and technologies. We have the ability to host these sessions at our technical center in McDonough or at our supply partners’ innovation centers. These events facilitate direct interaction between suppliers and various ALPLA departments, fostering collaborative innovation.
ALPLA’s commitment to sustainability also drives innovation in product development. The procurement team works with suppliers and other departments to source sustainable materials and develop eco-friendly packaging solutions. These collaborative efforts help ALPLA stay at the forefront of innovation in the packaging industry, ensuring that we can meet evolving market demands and maintain our competitive edge.
Developing Talent in Procurement
What initiatives does ALPLA have in place to attract, develop, and retain top talent within the procurement function, and how do you foster a culture of continuous improvement?
ALPLA has implemented several initiatives to attract, develop, and retain top talent within the procurement organisation while fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Training is a key focus for our procurement team as we strive to build strong, dependable professionals who can support our transformation journey and emerge as future leaders, whether within procurement or other areas of the business. We aim to equip our talent with the skills needed to thrive both inside and outside of the procurement organisation.
From workshops on negotiation and influencing strategies to sessions on change management, we regularly provide training that ensures our team stays up-to-date with the latest industry practices and technologies. Additionally, ALPLA is opening a new Learning & Development Hub in Iowa City. This state-of-the-art facility will feature workshops, offices, and training rooms designed to support comprehensive apprenticeship programs and serve as a career pipeline for future manufacturing and business professionals.
The L&D Hub will play a central role in fostering continuous improvement through proactive learning, collaboration, and innovation. I am consistently exploring training strategies to position procurement as a dynamic and attractive career path while cultivating an environment where innovation and excellence can thrive.
Navigating Regulatory Challenges
In light of evolving regulations in the packaging industry, how does ALPLA’s procurement strategy address compliance and mitigate associated risks?
ALPLA’s procurement strategy is designed to address compliance with evolving regulations and mitigate associated risks through several key initiatives. As I also oversee our Sustainability organisation in North America, aligning our procurement strategy with our sustainability goals is a priority. Given the rapidly changing regulatory landscape in the packaging industry, we focus on integrating rigorous policies, fostering supplier collaboration, and leveraging strategic foresight to stay ahead.
In every procurement strategy session, our Sustainability Manager is an essential participant, outlining current and anticipated regulations to ensure these are incorporated from the outset. This approach enables us to prioritise sustainable procurement practices and align with broader organisational goals.
A key focus for ALPLA is designing products for recycling, ensuring packaging remains within the materials cycle for as long as possible. This not only mitigates environmental risks but also aligns with regulatory demands for sustainable packaging solutions.
Looking ahead, we plan to implement a global system in 2025 to monitor changes in packaging regulations, such as bans on single-use plastics, recycled content mandates, and extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements. These efforts position our procurement strategy to address compliance effectively while reinforcing ALPLA’s role as a leader in sustainability and innovation within the packaging industry.
Future Vision for Procurement at ALPLA
Looking ahead, what are your primary objectives for the growth and development of ALPLA’s procurement function in the next five years?
The primary objectives for the growth and development of ALPLA’s procurement function over the next five years center on transforming procurement into a strategic enabler of organisational success. My focus will be on fostering excellence within the procurement team by building competencies, upskilling talent, and driving consistency and efficiency through standardised processes. By leveraging advanced technology, we aim to enhance our effectiveness and instill confidence across the organisation.
The goal is to position procurement as a talent incubator for the business—developing skilled professionals who make impactful contributions across all areas and play a leading role in achieving ALPLA’s long-term strategic objectives. We will prioritise increasing the use of renewable, recyclable, and environmentally friendly materials, aligning with both regulatory requirements and ALPLA’s ambitious sustainability goals.
Our procurement team will champion and support the company’s digital transformation, adopting cutting-edge technologies to improve decision-making and operational efficiency. This includes implementing AI-driven tools for real-time analytics, demand forecasting, and supplier performance management. To foster innovation, I envision creating dedicated spaces or initiatives where we can collaborate with technical and commercial teams, as well as key supply partners, to experiment with new technologies, materials, and processes.
Ultimately, our procurement function will evolve from a traditionally operational role into a strategic powerhouse, driving innovation, sustainability, and resilience while delivering significant value to the organisation.
ALPLA, founded in 1955, is a global leader in plastic packaging solutions, specialising in innovative bottles, caps, and injection-molded parts. Operating 200 production plants across 46 countries, ALPLA serves diverse industries worldwide, emphasising sustainability through advanced recycling initiatives and responsible resource management.
Jason Gordon Director of Procurement