Archive for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
How Objective are Category Captains?
· CommentsAs I’ve mentioned before (here and here), I’ve been researching the ROI associated with consumer goods (CG) companies using downstream data (e.g., POS, store level inventories, and DC-to-store shipments). One of the conclusions that I have reached is that Category Managers get a better ROI from their investments in this area than other consumer goods manufacturers.
Category Management might be new to many supply chain professionals, so… Continue reading
I’ve been researching the ROI associated with consumer goods (CG) companies using downstream data (e.g., POS, store level inventories, and DC-to-store shipments). As part of this research, I recently spoke with a supply chain director at a very large CG company who asked, “Why can’t my supply chain team think like my category managers?”
A little background will help you understand his lament. Large CG manufacturers generally have account teams… Continue reading
Every once in a while it is interesting to conduct an internet search on the phrase “supply chain profits.” Here are two interesting stories from the fourth quarter of 2009 that I uncovered.
In a Wall Street Journal article by Ilan Brat and Anjali Cordiero published in September, supply chain initiatives were credited with helping General Mills raise its earnings forecast for its fiscal year and the… Continue reading
The Perfect Order Metric is Not Sufficient
· CommentsThe Perfect Order is often recognized as the highest level of customer service. It can be defined in different ways, but the traditional definition includes four elements: order completeness, timeliness, condition, and documentation. In other words, to be considered perfect, an order must be delivered to the customer’s distribution center (DC) complete, on time, free of damage, and accompanied by the correct invoice and other documentation.
[caption id=”attachment_2808″ align=”aligncenter”… Continue reading
We are coming up on February 1st 2010, the day that Walmart starts enforcing the penalties associated with its Supply Chain Reliability Program. If you are not familiar with the program, below are excerpts from the letter that Walmart sent to suppliers on Oct. 15th, 2009.
Dear Valued Supplier,
Walmart and Sam’s Club are continually seeking to improve our supply chain efficiency…Therefore, in order to better serve our customers… Continue reading
Filling a Void in Shelf-level Collaboration
· CommentsI recently spoke with Mike Spindler, the CEO of ShelfSnap, about the company’s entry into the “shelf-level collaboration” arena.
(Quick aside: As I mentioned in a previous posting, I prefer the term “Shelf-level Collaboration Solutions” over Demand Signal Repository (DSR) products because I believe it’s both more accurate and evocative.)
ShelfSnap is in start-up mode, and although the company has conducted some interesting pilots for large… Continue reading
Angélique Moon, Director of Product Management for Consumer Goods at Oracle, briefed me recently on Oracle’s Demand Signal Repository (DSR) solution. At the end of the presentation, Ms. Moon and I bemoaned the fact that the vocabulary used to describe these types of products is not very good. Shortly after, I had a similar conversation with Razat Guarav, the SVP of Sales at i2 Technologies (both Oracle and… Continue reading
In an interview with Brandweek published this past April, Jim Stengel, the former global marketing officer at Procter & Gamble, was asked what he viewed as the greatest challenges facing marketers in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Here is an excerpt of his response:
I don’t think things are going to go back to where they were three years ago. Understanding real consumer trends and being… Continue reading
