Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

How many times do you find this happening? Someone asks you if you saw that blockbuster film last week or if you saw the new comedy series starring Rowan Atkinson or even if you saw the football match last night where Manchester United finally…

Recognition. Everyone needs to feel a bit of warmth and appreciation at some stage at home and work or life can be a bit of a drudge. Recognition of an achievement or responsibility can take various forms. At school, recognition as the class Milk…

I don’t know why I looked this up now but I did. Do you remember the Icelandic volcano that erupted in 2010 and caused so much havoc to supply chains in and around Europe? Most people do as they were affected in some way either in professional or…

I had a terrible row last weekend. Everything seemed to be going well; no stress, nothing to worry about just getting along nicely then boom! There was screaming, pain and I have to admit I was close to shedding tears as the incident unfolded.…

There is your dilemna. You need to save cash towards an expensive year-end holiday but you really do not know the best place from where to take the money. Do you take it from your day to day current account which is already set up to pay the routine…

Well I find it strange anyway. Whenever I go to see my doctor she always greets me with a cheery “good morning, how are you?” I always feel like replying “well I‘m in your clinic so there is a fair chance I need some medical advice or assistance”.…

Those of a certain age and a fondness for seriously daft comedy may recognise these lines from a Monty Python song. The full version is available here but this short section provides the general gist of the lyrical content quality: He likes traffic…

One of the commonest responses I receive when discussing Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) with prospective clients having growth problems is “….but we have S&OP in place so we do not need any assistance”. “Ok, then why do you have negative…

The CEO/GM/”head honcho” or whatever “big boss” is to the local company plans a visit to your territory. These events are usually planned well in advance to get fixed in the diaries of the senior people and if such a visit is a rarity you must…

Some time ago I wrote about the way spreadsheets were undermining expensively assembled ERP’s in FMCG, Brewing and Pharmaceutical companies. They still are, by the way. Recently, a paper on Public Debt and Austerity published by 2 eminent Harvard…

Is your Route To Market (RTM) network sluggish? Does your system frequently stall and cause frustration? Sales performance not going to plan? Competitors streaking ahead of you? Is your boss at Corporate HQ giving you a rough time? What can you do?…

I took a look at how technology has changed the way Supply Chains work in a previous blog. During my recent trip to foreign parts – yes, Birkenhead and most of UK is foreign to me now – I saw modern technology in action like I have never seen before…

When I was managing an FMCG factory in Saudi Arabia one of the most frustrating challenges was the lack of factory capability understanding of Sales & Marketing colleagues and some detached Board members. People who have never worked in factories…

I spent Easter in UK suffering the bitter cold, visiting the heiress and once more watching Tranmere Rovers lose live. Whether on TV or in person I have not seen them win for several years now so I am developing a jinx complex. This season they have…

I have tried to understand how the USA presidential election system works and even after several elections I still struggle.The last few months when it comes down to one against one is fairly straightforward but the earlier jostling for position is…