Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

The Enchange Supply Chain House; the one-stop shop for all the elements you need to achieve supply chain excellence. In successful FMCG companies, Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) is the flexible glue that holds numerous processes together…

The Enchange Supply Chain House; the one stop shop for all the elements you need to allow your supply chain to operate effectively. Now we take a deeper-dive look at what you need in place to obtain the best value from your overall Planning…

On 23 April we celebrate St George's Day and the birthday of William Shakespeare (also the date he died!). William wrote on many diverse subjects but here is one piece you will not find in a collection of his greatest works. I wonder what would the…

I know, I know. I know I am prone to rattle on about Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) but seeing the benefits being delivered to previously struggling businesses is extremely motivating for a confirmed “techy” like myself. Not permitted…

I cannot reveal the name of this specific organisation for obvious reasons but their Supply Chain is one very impressive, slick machine. Across the Source, Plan, Make and Deliver SCOR Supply Chain disciplines we see excellence, leading edge systems…

Once upon a time I worked in a well-known detergent powder factory in the north of England which has now sadly closed. The factory manager at the time must remain nameless but he had a habit of dragging people from the R&D Laboratory to show off his…

Fingers, toes and eyes crossed but it looks like there is some light at the end of the COVID 19 tunnel and it is not a train, hopefully. Getting back to normal is a top of mind desire for everyone but that normal will not be how we operated in 2019.…

Who coined that irritating term “Big Data”? How did we get there without normal sized data, slightly larger data, chubby data and bordering on big data? People working in or associated with extended Supply Chains may seem obsessed by data yet data…

Is it just me or does FMCG life seems to be increasingly full of initials? New examples seem to pop up on a weekly basis with COVID-19 being top of mind currently. In line with many business functions Supply Chain and other functions use multiple…

One of my Top 10 Supply Chain Improvement Resolutions for 2021 referred to SKU complexity and I recently discussed how that complexity negatively affects cost and service. With the discontinuity caused by COVID-19 many CEOs should be looking at…

Many SKUs sneak onto FMCG price lists when nobody is looking and this is far from facilitating constructive market development. Sales & Marketing colleagues prefer new launches to provide lengthy lists of SKUs; different fragrances, different sizes,…

Please bear with me for a while on this one; I will get to the Supply Chain stuff eventually. Do you know that on average 85% of a sample of expectant mothers suffer food cravings during pregnancy? Apparently, the top 5 must-haves are: Pickles 5% -…

Ok, I admit it, I started my career as an R&D scientist-type developing FMCG products for the European and Middle Eastern markets. I was actually using my chemistry qualification in industry, which is an opportunity not everyone receives after…

Well, what a year it has been. As 2020 stutters and stumbles to the end we all need to think about how our Supply Chains will operate in 2021 and beyond. Just like those old school photographs, your steady-state, stable 2018 set-up has gone and will…

The FMCG business is like a team sport. There are sales people sent into the field, to sell more products and beat their targets. There are players put on the sports field, charged with scoring points and winning the game. In both scenarios, if the…