Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

Do you want fries with that? People who work in fast food outlets – I really cannot bring myself to label them as restaurants – must have specific training in dealing with non-standard orders. Can you imagine the temptation to audibly groan when in…

When we start the process of distributor selection, we need to be very clear about what we are looking for. A key question is this. What is our ideal Distributor Partner, or Model Distributor, we sometimes call them, and what do they look like?…

Blinkers? While you are tackling the day to day routine of crises, meetings, strategy and more crises while fending off the results pressure from global/regional HQ, you can lose a grip on the reality of how your company is operating. Creeping…

I am often asked what is the single most important thing that should be done after selecting a new distributor. Before I answer this question, let me recap the process of distributor selection. The three phases of Distributor Selection are: The…

A little bit of fun this week after the dreary focus on the UK General Election and England performances. Here comes the world's greatest drink sales guy! Summer is here and drinks producers across the globe will be battling for an increased share…

The dictionary definition of a Catalyst is: An agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action. Using our A-B-C of Route to Market model, the Catalyst Phase is when we execute or as we sometime call it ‘How to Win’. For distributor…

Too Little Too Late? Imagine Manchester City needing to score 5 goals in the last match of the season to win the English Premier League yet they do not start attacking with any intent until the 80th minute. Or the England cricket team needing to…

In my recent article I presented a Simple Guide to Selecting and Engaging Distributors using the A-B-C of Route to Market. As a reminder of the A-B-C of Route to Market, my aim is to simplify the world of RtM into a series of three steps that any…

Plan, Plan and Plan Again! All major companies run some sort of ERP to support their business whether they are FMCG, pharma, brewing or indeed anyone who “makes stuff” for Joe Public to buy. Many blue-chips have invested in big name software…

In my last Article and Post I presented a Simple Guide to Selecting and Engaging Distributors using the the A-B-C of Route to Market. As a reminder of the A-B-C of Route to Market, my aim is to simplify the world of RtM into a series of three steps…

In my last Post & Article I presented a new Route to Market (RtM) model, the aim of which was to bring together our RtM work in the last 5 years or so. This is the A-B-C of Route to Market. As a reminder, my aim is to simplify the world of RtM into…

In successful FMCG and other companies, Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) is the flexible glue that holds numerous processes together ensuring demand and supply are balanced along the chain and most importantly, everyone operates to the same set…

Myself and Enchange colleagues have written 100’s of posts and articles about Route to Market for well over five years. It is fair to say that our message has spread far and wide and attracted a lot of attention in the RtM and commercial world. I…

Cost saving klaxon alert!!!!!!! Picture the scene in many an FMCG boardroom. A terse note has arrived from the suits at HQ telling the boss to urgently reduce costs as the H1 or year-end result is not going to look pretty. Why do all the board…

If you do not specifically agree on what is expected between two parties before you start a relationship then anything and everything but success is likely. Would you buy a used car from a politician? You buy a new car and you get a contract that…