Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

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…

The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, states that for many phenomena 80% of the result comes from 20% of the effort. This principal is often applied in business, and for good reason, it works. Targeting our effort and resource where it will have…

Finally, Friday afternoon and looking forward to running out of school with a whole weekend of football ahead (other sports are available). Just a double Biology lesson to get through and then 2 days of freedom from books, blackboards and bugs.…

The new normal brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on so many issues regarding corporate Route to Market (RtM) strategies. What many companies now face is the truth that has been hidden for years - we cannot race with unstable or…

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% -…

Arguably the most important element to any Route to Market strategy for a consumer goods company is their Distribution Strategy. Very often, when results are not coming in, the distributors get the blame and may even be replaced. Too often, their…

On a daily basis the amount of care we give to the human body is remarkably little. When you are feeling in good shape, the best the body can hope for is a good wash, a brush of the teeth and a slap of moisturiser. What else? Haircut, skin peel and…

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…

I am going to continue with some sporting analogies, as I did in my last blog, Route to Market Roles and Avoiding Square Pegs in Round Holes. There are many common areas across many sports, but there is at least one specific area of sport that…

A colleague who works for a global multinational in a large African market has asked an interesting question, which also points to a wider issue across the Route to Market function. I feel it is worth sharing as a topic of discussion. The question…

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein. I think most of us will be pleased to see the back of 2020. COVID 19 has changed the way we have had to live and work and anybody who thinks they…

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…