Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog
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We are passionate about Route to Market and supply chain management and we are delighted to share our thoughts with you. We would like to hear from you too, so please comment on our posts or contact us.
Doing Business in Africa – S&OP is part of the answer
Michael Thompson Wed, Jun 30, 2010
A short rest from the World Cup today. I speaking to a colleague today who had attended a conference last week about doing business in Nigeria. There were echoes from several chats I have had recently with some of our West African clients including…
England Out of Africa
Michael Thompson Wed, Jun 30, 2010
"... and another thing ... they're all paid millions ... and now it's all over, they all disappear on holiday ..." (leaving us to pick up the pieces of our shattered dreams is the unspoken message). And so continues another England footballing…
Vuvuzelas and the value of S&OP
Dave Jordan Tue, Jun 29, 2010
Suddenly, many companies in South Africa are grossly overstocked with red, white and blue Vuvuzelas! They will not be allowed at Wimbledon and even the cricket authorities would think twice. Skiing, possibly? There may be quite some capital tied up…
SKU Proliferation and its’ effect on your FMCG Customer Service
Dave Jordan Tue, Jun 22, 2010
Sku's sneak onto price lists when nobody is looking. Sales & Marketing colleagues like launches with lengthy lists of skus; different flavours, different sizes, different colours. How many shelf facings do they want? How do these decisions get…
Doing FMCG, Pharma Business in Africa : England vs USA World Cup
Michael Thompson Wed, Jun 16, 2010
The inevitable post-match, post-mortem. A bunch of lad's dads extolling wisdom & virtue on a Sunday morning after the night before. What was Capello thinking about? If we can't beat the USA, what hope is there? Green the villain; Green the…
Africa, the World Cup, & Supply Chain – what’s the connection?
Michael Thompson Tue, Jun 15, 2010
Well it has finally started. The world cupis here. And Africa is centre stage again in the collective conscious of the world. Not since the G8 summit in July 2008 has the world turned its attention to Africa; too often the forgotten continent.…
7 Ways to avoid overstocking FMCG distributors in CEE
Dave Jordan Wed, Jun 09, 2010
This is relatively easy but it requires rigour and discipline plus top-down leadership ideally through a harmonious S&OP process. Month, quarter and year-end push. -- Run your business on one set of numbers agreed at Board level and ensure NOBODY…
7 Deadly Sins: Why FMCG Distributors are Overstocked in CEE
Dave Jordan Fri, Jun 04, 2010
Make no mistake Mr. Producer, YOU put the stock there, oh yes you did! Distributors don't buy stock for a laugh and a giggle. Excess stock blocks up their warehouses and locks up their cash. Month, quarter and year-end push. "Targets have to be met…
What leaders of FMCG S&OP processes could learn from Fabio Capello!
Christian Cusworth Fri, Jun 04, 2010
Before Capello leads England to world cup glory in South Africa (you read it here second!) There is much to observe about his approach to leadership in the context of Supply Chain and S&OP in particular: Makes Decisions. At the end of the…
OTC Distributor Payment terms in today’s Romanian pharma market
Lucian Cretu Tue, Jun 01, 2010
As a representative of an OTC producer in Romania, I would bet that the challenge of 100+ days payment terms set by your Distributers is on your "Top 3 issues" list. If you have been involved in the Romanian pharmaceutical market for some time…
Top tips to improve 3PLP cycle counting & avoid suffering stock shock
Dave Jordan Mon, May 31, 2010
Stock counting is such a pain that it is lucky you are only required to count your stock once per annum under most jurisdictions. If you really think it is "lucky" then you are fooling yourself. Count your stock once per year and you are asking for…
Working With 3PLP’s in CEE - When did you last see your stock count?
Dave Jordan Tue, May 18, 2010
People over a certain age talk about times when they could leave their front doors open or when people found money and took it to a police station. Long-gone days, sadly. Nowadays, if you leave your front door open all you belongings will be stolen…
10 Tips for improving performance through closer Logistics Service Provider relationships
Christian Cusworth Thu, May 13, 2010
An open and transparent engagement with your LSP can deliver tangible business benefits in addition to a less stressed working environment; consider some of the following pointers in your relationships with LSPs. Information sharing: Be willing to…
Forecasting – The Great Unknown?
Keith Marshall Mon, May 10, 2010
The sales forecast is the main driver of the S&OP process. This is the critical input to the process and the successes of all subsequent planning actions are dependent on the accuracy of the forecast. Working as a supply chain consultant for…
Logistics: Working With 3rd Party Logistics Providers (3PLPs) in CEE
Dave Jordan Wed, May 05, 2010
If you have outsourced your logistics operation to a 3rd party logistics provider (3PLP) in CEE and you have any of the following problems: Unexplained stock losses Poor communication Delivery delays Inefficiency Cost increases Picking errors…
