Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

I touched on the problem of expanding UK waistlines a few blogs ago and the topic popped up again recently when I was out and about shopping for clothes – no, not me. This is not as regular an event as it may be for senior management but due to the…

Have you ever “hunkered down”? I remember being asked to hunker down during a supply chain training course many years ago and I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Eventually I had to ask as failing to follow the hunker downwards request appeared…

Wow, four years have flashed past since the London Olympic bunting was packed away and the metal polish put back under the sink. The 2016 Rio games are well and truly underway and the cauldron flame is alight for the duration. Over 11,000…

As we one again celebrate St George's Day and the 400th birthday of William Shakespeare (also the date he died, coincidentally) what would the great bard think about Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) in FMCG businesses? Let us take a look...... Is…

I am back on line again after a few days’ holiday post completion of some challenging factory footprint project work. One of the first catch-up meetings I have had was with an FMCG CEO. No names of course, but this is a medium-large sized player…

The sun is shining high in the sky and you are driving your Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet 2.0 TDi with the top down on a six lane highway. There is a long drive ahead for you and your three friends but with this car on this road things should turn out…

If you still rely on Traditional Trade (TT) distribution for a significant part of your business then read on! Over-stocking Distributors happens by stealth and the consequences creep up on you until suddenly and without warning you hit a brick wall…

The global recession rumbles on and on and on like Coronation Street – which will end first? Once again it is Greece holding out a cap for another IMF/EU bale out? Spain and others remain on the brink and France/Germany seem to be keeping their own…

Some FMCG organisations are comfortable with the idea of using consultants while others avoid them like the plague. Having been on both sides of the fence with respect to supply chain consultancy services I can appreciate the pros and cons for each…

Probably sitting at number two in the most popular excuses offered when FMCG sales did not happen as planned is parallel or grey trade. Without doubt greys, “passing off” and counterfeits can have an impact on FMCG sales but I was surprised how they…

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat and you might want to put a penny or even a Euro in an old man’s hat. Once again it is nearly time for a cynical Supply Chain Santa to distribute presents to the FMCG/Brewing/Pharmaceutical Board…

Ebenezer Bruise is a miserly, cold-hearted FMCG CEO, who continues to berate his Supply Chain people even as Christmas approaches. As far as Bruise is concerned every problem in the company is caused by Supply Chain. He rejects a Christmas dinner…

We have invested in a new waste bin for the kitchen. Even with our strict regime of recycling as much waste as possible that small flip-up bin inside a cupboard just was not big enough. Yes, the lid dutifully popped up when the cupboard door was…

Dear Santa, I have been a very good FMCG CEO this year, I promise. If you want, you can check with my shareholders. They know how good I have been this year. Apart from the out of stocks of course, oh and the little mistake where we had to write…

Christmas is coming around quickly so who better than Noddy Holder and Slade to suggest you give a Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) process to your business as a present. This Christmas song has been heard at Christmas every year since 1973! If…