Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

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…

I will not reveal the name of the organisation for obvious reasons but their Supply Chain is clearly one very impressive, slick machine. Across the Source, Plan, Make and Deliver Supply Chain disciplines we can see excellence and leading edge…

The worlds of Supply Chain and popular music may be strange bed fellows but if you look closely you will see many a smash hit have a supply chain theme. Let us take a tongue-in-cheek look at the latest Supply Chain charts. I Want My ERP – Sting is…

If you are honest you have probably sat bored in an airport lounge waiting for your inevitably delayed flight and listened in on a conversation. Go on, admit it! If the discussion topic is not one with which you are familiar it can be as if you are…

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…

The English dictionary lists the definition of complexity as “the state or quality of being intricate or complicated: an issue of great complexity”. Wikipedia defines complexity in great detail and starts with “In general usage, complexity tends to…

Do you need to improve the availability of your products in the Traditional Trade? Do you know the strengths and weaknesses of your distributor network? Do you know what really happens after your products leave the warehouse? Is your network managed…

Whether your deployment of Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) is as solid as fine old Cheddar or is more like Emmental after a rodent rampage, you will benefit from this free e-book. The Enchange S&OP e-book tells you what S&OP is, what S&OP does,…

FMCG producers are often far too ready to blame their Distributors when sales do not go to plan and targets are not met. However, it is rarely all their fault particularly if producers are not clear on what is expected. To help Producers understand…

A sweeping generalisation I know, but generally Supply Chain Directors who serve International Key Account (IKA) customers are small in stature. This is not by way of genetics or natural selection; it is just the simple physical result of being…

Is the market getting any better, really? Many big name companies have announced indifferent Q4/Christmas results recently and all caution about the continuing "difficult market conditions”. Ok, so 2014 has been put to bed financially but many will…

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein How many of you will be reaching for an electric cigarette or giving up smoking altogether for the New Year? How long will it be before visits to the…

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…