Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

Impossible, over my dead body, not in a million years - the usual knee-jerk objections to any suggestion of getting too close to a competitive operation. Such comments are usually spouted by Marketing colleagues who are frankly living on agency…

The sharp, customer end of the extended supply chain continues to receive attention as companies implement and hone S&OP and RTM-style programmes. The multiple drivers include cost of course, but also customer service and a desire not to be out of…

Well, I find it strange anyway. Some very large companies spend countless hours and cash in finding and securing a third party logistic provider (3PLP) to take great care of their finished goods assets. The performance of the chosen 3PLP is then…

Whether your business is summer seasonal, e.g. beer, ice cream or you enjoy a relatively flat demand profile one of your key challenges will be to reach your Traditional Trade (TT) consumers. Where TT remains sizable and therefore important, your…

Previously I have looked at sku complexity in FMCG, Brewing and Pharmaceutical businesses and how it can affect customer service and profitability. This simple chart shows how you should be reviewing your sku portfolio to ensure your resources are…

Barcelona won the Champions League finally quite easily and to actually hear Sir Alex say something like “they gave us a good hiding” was refreshing. Messi was far from untidy and several Barcelona players looked head and shoulders above their…

Did anyone hear the loud clanging noise on Tuesday around 14.30? The sound was similar to a very large church bell being struck by a huge iron bar and that bar was in the hands of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnie was also in a very bad mood! The noise…

The average job description will run to a few pages of A4. Even after you have read your own it may not be completely clear what you should be doing. Here I have tried to encapsulate a selection of supply chain roles and processes in just a few…

Picture the scene in many a boardroom; a note has come from HQ telling the boss to reduce costs as globally the annual set of results is not going to look pretty. Why do all the board directors then look at their Supply Chain colleague? Of course…

Whether you call it co-packing or re-packing this involves the further manipulation of a finished and complete sku. Look around the shelves and the evidence of extra expense and work is displayed by special stickers, multi-packs and banded…

Once upon a time there was an FMCG company that I will refer to as “Foresight”. “Foresight” had spent many years and many dollars creating an acknowledged slick inbound Supply Chain. Top class global buying Flexible factory network State of the art…

As the snow ploughs, sledges and gloves are packed away for another year in the northern hemisphere we enter a key period in the FMCG industry. Beverage consumers are about to get thirsty or at least large numbers of drinks companies hope this is…

Do FMCG, Drinks & Pharma Companies delude themselves on Customer Service? I think some may well be doing this and may or may not know it! Whatever service related KPI you measure the aim is designed to see how you are performing both internally and…

After two incidents (three really) of poor Customer Service on the same day I felt compelled to put fingers to keys and share the experience! All of you working in FMCG, Drinks or Pharma - amongst others – should look closely at how your Customer…

So, we have reached April and Q1 is already done and dusted; how were your results? Be honest, did you push, push, push to make last year’s final number and shoot yourself in the foot for Q1? From what I understand very few companies will have had a…