Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

Despite what you may wish to believe the answer is almost certainly, yes. You have invested heavily in brand new ERP software and a similar investment in some smart, young consultancy people to run the implementation. You will have spent some…

For a successful Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Route to Market (RtM) Strategy, we must be able to measure our performance across the market, internally within the company and externally against the competition and wider benchmarks. We must be…

Some time ago I wrote about the way spreadsheets were undermining expensively assembled ERP’s in FMCG, Brewing and Pharmaceutical companies. They still are, by the way. Not too long ago a paper on Public Debt and Austerity published by 2 eminent…

Despite what you may wish to believe the answer is probably, yes. You have invested heavily in brand new ERP software and similarly heavily in some smart, young consultancy people to run the implementation. You will have spent some timing debating…

I am an App-free zone. I have to admit I am not a big App fan but at least I now know what an App is after a lengthy period of ignorant denial. Originally used only by cutting edge, bearded techies (sorry Steve), Apps have become a major part of…

Yes I know, the recent blog posts have been a little Blog Gold meets Classic Blog with a touch of All Our Yesterdays and the History Channel but here is a fresh new offering. The last few months have been very busy both on the business and domestic…

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…

I know this will not impress Jeremy Clarkson – and why would I want to? - but my first car was a Renault 5. I realise this is possibly only 2 steps up from a classic Citroen 2CV which Jasper Carrott likened to an upturned corrugated crab on wheels.…

As we celebrate St George's Day and the birthday of William Shakespeare (also the date he died!) what would the great bard think about S&OP in FMCG and Pharmaceuticals? Is this a plan which I see before me, The numbers are as we planned? Come, let…

As a sign of how long we have spent living in Romania we have adopted the Domestos si harnici si darnici or spring cleaning routine. The first target of this spring was the kitchen. All cupboards and drawers were emptied including some for the first…

In a development similar to buying your first colour TV (yes my dear daughter, we watched black & white telly) or the first microwave cooker, I have finally bought a Smartphone. This is a significant step as my previous sets have all been robust, no…

Cue the famously ominous theme music, "Approaching Menace" by the British composer Neil Richardson. A hushed, shadowy, darkened studio. Contestant number one leaves his competitors in the dark and walks in a moving beam of light to the famous black…

Some time ago I wrote about the way spreadsheets were undermining expensively assembled ERP’s in FMCG, Brewing and Pharmaceutical companies. They still are, by the way. Recently, a paper on Public Debt and Austerity published by 2 eminent Harvard…

FMCG/Brewing/Pharma CEO Performance Appraisal Name: This Couldbeyou Location: Anywhere Role: CEO Sector: FMCG/Brewing/Pharmaceutical Summary of Performance The local economy continues to struggle in the difficult global economic climate and perhaps…

I am not a fan of reality TV at all. These programmes seem to promote the worst in people and you end up with “celebrities” who actually have no talent and in most cases, fewer brains. Seeking more than their usually allotted 15 minutes of fame they…