Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

A couple of weeks ago senior management and I had to stay up late to collect the heiress and a very brave boyfriend from the airport around midnight. Unfortunately the low cost airline they were using did not live up to its speedy name and the…

One of the commonest responses I receive when discussing Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) with prospective clients having growth problems is “….but we have S&OP in place so we do not need any assistance”. “Ok, then why do you have negative…

What supply chains are meant to do has been very well documented but source, plan, make deliver disciplines are the core activities. Add in a potential warehousing and logistics role and if the company is forward thinking, a customer logistics role…

The CEO/GM/”head honcho” or whatever “big boss” is to the local company plans a visit to your territory. These events are usually planned well in advance to get fixed in the diaries of the senior people and if such a visit is a rarity you must…

Do you remember those long running TV advertising campaigns for probably/possibly the best lager/beer in the world? The specific advert from the UK that sticks in my mind is the one where Mr. Middle Manager is leaving the office for the evening when…

I crossed a border in Eastern Europe recently and although the private and car traffic sailed through without delay there were a surprising number of trucks parked in a snake on the approach roads. Both countries are in the EU so I guess someone was…

Let me get straight to the point on this one. Why do so many FMCG mrgers or acquisitions frequently result in the apparent death-knell of once proud and promising brands? I am not going to name any names but if you think about it there have been…

Last week was spent enjoying the weather in UK as I moved the heiress into her third new student house in 3 years. This time the house has 9 – yes nine – residents which must make it a no go area for anyone above the age of 25 unless wearing…

Imagine Manchester United needed to score 5 goals in the last match of the season to win the English Premier League yet they do not start attacking with any intent until the 80th minute. Or the England cricket team needing to take 6 wickets to win a…

“There is always somebody worse off than you” is a commonly rolled out piece of wisdom when somebody thinks life is unfair or hard. In reality this wisdom applies to all but the most unhealthy, unfortunate or poorest people on the planet but in the…

In my local supermarket over the weekend I noticed something I had not seen or perhaps not noticed before. On the shelf I was expecting to relieve of my weekend beer was a propped up sign saying “We are sorry your choice is not available. We are…

From personal experience I know how difficult it can be to enable sustainable change in the extended Supply Chain. Communicating change is hard enough but actually seeing it happen and being maintained is a tough task for most companies. Even though…

When you are absorbed in a competitive fast moving consumer goods business there is never a good time to take holidays. Those long awaited training courses always appear on the agenda at a critical launch period or at a difficult month or quarter…

That time of year is upon us once again. This 2 week period usually guarantees rain in UK when the only relief could be an impossibly wrinkle-free and young-looking Cliff Richard leading the communal singing during the delays. “Oohs” and “aahs” and…

The sun is out and the sky is blue so what drink waits for you? Beer producers rely on the sun to drive sales and produce a distinct pull along the supply chain but how many will win the market place battle? Certainly, if they are not ready for the…