Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

Morning woes I have just had one of those mornings. I missed the alarm and the 10-minute snooze and from then on everything went downhill. Jumped in the shower for a brief cleanse but then once waterlogged I realised there was no soap, not even a…

If you do not specifically agree on what is expected between two parties before you start a relationship then anything and everything but success is likely. Would you buy a used car from a politician? You buy a new car and you get a contract that…

The Enchange Supply Chain House; the one-stop shop for all of the elements you need to achieve supply chain excellence. Previously, we discussed the top 10 potential advantages of finding a 3PLP partner. which can bring benefits of cost, service and…

The Enchange Supply Chain House; the one-stop shop for all of the elements you need to achieve supply chain excellence. Are you considering outsourcing your in-house logistics operations? If your core skills are far removed from those required in…

Welcome to the Deliver edition of our FMCG supply chain guide. The related Source, Plan and Make overview articles can be found here. Each discipline is a key room in the Enchange Supply Chain House which provides a guide to your supply chain…

In my last post we discussed the biggest challenges that a Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) company could face when managing the ‘last mile’ of the Route to Market (RtM). Once we have examined the challenges and the pitfalls in managing distributors or…

This post is Part 2 of a series of posts discussing indirect distribution management, and specifically the characteristics and the key differences between FMCG Distributors and Wholesalers. You can read Part 1 which includes the Characteristics of…

Understanding the Total Cost to Serve our customers is an essential element to any Route to Market (RtM) Strategy. As FMCG professionals, we need to understand how much it costs us to service our customers. It is also not as simple as it sounds. Why…

Assessing your distribution options is one of the most important elements of any Route to Market strategy. Choosing the wrong distribution strategy, although often not evident in the short term, can cripple a company’s long-term growth, and ability…

Welcome to Step 3 of the 20 Steps to Route to Market Excellence. You can read more about the overall model and the steps I have already discussed here. The third step is ‘Distributor Assessment’. Whether you are looking to build a RtM strategy from…

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 KPI is designed to asses how you are performing both internally…

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

Only a few months into the year and I am hearing the same old complaints about the economy and business being in general ill health. However, there is a new recurring theme which popped up at various parties and gatherings over Easter; “my company…

If you do not specifically agree on what is expected between two parties before you start a relationship then anything and everything but success is likely. You buy a new car and you get a contract that tells you what is covered by the guarantee and…

I have just had one of those mornings. I missed the alarm and the 10-minute snooze and from then on everything went downhill. Jumped in the shower for a brief cleanse but then I realised there was no soap, not even a sliver. So, soaking wet I get…