Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

I think we all agree that life will never be the same again after COVID-19 has dealt a stunning blow to humanity. While the horrendous death toll is a modern day calamity, the pandemic provides an unavoidable opportunity to do things differently…

Who coined that irritating term “Big Data”? How did we get there without normal sized data, slightly larger data, chubby data and bordering on big data? People working in or associated with extended Supply Chains may seem obsessed by data yet data…

One of my Top 10 Supply Chain Improvement Resolutions for 2021 referred to SKU complexity and I recently discussed how that complexity negatively affects cost and service. With the discontinuity caused by COVID-19 many CEOs should be looking at…

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein. I think most of us will be pleased to see the back of 2020. COVID 19 has changed the way we have had to live and work and anybody who thinks they…

This post is Part 3 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…

The focus of this article is on indirect distribution. Previously, I have discussed how to achieve Route to Market (RtM) Excellence by effectively using the different types of distribution, our DIME approach, and specifically Direct and Indirect…

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…

The global spread of COVID-19 is an incredibly challenging and worrying time for all of us. The loss of life is already significant, and its spread continues. Many countries around the world are in some form of restricted movement or lockdown. From…

Before we even begin to look at how to develop Route to Market (RtM) strategies and execution plans for Fast Moving Consumer Goods Companies (FMCG) in emerging markets like Africa, we need to understand and remind ourselves of a few basic principles…

This is a challenging question and one that we need to break down. Trade coverage, brand distribution, distribution coverage, brand or SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) availability, or whatever terminology you use, is one of the most important Route to…

How do we implement real change to deliver the best possible Route to Market (RtM) in challenging developing markets? Enchange has been in the business of transforming clients Route to Market (RtM) for over 25 years. Last year I built on that bank…

There are many things I have seen in over 20 years in the unbelievably exciting Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Business (FMCG). There are many things I can talk about and stories I can tell. But since I was first handed the keys to a van in 1998 to…

Welcome to my blog series on Route to Market (RtM), which includes Sales, TM&D (Trade Marketing & Distribution), in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector. I have created a model called the 20 Steps to Route to Market Excellence. The purpose…

Key Account Management (KAM) is how Route to Market (RtM) leaders effectively and efficiently manage the relationship with specific and strategic customers, or customer groupings, to deliver on RtM targets. Customers are classified as Key Accounts…

Welcome to my blog series on the 20 Steps to Route to Market Excellence model. Over the past number of months, we have gone through the detail of the first 15 steps of my model. The focus of this post is Step 16 ‘Third Degree Partnerships (3DPs)’.…