Route to Market & Supply Chain Blog

Some FMCG organisations are comfortable with the idea of using consultants while others avoid them like the plague. Having been on both sides of the fence with respect to supply chain consultancy services I can appreciate the pros and cons for each…

Is the market getting any better, really? Many big name companies have announced indifferent Q4/Christmas results recently and all caution about the continuing "difficult market conditions”. Ok, so 2014 has been put to bed financially but many will…

Dear Santa, I have been a very good FMCG CEO this year, I promise. If you want, you can check with my shareholders. They know how good I have been this year. Apart from the out of stocks of course, oh and the little mistake where we had to write…

Ok, so maybe not for life but FMCG Distributors will have a significant impact on your sales performance, probably your personal bonus and therefore your CEO career! How have you treated them this year? Were they the usual pain in the proverbial -…

Did you know that the Christmas season originally ran from December 25th to January 6th which was in turn popularly known as the 12 Days of Christmas? Christmas is becoming like old age; it slowly creeps up on you without you really noticing. I can…

My aging Toyota Land Cruiser is about to clock up an impressive 300,000km on roads that are of variable and low quality. Luckily, the car is built like a tank and comes with bull bars on the front or what I like to call a “Dacia Catcher”. (Dacia as…

I am not going to pretend I wrote this blog once again but when I came to sit down and look at the last quarter of the year I could not really see any difference from last year. The same challenges are clearly there and what is astonishing is that…

I previously blogged about the reality of FMCG Traditional Trade (TT) Route To Market (RTM) distribution and described the drivers and behaviours in each party as the monthly plans inevitably imploded. Let us now get out the crystal ball and stare…

My colleague Stefan Cucu recently wrote on the subject of stock shrinkage in coolers located in HORECA outlets in Romania. One of the points he made warned Supply Chain professionals about the likelihood of stock shrinkage anywhere along the chain.…

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.…

I know I am prone to rattle on about Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP) but seeing the benefits being delivered to previously struggling business is extremely motivating for a confirmed “techy” like myself. If only we could advertise such successes…

I have travelled quite a lot over the years and tried to add one new country each year until I stumbled at 45. Many were holidays but a majority were on business with very few opportunities available to actually see the place. “Oh, you must be so…

Once upon a time I was working in a well-known detergent powder factory in the north of England. The factory manger at the time will remain nameless but he had a habit of dragging people from the production floor to show off the latest gadget or new…

When I first came across Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) I was sceptical of yet another ”blue sky” approach to pursuing manufacturing excellence. Surely, this would soon be replaced by the next set of buzz-word initials dreamed up by smart-suited…

The annual Supply Chain “Oscar’s” have been announced by Gartner for 2014. I list the top 10 here but to see the full list of top 25 global Supply Chains please click and surf here. Apple McDonald's Amazon.com Unilever Procter & Gamble Samsung…