Thought leadership
Next Generation Planning (Oct 2010)
This new planning paradigm is emerging with the help of advances in analytics and planning tools. Next-Generation Sales and Marketing Planning discusses guiding principles and demonstrates how this new planning discipline can yield more accurate and effective plans.
Raising the ROI of Trade Spending (May 2010)
Recent research by booz & Company shows how CPG companies are investing in technologies designed to improve their In Store Business Intelligence while simultaneously increasing the ROI of the trade promotion spending.
Using Handhelds to Improve In Store Execution (Sept 2009)
CPG Companies are finding that deployment of mobile solutions can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their field force, oftentimes improving the impact of their trade promotion investments.
Boosting the Bottom Line Through Improved Trade Promotion Effectiveness (Dec 2003)
For most companies, trade spend constitutes 10-20% of sales and is the second largest item on the P&L behind cost of goods sold. Yet, despite the financial and strategic importance of trade spend, many companies do not fully leverage their investments in it. Trade promotion spend can be optimized to transform it from a drain on ROI into a significant bottom-line booster. The key is to integrate analytics, systems, processes, and organizational capabilities in order to improve trade promotion efficiency.
Getting the Basics Right (Jun 2008)
To achieve sustainable results, it is necessary to approach trade promotion management as a staged capability development effort. Advanced capabilities must be built on a set of robust and reliable foundational capabilities that provide the functions needed to fund, plan, pay for and manage a comprehensive account-level business plan.
Moments of Choice: Driving Profitable Growth with Shelf-Centered Collaboration (Oct 2007)
The dynamics of today’s marketplace are forcing retailers and manufacturers to pursue revolutionary strategies to win preference by giving consumers what they want, where and when they want it, and at the right price – store-by-store. Shelf-Centered Collaboration is a winning value chain strategy for effectively creating and responding to the myriad of consumer opportunities at the shelf. By thinking “shelf-forward and shelf-back – together,” manufacturers and retailers can jointly drive profitable growth by more effectively managing demand driven supply networks to get the right offers on the right shelves at the right time.
Partners at the Point of Sale (Aug 2007)
Nearly every aspect of retailing, from distribution to promotion, has changed dramatically during the last 20 years. Yet the focal point of consumer purchases is still the same: the “moment of truth” when a consumer chooses a product. The point of sale (POS), whether physical (such as a retail store shelf ) or electronic (such as a Web site), represents the true center of the manufacturing–retailing universe. It is time for manufacturers and retailers to recognize the full power of the shelf: the potential that they can realize only together.
Power of Operational POS (Sep 2007)
At the place where the first moment of truth occurs - the retailer’s shelf - the competitive landscape is undergoing an accelerating shift. New capabilities are redefining how manufacturers and retailers work together to grab their share of customers’ wallets. Central to this shift is the ability to leverage operational point-of-sale (POS) data to redefine how companies go to market, execute against their strategies, manage product availability, and drive behavior through measurement and incentives.
The State of Collaboration in Our Industry (Oct 2007)
Collaboration between retailers and manufacturers is increasingly important in today’s competitive marketplace. A recent survey conducted by Booz & Company, in conjunction with DemandTec and the Trade Promotion Management Associates (TPMA), provided various perspectives on the way retailers and manufacturers view the process of creating and executing promotions and related merchandising activities. It yielded key insights into how the industry can best work together to improve the impact of retail-focused merchandising and marketing efforts both at the shelf and outside the store.
Super Funds (Jul 2007)
Thanks to two specific changes in the way manufacturers are approaching their retail partners, the days of trade spending as a losing investment may be giving way to an era in which trade investment is a win-win. These changes involve bringing partnership to funding via integrated Customer Development Funds (CDF) and differentiating trade spending across partners via Tiered CDFs. These approaches allow manufacturers to optimize customer funding and drive desired customer behaviors.