to Overcome Obstacles and Foster Growth in an Increasingly Challenging Supply Chain Environment
CGs continue to face a multitude of supply chain obstacles that have the potential to impede their success in the short and long terms alike. Leveraging trade execution analytics is the best way to for companies to better manage their supply chain, in turn overcoming these obstacles and positioning themselves for growth.
Significant execution challenges can impede CGs’ growth—or derail it completely.
Vendor-managed inventory (VMI)—e.g., auto replenishment—yields CGs visibility into retailers’ stock levels, with replenishment occurring automatically as execution analytics dictate.
On-time, in-full (OTIF) is a vital KPI of CGs’ performance—but measuring it can be problematic for many reasons, including:
Dynamic route plans that identify which stores field reps should visit, and in what sequence, should replace conventional, calendar-based, static route planning. These plans take into account:
EdgeVerve’s TradeEdge Execution Analytics platform helps CGs move beyond insights to drive action. CGs can leverage its modules and capabilities to optimize execution, in turn fostering business growth, improving fulfillment performance, enhancing revenue realization, and improving the customer experience. The TradeEdge advantage means:
Too many touchpoints
Excessive manual touchpoints in the ordering process increase order cycle time—and costs.
Execution analytics play a major role in helping CGs overcome these obstacles and attain their goals, driving efficient supply chain operations and positioning them for growth. Examples include suggested ordering, auto replenishment, route planning, and accurate OTIF prediction.
Low market coverage
Distance and store size leave large numbers of stores unserved or under-served.
Demand far from stable
Short-term demand fluctuation—compounded by a lack of real-time demand signals—leads to high demand variability.
Reps not so productive
Static route planning causes low productivity among field sales representatives.
Fill rates remain low
Lack of inventory visibility, as well as delayed shipments and/or deliveries, lead to lower fill rates.
Savvy CGs recognize these challenges and seek to reverse the tide.
Obstacles Stunt Growth
Targeted Replenishment
Suggested Ordering
OTIF
Route Planning
From Insights to Action
Harnessing Execution Analytics
CGs that adopt AI and advanced analytics experience revenue growth of more than 10%.
83% of CGs are working on enhancing supply chain visibility
Targeted replenishment simplifies the ordering process, in turn:
SKU source mapping and SKU source supply inventory
CGs can harness forecast data, channel inventory visibility, new product introductions, and promotional calendars to generate suggested orders for their customers. Placed by retailers themselves, suggested orders reflect or are based on:
Analysis of retailers’ buying patterns (to ensure the order reflects their needs)
Market basket analysis (to understand category of SKUs purchased)
Product category
Whether the product is new
Item-to-item and item/buyer affinity
Retail class, channel, and environment
Retailer’s available credit limit across the category
Retailer warehouse capacity allotted to CG
Quantity of CG’s current stock on retailer’s shelves
With suggested ordering, CGs can:
Ensure that retailers stock the right mix of CGs’ products, strengthening relationships between trading partners and increasing current and future sales
Better leverage channel partners’ working capital
Enjoy opportunities to upsell and cross-sell products to retailers
Take advantage of opportunities to promote new and related products to channel partners
Generate more actionable product recommendations based on workflow steps
Execution analytics help CGs achieve better OTIF fulfillment by enabling them to:
CGs can determine:
Replacing manual route planning methods with route planning built on execution analytics:
Targeted replenishment yields CGs visibility into retailers’ stock levels, with replenishment occurring automatically as execution analytics dictate.
Optimal orders, no headaches
Allocation rules or fair share allocation logic
SKUs allocated to a single customer from multiple sources, taking into consideration pre-defined allocation rules and supply constraints
Orders generated based on allocation rules and supply constraints
Allocated orders can be amended to reflect retailer input, then saved, while customer overrides can be executed within limits
Simplifying logistics
Allowing CGs
to better estimate projected needs and maintain optimal quantities of product for each retailer
Reducing costs by eliminating costly emergency deliveries
Near real-time demand signals
More questions, more answers
Benefits
Ensures that sales reps are visiting the right stores at the right time
Higher accuracy from automatic order creation
Lower ordering costs and reduced cycle times
Significant productivity improvement
Reduced out-of-stock due to better replenishment strategies
Enhanced field rep efficiency with dynamic route planning that maximizes strike rate and cross-sell/upsell opportunities
Forecast errors
Critical–but difficult–to measure
Fulfilling the promise
Set the right customer expectations at the time of order-taking
Better assortment, increased sales opportunities
Get your assortments right
An essential ingredient
Cascading effect of manufacturing delays
Insufficient visibility of shipment status from logistics providers
Current sales achievements compared to sales targets
Product sales potential, as driven by suggested orders
Increases CGs’ outlet coverage and reach by balancing visit frequency, with high-impact outlets scheduled for service more often and low-performing outlets, less so
Maximizes strike rate and visit productivity
Boosts sales representatives’ efficiency and productivity
Ensures that important variables—e.g, order dollar volume and market reach—are accounted for when planning routes
Whether sales reps are visiting the right stores
If sales reps are not visiting the right stores, whether they are visiting the same stores week after week and expecting a different outcome each time
Whether sales reps are spending excessive amounts of time at individual store visits
Whether a given customer is out-of-stock because its order was not placed on time?
Eliminating dips and spikes in demand for product
Provide real-time updates on shipment status
Read on to find out more.
CGs that introduce “digital route-to-market capabilities” increase sales by 24% within 24 months of deployment.
”Digital route-to-market capabilities” also boost CGs’ sales force effectiveness by 5% to 10%, helping to reduce costs; while simultaneously bolstering outlet coverage by 8% to 10% and hiking up order quantities by 2% to 5%.
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48% of CGs are reallocating funds to improving transportation and logistics
62% of CGs aimed to sharpen their ability to address fluctuations in demand in 2020, and 25% plan to continue such efforts going forward
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Sources: 1 Consumer Goods Technology Supply Chain Report 2020; 2 Consumer Goods Technology 2021 Retail and Consumer Goods Analytics Study; 3 Consumer Goods Technology Supply Chain Report 2020; 4 Boston Consulting Group; 5 Accenture; 6 Accenture
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