Within arms’ reach of the retailer and consumer

In a competitive environment, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies are increasingly forced to get within arms’ reach of the retailer and consumer. CPG companies that have a Route-to-Market strategy that includes a direct focus on mom-and-pop stores are the most successful in reaching the “base of the pyramid”. The buy-in-bulk mentality is unlikely to have [...]

Sri Lanka Distributor Issues

Sri Lanka is currently waking up from years of civil war. There is a sense of optimism in the air and the country is most certainly open for business. In September I spent two weeks in the country and also had a chance to review a FMCG company’s distributor network.  I jotted down a few [...]

Guinea distribution

Guinea Conakry has seen better days. Political instability and an uncertain economic outlook have not helped consumer confidence in this West African country. I have spent the last two weeks assessing a FMCG company’s distribution capability. The data tell an interesting story. Wholesalers – like most of markets in Africa, FMCG companies rely heavily on [...]

Ethiopia’s inclusive distribution model

Arriving in Ethiopia in 1998 the local Coca-Cola operation  was hardly an operation to search for best practices. Today, the picture looks very different. Harvard University (download PDF) recently conducted research on the Coca-Cola Ethiopian manual distribution center (MDC) and published a report on the model. The Ethiopian MDC project, launched in 1999, is today viewed as [...]

Village Billboards and supply chain

Erik Hersman blogs about Zach Lutische, a man with an interesting concept envisioned for rural Kenya. “The concept involves putting up a network of rural billboards around Kenya, using them as a way to gather and create a nexus point for community information. Anyone in the village can put up a notice, news or advertisement [...]

The power of distribution in Africa

An interesting video from the Business Call to Action (UK). Coca-Cola former CEO Neville Isdell talks about the Manual Distribution Centre (MDC) and the impact it has on the community at large. The company currently has 1,800 of these independently run businesses, directly employ 7,500 people and generate revenue of US$0.5 billion. A number of [...]

Emerging mobility

Wherever you go in emerging markets, there seem to be an affordable way of getting your goods around. In Dar Es Salaam and Nairobi you have the two wheel push cart (Mikokoteni) and in Accra a more modern four wheel version.   South East Asia prefers the three wheel motor-cart version, known for its high [...]

Sales data capture challenges

Salesmen traditionally have been criticized for inadequate data capturing in outlets. However, some sales environments provide unique challenges for sales organization. Limited time. Salesmen are likely to struggle in fast paced environments where data capturing will slow down the sales process. Organizations must evaluate simplified processes that require limited time to complete. Aggressive environments. For [...]

Sales data collection

Not all sales systems can be automated right away. However it is important to start with small improvements. These improvements can be standardized forms or simplified forms e.g. checkboxes. The following needs to be analyzed: Data collection process Accuracy of data Potential collaboration with sales partners Data entry simplifications Timeliness of data

10 key steps for developing a distributor evaluation system

Map out requirements- develop evaluation criteria and get agreement from key stakeholders Process and roles- identify each stakeholders’ role in each operational process Benchmarking-determine key KPIs that will form part of the evaluation Create rating systems- develop the system and communicate and train employees and distributor partners. Ensure all parties have a clear understanding of [...]

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