Supply Chain & Merchandising

Mondelez International will sell its 50 percent interest in Ajinomoto General Foods to its joint venture partner, Ajinomoto Co, as part of its ongoing efforts to further focus its portfolio on snacking products.

In September Hershey announced the retirement of CFO David Tacka. Last week the company named Patricia Little to succeed him, effective March 16.

Mondelez International announced Roberto Marques will join the company in mid-March as EVP and President, North America. He will lead the company's $7 billion business in the U.S. and Canada.

As the consumer goods industry rushes to get closer to the shopper, both competitively and collaboratively, emerging technologies start to take hold, and we find ways to bring sophistication and data, data, data! to existing processes.

In the world of consumer goods, Amway is a rare success story. The company's direct-selling model has been nothing but successful, but this didn't come about by chance. Armed with a structered, yet flexible product development process, and growing network of external partners, Amway and its Open Innovation Team, is well on its way to turning a good business into a great business.

PepsiCo is about to shake things up. The company is planning to break into retail by selling its premium snacks and drinks exclusively through e-commerce platforms in India, according to reports.

McCormick & Company signed an agreement to purchase Drogheria & Alimentari (D&A), a privately held company based in Italy for $97 million. D&A is a leader in spices and seasonings with annual sales of approximately $57 million.

While traditional companies are still looking at improving traditional forecasting technologies and improving the rules for forecast consumption, Lora Cecere takes a different stance for managing the lifecycle.