Predictive Analytics

Gartner is witness to many on-going supply chain transformations within the consumer products industry. Here are some common characteristics of supply chain leaders. Plus, Steutermann reveals four important thoughts for the coming year.

At a recent CGT conference, demand planning leaders from P&G candidly discussed how standardization is a key enabler for the rapid expansion of innovation. If you missed the live discussion, dont fret. We caught it all on tape. Plus, watch more video commentaries from other industry thought leaders on big trends to come in 2013 and beyond.

Members of CGT's TPM Share Group met in Orlando, Fla., during the Consumer Goods Business and Technology Leadership Conference on October 23, 2012. The group moved away from the recent TPO discussions, which are aspirational for most, and focused on more practical aspects of TPM execution. Here is a recap of the discussion.

For more than 30 years, trade promotions have been the "currency of the realm"; the way to get new items on shelves, to encourage retailers to advertise and display existing products and to fund price reductions. Over that same period, the industry has spent millions on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of these investments. While that remains important, we dont see trade promotion optimization as the answer. What we need is a new currency.

Succeeding in the market today is closely tied to how well retailers and manufacturers respond to evolving consumer needs. In the 2012 Shared Strategy Report, CGT offers several compelling examples of collaboration between consumer goods manufacturers and retailers that are designed to deliver improved customer service. Read on for an exclusive preview of research findings on Big Data, Mobility and Product Quality.

Members of the CGT Downstream Data Share Group met in Orlando, Fla., during the Consumer Goods Business and Technology Leadership Conference on October 23, 2012. In addition to continuing work on the use case matrix, the group tacked various topics including integration and use of non-POS data.

Hanesbrands Inc. is getting a much deeper sense of consumer demand. After selecting a demand sensing solution, this everyday apparel maker is helping to transform itself from a push-based to a pull-based consumer brand.

By adopting leading practices in S&OP, Seventh Generation expects to improve forecast accuracy by 10 percent at the SKU level, decrease inventory by 15 percent, while maintaining historically high service levels.