Trade Promotion Management

With volatile commodity prices impacting COGS and inability to raise prices, CG firms are forced to consider reducing trade spend while simultaneously ensuring that remaining spend delivers maximum impact. It's worth asking the question -- does your organization have a trade ROI mindset?

A comparison chart of solution providers to the consumer goods industry in areas including CRM, TPM, TPO, SFA, etc. Plus, industry experts address customer- and consumer-facing trends and challenges.

Despite a steady growth of large modern retailers, traditional trade still represents a significant share of Unilever's retail sales in emerging markets. The key to growth is to empower the field force with intelligent market information.

CGT's readers rank the top 10 technology companies that provide a solution for trade promotion effectiveness, including trade promotion management (TPM), price management, trade promotion optimization (TPO), etc.

For the 13th year in a row, CGT's readers took to the polls to elect their preferred solution and service providers.

Read this white paper to understand the significance of trade promotion funds to the performance of a consumer products companys business, and the large expense that such an approach places on the P&L.

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.