[eGuide] Your guide to production, pricing, and promotion in the consumer packaged goods industry

From the outside, looking in, the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry is in hyper speed with changing consumer behavior, an accelerating global economy, extensive growth coming from a variety of new geographic regions, and more intense competition coming from emerging businesses and markets.

NB! This is an excerpt from our new eGuide 'The three Ps: Your guide to production, pricing and promotion in the consumer packaged goods industry.'

In fact, according to Deloitte: Introduction. “Global retail sales of packaged foods is expected to rise to over $3 trillion by 2020 with emerging markets being the primary driver.”

Constant state of change

Never has it been more important for CPG companies to “adapt, innovate and differentiate themselves in the marketplace,” in order to be successful. Deloitte suggests that the CPG industry is in a “constant state of change,” forcing companies to develop “newer and bolder strategies,” and PwC indicates that these changes: “are significant enough that companies will have to reexamine fundamental tenets that have in the past served them well.” Change is happening rapidly, and it’s the reason why the CPG industry will look much different in the near future.

John Zealley, senior managing director of products and growth strategy at Accenture, suggested that the speed of change is the “new normal for CPGs” because of how connected we are. “In the connected world, the pace of change is accelerating and the effects will be felt across the spectrum. The stakes are rising, the clock is ticking and the future is here. The challenge for companies is that they will have to become adept at doing two things at the same time.”

In addition to global expansion and competition, limited resources along with newer technologies, regulations and government affairs are playing important roles in how CPG businesses are thinking about and planning for their futures. The time to act to these changing conditions is now. Companies that delay will miss opportunities, lose ground to more aggressive competitors, and unfortunately, fall into the all-too-common trap of making reactive emotional decisions without data points to back up their actions.

Addressing pain-points with data

In this eGuide we will focus on three of the biggest pain points for mid-market consumer goods businesses, production, pricing, and promotion; and answer these three key questions:

• How can a CPG business ensure supply chain efficiency?
• How can CPG businesses best price their products for their business?
• How can CPG businesses ensure their promotional strategies are effective and add value?

Coincidentally, solutions to the pain points and answers to the questions can be found in the same place, your company data. Accenture’s Zealley identified 10 consumer trends that will shape 2018 for CPG companies. Two of the 10 involved the intelligent use of data analytics. “Business leaders chasing the 360-degree view of their business and the market in which they operate, will increasingly rely on data to speed up decision-making and innovation. In the future, the winners will be those that put predictive data science in place to inform decision making.”

Data analysis can turn raw data into actionable intelligence

To make smart decisions, you need access to the right data at the right time. You need easy-to-understand information that is relevant to the current state of your business. Armed with the right tools and accurate data, you can address the pain points in an effective and profitable way for your business.

This was an excerpt from our new eGuide "The three Ps: Your guide to production, pricing and promotion in the consumer packaged goods industry". To download your copy of the eGuide, click here, or on the button below.