Custom Trade Promotion Solution Drives Success
The Challenge
A leading company in the consumer goods industry faced significant hurdles in maximizing their return on Trade spend investment. Their objectives included enhancing supply chain efficiency, optimizing retail promotions, supporting planning processes, and leveraging POS consumption data. Despite evaluating proposals from several leading consulting firms, they couldn't find a solution that effectively addressed their struggles with annual planning reviews, uncertain Trade investment returns, and Excel-based promotion management.
The Solution
The company partnered with darkelogix™, moving beyond traditional consumer goods technology providers. darkelogix™ delivered a comprehensive Trade optimization solution tailored to their specific needs. This solution enabled the company to:
- Improve retailer collaboration: Enhancing relationships with retailers by aligning promotions to meet or exceed retailer margin targets.
- Achieve supply chain efficiencies: Streamlining processes for better operational performance.
- Optimize promotions: Planning, managing, and optimizing Trade spend for better promotional outcomes.
- Increase planning accuracy: Utilizing POS data to inform and adjust strategies rapidly based on real-time insights.
Business Capabilities
The darkelogix™ solution provided the company with an enterprise-class application featuring:
- Integrated financial calculations: Using POS data to determine true profitability and Trade spend ROI.
- Two-way system integrations: Including SAP ERP and INFOR Demand Planning, ensuring a unified management approach.
- Comprehensive promotion lifecycle management: From planning to approvals, optimization, and post-review analysis.
- Flexible reporting and analytics: Offering detailed insights with drill-down capabilities for thorough analysis.
- User-friendly interface: Simplifying complex financial calculations with an intuitive design.
The Benefits
The implementation of the darkelogix™ solution led to transformative results for the company:
- Substantial Financial Impact: Over the past 15 years, the application has consistently increased operating income by over $1 million annually, resulting in a cumulative benefit of over $15 million and more than a 30X return on their investment.
- Enhanced Decision-Making: Improved data-driven insights enabled faster, more informed business decisions.
- Improved Retailer Relationships: Better collaboration and accurate promotion projections strengthened partnerships with retailers.
- Efficient Market Response: Quick evaluation and adjustment of strategies during new product launches based on real-time data.
Summary
The darkelogix™ solution revolutionized the management of the company's CPG business, driving significant financial gains and operational efficiencies. The robust, user-friendly application provided essential tools for maximizing Trade investment returns, resulting in improved retailer collaboration and optimized promotional performance. This success story is a testament to the power of tailored, data-driven solutions in achieving business excellence.