| To survive and prosper today, Consumer Products | | | | information that was previously unavailable. |
| manufactures and suppliers must be ready to win | | | | Top executives increasingly favor this field |
| when it matters - in that first moment of truth when | | | | empowerment-and recognize the resulting 'Instant |
| a shopper enters a store or stands at the shelf | | | | Field Intelligence' as pivotal to their success. Instant |
| ready to make a purchase. Success in this brief | | | | Field Intelligence (IFI) refers to the harvesting and |
| moment, repeated hundreds and thousands of times | | | | transmission back to head office of real-world data |
| every day, rests on having the right product, in the | | | | from the field. |
| right place, with the right price or the right promotion, | | | | IFI adds a vivid new layer of intelligence that helps |
| at the right time. | | | | explain data gathered from traditional sources, (e.g. |
| For Consumer Products companies that get it right, | | | | scan and transactional data). Because information is |
| the final link closes between the supply and demand | | | | 'real' (i.e. based on direct observation), is available |
| chains, delivering the value promised by | | | | immediately, and can be routed to managers across |
| manufacturing and logistics optimization, trade spend | | | | the business, it allows for quick remedial action in the |
| programs, and brand marketing campaigns. For | | | | short-term and better longer-term planning. |
| companies that get it right consistently, the rewards | | | | For example, it helps companies: |
| stretch out into the future. They include reinforced | | | | - quickly remedy out-of-stocks during promotional |
| brand loyalty from satisfied customers, stronger | | | | cycles |
| relationships with retailers, and less risk of being | | | | - match product supply to precise local demand |
| overtaken by the competition. | | | | - investigate causal factors for atypical new product |
| Technology advances come and go. But once in a | | | | metrics |
| while, new tools and smart thinking converge at | | | | - respond rapidly to high-priority service requests |
| exactly the right time, transforming how we do | | | | It also answers vexing questions: |
| things in a way that makes progress very difficult to | | | | - Is a retailer complying with promotion POS display? |
| ignore. The convergence of mobile sales force | | | | - Does the category planogram have holes? |
| automation software, handheld devices, and wireless | | | | - Are items incorrectly priced? |
| technologies are changing the way Consumer | | | | - Did a delivery go astray, or are goods in the |
| Products (CP) companies manage their retail | | | | backroom? Are they damaged? |
| execution operations. | | | | - Is a store manager in-step with a chain HQ |
| Mobile sales force automation solutions for retail | | | | directive? |
| execution are now in use every day, supporting | | | | - Is freshness an issue? |
| winning field forces around the world. | | | | IFI is everything brand managers did not know |
| Forward-thinking companies, large and small, are | | | | before - it is the direct link between in-store |
| quickly seizing this opportunity. Beyond the obvious | | | | conditions and actual brand outcomes in specific |
| gains in efficiency (and reductions in cost), they | | | | stores and sets the stage for brand superiority at |
| recognize that these new solutions give them the | | | | the shelf. |
| ability to harvest rich information from the field - | | | | |