CPG Manufacturers are Adding Tools and Analytics to Combat Inflation and Bolster Revenue Management Capabilities, POI Report finds

The Promotion Optimization Institute (POI), the leading resource for marketing, trade and merchandising executives, today released its 2022 POI Enterprise Planning Vendor Panorama (EPx) report, an annual analysis and survey of 19 Global Solutions Providers. The annual POI EPx study found that 72% of consumer products organizations are adding tools and analytical capabilities to support revenue management practices with the mission to improve promotion and pricing effectiveness during inflationary times.

With projected recessionary headwinds, now is the time to put in place the digital transformation and automation that enables your teams to proactively engage the consumer with right offers at the right time, and with the right retailer.

As part of the report, the POI analyzed 19 leading vendors across 22 functional areas (Including Revenue Growth Management (RGM), Optimization, Data, Artificial Intelligence, IBP/S&OP, Headquarter Planning, Food Service, Advanced Analytics and more) that are helping retailers and consumer goods executives manage enterprise planning, trade promotions and revenue effectively. 2022 POI best-in-class functionality distinctions have been awarded to vendors to the following: Boston Consulting Group, Decision Point, Enterra Solutions, Kantar, PwC Strategy&, Salesforce, SAP, TELUS, Visualfabriq and Wipro and more. Several solution providers (in the POI report) have come to market with exceptional Holistic Enterprise Planning & RGM capability advancements to support these dynamic times.

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“With projected recessionary headwinds, now is the time to put in place the digital transformation and automation that enables your teams to proactively engage the consumer with right offers at the right time, and with the right retailer. At the same time, companies are working through commodity cost increases, changing consumer behavior, omni-channel shifts, and supply chain insufficiency,” said Pam Brown, Chief Commercial Officer of the POI and author of the report.

“The pandemic, inflation and global instability have driven the need for automation and increased agility and responsiveness to support retailer and consumer needs. With the economic shifts taking place, holistic enterprise planning and revenue growth optimization capabilities provide the ability to quickly ascertain the next best action. Agile, companies who deliver proactive insights, mutually profitable plans and enhance the customer experience for their retailers, and ultimately consumers, will have a competitive edge.”

The 2022 POI EPx Vendor Panorama reflects the majority of vendors have advanced their RGM capabilities, and many leading providers have extended beyond promotion and pricing optimization. Currently 66% of manufacturers look to advance how they approach their revenue management practice and how they optimize pricing & promotions and pack growth analysis. New revenue management areas of portfolio mix/assortment, advanced strategic Sales and Operations (S&OP)/Integrated Business Planning (IBP) & Joint Customer Business Planning functionality (JCBP), as well as new frontier modeling approaches, can deliver manufacturers a competitive advantage.

In addition, the 2022 POI EPx Vendor Panorama includes end-to-end enterprise planning, revenue growth management, pricing, promotion & assortment optimization, headquarter capabilities, IBP/S&OP, food service and data management, in addition to the historical TPx content covering trade promotion management (TPM), what-if scenarios and post-event ROI capabilities.

The Enterprise Planning (EPx) Vendor Panorama builds upon the research of the POI 2022 In-Store Retail Execution Vendor Panorama. The two panoramas are companion documents – the Retail Execution Panorama evaluates the in-store component of the promotion cycle, while the EPx Vendor Panorama focuses on end-to-end enterprise planning and revenue management. Both panoramas are designed to help POI members improve their ability to manage planning and execution, trade promotions, pricing, enhance trading partner relationships, and drive profitable growth.

Key Strategic Insights from the 2022 POI Enterprise Planning (EPx) Vendor Panorama:

• Today 69% of companies are struggling to manage enterprise, omni-channel trade. When cross functional teams utilize an end-to-end planning ecosystem, business units become connected and the outcome is effective enterprise planning with visibility and efficiencies gained across the organization.
• Forty percent of manufacturers are looking to invest in trade promotion management (TPM) systems, and 40% are investing in a holistic tool that includes TPM, ROI and what-if scenario planning. Forty-two percent are investing in advanced optimization of promotion, pricing, assortment and 26% are specifically looking for revenue management capabilities.
• Vendors are increasing the ability to deploy global implementations through one supplier by supporting parallel or sequential implementations for each region.
• The lack of connectivity between Trade Promotion Systems and Retail Execution Systems continues to severely impact execution and revenue gains. Sixty-nine percent of TPM and RetX systems are not integrated and organizations are losing the ability to monitor in-flight promotion effectiveness.

POI EPx Recommendations include:

• Enable all enterprise and TPx planning, RGM, Integrated Business Planning and trade promotion related processes with technology. The POI survey found fifty-nine percent respondents feel the planning process is burdensome for the organization.
• Work cross functionally to understand your organization’s pain points, so your core team can determine and align on “what you are trying to solve.” Only then can a decision be made regarding the type of capabilities and solutions to enable your goals.
• Don’t underestimate the need for change transformation. The POI Member Portal has historical summit presentations that contain peer set change management practices as well as presentations.

A breakdown of all of POI’s recommendations are in the 2022 EPx Vendor Panorama

“Vendor capabilities are advancing organizational ability to respond quickly to economic conditions, and retail and consumer needs with the right offerings, at the right time. We are impressed with the innovative Solution Provider advancements that support manufacturer and retailer collaboration and grow sustainable profit in challenging times. The POI is delivering expanded insights to our members through global research, POI member share groups, a manufacturer and solution provider advisory, POI CPG Leadership Council, and by connecting through live/hybrid virtual summits,” said Michael Kantor, CEO and Founder, POI.

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