5 Best Practices for a Speedy TPM Implementation
When a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company replaces spreadsheets in favor of a sophisticated software solution as its trade promotion management (TPM) tool of choice, implementation can seem like a daunting, never-ending process. Snacks manufacturer Popcorn, Indiana successfully completed implementation of the AFS TradePro TPM system in a scant 60 days. Plus, after 60 days of being live on the TPM system, Popcorn, Indiana reduced its trade promotion deductions by more than 50 percent. How did the company achieve both quick implementation and quick results?
According to John Kittle, vice president of Business Planning and Insight at Popcorn, Indiana, aligning the needs of the cross-functional team and ensuring the software system selected meets all of those needs is crucial to ensure implementation goes smoothly and is pain-free. To expedite the implementation and secure buy-in from the very beginning, Popcorn, Indiana brought together Sales, Operations, Finance and C-level teams together for the selection and due diligence process.
“For a successful implementation, there must be senior executive sponsorship — the CEO, the CFO or the VP of Sales — that’s driving the need for the system,” explains Kittle. “If the project is coming solely from IT, it might not necessarily have the momentum to carry through a successful implementation.”
In Popcorn, Indiana’s case, it was the CFO that wanted a TPM solution because deductions were not being accrued for correctly using Excel. Having the CEO and CFO sitting in the training meetings and being thoroughly engaged in the process, drives usage and makes the implementation all the more successful.
Ensuring the brand new system was not muddled with outdated information was key to Popcorn, Indiana’s successful implementation. The time between the decision to move forward with a TPM solution and the actual kick-off session was spent cleaning product and customer data. Popcorn, Indiana used the “cleaning process” to evaluate customers that haven’t purchased in a few years, remove discontinued products, revisit and reconfirm the products customers currently order. The manufacturer found that the customer master and the product master drove how quickly its TPM solution could be implemented.
While testing user acceptance of the new TPM system, Popcorn, Indiana specifically selected users who had worked with a similar system in the past as well as users without any experience. By having veteran and rookies participate together, the experts aided users who weren’t already up-to-speed, and it built credibility for the system from within.
In order for the sales team to actually build plans within the new TPM system, Popcorn, Indiana ensured that specific functionality was running before the annual planning process began. This approach spared Sales of the tedious task of copying existing plans into the new system but also ensured they would become familiar with the solution.
“Converting to the new system in logical stages instead of doing everything all at once helped us to actually drive value from the system much more quickly,” says Kittle.
Another perk of doing implementation in phases is that not everyone in the organization is involved at the same level all at the same time. For Popcorn, Indiana, sales and finance came first, then operations and marketing built the hierarchies, and IT people provided support as needed.
According to John Kittle, vice president of Business Planning and Insight at Popcorn, Indiana, aligning the needs of the cross-functional team and ensuring the software system selected meets all of those needs is crucial to ensure implementation goes smoothly and is pain-free. To expedite the implementation and secure buy-in from the very beginning, Popcorn, Indiana brought together Sales, Operations, Finance and C-level teams together for the selection and due diligence process.
“For a successful implementation, there must be senior executive sponsorship — the CEO, the CFO or the VP of Sales — that’s driving the need for the system,” explains Kittle. “If the project is coming solely from IT, it might not necessarily have the momentum to carry through a successful implementation.”
In Popcorn, Indiana’s case, it was the CFO that wanted a TPM solution because deductions were not being accrued for correctly using Excel. Having the CEO and CFO sitting in the training meetings and being thoroughly engaged in the process, drives usage and makes the implementation all the more successful.
Ensuring the brand new system was not muddled with outdated information was key to Popcorn, Indiana’s successful implementation. The time between the decision to move forward with a TPM solution and the actual kick-off session was spent cleaning product and customer data. Popcorn, Indiana used the “cleaning process” to evaluate customers that haven’t purchased in a few years, remove discontinued products, revisit and reconfirm the products customers currently order. The manufacturer found that the customer master and the product master drove how quickly its TPM solution could be implemented.
While testing user acceptance of the new TPM system, Popcorn, Indiana specifically selected users who had worked with a similar system in the past as well as users without any experience. By having veteran and rookies participate together, the experts aided users who weren’t already up-to-speed, and it built credibility for the system from within.
In order for the sales team to actually build plans within the new TPM system, Popcorn, Indiana ensured that specific functionality was running before the annual planning process began. This approach spared Sales of the tedious task of copying existing plans into the new system but also ensured they would become familiar with the solution.
“Converting to the new system in logical stages instead of doing everything all at once helped us to actually drive value from the system much more quickly,” says Kittle.
Another perk of doing implementation in phases is that not everyone in the organization is involved at the same level all at the same time. For Popcorn, Indiana, sales and finance came first, then operations and marketing built the hierarchies, and IT people provided support as needed.