7 Considerations for Choosing a TPM Solution
On Nov. 17, 2011, during a CGT web event, Diageo's Director of Global Military Sales, Ralph Thomas, shared the company's Trade Promotion Management (TPM) selection process story, which was critical in helping it to identify a vital, collaborative web-based solution. The solution resulted in real-time visibility into the company’s trade spend, which enabled improved value in its customer relationships.
In addition, Dale Hagemeyer, managing vice president, Industries Research at Gartner, Inc., joined the panel, sharing his assessment of current market conditions, as well as outlining seven key considerations for selecting a TPM solution. The following are some highlights from the web event:
-- Hagemeyer started off the event by stating, “Microsoft Excel still has more market share than any single vendor, despite its lack of industry functionality.” When your organization finds itself in the market for the right TPM solution, Hagemeyer shared seven key considerations for selection:
1. Level and type of integration
2. Geographic scope
3. Degree of customization required and ease of doing so
4. Hosted or on-premise?
5. Suitability to the task
6. Enabling the mobile worker
7. Analytical capabilities.
-- Diageo’s Ralph Thomas then took the mic to detail his company's TPM implementation. He began his presentation by explaining some of the issues that justified the need for a TPM solution, including difficulty getting accurate and timely reports, very limited analysis and limited visibility to outstanding liability and funding requirements. Thomas then explained the solution that was chosen and went over some details of the implementation process. In the end, daily visibility, a 50 percent reduction in time as well as complete alignment of brand spending were just some of the implementation outcomes. “We’re still very new into the process, but for the last couple of months, we have been able to identify savings of 5 percent to 7 percent,” stated Thomas.
-- Joining Thomas and Hagemeyer was Jeff Prohofsky of Adesso Solutions who shared more perspective around common business problems and best practices among consumer goods companies. Prohofsky advised, “Really think hard about change management. Bring those people that are key voices in your organizations into the project and get them to participate and champion the result.”
To listen to this event in its entirety, click here.
In addition, Dale Hagemeyer, managing vice president, Industries Research at Gartner, Inc., joined the panel, sharing his assessment of current market conditions, as well as outlining seven key considerations for selecting a TPM solution. The following are some highlights from the web event:
-- Hagemeyer started off the event by stating, “Microsoft Excel still has more market share than any single vendor, despite its lack of industry functionality.” When your organization finds itself in the market for the right TPM solution, Hagemeyer shared seven key considerations for selection:
1. Level and type of integration
2. Geographic scope
3. Degree of customization required and ease of doing so
4. Hosted or on-premise?
5. Suitability to the task
6. Enabling the mobile worker
7. Analytical capabilities.
-- Diageo’s Ralph Thomas then took the mic to detail his company's TPM implementation. He began his presentation by explaining some of the issues that justified the need for a TPM solution, including difficulty getting accurate and timely reports, very limited analysis and limited visibility to outstanding liability and funding requirements. Thomas then explained the solution that was chosen and went over some details of the implementation process. In the end, daily visibility, a 50 percent reduction in time as well as complete alignment of brand spending were just some of the implementation outcomes. “We’re still very new into the process, but for the last couple of months, we have been able to identify savings of 5 percent to 7 percent,” stated Thomas.
-- Joining Thomas and Hagemeyer was Jeff Prohofsky of Adesso Solutions who shared more perspective around common business problems and best practices among consumer goods companies. Prohofsky advised, “Really think hard about change management. Bring those people that are key voices in your organizations into the project and get them to participate and champion the result.”
To listen to this event in its entirety, click here.