General Mills Synchronizes Demand and Supply
April 1, 2009 -- On March 26, 2009, during a live CGT web seminar event, Tim Weidenhaft, director of Demand Planning at General Mills, and Simon Ellis, practice director, Supply Chain Strategies from Manufacturing Insights, revealed how companies can achieve success at the store shelf through collaborative consumer-driven initiatives during a volatile environment.
Ellis provided attendees with a market overview while Weidenhaft shared practical, real-world examples of how General Mills is enabling better trading partner collaboration and enhanced demand visibility to improve business results and gain global competitive advantage using SAP. Here are some other highlights from the event:
> Ellis reviewed the current economic realities, including low consumer confidence levels, wealth declines, heavy job losses and unsecured credit card debt. "They all conspire to create this rather gloomy economic reality. And this provides a context then for some of the things we're seeing -- specifically in consumer packaged goods -- and the things that we really think are going to drive business initiatives over the next 12 to 24 months." One challenge he has observed is a shift from premium brands to value brands, and in many cases, private-label brands. Ellis concluded his presentation by going over the current business environment, key priorities and IT initiatives employed by leading consumer goods companies.
> Next up, Weidenhaft talked about General Mills' journey throughout the current economic downturn, expanding on some of the company's growth drivers, which today include brand building, leading customer growth and international expansion. "Innovation continues to be very important, but you need to modify how you're approaching the consumer," Weidenhaft said. He also believes that the S&OP process drives consensus on a single operating plan, which directs the company to meet customer demand most profitably. By balancing demand and supply, General Mills has centralized forecasting resources, standardized processes, and has greater insight into risks and opportunities through S&OP, even improving forecast error by 20 percentage points.
> Jeff Van Pelt, industry principal, Consumer Products from SAP, was on hand to close the event by sharing SAP's perspective on consumer demand and the benefits of implementing a single collaborative demand and supply planning strategy. Van Pelt stressed three key words: "Visibility, timeliness and consistency."
To listen to this event in its entirety, click here.
Ellis provided attendees with a market overview while Weidenhaft shared practical, real-world examples of how General Mills is enabling better trading partner collaboration and enhanced demand visibility to improve business results and gain global competitive advantage using SAP. Here are some other highlights from the event:
> Ellis reviewed the current economic realities, including low consumer confidence levels, wealth declines, heavy job losses and unsecured credit card debt. "They all conspire to create this rather gloomy economic reality. And this provides a context then for some of the things we're seeing -- specifically in consumer packaged goods -- and the things that we really think are going to drive business initiatives over the next 12 to 24 months." One challenge he has observed is a shift from premium brands to value brands, and in many cases, private-label brands. Ellis concluded his presentation by going over the current business environment, key priorities and IT initiatives employed by leading consumer goods companies.
> Next up, Weidenhaft talked about General Mills' journey throughout the current economic downturn, expanding on some of the company's growth drivers, which today include brand building, leading customer growth and international expansion. "Innovation continues to be very important, but you need to modify how you're approaching the consumer," Weidenhaft said. He also believes that the S&OP process drives consensus on a single operating plan, which directs the company to meet customer demand most profitably. By balancing demand and supply, General Mills has centralized forecasting resources, standardized processes, and has greater insight into risks and opportunities through S&OP, even improving forecast error by 20 percentage points.
> Jeff Van Pelt, industry principal, Consumer Products from SAP, was on hand to close the event by sharing SAP's perspective on consumer demand and the benefits of implementing a single collaborative demand and supply planning strategy. Van Pelt stressed three key words: "Visibility, timeliness and consistency."
To listen to this event in its entirety, click here.