Power Breakfast

When the Kellogg Company brought in a new management team at the end of 2000, one of its first questions was "where is the sales force?" It was a legitimate question, since the cereal maker was faced with declining market share and some strained relationships with its retail accounts.

The answer is that the sales team had been long gone. The company had dismantled its direct sales force in 1995, leaving brokers the task of getting Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies on the shelves.

"We initially hired 151 people, and they were in place by July 2001," says Mike Bivens, vice president of retail sales for Kellogg Morning Food Division, which includes 240 retail representatives, retail team leaders and directors of retail sales plus a broker sales force. "We had to get back into the stores and start working with the independent retailers again," Bivens says. "[The company was facing] declining market and shelf share, diminishing relationships with key store personnel and new account specific marketing and package promotion initiatives. The overall goal was to win at retail by intensifying the focus at the store level, which would impact our ability to regain the number one dollar-share position in the cold cereal category. The key tactic was to direct Kellogg resources where they have the greatest impact to Kellogg's bottom line. We wanted our direct reps selling and building relationships and needed to empower the reps to do this."

To accommodate this shift in sales strategy, the company needed technology that would be aligned with its core principles, Bivens says, which are: 1. Prioritize to win, allocating resources where they will have the greatest impact; 2. Set the right targets; and 3. Sweat the execution.

"Kellogg Morning Foods employed these core principles, and more specifically, gave brand, account and retail an equal accountability to get results," Bivens observes. "Targeted effective communication and dynamic measurement of results were also critical factors."

Sweating the execution is a guiding principle of the company, Bivens says, and that extends to technology. "Execution is at the heart of any food company's competitive edge. We are working to ensure that all aspects of our business are driven by a total commitment to superior execution."

Kellogg felt the best way to empower the retail sales reps was to give Kellogg account handlers the ability to deliver pertinent selling information directly to the retail sales reps in a timely and efficient manner.

To accomplish this Kellogg deployed a Web-based customer relationship management system from RW3 Technologies that runs on Dell laptop computers. The cereal company deployed RW3's Essentials module in other areas of the business.

During the initial technology evaluation, Kellogg worked with RW3 to identify key areas where the system could have the most impact. It was determined that Kellogg's sales representatives were receiving hundreds of e-mails each day that did not necessarily apply to their particular accounts. This resulted in an overload of information for the sales representatives.

"We had a big problem," Bivens says. "Retail sales reps were overloaded with information from accounts they didn't even call on. So we developed an RW3 interface that provided us the ability to route the Safeway information directly to the Safeway rep and deliver Albertson information directly to Albertson reps."

45-Day Implementation

The need for rapid deployment was also a factor in the decision to go with RW3. "[RW3] is an organization that we have confidence in. They could foresee bumps in the road and help us steer clear of those bumps."

Bivens reports that implementing the RW3 system took 45 days, "and the result was fantastic. It was a very smooth transition."

Kellogg decided to implement the RW3 products on laptops rather than portable handheld devices, also called personal digital assistants (PDAs). "We considered PDAs, but felt the use of laptops would enable the entire sales force to be on one platform," says Dave Jones, director, retail sales. "In addition, we could support our common platform through one central Kellogg help desk," he notes.

A bonus to deploying the system on Web-based laptops is that if there is a problem with the laptop, the reps can access the system through their home computers, Jones says. "With the Web-based system, they can always go to another machine to get to their information."

Another reason for not going with a handheld device, Bivens says, was to ensure that the sales reps didn't spend their time fussing with the computer. "When the reps are in the stores, their main focus should be selling, not worrying about a computer."

In addition, it was critical that the software itself was built on a stable yet robust architecture. "RW3 is built on an N-tiered architecture -- one of the most stable, scaleable and flexible foundations in the industry," according to Bivens.

Bivens also says it was important that the technology conform to the process, and not the other way around. "The technology has to be transparent so we can focus on business process and results."

Another key part of the rollout strategy was to get input from the users who will be implementing the system. Strategic ownership of the process was necessary, Bivens says. "Dave Jones has been instrumental in this leadership role. He helped establish a 'Super User Group' -- a committed group of cross-functional users that have real ownership in the process and drive continued business process enhancements in conjunction with RW3's client services and development teams."

Streamlined Communications

Ultimately, Kellogg installed RW3's flagship application suite, called Focus 2.0. Bivens says that the CRM application helps the retail sales team concentrate on what he calls "the key points of success" -- streamlining communication between account and retail teams so that the right people get the right information at the right time.

Aside from improving the flow of data from the account handlers to the reps in the field, the system also gives the reps some powerful information to help tailor their message toward specific accounts.

Another key benefit of this technology initiative has been the ability to provide the sales team the means to react quickly.

"This system provides everything our retail sales team needs to execute the selling plan in the store," Jones says. "It is really a conduit between two areas of our business professionals -- the sales team in the field and the account manager. They're all working toward the same goal. If there is a problem in a store- inventory is stuck in the backroom or there are no shelf tags- that information is put into a system and these situations can get immediate attention. The result is crisper, cleaner, faster communication. We can turn things around in one day."

Eye on the Future

Eventually, the system will provide more detailed information on individual markets so that Kellogg can tailor the message down to particular retailers. "The addition of demographic data may become an opportunity," Jones notes. "If the sales rep knows that a certain store skews Hispanic or elderly, that information enhances out knowledge base and improves our ability to sell in that store."