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Business Planning
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I'—-11-1 Wholesaler Customer Review
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IUU Back to the Office
World of Heineken 43 - winter 2010
There's an element of truth when people say I'm
'married to the job'! The first thing I do every morning
is to check my BlackBerry and see if there's anything
urgent. Texas and Oklahoma comprise one huge
market which we call Texoma. It has a total land area of
close to 900,000 square kilometres, which is about the
size of France and Germany combined. In total we're
accountable for more than 8% of US sales.
We have 32 distributors in the region, with five of
those making up about 80% of our sales, but every
customer gets the same professional service and my
time is split wherever it's needed. Our formula for
success includes collaborative working relationships
with our distributors, the strength of our portfolio and
our people.
With the urgent requests sorted, I have a couple of hours
free to start work on a distributor's annual business
plan. It's important that this plan supports our Must-Win
Battles. These are part of our ongoing strategy to return
Heineken USA to growth and make us the leading upscale
beer company in the USA.
At this point, the plan consists of analysis generated by
my team. For the final plan we'll work very closely with
the distributor. That's really what sets us apart from the
rest. We truly work in collaboration with our customers.
The plan will set realistic targets for things like volume,
distribution and financial commitments.
I also spend a great deal of time managing the time,
productivity and professional development of my team.
This is one of the most important elements of being a
Zone Director. Being a good people leader is hard work
and it's something I strive to do well every day. I interact
with them on a daily basis in different ways. Sometimes
we're meeting with distributors to present plans, other
times we're doing market visits or crew drives.
Today, we will be meeting with one of our largest
customers to discuss how we will work together in 2011
to achieve our objectives. With the preparation for the
distributor plan complete, I also review the latest account
segmentation report. This highlights opportunities to
grow business in specific segments.
Part of my job is to identify potential market
opportunities. We have a postcode strategy where we
identify specific opportunities in specific geographies.
This allows us to ensure we are targeting the right
consumers in the right channel with the right brand and
package. I want to discuss this today during my visit
with the distributor. Together, we will draw up a plan to
close these distribution gaps. These are high-volume
performing accounts and we can push a bit harder here
to achieve better business results.
My objective for today's meeting is to review
performance to date and determine if anything needs to
be adjusted to close out the year. I've brought a revised
investment coverage plan, to demonstrate what support
we will be providing in the trade and we'll be reviewing
the marketing spend of both the customer and Heineken
USA, to see where we are compared to budget. We'll
also be fine-tuning our marketing plan and our approach
for 2011. This can include steps like agreeing to volume
targets, identifying the right channels for distribution,
raising visibility through our marketing platforms or
on-trade promotions such as bar specials, pint samples,
beer-of-the-month features and staff training. As part
of Heineken USA's growth strategy, we have a renewed
focus on the on-premise and draught in particular, so
these types of initiatives are especially critical.
As always these meetings are based on working together
to find a common solution. We meet with the distributor
and share a candid overview of what we can deliver
and where we can close distribution gaps to drive
performance. Listening is also an important part of the
job. I never go in and just give a directive; it's a very
interactive process. I think that's something that really
differentiates Heineken USA from other competitors.
We're really willing to work with our customers.
I've read through the latest update regarding a
new business intelligence system we're currently
implementing. Part of our growth strategy includes
evolving our culture at Heineken USA, looking for ways
to reduce paperwork, and increasing efficiencies so we
can spend more productive time selling our portfolio.
This new system will help us merge and streamline our
distributor customer information with our own internal
information from a number of departments. It will
broaden the depth of our consumer insights and enable
us to drive better account performance.
It's an exciting time to be a part of this great company
and I'm very proud to represent such a great portfolio
and have the opportunity to help shape the future of our
organisation.
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