The success of this initiative
comes down to the open
and honest relationship we
have with our customers
w
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Keeping the shelves fully stocked is a challenge for any retailer and one that needs to be balanced with
planning for the future. HEIN EKEN has recently been trialling a new joint business-planning approach,
working with customers to analyse their business from every angle and to ensure that no future sales
opportunity is overlooked. The first results have exceeded all expectations.
T
he Customer Planning
initiative is a four-step
JL process to drive growth
jointly with select retail customers. The
structured approach involves data
collection, identifying performance gaps,
developing and prioritising potential
opportunities, and planning and
implementing key initiatives identified
as potential growth drivers. Though
the process isn't new, the emphasis on
category growth and more value-added
partnerships is. A recent pilot in the
Czech Republic has already started to
show promising results.
identifying opportunities and developing
initiatives. A structured approach to
analysis ensures that we look at the
complete picture and results in bigger
initiatives that target strategically
important opportunities."
Involving the Customer
In the Czech Republic, the first customer
to complete the newly strengthened
Customer Planning process was Tesco.
Throughout the process, the retailer's
point of view comes first, particularly
when aligning priorities with the
opportunities that HEINEKEN can offer.
"We will be working more closely with key
customers on joint business planning,"
says Ladislav Polan, National Off-Trade
Manager for HEINEKEN's Operating
Company in the Czech Republic. "The
modern-trade channel is increasingly
important for our business, accounting
for more than 60% of off-trade sales.
Through the trial, we've clearly shown
that creating joint plans with key
customers benefits both parties."
A Structured Approach
"We've always collected data from
different sources, but we've never truly
looked at the complete picture," says
Ladislav. "Customer Planning has made
us more effective by embedding a
common way of working and rebalancing
the amount of effort we put into data
collection, compared to the time spent
"We began by gathering data from
various sources, including the customer's
own sales figures, our own figures for
the penetration of various brands and
segments, and benchmarking data for
the region and neighbouring stores. We
not only use quantitative data, but our
Quarter 2 2012 World of HEINEKEN
