2004 Shared Strategy Study
12/26/2004
The looming presence of retail channel masters, such as Wal-Mart, Target and a few other giants, has evoked dramatic responses from both consumer goods (CG) brand managers and the rest of the retail world. The result is raising the bar for operational competency as parties on both sides feel pricing pressures.
But while many CG companies are forced to jump through hoops to comply with mandates from their largest customers, retailers have largely moved on from these concerns, finding new opportunities in product differentiation and consumer intimacy across ever-more varied selling channels. Today, many retailers no longer look over their shoulders at Bentonville and are truly living in the post-Wal-Mart world.
This year's shared strategy study allows us to take a 360-degree view of the intersection between the CG world and retailing, to examine key business issues, current state of collaboration, and return on investment (ROI) provided by individual technology initiatives.
But while many CG companies are forced to jump through hoops to comply with mandates from their largest customers, retailers have largely moved on from these concerns, finding new opportunities in product differentiation and consumer intimacy across ever-more varied selling channels. Today, many retailers no longer look over their shoulders at Bentonville and are truly living in the post-Wal-Mart world.
This year's shared strategy study allows us to take a 360-degree view of the intersection between the CG world and retailing, to examine key business issues, current state of collaboration, and return on investment (ROI) provided by individual technology initiatives.