Amazon Australia opened their first FC (fulfilment centre) almost 5 years ago. Later this year they plan to open Australia’s largest warehouse and the first Amazon Robotics FC in the Southern Hemisphere. To get a better understanding of how to partner with Amazon I have spoken with Betsy McGinn, co-author of The Amazon Roadmap: How Innovative Brands are Reinventing the Path to Market.
Tim Bowen
52 posts
Background January 2020 WHO (World Health Organisation) declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern. By March 2020 WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Since that time there has been much debate about how COVID-19 would change the behaviours of supermarket shoppers. This quick blog focuses on how COVID effected […]
In a high inflation environment manufacturers and supermarkets will need to discuss cost price increases. The recent fight between TESCO and Heinz (Heinz ceased supply) has highlighted these negotiations can become adversarial. Do these adversarial negotiations deliver the best outcome? This quick blog suggests a different approach, collaboration, will deliver the best results for shoppers plus manufacturers and supermarkets.
As the Australian economy moves from a low inflation to a high inflation environment sell prices will increase. Using some measures, e.g. category average margin, to determine sell prices is not apt in a high inflation market. . Simply put shoppers will switch to other brands / supermarkets plus P/L (private label) manufacturers and international supermarkets are prepared to operate on lower margins.
Will Australia follow the lead of over 50 countries and introduce a sugar tax? During the recent federal election campaign both major parties suggested that a sugar tax was a maybe. Previously their position had been no. So, what has changed?
As an industry a great deal of time and effort is put into category reviews and creating category plans. Unfortunately, these category plans cannot always be implemented. Recent events such as COVID, extreme weather and war have highlighted the need for the industry to respond quickly to disruption in supply chains and shopper demands. The traditional category management process, with a 12 month category plan, may not be apt. The industry needs to embrace a more flexible approach to better manage disruption and meet the ever-changing demands of shoppers.
Background ESG is an acronym for Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance. Some simple examples of ESG initiatives in FMCG would include: Environmental: removal of single use shopping bags Social: employing a diverse workforce Corporate Governance: banning all forms of bribery and corruption There are several other terms with similar goals […]
Shoppers have increasing power today. Logically then category metrics should focus on measuring shopper satisfaction. Unfortunately, many current metrics focus on the objectives of manufacturers and supermarkets i.e. maximise turnover, volume and profit. I suggest the industry will focus more on shopper loyalty as a key category metric. This will require a change in emphasis for the industry. The emphasis will be on what products and services drive shopper loyalty, not sales volume.
Omnichannel category management is an evolution in category management thinking. The fundamentals remain the same, but the thinking has changed because shopper behaviours have changed. The change in shopper behaviours is also driving change in how manufacturers and supermarkets best serve shoppers. The updated model places more emphasis on digital as digital influences buying decisions more now plus shoppers are buying more online.
Historically, much has been written suggesting larger companies, manufacturers and supermarkets, have power. Is this still relevant today? Is the market leader more powerful than a start up? Is Coca-Cola or Red Bull the category leader? Is Woolworths or Aldi driving change in supermarkets? Or does the shopper, via customer reviews on platforms like Amazon, now control the market?
Background Many manufacturers and supermarkets have made major investments into ‘big data’ to drive sales. For example, in April 2021 Woolworths bought a controlling stake in Quantium (from 47 to 75% shareholding) for $223M (AFR). In June 2021 Coles announced it would spend $2.5B on digital over 2 years […]