The consumer packaged goods industry moves slowly. The millions of dollars that companies have spent on multi-year projects for enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management systems is a painful and expensive trudge. After studying the industry for over five years, there is no easy answer for trade promotion management, sales accounting and demand insights from these packaged solutions. Bottom line, companies cannot build market-sensing approaches from these traditional technologies; yet, companies will not take the leap of faith to try different approaches.
The pace of change in the industry is SLOW.... Why? Product margins are high, there has been no compelling event to change, and with sales and marketing job security high, why should they take the plunge? Why should they put their job on the line and try a new approach? The answer is simple. The traditional approach does not work.
