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Speaking at Salesforce’s RCG Summit on how to build more resilient supply chain relationships, the pair discussed how technology can bring business units closer to customers.
By customers, they mean the complicated web of partners spread across multiple product categories. For Birtles and Reeve, their ideal state would be to develop an efficient and effective supply chain complete with accessible data insights. The challenge, however, is making sense of the mountains of data they receive from each unique stakeholder, while optimising for efficiencies and minimising errors.
Tasked with “championing successful independence” for all stakeholders in Metcash’s supply chain, David explained the purpose behind an enterprise-wide transformation project he’s been leading, the first of its kind.
“In our model, the retailers you see every day are independent business owners who are connected with their communities,” says the Metcash CIO. “We provide them with capabilities so they can compete with large-scale integrated retailers.”
Asahi has a similar goal. During an internal research project, they learned that their supply partners wanted easier ways to conduct business — from customer data management to fundamentals such as ensuring access to the right products for them. To do this, Birtles identifies that they needed to address the basics to improve their relationship with each partner.
“It's making sure we spend as much of our time actually building a joint strategy, as it is working together,” says the Asahi Customer Experience and Transformation Lead. “Spending less time on compliance and putting out fires, and more time discussing how we can work together to grow both of our businesses. For us, that's what's being driven by commercial excellence —it's a genuine partnership.”
To reach commercial excellence, both leaders needed to rethink their supply chain strategies. And this started by changing how they viewed the relationship with their partners.
Reeve set out to understand how to make the Metcash supply chain more efficient. He started by identifying the unique needs of each partner and the demands of their communities. To better serve these retailers, he used supply chain data to understand each retailer’s unique needs.
“Every single one of our customers is unique and has developed a personal relationship with their communities,” says Reeves.
“We don’t want to create a cookie cutter approach where each store looks the same — we want to work with them to become the best store in their town.
For Asahi, they truly value the safety of their customers' data. They wanted to become a “true partner” with their customers, which started by looking at the data to paint a clearer picture of their needs. “You need to be informed to have a true partnership. You need to understand their priorities and who they are.”
Asahi is on a journey to better integrate supply chain data with service, marketing and sales sources. Birtles wants to ensure partners have a connected experience, one that captures the context and sentiment of previous interactions.
“Let’s say a customer has a poor service experience. We want to make sure that when our sales rep next calls on our customer, they know what’s happened so they can be upfront and steer that visit or change that visit to reflect those recent interactions. We don't want them going in blind.”
Data visibility will give Asahi a clearer understanding of their partner’s needs. Having context and insight means that sales reps could identify, upsell and cross-sell opportunities, while effectively managing sensitive situations.
Reeve agreed that integrating supply chain data with sales, services and marketing data is crucial to empowering their partners. Metcash needed to equip those on the frontline managing stakeholder relationships with relevant real-time data insights.
Reeve also wanted to use data to improve forecasting abilities, especially when it came to changes in the local community. From population growth to the impact of new infrastructure, he wanted to empower the team to identify trends from their supply chain data to help retailers prepare for the future.
Reeve acknowledges that integrating so many different systems, processes and definitions across their network of partners is a mammoth job. But, he adds, it’s a crucial step to gleaning insights that will improve commercial excellence across the entire supply chain.
“Data is the oil in the machine. We need to be as efficient at moving data and gaining insights as we are at moving boxes around our network. No box moves without the data moving with it.”
Birtles says that changing how they talk to retail partners is critical to success. Rather than simply communicating tactical updates like new promotions and stock volumes, they’re bringing partners into conversations about Asahi’s strategic plans and joint business growth.
She recommends making the effort to treat retailers like consumers, with personalised experiences and messages that make them feel part of something bigger.
With the traditional face-to-face experience being now only one of many channels for customer interaction, Birtles is focusing on humanising interactions where possible. For example, Asahi’s online portal provides personalised product recommendations, including ‘products suggested by your rep’. Birtles says they are replicating helpful human experiences into digital touchpoints at scale.
“Traditionally it was driven by that personal relationship you had with your rep. As we have more interactions digitally, it's about how do you maintain that personalisation in that digital space, and use data to make them feel like it is that curated experience?”
