Do you have the right information to monitor your manufacturing operations? Are your metrics helping you ensure product quality and drive continuous improvement?Do your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) really matter to your
operation? Using lessons learned and other important tips, we can help you develop the KPIs that make the most sense for your business. Like baseball managers, you too, deserve the best information to make your game-time decisions.

Clarkston Consulting recently partnered with Consumer Goods Technology Magazine in a trade promotion management survey to understand what companies are doing in terms of improving trade fund effectiveness and to provide insight on the necessary steps to improving trade promotion management.

Everyone tells secrets, even supermarkets.  British supermarket Tesco, and the U.S.-based Kroger micro-analyze their consumer data and share it with companies such as Procter & Gamble, Kelloggs, and PepsiCo.  Peeling back the layers of the loyalty card revealed collaborative opportunities, targeted sales and marketing channels, and millions of dollars of revenue.Find out how you can receive the same returns.

Globalization, new technologies, fierce competition and a consumer- driven economy have created a brand new set of challenges for the consumer packaged goods company. At the core of each company's survival - including yours - is the ability to innovate.

Clarkston Consulting believes that to gain a measurable lead from your ERP solution you should adopt a hybrid model built on a frame of industry best practices and enhanced with unique capabilities designed to boost your organization's competitive advantage.

Learn how data analysis capabilities can drill down beyond dashboards to uncover specific information that can help a company make wise, strategic decisions.

IT organizations within consumer products companies are fielding the demand from business users and management to do more with less. The need for infrastructure and application enhancements to support a company's strategic initiatives is routinely coupled with the pressure to find alternative, lower-cost means to achieving the desired results. Lean Lifecycle Management is focused on elimination of waste in all forms, and is tailored to the specific needs of IT organizations within the consumer products industry. Many companies are looking to follow in the footsteps of the manufacturing industry and are investing in the application of lean manufacturing practices across the organization.

Enterprise Project Management (EPM) blends people with knowledge and experience, formal processes, and the right technological tools to achieve corporate objectives. Seven key considerations can help your organization define and execute the critical elements of establishing a successful EPM landscape.

CPFR can maximize the value of collaborative relationships by seamlessly linking the consumer products industry from manufacturer to consumer. The value proposition of CPFR is compelling, with the potential to increase sales, decrease operating costs, reduce inventory, and improve relations with suppliers.

Regardless of their type, portals share a number of similar characteristics, and can help companies improve customer service and forecasting through increased visibility to mission-critical information enterprise-wide.

By aligning the entire portfolio with overall business strategy, a PMO improves decision-making capabilities to prioritize and measure value from key initiatives.

Clarkston Consulting conducted a survey of ten leading companies to determine plans and actions for Sarbanes-Oxley remediation. The survey revealed a high sense of awareness and ownership from CIOs, as well as the belief that the need for timely and more accurate information is more critical than ever before.

When approached strategically, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance can be turned into a real way to increase confidence, impact shareholder value, and get ahead in the new area of SEC compliance.

When approached from a strategic vantage point, scorecards and dashboards can provide focus, measure success, and drive business value. However, executives must define the type of information they want to quantify, as well as who will need access to these metrics.

Trade Promotion Spending continues to dominate the consumer products industry as manufacturers spend out of control on marketing efforts with few tangible ways to quantify ROI. To truly measure customer profitability, manufacturers must measure costs incurred by retailers.

A customer scorecard can act as the springboard for collaboration to improve relationships with retailers and open the channels of communication. The key to developing a successful scorecard is getting everyone on board and considering it a regular part of doing business.

The investment in variation research can yield long-term dividends through streamlined efficiencies, reduced waste and rework, and faster market delivery.