Procter & Gamble, the consumer-packaged goods manufacturer, is making sure that its marketers and supply chain experts are more closely aligned to meet the rising demand on e-commerce platforms.
Tiffany Lilze, senior director/e-commerce supply chain and innovation for North America at Procter & Gamble, discussed this topic in a session on Lions Live, a digital platform run by Cannes Lions, a sister company of WARC.
And she argued that the marketing and supply-chain departments are becoming “more linked” than ever in the online purchase funnel – be it for click-and-collect, curb-side pick-up, or true direct-to-consumer sales.
That process necessarily runs from initially tempting a shopper to visit an e-commerce site or app and extends right through to transporting a product to a consumer’s front door.
“All those things are very important from a total brand experience [perspective], and from getting to go from eyeballs looking at the site to conversion,” Lilze said. (A full view of Lilze’s interview at Lions Live is available here. A summary is available for WARC subscribers here.)
“As we continue to use supply chain as a top-line growth driver, we need to make sure that those two are inherently linked, both in everyday driving demand, but also those different events where there are more consumer eyeballs.”
The role of brand custodians in this framework, she explained, is to “drive demand” on e-commerce sites, whether that is a digital pure-play like Amazon.com, or the online arms of omnichannel chains like Walmart and Target.
“But if that product is not available in the right spot at the right time to ship to the consumer, then we have definitely failed together as a unit,” Lilze said.
“The most important thing that we can do is continue to partner together because … [we want to use the] supply chain as a top line growth driver. And both marketing and supply chain need to continue to work together in order to maximise that.”
Such an objective is epitomised during major online-shopping occasions, a list that includes Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Amazon’s Prime Day (when the Seattle, Washington-based retailer offers discounts on a huge slate of goods), and the December holiday period.
“We need to make sure that we know, as … where that demand is being driven to, and how we deliver to the consumer. That's the most important thing we can do,” Lilze said.
“And over the last three to four years, we have really – at P&G – made sure that marketing and supply chain are hand in hand and locked at the hip in delivering for the consumer.”
Sourced from WARC
