Consumer packaged goods

Consumer packaged goods - FMCG

Description

Scope

This sector covers all the industrial manufacturers that supply retailers and specialized retailers. The luxury goods sector is covered elsewhere.

Background

Industrial manufacturers are faced with a difficult operational situation in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector:

sluggish consumption on European markets, combined with increased production costs (rises in raw material prices, pressure on pay, regulatory pressure, rising energy prices, etc.) that erode their profitability due to diminished coverage of their fixed costs,
changes in retailers’ procurement models in Europe, in particular with the growth of cross-docking and consolidation hubs, that result in a reduction in the size of the batches supplied, the potential transfer of stock and, consequently, increased logistics costs and the corresponding potential drop in margins, plus stricter demands in terms of deadlines, reactivity and guaranteed availability,
management of complexity due to marketing policies based on special offers and new product launches.

The challenges

In just a few years, operational excellence has become a major factor of competitive performance for industrial manufacturers and is now an essential lever in their quest for profitable and durable growth. Efforts are required in a number of fields:

clarify the commercial promises made to retailers. Revision of quantitative scales, of the logistics organization, assessment of the issues all along the chain to the door of the shop, both on the manufacturing side (impact of these changes on overall margins) and the retailer’s side (associated issues), in order to enter future negotiations in an informed position,
improve operational efficiency, cut costs and reduce dependency on fixed costs (optimization of purchasing, industrial performance plans, identification of solutions to share infrastructures, flows and stocks, introduction of variable costs, development of delayed differentiation, reduction of complexity and the increase in product ranges, etc.),
control innovation: deploy the processes and an organization to cut time to market and secure product launches, minimize manufacturing cost prices from the design phase, while working to keep complexity under control,
improve supply chain management: optimize product availability, while allowing for unforeseeables (variations in demand, production incidents, etc.). Keeping this promise involves developing an agile supply chain, capable of rapid arbitration in the choice of production sites, logistics circuits and the deployment of stocks. Collaborative forecasting, reaction to demand signals, control of flows and capacity, and a flexible logistics network can all offer leverage.

How can Argon Consulting assist you?

Argon possesses in-depth knowledge of the issues and the competitive levers in the FMCG sector. Argon teams can help you achieve durable results by transforming your operations:

service strategy and segmentation of service policies,
inter-company supply chain collaboration (flowcasting, management of promotions, GPA and GMA, data synchronization, etc.),
industrial strategy and make or buy decisions,
optimization of industrial performance (lean manufacturing initiatives, optimization of capacity and efficiency, productivity and introduction of variable costs),
logistics strategy and reconfiguration of distribution networks,
excellence in logistics and transport,
overhaul of the supply chain processes, with a focus on decision-making processes (sales forecasts, planning, S&OP, performance management indicators),
optimization of stocks and the working capital requirement,
management of innovations and product life cycles,
reduction of the complexity of product ranges,
management and control of operational costs (ABC, etc.),
optimization of information systems (master plan, assistance in making decisions, support),
change management and staff mobilization (change strategy, communication, training, assistance).

Argon Consulting’s customers include Bahlsen Lorenz, Cadbury, Colgate, Danone, Energizer, Fagor Brandt, Henkel, Loeul et Piriot, MapaSpontex, Masterfoods, Poult, Reckitt, Saint Louis Sucre, Sara Lee, etc.

Team

Yvan Salamon – President

The founder and President of Argon Group, Yvan has managed and been directly involved in many assignments to improve operations (costs, cash flow), as well as industrial and logistics strategy assignments, in particular with Masterfoods, Danone, Energizer, Hager and Sara Lee. Before creating Argon Group, Yvan Salamon was a member of the European Board of Hays Logistics Group (Kuehne & Nagel), where he was in charge of production methods and organization. Prior to that, Yvan Salamon spent four years as the Production Plants Manager with CGC, and five years with the strategy consultancy bureau, Mars & Co. Yvan is a graduate of the Ponts & Chaussées engineering school.

Nicolas Gelle – Associate Director

Nicolas Gellé has 16 years of experience in consulting, in particular in the fields of service strategy, manufacturing or logistics master plans, the reconfiguration of supply chain processes and organizational changes, and in restructuring and working hours reorganization projects, performance, outsourcing and activity transfer plans and the design of warehouses and industrial sites. Before joining Argon Consulting, Nicolas was in charge of the manufacturing entity at Valtech Axelboss, of which he was one of the founders. He was also Supply Chain Director at Moulinex. Nicolas started his career with Ouroumoff and CSC Peat Marwick. Nicolas is a graduate of Centrale Lille.

Fabrice Corbière – Associate Director

Fabrice Corbière has more than 20 years of experience in supply chain consulting and almost 40 supply chain change projects under his belt. In the Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector, he has managed numerous projects to cut costs, control WCR and improve service for Consumer Goods customers, in particular for 3M, Groupe Rossignol, Essilor and Dirickx. Before joining Argon Consulting, Fabrice was an Associate Director with PEA Consulting, then with Cap Gemini Consulting, where he was in charge of the supply chain practice. Fabrice is a graduate of Centrale Paris.

Laurent de Bourmont – Associate Director

Before joining Argon Consulting, Laurent de Bourmont was a partner at Bearing Point, in the retail and consumer goods group. He has 15 years of experience in the optimization of the supply chain in manufacturing (textiles, luxury goods, consumer goods) and distribution (retailing, specialist distribution and e-commerce). Laurent is a graduate of HEC and Science Po Paris.

Marc Peigné – Associate Director

Marc Peigné is one of France’s leading specialists in logistics. Marc has worked on numerous projects involving logistics master plans, operational re-engineering, outsourcing and change management. Before joining Argon Consulting, he worked for Hays Logistics (Kuehne & Nagel), where he was the Director of Production Engineering and Logistics Engineering for France, and a Divisional Director. Prior to that, Marc was in charge of procurement at Alcatel.

Eric T. – Director

Eric T. joined Argon Consulting after 10 years with BearingPoint, where he worked on logistics strategy projects, and on logistics and manufacturing performance. Before that, he worked for Productive Edge Associates. He has worked for several industrial players in the agrifoods sector on the implementation of manufacturing performance scorecards, the optimization of material yields, and the outsourcing of warehouses). Eric is a graduate of Polytechnique and of Ponts et Chaussées.

Isabelle H. – Senior Manager

Isabelle H. is a Senior Manager in the supply chain and manufacturing practice, with more than 10 years of experience in consulting. Isabelle has managed a European project to overhaul the supply chain master plan for Danone Waters, plus assignments to improve logistics performance, in particular for Mapa Spontex. Before joining Argon Consulting, Isabelle worked in the planning department for Hays Logistics (Kuehne and Nagel) and for Sylea (Valeo), in the field of industrial planning. Isabelle is a graduate of the Arts & Métiers school.

Donatien M. – Senior Manager

Donatien M. is specialized in supply chain. He has worked with both manufacturers and distributors on issues of logistics strategy and industrial planning and scheduling and operational improvement programs. He has managed projects for consumer good players, including Masterfoods, Saint Louis Sucre and Fromagerie Bel. Donatien is a graduate of Centrale Paris in industrial engineering, production management and logistics.

Mathieu de N. – Director

Mathieu de N. is a Director in the supply chain and manufacturing practice. Over the last few years, Mathieu has acquired outstanding expertise in the issues of logistics strategy, logistics and supply chain performance and industrial planning. In the FMCG sector, he has worked for customers such as Danone, Energizer, Panzani or Saint Louis Sucre. Mathieu is a graduate of Mines Paris.

Carmela V. – Senior Manager

Carmela V. is a Senior Manager specialized in logistics. Carmela has worked on numerous logistics performance projects (warehouses, transport, network, systems), in particular in the FMCG sector (Sara Lee, Danone, Sodiaal, Colgate, Yves Rocher, GS1). Before joining Argon Consulting, Carmela worked for Hays Logistics (Kuehne & Nagel), where she occupied a number of positions, ranging from logistics consultant to IT project manager and operations.

Luigi C. - Senior Manager

Luigi C. is a Senior Manager at Argon Consulting. He has 12 years of experience in Supply Chain. He worked on several projects of Supply Chain organization and process reengineering (Forecast, Industrial Planning, Distribution Planning, Inventory Management) in Consumer goods sector. Before joining Argon Consulting, Luigi was Manager at Capgemini Consulting. Luigi is a graduate of LUISS Guido Carli Business school in Rome.

Eric P. - Manager

Eric P. has worked on many performance improvement assignments (logistics and supply chain) as well as transformation assignments. Eric has repeatedly intervened in the industry of convenience goods, in particular in the food-processing industry. He worked in particular for Euralis, Energizer, Hager and Bel. Eric is a graduate of Centrale Paris and of Technical University of Munich (TUM) in production management.

Emmanuel R. - Manager

Emmanuel R. is a Manager in Supply Chain Management. He worked on projects of diagnoses / recommendations and on projects of operational implementation (Orange, Louis Vuitton, Nespresso, Thales, Michelin). Emmanuel is graduated from the Ecole des Mines de Paris.