Before DLC: 

• Issues with prior trade management platform 
• Rapid staff turnover and a lack of in-house expertise 
• Data integration issues due to legacy systems 
• Lack of process standardization 

 After DLC:

• Continuity across all major financial processes 
• Comprehensive trade management platform 
• Support through periods of transition 
• Millions saved due to additional investments

Overview  

The client – a large consumer packaged goods company with an annual revenue of $1.1 billion – engaged DLC to support them through a major strategic shift to a new trade management platform. 

Challenge

Due to issues stemming from a period of increased staff turnover, a challenging data integration with multiple legacy systems, a lack of process standardization, and an inability to quickly hire skilled full-time employees, the client was unable to successfully implement their new trade management platform before their rapidly approaching go-live date.  

Approach

To begin restoring stability and ensure a swift transformation, DLC consultants began by utilizing platforms such as SAP, TPM, BEx Analyzer, Business Objects, and BPC to standardize templates in SharePoint.

The team also reviewed accrual balances to determine if any funds could be recouped to reduce reserve balances and increase trade savings. 

DLC consultants also worked with the client’s sales team to perform detailed financial analysis in support of pricing and promotional strategy changes, build out the 2024 annual plan, train sales partners on excel templates, and foster alignment on both input assumptions and the resulting output financials.  

Results  

The DLC team was essential for providing continuity across all major financial processes, including month-end close review of sales and trade expenses, monthly driver-based reforecasting of net revenue, internal and external financial reporting, and ongoing approval and maintenance of trade spend and promotional events. 

The financial analyses provided for the client’s sales team supported additional investments, driving millions of dollars of incremental sales and profit for the client. 

To top it all off, the entire project took place during a period of intense technological change as the client executed full separation from their previous parent entity. DLC consultants proved highly adaptable when navigating both legacy and upstart financial systems and databases to drive results for the client at speed.

Our team partnered with other third-party vendors to validate and review key input assumptions as the client transitioned to a new trade promotion management system, leading to a successful initial go-live.