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Consumer Goods

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PCG helps consumer goods manufacturers and brand owners deliver a step change in financial performance, from strategy and organisation through to the supply chains that serve their customers.

Shifting shopper expectations, the growth of private label and direct-to-consumer channels, and sustained input cost volatility are placing renewed pressure on companies across household, personal care, beauty, apparel and durable goods categories. Growth ambitions, rising complexity and stretched operating models make it harder to serve customers reliably while protecting margin.

Through rigorous analysis and close collaboration with our clients’ teams, we have helped set the strategic direction, design the organisation to deliver it, and optimise operations from end to end, improving service, releasing working capital and taking out cost. Our focus is on building the capability to sustain the change long after we leave, so improvements are embedded in the way our clients work and are visible in their financial results.

How we can help

  • Profit improvement and cost optimisation
  • Organisation design and operating model redesign
  • Growth and commercial strategy development
  • S&OP / IBP process design and implementation
  • Demand and supply planning improvement
  • Advanced planning system selection and implementation
  • End-to-end supply chain optimisation
  • Inventory and working capital reduction
  • Cost-to-serve and service level optimisation
  • Order to cash process improvement
  • Manufacturing and operations improvement
  • Procurement and external spend effectiveness

Client results

Matching supply and demand

Demand planning

A national personal care manufacturer was holding excess inventory and still missing customer service targets due to poor forecasting across brand, sales, and supply chain teams. PCG redesigned the S&OP process into a cohesive fortnightly cycle with clear decision-making and rebuilt the demand planning approach. With improved forecast accuracy, the manufacturer released $14m in excess finished goods inventory while case fill improved to 96%.

Revealing hidden margin

Profit improvement

Following rapid growth, a beauty care house of brands faced profitability challenges amidst range and SKU proliferation. They were unable to accurately understand true profitability below gross margin due to disconnected systems and complex rebate agreements. PCG built a cost-to-serve model allocating warehousing, distribution, and trade spend to every SKU, uncovering 28% of the range was below benchmark margin contribution. We helped to rationalise the range, revise supply chain practices and renegotiate promotional spend agreements to realise 5.6ppt improvement to EBIT margin.