A growth plan in a consumer goods company changes direction every quarter, and strategy execution never gets past the first year. The company starts again each time, and the commercial plan never gets its full run.
Strategy execution breaks at the quarterly review
A senior FMCG executive in my research put it this way: “I have never executed Year 2 of a five-year plan. Never. I have executed Year 1 five, six, seven, eight times in a row.”
Each new quarter brings a weaker number or a new idea from the board. The plan is rewritten, and the work that was half done is dropped. Anything that takes a year to pay back never gets there.
This matters most in the first year after a deal. Strategic management is already under pressure then, because the new owner wants proof early. Our piece on the 12 to 18 month timeline explains why that proof cannot arrive in a quarter.
Why production decides what happens to the plan
I saw this in a private equity owned beverage company. Production gave priority to a few large customers, because their orders were big and certain. Small orders from new markets waited months.
Those small orders were the commercial plan. The sales team had opened the new accounts, and the factory could not serve them. The plan was never changed on paper. It was starved in practice.
A new market needs a first order delivered on time. If it waits months, the customer lists someone else.
What a fixed review calendar does
The CEO of an Italian multi-strategy investment firm of about 25 people runs a fixed six-month calendar of business reviews. The dates are set in advance and do not move with the latest results.
A fixed calendar gives the commercial team a stretch of time to work without a rewrite. It also gives the owner a known moment to ask hard questions. Changes happen at the review and not in the corridor.
Three moves to protect the plan
First, fix the review calendar for the year. Keep the dates when the numbers disappoint. A weak month is a reason to look at the plan at the next review, and not a reason to rewrite it this week.
Second, put every change of direction through a review with a reason and a cost. The owner says what the change replaces and what it will cost in time, people and orders already in progress. Many ideas do not survive that conversation, and the ones that do are better.
Third, give the commercial plan its own share of production and resources. Agree it in advance with operations, so small orders from new markets are served on time. Our piece on rebuilding the sales team covers who opens those accounts.
The FMCG Growth Sprint is built for this gap. It fixes the review calendar and the early commercial indicators in the first 60 days, so a change of direction has to pass through a review first.
Frequently asked questions
What is strategy execution in a consumer goods company?
It is the work of carrying a commercial plan through a full cycle: new hires, new customers, production, listings and repeat orders.
Why do growth plans keep changing direction?
Quarterly numbers and new ideas from the board trigger rewrites. Without a fixed review calendar, nothing stops them.
How often should the owner review the commercial plan?
One investor fixes business reviews on a six-month calendar. The dates stay in place whatever the latest numbers say.
Who should protect the plan after an acquisition?
The CEO owns it, and the owner supports it by sending every change through a review with a reason and a cost.
To see how the first year after a deal can be organised, read about the FMCG Growth Sprint.
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