The AlignPros Tell Why The “10 Critical Control Points of Alignment” Are Vital
1. Strategic Plan Development
Bill Pizzico
President & CEO
“Both the introduction and the determination of growth direction begin here. The strategic go-to-market plan is designed not only to fulfill the vision, but also to design the course of action defining the market approach. This blueprint creates confidence in reaching growth objectives through speed-to-market efficiency and cost effective budgeting. Clearly defined competitive points of difference provide a precise pathway to market efficiency and ultimately to affecting performance expectations.”
2. Distribution
Charles Conwell Jr.
VP Business Development
“When expanding your geographic reach by diving deeper into your current market channel or improving penetration into selected retail or foodservice segments, you may require additional resources you do not currently have.”
3. Message continuity and media -
Chip Bolton
VP Marketing & Communications
“When your communication strategy is not aligned with your performance goals your overall strategic approach suffers. Your media plan, advertising, press relations, even your trade show presence are your bully pulpits to speak to your audience clearly, consistently, and constantly. Messaging done properly helps drive revenues, pumps-up ROI, and powers brand performance.”
4. Market Spend
Rick Pensa
VP Trade Spend Analytics
“Spreadsheets and markdowns are old-school. New technology that tracks and monitors trade spend is bringing more manufacturers and operators on to the same page in this $200 billion market. Cost effective budgeting, speed-to-market sales effectiveness, and coordination with the CEO, CFO, and COO to understand the metrics and analytics of trade spend objectives has now become an integral part of a c-level board room.”
5. Product Development
Tom Macrina
VP Culinary Operations
“Expanding cultural diversity, proliferating ethnic tastes, regional cuisines, and more can test your resources. To maximize growth performance you must be on point with the essentials like product development, product assortment relating to menu varieties, the retail foodservice super deli, packaging, labeling, and regulations.”
6. Technology
Raj Deshpande
VP Strategic Technology
“Using technology as a strategic assist provides tremendous insights towards truly understanding and leveraging your value proposition and fully optimizing results. Web intelligence, social media platform building, and competitive speed-to-market effectiveness, to name a few, are all a part of applying technology to maximize competitive points of difference in order to expand your overall business and brand models.”
7. Brokerage
Charlie Nuara
Director of Broker Sentral
“Not growing your volume or are margins not meeting the projections you forecasted? Your company may have slipped beneath your brokerage firm’s radar. No need to allow this representation to be a part of your go-to-market model.
8. Merchandising
Roxanne Johnson
Director of Fresh Food Merchandising
“Coordinating the sell-through with the sell-in culminates at the shopper touch point whether at retail or at foodservice. Orchestrating the sequence of sales merchandising is critical to revenue projections, buyer confidence, and consumer product preference; all planned to optimize top line sales and bottom line margins.”
9. TV Logistics
Linda Simmons
VP Logistics/Television Shopping
“Creating mass market appeal within a targeted market channel provides manufacturers a direct sales line to their consumers. In defining the consumers’ profiles industry alignment must be accurate and within the products’ descriptions in order to successfully incorporate price points, inventory, logistics, and access. As a part of the direct sales line, margin, coordination, packaging, and distribution technology need to be satisfied for all parties to effect maximum sales performance and brand relevance.”
10. Consumer Marketing and Branding
Brian Zaslow
VP Retail Operations/Marketing
“Connecting the unconnected dots has never been obvious and in too many go-to-market instances it is overlooked completely. Developing the marketing and communications platforms so they dovetail within each of the go-to-market strategy disciplines is the key ingredient to optimizing product loyalty and brand purchases. Understanding consumers’ purchase patterns and shopping behaviors determines the lifecycle of the product and its continued course of action, maximizing revenues by connecting the unconnected dots in the supply chain alignment process.”