News & Events

Upcoming Industry Events & Speaking Engagements

Promotion Optimization Institute – POI Summit
Putting a Stake in the Ground for TPM-TPO and Collaborative Marketing
April 14-16, Chicago, IL

SAPPHIRE NOW
May 14-16, Orlando, FL 

In addition to working with corporations who are thought leaders in their respective industries, Clarkston Consulting is continually making headlines of its own. Here is a selection of current items that have put us in the spotlight.

Are Your Trade Promotions Hitting Their Mark?
Retail Leader
Clarkston Consulting’s Bill Schamp is quoted in this latest retail publication on trade promotion management.

2013 Review and Outlook
CGT
Steve Rosenstock, Clarkston Consulting’s Consumer Products Industry leader, shares his insights on trends in the industry. (Registration required)

The Evolution of Retail
CGT

A Cloudy Revolution for HR Tech Arena
CFO

Serialization in a CMO Environment
Contract Pharma

Packaging Serialization Update: FDA reviews obsolete 2004 barcode rule
Contract Pharma

Store Brands Groceries Now on Premium Shelves
Associated Press

A Tangled Web
Quality Progress

Store Brands Step Up Their Game, and Prices
The Wall Street Journal

Buying Generic Doesn’t Save Shoppers As Much As It Used To
The Consumerist

Private Label Brands Gaining Clout – and Pricing Power
CNBC.com

In Pursuit of Project Success – How to achieve Greater Benefit from Strategic IT Investments
A large percent of IT projects fail due to organizations not capitalizing on opportunities driving competitive advantage. Learn more on how your organization can do a better job of driving benefit through strategic investments in IT. To read the full article, Read it »
For a print-friendly PDF version, click here.

Vault Reveals Its Quality of Life Rankings for the Tech Consulting Industry – Clarkston Scores in Top Position
Vault ranked Clarkston Consulting #1 on Overall Satisfaction and Firm Culture. Out of 19 different Quality of Life indicators, Clarkston grabbed the top spot in six areas. Read it »

Vault Unveils Tech Consulting 25 Rankings for 2012
The Tech Consulting industry is a rapidly growing field that advises companies on the best ways to use information technology to meet their business objectives. With technology growing at leaps and bounds over the years, more and more job seekers are looking into the field. This year’s Vault Tech Consulting 25 Rankings puts Clarkston Consulting in an impressive No. 3 spot. To read the full article, Read it »

Companiesandmarkets.com: Electronic Laboratory Notebooks Market Potential Boosted by Applications in New End-Use Sectors
By 2017 the Electronic Laboratory Notebooks (ELNs) market is expected to be worth $284 million, according to a new research report available on companiesandmarkets.com. The requirement for operational efficiencies, accuracy and knowledge transfer within organisations operating within the scientific sector is driving ELN demand. To read the full article, Read it »

Analysts cite data management, integration as two-tier ERP challenges
Two-tier ERP deployments can help manufacturers cut costs and gain more control over their operations, according to experts. But they also caution companies to be aware of the two-tier ERP challenges inherent in integrating the two. Clarkston helped create a small custom ERP system for a two-tier ERP project involving a large U.S. chemical manufacturer and its operations in India, which then fed data into the main system. Read it »

Leading Analyst: Smaller SAP implementation partners sometimes the best option
A recent article on SearchSAP.com says specialization and cultural fit led Banner Pharmacaps Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company based in High Point, N.C., to partner with midsize service provider Clarkston Consulting. Read it »

Pharmaceutical supply chain plays catch-up – Driven by regulatory compliance, “track and trace” solutions offer greater visibility into the complex distribution network
The application of knowledge management solutions is crucial to the life sciences industry in terms of harnessing and sharing information toward drug and medical device discovery and development. But pharmaceutical companies have traditionally not put as much effort into tracking technologies and analytics to gain efficiencies in their supply chain. One reason may be that they haven’t had the profit margin pressure in the past to force them to focus on supply chain inefficiencies. Read it »

Become a Trade Promotion Management Learning Organization
Clarkston Consulting believes that in order to turn your trade promotion initiatives into a more valuable tool for boosting performance, companies need to become Trade Promotion Learning Organizations. Applying ‘learning organization’ concepts to trade promotion management will help your company drive revenue, share growth, spending efficiencies, and enhanced customer relations. Read it »

After the California Pedigree Postponement – What?
Reacting to pharmaceutical industry concerns over implementation costs and challenges and a cited lack of guidance and standardization, the California Board of Pharmacy (CBOP) recently voted to delay the enforcement of ePedigree legislation (for the second time) from January 1, 2009 to January 1, 2011. While this move is applauded by the pharmaceutical industry as a whole, how it actually plays out depends on three groups or influencers—FDA, CBOP, and the wholesalers themselves.

Flawless Retail Execution
Two factors make flawless retail execution of trade promotion marketing programs more critical than ever before. First, trade promotion budgets for consumer products manufacturers are huge (No. 2 line item overall behind cost of goods sold). These trade spending budgets will continue to grow and will outpace the rates of revenue growth for most consumer products companies. Read it »

Operational Excellence: Building Blocks for a High Performance Business
It’s true. The only constant is change. For your business that means the challenges you encounter will continue to change. As one problem is solved, another will emerge. But no matter what challenges you face, one thing is certain. Achieving Operational Excellence – that is, having a solid foundation of systems and processes in place – will help you meet those challenges head on…whatever they may be.

Bumble Bee: Big Name Leveraging ERP to become Big Company
For many consumers, Bumble Bee is the only name in tuna. Yet, even though the brand name is big, Bumble Bee is one of many small to midsize consumer goods companies striving to surpass the $1 billion mark. With recent corporate strategy focusing on shelf stable products outside of seafood. In the last few years Bumble Bee has made some strategic purchases and a significant push to grow through acquisitions.

Consumer Products Executive Exchange Newsletter

July 2012
Brands are changing. Years ago, the roles throughout the supply chain were very defined. Suppliers provided products to manufacturers. Manufacturers marketed their brands to consumers yet sold their products to retailers. Retailers sold products to consumers, supported by trade marketing dollars from manufacturers. Lather, rinse, repeat…Today, things are different. Manufacturers sell directly to consumers. Retailers manufacture and market their own brands. What will these changes mean for CPG brands and retail brands in the future?

December 2011
While Consumer Products manufacturers need to continue to leverage insights from syndicated data reports, pricing studies, merchandising plans and promotion analysis, they should not discount the value of what could be learned by simply walking through the aisles. More often than not, companies will realize great value in considering their business from the perspective of their shoppers and consumers.

September 2011
Immediately following P&G’s acquisition of Gillette in 2005, it was widely speculated that one of the core drivers of the deal was the increased leverage P&G would soon realize in its dealings with Wal-Mart and other retail giants.

March 2011
As highlighted in Clarkston’s 2011 Consumer Products Industry Outlook, perhaps the greatest challenge facing CP companies is their ability to manage through the current record-high commodity prices. To illustrate this point, over the past 12 months, crude oil is up 13%, copper is up 20%, wheat is up 33%, coffee is up 46% and cotton is up an astonishing 150%.

Life Sciences Executive Exchange Newsletter

September 2012
Over 250 professionals in the Medical Device industry gathered last week in Orlando for the 2012 Unique Device Identification (UDI) Conference. Clarkston was amongst the conference attendees to engage in the dicsussion on how companies will continue to prepare for the pending regulations surrounding UDI.

Winter 2012
Drug shortages have topped the headlines of major newspapers and network news the last few months. Although shortages are nothing new to our industry, the headlines are eroding consumer confidence in the industry’s ability to deliver quality, lifesaving treatments. Unfortunately these are not the only headlines that are driving consumers to question the quality and integrity of the drugs they depend on for lifesaving and everyday treatments as concerns over counterfeit products are also reemerging.

December 2011
Although R&D strategies differ across the industry, it does appear that some business strategies are becoming trends.

September 2011
Is the industry any closer to solving the issue of the patent cliff? The patent cliff has been a topic of conversation for years, yet the ability to build a pipeline to fill the gap has remained a challenge. Growth has occurred through acquisition and partnerships, as opposed to blockbuster drug development. Drug approvals alone were down in 2010, with only 21 new drugs approved, but the good news is that 21 new drugs have already been approved in 2011.

April 2011
The year 2011 is off with a bang and promises no rest for the weary. Wall Street is worried about the patent cliff and lack of replacement revenue leading to increased pressure on profits. Ironically, the public commonly views