Avon's first Vice-President
of Sales & Operations Planning will drive integration and
innovation to enhance service, reduce cost and build
agility
New demand forecasting technology goes live in the UK,
Mexico and Russia, raising the bar on sales planning with
real-time visibility for better execution and delivery
World-wide satisfaction pulse surveys instigate and reveal
fast and significant progress on service improvements as measured
by Representatives
LONDON, Sept. 4, 2018
/CNW/ -- Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) today announced key
milestones in the transformation of its [service] supply chain,
fueling greater flexibility and connectivity throughout its supply
chain and delivering marked improvement in service quality as well
as satisfaction and retention levels for Avon Representatives. Transformation efforts
thus far have included digital applications, leadership
appointments and operational changes, such as:
Appointment of fresh leadership to newly created Sales and
Operations Planning role:
- Rob Lowndes, currently Vice
President, Global Fashion and Home, will assume the role of Vice
President, Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP).
- The role will leverage Rob's deep expertise in commercial
operations to drive critical improvements. Rob will also be
responsible for matching objectives to new technologies, adopting
an integrated value chain perspective in order to manage sales and
more effectively order planning to improve product availability and
service levels across Avon's
global markets. He will report to Avon's Global President, Miguel Fernandez.
Utilization of exclusive software to provide real-time sales
planning visibility for Representatives, enhancing their execution
and delivery abilities:
- Avon's next generation
technologies allow for increased adaptability to demand volatility,
a dramatic reduction in delays to service delivery, greater
inventory and process efficiency, strategic resource allocation and
end-to-end Representative engagement.
- Avon's exclusive demand
planning software accurately forecasts Representative and customer
demand and synchronises Avon's
ability to meet these demands by right-sizing inventory
requirements across its supply chain.
- This unique new Machine Learning Model has gone live in all
three of Avon's top 10 markets,
after successful pilots in the UK, Russia and Mexico.
- Plans are in place for further roll-out to Avon's top 15 markets by early 2019, beginning
with Brazil in November, with a
longer term goal of using this advanced technology to achieve a
fully automated campaign planning process.
More consistent and in-depth tracking of growing
Representative satisfaction through regular pulse surveys:
- In early April, Avon committed
to speaking to up to 100 Representatives in each of its top 14
markets each day, measuring satisfaction scores across 10
fundamental service KPIs and applying the data to immediate
preventative and corrective actions.
- In just 11 weeks, Avon made
25,000 calls to its Representatives and achieved:
-
- 30% reduction in damaged boxes
- Successful launch of reinforced and compartmentalised boxes in
five countries
- Average representative satisfaction scores up by as much as 30%
in some markets.
Jan Zijderveld, Chief Executive
Officer, said: "We are making significant progress to our service
supply chain, and these efforts are beginning to show results
across the organization, particularly with regard to Representative
satisfaction and overall operational improvements. Through the
application of targeted demand planning software, we are building a
smarter supply chain that better understands the immediate needs of
our Representatives, and responds and reacts to them with greater
efficiency and effectiveness. We look forward to benefitting from
Rob's leadership as he advances our positive momentum in this
crucial area. We are extremely focused on finding new and better
ways for Avon to deliver the level
of quality and service our Representatives
deserve."
ABOUT AVON
Avon is the Company that for 130
years has proudly stood for beauty, innovation, optimism and, above
all, for women. Avon products include well-recognized and
beloved brands such as ANEW, Avon Color, Avon Care, Skin-So-Soft,
and Advance Techniques sold through approximately 6 million active
independent Avon Sales Representatives. Learn more
about Avon and its products
at www.avoncompany.com
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that
are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements
relating to service changes, cost savings, forecasting, sales
planning, changes in supply chain, enhancements in digital and
technological capabilities and changes in management. Because
forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and
uncertainties, actual future results may differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are
not limited to, the possibility of business disruption, competitive
uncertainties, and general economic and business conditions in
Avon's markets as well as the
other risks detailed in Avon's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Avon undertakes no obligation to update any
statements in this press release for changes that happen after the
date of this release.
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SOURCE Avon Products, Inc.