Trade Promotion budget is the #2 cost element for Consumer Goods (CG) companies and has been under scrutiny for many years now. Spend on trade promotions have outpaced sales growth and most global organizations are NOT reaping the benefits of investments. Hence it is only natural for the CFO/COO community to question ROI and ask few valid questions on Trade Promotion effectiveness:

Can the use of promotional funds be optimized using data and analytics? Can funds be moved to more reliable channels and product categories? Can actual results inch closer to planned results? Can sales incentives be tied with the success of specific promotional activities?

Trade Promotion Management (TPM) supported by technology is now common where Excel based processes are being replaced by automated systems that help plan/track promotion activity, ensuring that budgets are adhered to and payments are within contractual limits. However, businesses are realizing that much more is needed and demanding Trade Promotion Optimization (TPO). Integrating TPO with TPM business processes is what will separate the leaders from the pack.

CXO's and Business Leaders are obviously interested since TPO will bring in more granular fiscal control over promotional activity and can help change plans midstream, adjusting funds to more successful initiatives around brands, categories, customers and regions. It is critical to have better alignment between Category Development Strategy and Trade Strategy so that spend is routed to BRANDS which have higher potential to grow.

TPO systems and technologies are maturing and can be configurable allowing marketing teams to play around with pricing, channels, promotional frequency, timing, geos, and allowances. As most CG companies are expanding exponentially in Emerging Markets, the ROI from Trade Promotions is even more challenging in fast growing regions. Wipro with the Promax Platform and Domain expertise, partners with global CG organizations to answer some of the above questions with advanced analytics and TPM/TPO. While it is important to get the Strategy right so Promotional spend can go where it matters most and yields the maximum returns, it is equally or more critical to treat TPO as a continuous improvement activity with the right approach, processes, and tools/technology to optimize.

Hiral Chandrana- Sr. Vice President & Global Head For Business Application Services, Wipro, Ltd.

Hiral is Sr. Vice President & Global Head for Business Application Services (BAS) in Wipro with end-to-end responsibility for the Applications related strategy, development, implementation and management. BAS is Wipro’s largest Service Line and the portfolio includes following areas across all business units:

• Enterprise and Cloud Applications: SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, IBM and Microsoft
• Differentiated Offerings: Enterprise and Cyber Security, Enterprise and Solution Architecture
• Omni-Channel & Mobile Commerce: Customer Experience, eContent Mgt, and Collaboration
• Technology Practices: Testing, Business Process Management and Enterprise Integration

Hiral has extensive experience in P&L management, leading Global Teams and Delivery, Executive Relationships, Large Complex Pursuits, and growing Applications, Infrastructure, Analytics, BPO, PLM businesses in Retail, Manufacturing, Consumer Goods and Life Sciences. He is an active member at leading forums including CGT, GMA & developed partnerships with SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, CISCO, etc.

Prior to the current role, Hiral was VP & Global Business Head for Consumer Industries in Wipro with end-to-end P&L responsibility including Delivery, Sales, & Solutions. He also played leadership roles as US Head for Retail, Consumer Goods, & Transportation and Americas Head for Business Technology Services at Wipro where he won multiple awards. Before Wipro, he had progressive client/program management roles with Electronic Data Systems (EDS), Parametric Technology Corp. and Tata Motors.

Hiral is based in the US for the last 21+ years managing long term strategic customer relationships with global organizations, driving transformation initiatives and leading large teams. He has published various thought leadership papers and articles through his career. Hiral has an Engineering background, with a Master of Science (MS) from Washington State University and Executive MBA from Iowa State University.