Andrew Quinn

By / Koen de Jong, Managing Director at International Private Label Consul t (IPLC)

Many private label manufacturers are often too much internally focussed. With a strategic focus on producing retailer brands they have limited outside options as they face only a few buyers. Operating in an extremely demanding environment a pre-requisite to survive is a continuous effort to reduce costs in the company. The outcome may become a threat if it results in a reactive, somewhat inward looking organization however. To my experience it is in the nature of a private label manufacturer to reluctantly share best practices with the outside world and in such a case a commercial due diligence by an outside party could add tremendous value. To be benchmarked against other operators in the category will most likely generate valuable and actionable insights.

Last week we finalized such an analysis for a private label manufacturer in the frozen food category in Austria. The company acknowledged to have potential to improve its performance and was keen to learn from best practices in the industry. Therefore, help from the outside was called in. Based on an analysis and diagnoses a comparison was made with best in class private label manufacturers. Subsequently, recommendations were formulated to make steps towards operational excellence. No rocket science, just sharing insight from a deep understanding of the private label industry, followed-up by workshops and training.

By / RICHARD KOHN