Simplot Australia is part of the global Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) J.R.Simplot Company and as with all food manufacturers, it was under increasing pressures to reduce costs, increase revenue and productivity.
The introduction of a new Trade Promotions Planning System (TPP) utilising intelligent technologies was expected to extend the capabilities of the team by providing the ability to more quickly and easily build promotional programs and quickly model scenarios and optimise profitability for both Simplot and their customers.
As part of our ecosystem we were working with ClearGoal (FMCG Specialist consultants for forecasting, retail strategy and technology implementation partner) and Bunch (Communication and Events Agency). Blueshift was the intelligent technology solution being introduced.
A change of this scale, complexity and duration required upfront deep analysis of the people impacts and careful strategic planning to ensure the right people were engaged at the right time with the right information. People across the organisation needed to understand how to work with the intelligent technology and to feel supported to see the value of the technology to augment their work. Building trust early was instrumental to the overall success of the transformation required.
We started with an analysis of the change complexity within the Simplot context, and built a Change Strategy that would ensure the technology was truly embedded into the future ways of working. After that, the team moved into delivery of the strategy and roadmap, making sure there was confidence and capability in the Simplot Subject-Matter-Expert group to lead their teams through the change for the duration of the project. This was achieved via:
A key pillar of the Change Strategy was to build trust early. Creating clarity and transparency of the how, what and when of data in TPP was a critical step in building trust. Data across the organisation was held in separate systems, on spreadsheets by individuals. Some people in specific customer facing roles had the ability to make ‘adjustments’. We quickly determined that loss of autonomy and lack of trust in the new system were significant challenges to overcome. Through inclusive design principles and practices we focused on building trust in the TPP solution at every opportunity as well as specifically creating opportunities for control and autonomy by the users. Practical examples of how we built trust included;
By creating two way engagement channels we took a customer centred approach to listening and understanding the pain points of current ways of working as well as the hopes and concerns with any change to existing ways of working. We then created regular and consistent ways to share information transparently, engage deeply and help people see how they could be successful in the future state of using TPP in their day to day work.
Interviews were conducted with 40 key stakeholders to collect data, perspectives and expectations. Along with materials review, these conversations highlighted opportunities, challenges and enablers for the effective implementation of TPP. The insights from these conversations enabled us to develop an effective strategy and approach to the change, that aligned with stakeholder expectations.
Right at the start, we commenced working with the SME cohort who represented a department impacted by the implementation of the Trade Promotions Platform. The role of the SME was to provide technical expertise from their area, as well as to champion the change and show public support for the change to be adopted within their department.
Spending the time to upskill the SME group in "leading change" had a significant impact on making the change successful. This was achieved with interactive learning workshops covering the foundations of change (the science of change in our brains, the theory of change in organisations, how to identify resistance and support people to change their behaviours etc) we also provided practical tools and support for each SME.
From the program, the SMEs were then able to build their own 60 day plans for leading themselves and leading others through the TPP change.
The sales team was a key stakeholder groups that was impacted significantly by the introduction of the TPP. Their way of working was very much based on relationships with typically long-standing customers. We took a relational approach to engaging this team and supported them specifically with materials and language to help them maintain their key relationships with customers.
For both the people change engagement and communication approaches we connected each fortnight with the Organisational Change Lead at Simplot Global to ensure organisational alignment and support for the project after our engagement concluded.
Our involvement with the Simplot TPP project covered the first 5mths of the project with the project completed over a 14mth timeframe.
The Change Strategy was endorsed by both the sponsors (Brett Armstrong, Head of Customer Experience and Melinda Wienand, Head of Revenue Management) and adopted in it’s entirety. The sponsors felt it gave them a clear roadmap for their role in leading others through the change as well as for governing the change.
The SME’s displayed confidence and strong leadership to their teams through the change, building trust and creating transparency about the data in the system. The SME’s also embarked on building their own data literacy in order to be able to speak with authority when it came to the data used in TPP.
“I just wanted to say thanks again for all your help! The TPP team has continued to use your guidance and templates and my own team has as well”
“The SME’s now have a playbook, and a really nice way for the SME’s to engage with the business. We have a more empowered team, and path forward focused on how to the end of the change with the SME’s empowered and aligned."
Get started today before this once in a lifetime opportunity expires.