Cadbury seeks Indian insights

Warc, 5 February 2013

NEW DELHI: Cadbury, the confectionery group, is expanding the responsibilities of its sales staff in India, and attempting to involve them in spotting new trends and improving the in-store experience.

The company – a unit of Mondelez International – is widening the duties of its sales staff, from tracking shopper habits to enhancing the on-shelf display of its products.

"The approach is crucial if sales as a function has to deliver expectations and the organisation's wider vision," Sunil Taldar, director, sales and international business, at Cadbury told DNA India.

One core motivator behind this move is responding to the rapid evolution of the Indian retail category, from the rise of supermarkets and hypermarkets to increasing customer affluence.

"The Indian retail sector is undergoing significant changes and hence a lot of our focus is on display and compelling in-store execution through perfect stores," Taldar said.

"We also work towards prioritising the channel and retail environment that will give maximum traction."

Alongside driving sales of its goods, Cadbury has an interest in helping improve the shopping "experience", which ultimately benefits both the vendor and its own products.

"As our products are mainly in the impulse buying category, creating an overall shopping experience by making the entire product range available in the perfect stores is crucial," said Taldar.

To achieve these aims, Cadbury has equipped its distributors with touchscreen devices housing bespoke software, thus ensuring the latest data is transferred between the firm and its staff.

Among the information made available are insights into the retailer's area of activity, as well as their order history, enabling Cadbury to collate a wealth of data across 800,000 outlets nationwide.

Proprietary ordering and billing software has also been created for its retail partners, which connects directly to Cadbury's servers, saving time and reducing the risk of error.

Data sourced from DNA India; additional content by Warc staff