ITO EN Strategic Planning Starts with Blacksmith TPM
When the North American business at Ito En decided to augment their strategic planning approach with technology solutions, one of the top priority applications was trade promotion management (TPM).
“Some colleagues within our organization and also external influencers were aware of Blacksmith’s trade promotion tools and suggested that we give them a shout,” says Harris Goldman, VP of Marketing and Innovation.
Ito En chose Blacksmith’s CPG-backed TPM solution for their business. “The team at Blacksmith was impressive,” reports Goldman, “They really understand the platform and have best practices to share. Immediately, I got a very good impression about their proficiency in promotion management and their grocery and foodservice industry experience and knowledge.”
The TPM implementation at Ito En will target 3 core organizational imperatives:
- Enhance Planning: With the application, new processes and data management will help the business better assess where to allocate support and limited resources.
- Validate Deductions: The Ito En team will put an end to manual deduction management and manage the process more collaboratively with everyone working on a shared platform. With Blacksmith TPM, validating deductions is systematic. Using the system creates the opportunity to reclaim power in the contractual relationship and improve our ability to validate deductions.
- Analyze Performance: Ito En looks forward to evolving their technology systems to review promotions in line with sales, doing what works and improving the ROI of their trade promotions.
Ito En North America is poised to continue the journey as a new customer with Blacksmith. They are looking forward to the positive organizational change and system adoptions that will help Ito En achieve their strategic planning objectives.
Ito En North America became a Blacksmith TPM customer in 2019.
Ito En LTD is a global beverage company manufacturing and selling tea leaves and beverages. The organization’s annual revenue is closing in on $5 billion. In North America, the business has an entrepreneurial spirit, selling brands like Oi Ocha (Japan’s #1 tea), Teas’ Tea and Matcha LOVE across many channels including Conventional, Natural/Specialty, Food Service, E-commerce and Asian Grocery. Booming with popularity (Ito En boasts double digit growth in the region), the North American team at Ito En is excited to launch several new technology solutions to support their expanding distribution.
