building a high-performance ecommerce...

Building a High-Performance eCommerce OrganizationHow to resource and staff for eCommerce success

While hard to imagine nowadays, it wasn’t too long ago when companies had

nobody dedicated to eCommerce. This was pretty much the case across the CPG

industry. In fact, if you were working on eCommerce at all, you were designated

responsibility for it typically alongside other channels.

The title of VP or Director of “alternative channels” was not uncommon 10 years

ago. This role covered a mix of small and emerging channels—such as club stores,

discounters, military and eCommerce—sectors that really didn’t “fit” anywhere

else or fit the mold of traditional retail models.

It’s funny when you think about the complexity and nuances of these four wildly

different channels lumped under the guise of “alternative.” Just consider how

different the skill set and path to success is for eCommerce versus something like

military, or even club or discount. Yet that was the level of attention and focus

these channels were given back then. The result: very little potential was realized.

We’ve come a long way as an industry—from fundamentally one person

supporting the entire eCommerce channel as a quarter of their time to companies

now having dedicated teams of highly specialized people working on a full-time

basis. There’s been an incredible evolution in terms of eCommerce specialization

and dedication in a few short years. Still, these dedicated eCommerce specialists

are supporting only a fraction of what actually needs to be done.

The industry continues to grapple with questions about how to participate in and organize around eCommerce, particularly without sacrificing company heritage or culture. Many of these issues are addressed in this paper, with

Profitero providing some guidelines and benchmarks based on our research.

However, some organizational issues remain a work in process. They’ll continue to

evolve over time as eCommerce grows and digital becomes more pervasive.

2

What you’ll learn:• The importance of culture and C-level buy-in in

organizational success

• Where eCommerce should report

• What makes a successful digital commerce leader

• How to determine, allocate and grow dedicated headcount

• Balancing in-sourcing versus outsourcing to brokers, agencies and consultants

• Critical workstreams, and common roles and responsibilities needed to succeed

3BUILDING A HIGH - PERFORMANCE ECOMMERCE ORGANIZ ATION

Prerequisites for eCommerce success

C-level and board support. There continues to be

skepticism and internal resistance about eCommerce

inside many companies. Without executive support

and acknowledgment of digital as a strategic priority,

efforts could be dead in the water before they start.

Therefore, it’s important that the top brass explicitly

states from the get-go that the company is doing

eCommerce and going to do it well. More and more,

we see CEOs becoming outspoken advocates and

champions of eCommerce.

There are of course some burning organizational

questions on nearly everyone’s mind:

• How big is the typical eCommerce team?

• Where does it report?

• How is it structured globally?

• What activities are in-sourced versus outsourced?

• How many people are out in the field?

But none of that matters if some pre-conditions to

doing eCommerce aren’t met—that is, having the

intangibles or prerequisites for eCommerce success

right in the first place. These include:

1

“The digitization of the whole [shopping] experience is ongoing and permanent and we need to participate in that.”

—James Quincey CEO, The Coca-Cola Company

Acknowledged need for new specialization. This

means a dedicated and skilled professional focus by

management is necessary to ensure activities critical

to eCommerce success aren’t slipping through the

cracks. Optimizing search placement on retailers’

sites, developing and managing digital product

content, and analyzing channel performance and

profitability are among the roles and responsibilities

that need to be covered.

Understanding that eCommerce success follows a different path, and a rather unfamiliar one at that. It’s important that companies be comfortable

operating with a certain level of ambiguity. This is

because eCommerce success can’t be measured

purely based on existing metrics or traditional

criteria. Instead, high-performing organizations give

eCommerce teams a bit of latitude because their

goals, definition of success and pathway is usually

different than that of mature channels.

Expectation that everyone in the organization will have some accountability. Without a doubt,

all disciplines and functions will be impacted

and involved in the transition to eCommerce

in some capacity. Digital is not something that

just sits adjacent to what the business already

does. Consequently, it’s vital to create awareness

throughout the ranks and invest in cross-functional

training and development to (at the very least)

establish a baseline vocabulary and communicate

the basic concepts. Ensuring everyone has a vested

interest in seeing eCommerce succeed rather than

viewing it as internal competition or cannibalization

is critical.

3

42

Source: 2018 CAGNY conference

“We’re up 82% so far in eCommerce in the US in the first half [of the year], and we’re taking our capabilites global. Even though it’s dynamic and there is a lot change [in eCommerce] ... that change is opportunity for those who are willing to take it.” —Jeff Harmening CEO, General Mills

Source: 2018 CAGNY conference


Organizing around eCommerce

There is no single universal and overarching answer

for how to organize around eCommerce. This

paper presents some guidelines, based in part on

the findings from Profitero’s survey of 134 brands

around the globe, proprietary research of LinkedIn

professional profiles and job postings, and an

analysis which ties sales performance to team

structure.

The good news is that it’s still early innings of

developing eCommerce organizations. This is

especially true for many smaller and mid-sized

brands.

Our research shows a notable divergence in the

level of sophistication between large and small

companies:

• 54% of smaller CPGs (defined as < $500M

in sales) self-identified as “novices” or

“amateurs”—really just starting down the path

of organizing around eCommerce.

• The level of sophistication increases, however,

with company size. A higher share (44%)

of large CPGs ($500M+) relative to smaller

companies self-identify as “advanced.” Still, a

fairly substantial 42% of large CPGs self-report

as novices or amateurs.

Maturity level of brand manufacturers in organizing around eCommerce, 2017

Larger than $500M

Source: Profitero survey. Scope: Global

Smaller than $500M /

Not publicly available

Novice

We are just beginning to organize around eCommerce

We are engaging retailers in joint business planning that includes eCommerce

All of the above, plus dedicated eCommerce resources

All of the above, plus clear objectives for eCommerce as a distribution & marketing channel

All of the above, plus we believe we set the digital standard among our peers/competitors

Amateur Advanced Expert Leader Don’t know /

prefer not

to answer

16%

26%

44%

7%3% 3%

30%24%

28%

10%

0%

8%

Regardless of company size, a very small percentage

of the industry considers themselves experts or

leaders.

The opportunity clearly exists to mold your

teams—and organizations as a whole—for high

performance. Consider it an ongoing quest as

eCommerce sales grow and the channel matures.


Where eCommerce reports

There is no single “right” answer for where

eCommerce should report. It depends on your

company’s strategic objectives and priorities for the

channel, as well as company culture.

Our data shows that eCommerce most typically

reports into Sales: This was the case for about 75% of

the CPG companies we surveyed. The other 25% of

companies have it reporting into Marketing.

So, if the question is: Where does it report?

The answer is: Sales.

But if the question is: Where should it report? Then

it all depends on a company’s culture and defining

objectives up front.

An argument certainly can be made for reporting into

either Sales or Marketing:

Reporting into Sales.

If your objective is primarily to generate volume,

gain market share, and get eCommerce on a path

to profitability, then it should report into Sales. Sales

will give disproportionate weight to commercial

decisions about distribution, pricing, promotion and

supply chain. The main drawback here is that you risk

being under-resourced on the basis of overall channel

volume (typically quite small as a proportion of total

company sales) or the channel’s profitability (or lack

thereof).

Reporting into Marketing. If the company’s priority is building or protecting

brand equity or driving awareness and influence, then

Marketing might be the best place for eCommerce

to report. This will allow for synergies to be drawn

with other marketing disciplines, particularly in areas

like digital display advertising, search optimization

and content marketing. Drawbacks however include

potentially under-emphasizing the significance

of supply chain, stock availability, pricing and

promotion.

An increasingly common approach is aligning

Sales and Marketing by establishing a dotted-line

reporting relationship between eCommerce and the

function to which it does not directly report. That is,

if eCommerce reports to Sales, establish a dotted-

line to Marketing. Likewise, when reporting into

Marketing, have a dotted-line to Sales.


Balancing global & local market considerations

Managing global aspirations while accounting for

local considerations is often a balancing act for large

multinational brands. Wildly divergent eCommerce

market dynamics in different parts of the world—e.g.,

in China vs. the US vs. the UK—underscores the

importance of balancing global with local online

initiatives.

Most successful companies start by appointing an

executive who sets and oversees global strategy,

organization design and capability deployment.

And they deploy an operating model or framework

that allows for a certain degree of freedom and

localization based on market needs. This way, rather

than steamrolling regional or country teams, local

nuances are considered.

Some key objectives to this type of balanced

approach:

• It enables management to focus on global

objectives or leading practices, e.g., how to

present the brand globally or manage factors

that are known to drive performance.

• Yet it still provides regional teams the latitude to

apply their judgment of what’s applicable at the

local level.

• It also enables local market teams to learn and

discover things that can then be shared back to

management and the broader organization.

Companies that figure out this balancing act—giving

their highest-potential regions autonomy and support

to lead in their respective markets—operate as high-

performance eCommerce organizations.

Profile of a successful eCommerce leader

eCommerce impacts every part of the organization

and if left to their own way, each function will

attack it from their own narrow view. As such,

many companies are recognizing they need an

‘eCommerce czar’—i.e., someone to pull all the

pieces together and champion a holistic effort

to capitalize on this once-in-a-lifetime business

model shift.

Based on our LinkedIn research of more than

100 CPG companies with sales of at least $65

million, 81% now have a Head of eCommerce (VP

or Director).

As companies begin to prioritize eCommerce and

dedicate budget to hiring, different profiles of

candidates to lead the initiative often emerge:

• Experienced leader with deep industry knowledge, often someone who has come up

through the ranks in disciplines such as sales

or shopper marketing, but now needs to learn

eCommerce on the job.

• eCommerce/digital/social native (i.e., often

from one of the FANG companies: Facebook,

Amazon, Netflix, Google), someone who doesn’t

necessarily have industry knowledge, but

has a deep understanding of technology

and eCommerce.

• Blue chip consultant à la McKinsey or BCG,

complete with an MBA from a highly regarded

institution (e.g., Harvard, Wharton, et.al.).

• Somebody who’s led eCommerce initiatives

in a category that’s more mature, like toys

or electronics.

Increasingly, gravitas and credibility inside the

company’s four walls is an essential prerequisite

• Establish corporate eCommerce channel

strategy for assigned region/business

unit/category

• Build and manage a high-performance

team, including direct reports and

indirect reports embedded on account or

other teams


for the oft-needed internal selling and consensus-

building, that is, moving the organization from the

status quo to where you want to take the company.

While any of the aforementioned profiles can prove

successful, domain experience (i.e., CPG know-how)

coupled with a passion for innovation, improving the

customer experience and forging retailer partnerships

could be a winning formula.

• Identify, select and deploy tools,

technologies and capabilities that

enable performance

• Develop commercial playbooks for

eCommerce in areas including search,

product content, promotions, and more

• Sales and P&L responsibility for pure-play

eCommerce retailers

Sample job description template—eCommerce Lead

9PRODUC T CONTENT: PACK AGING FOR THE DIGITAL SHELF

“Let me guess? Resources in your organization are constrained. No matter their commitment level to eCommerce as a strategic priority, all organizations are selective by necessity about where and how to allocate people and funds. To succeed, though, your eCommerce staffing model cannot be a static one— albeit when first starting off, it could be small. It must be dynamic and fluid, and expected to evolve over time, dictated by volume growth and channel maturity.” —Keith Anderson SVP Strategy & Insights, Profitero


Dedicated versus designated resources

For many organizations, developing the right staffing

model can be tricky. In best case scenarios, some will

fully dedicate staff to eCommerce roles where that

is their job’s sole focus, while others may opt for the

least ideal scenario and not have anyone focused

on eCommerce at all. But, what about the next best

thing? In other words, when companies choose

to designate someone to focus on eCommerce in

addition to their other priorities.

Let’s take a closer look at what this means and the

implications.

Best Case Scenario: Dedicate Resources.

In a world without limits, organizations would

dedicate full-time associates to manage not only the

fundamentals of “showing up” on the digital shelf but

all the value-added work to optimize performance as

well. All countries, retailers, categories and brands

would be resourced according to their needs, without

constraint.

The value of dedicated staff is self-evident. Without

distractions, dedicated staff has a singular focus on

a narrow set of well-defined objectives and goals.

They’re able to develop specialized expertise

and skills, and then bring them to bear on a

proportionally-scoped stream of work that drives

results.

Next Best Scenario: Designate Resources. As a form of compromise, organizations that want to

devote some focus to eCommerce but can’t yet justify

the funds to dedicate the desired level of support

often designate staff as responsible for eCommerce

in addition to other primary responsibilities.

This approach is most common at the account level,

particularly for omnichannel retailers that already

have a dedicated account team in place. The

problem is that designated staff often struggle with

responsibilities that exceed their knowledge, skills or

resources. Unless digital is central to an individual’s or

team’s KPIs, it tends to become an afterthought.

So, if you’re going to commit to supporting retailers

other than Amazon, you have to make sure you have

the right staffing model to do it.

You have to at least designate somebody to each

account—or do what many companies have done:

dedicate somebody to support “all other” brick-

and-mortar dotcoms. That simply means rather than

making digital 20% of one person’s job at each of five

customer accounts, make supporting five retailers

100% of one person’s job. This is the MO of most

successful companies.

“If you’re going to commit to supporting retailers other than Amazon, you have to make sure you have the right staffing model to do it.You have to at least designate somebody to each account—or do what many companies have done: dedicate somebody to support ‘all other’ brick-and-mortar dotcoms.”


Adding dedicated support as volume grows

As in all other areas of business, the expectation is

that you’ll add dedicated staff and other resources to

your eCommerce roster as the channel matures and

volume grows, or while you prioritize making it grow.

We find that there is a predictable trajectory in

building out account teams. The staffing model

typically progresses from a single person responsible

for everything to a multi-person team assigned by

retail customer or dedicated to specific functions.

Amazon account teams as industry benchmark: Example of fully built-out dedicated support structure

eCommerce Brand Manager Amazon Shopper Marketing Team

Associate Marketing Director eCommerce & Shopper Marketing

eCommerce Sales Manager Amazon

Sales Analyst eCommerce / Amazon Team

Regional Sales Manager Strategic eCommerce

National Account Manager Amazon

Amazon Media SME

7 yrs exp. | 1 yr in eCommerce

15 yrs exp. | 1 yr in eCommerce

15 yrs exp. | 10 yrs in eCommerce

1 yr exp. | 1 yr in eCommerce7 yrs exp. | 3 yrs in eCommerce




Dedicated leads by retailer

In the US, Amazon teams are often held as the

industry benchmark, both in terms of organizational

structure and dedicated resources. Therefore, it

should come as no surprise that many CPGs have full

teams dedicated to Amazon.

We found that 58% of the brands we surveyed in

2017 has a dedicated account lead for Amazon. This

is up from 47% a year earlier.

In comparison, 28% of brands had a dedicated

Walmart.com lead, while just 17% had one

dedicated to Target.com. We expect these figures to

substantially increase in the coming years given the

retailers’ aggressive eCommerce growth plans.

Amazon Walmart Target

2016 2017

58%

+11 PP

+2 PP

-1 PP28%

17%

47%

26%

18%

Percent of CPG survey participants with a dedicated dotcom(s) lead

Source: Profitero survey. Scope: Global


Headquarters versus field allocation

Beginning around 1990, just a few years after

Walmart launched its supercenter format, and began

accelerating growth and share gain in the US retail

landscape, the supplier community realized there was

value in co-locating “account teams” that support the

customer.

In the fishbowl that is Northwest Arkansas, suppliers

with feet on the ground and a first-to-learn potential

strengthened their relationships with Walmart buyers,

divisional merchandise managers and other members

of the brass. They demonstrated commitment to

supporting the retailer in ways that transcended their

narrow portfolio of brands and even the categories

in which they participated. They committed to the

success of Walmart as a strategic partner.

Now, as Amazon continues its ascent as the

pre-eminent online retailer on the global stage,

manufacturers increasingly question whether a model

of co-location can yield similar benefits in the way

they work with Amazon.

A 2015 McKinsey survey found that 80% of “winning”

companies co-locate with Amazon in Seattle or plan

to do so within two years, compared with 14% of

“non-winners.” It seems that reality may not have

caught up to plans just yet, however.

Based on our February 2017 analysis of LinkedIn

profiles of 115 manufacturer eCommerce teams,

most account managers continue to work out of their

headquarters location. We found less than a third

(30%) actually work in the field. Of those in the field,

Account management—HQ vs field

Source: Profitero’s LinkedIn analysis. Scope: Global

18% were associated with Amazon.

Perhaps worth noting is that Amazon actually

disincentivizes its Vendor Managers from manually

intervening in many decisions (as well as having other

liaisons with suppliers). So why then do we find such

a large contingent of Account Managers in Seattle?

Anecdotally, we hear that—while Amazon is a

platform better managed through algorithms and

automation than through relationship-building—

simply being close to the action immerses Amazon

70%30%

18% 10% 72%

HQ vs field

Retailers

HQ

Amazon

Field

Walmart Other

70% of Account

Managers work at HQ;

30% work in the field.

18% of Account

Managers who work in

the field are associated

with Amazon; 10% are

associated with Walmart.

account teams in the day-to-day developments of the

fast-changing retailer.

The benefit is through sheer proximity to the

ecosystem of companies doing business with Amazon

than Amazon itself, you hear sooner than others

about developments or initiatives in the pipeline.

Co-locating in Seattle also helps build a network

of industry peers doing similar work, facing similar

challenges and pursuing similar opportunities.


In-sourcing versus outsourcing

Working with consultants, brokers and agencies

can be an effective way to accelerate performance,

particularly before an in-house team can be fully built.

It can also help an organization develop and maintain

institutional competency and knowledge.

So the question becomes: What kind of work or

functions should be developed internally versus

outsourced?

We encourage companies to in-source whatever they

view as strategic. That is, when a compelling rationale

can be drawn for hiring proven talent in-house for

work that could yield a competitive advantage. After

all, if you’re “renting” the same team as industry

peers, the probability is low that you’re uniquely

outperforming.

Functions commonly outsourced to agencies or brokers:

• Marketing

• Sales / Distribution

• Digital merchandiser

• Search

• Content analyst

That said, depending on your maturity level, budget

and approach to hiring, outsourcing can be a good

alternative. However, it’s important to understand

when it makes sense to outsource and how to get

the most out of your outsourcing relationships. For

example:

Differentiate work outsourced for effectiveness versus efficiency. Hiring a consultant or agency that has unique and

specialized knowledge or capabilities can create

significant value by compressing the learning curve or

producing exceptional work that couldn’t be done in-

house. But don’t confuse expediency with expertise.

When you want or need to learn from partners. If you choose to outsource some functions or tasks,

by all means be sure to gain as much knowledge as

possible from the experts. In other words, drain their

brains. Don’t just get the result from them. Learn as

much as you can about how they produced the result

so you’re ready when it’s time to bring the work in-

house.


Defining eCommerce roles, adding headcount

Some roles related to eCommerce are emerging

that many executives may not have heard of before.

But these roles are increasingly essential not only to

conducting business but winning in eCommerce.

Emerging roles, and related responsibilities, that

should be on your radar include:

Data Analytics. Analytics are a big deal in any distribution channel,

but especially in eCommerce. As with content, more

companies are dedicating people to analyzing sales

and other data, either at the account level, or by

category or brand. Using vast data sets, dashboards

and benchmarking, they’re responsible for identifying

trends, issues and opportunities. They provide

insights and recommendations to marketing, sales

and other teams on actions needed to drive traffic,

conversion and ultimately sales.

Content & Digital Merchandising. Your product content is your packaging on the

digital shelf. Digital content—e.g., images, titles,

descriptions, feature bullets, videos, among others—

is not only important to how your brand turns up in

search results but also impacts conversion rate.

Imagine the complexity involved in managing a

product content portfolio for hundreds of SKUs that

are changing over maybe once a year as you update

physical packaging, launch new items or retire old

ones. Multiply that by the number of online retailers

you do or want to do business with, and it becomes

evident that this is a lot of complex work.

Content & Digital Merchandisers ensure this work not

only gets done but is executed excellently. They’re

responsible for addressing and fixing digital content

problems often found at the brand, category or

account level. Given nuances from one retailer to the

next, they tend to be aligned with a specific account.

Supply Chain, Logistics and Customer Service. These areas are not yet as widespread as Analytics

and Content roles, but are of growing importance.

Take for example, the role of R&D manager.

Among their responsibilities: Optimizing price pack

architecture and new product development for the

eCommerce channel, and perhaps even specifically

for Amazon.

As in other retail channels, a lot of collaborative

forecasting and replenishment work is required to

ensure on-shelf availability is maximized and that the

right supply is delivered on schedule to minimize

deductions and other supply chain issues. Managing

online stock levels and avoiding out-of-stocks is a

particular concern. With a mere click, shoppers can

easily defect to a competitor’s brand. On Amazon,

brands must also be concerned about losing the buy

box to third-party sellers and potential delisting due

to lack of product availability.

Examples: eCommerce roles & job descriptions

Demand and eCommerce Analyst, Mars

Key responsibilities:

Demand Analyst

• Demand and trade forecasting for UK chocolate, highlighting key trends, risks

and opportunities

• Reporting and analysis of demand performance

• Providing transparency and insights into business performance

• Quarterly innovation review to ensure pipeline fill for growth targets

eCommerce Analyst

• Business partner of eCommerce channel

• Performance analyses, identifying risks and opportunties, giving insights into

forecast implications

• Challenging and steering to drive the delivery of channel targets

Data analytics

eCommerce & Category Business Analyst, RB


• Analyzing and identifying trends across Amazon.com and Jet.com by

providing insight and recommendations to drive traffic

• Producing regular reporting to track sales and deliver revenue targets

• Working closely with the Marketing Department to run sales-driven

promotions, advertisements, coupons and campaigns

• Providing guidance and support to Sales team on use and interpretation of

syndicated data, such as Nielsen Answers On Demand and IRI Liquid Data

platform

• Partnering with Trade Marketing and Brand Marketing with regard to customer

insights presentations for the Field Sales team


Examples: eCommerce roles & job descriptions cont’d

Content & digital merchandising

Digital Merchandiser, Click & Mortar


• Primary responsibility is enabling perfect page: securing all aspects of target

digital assets and product information in a consumer relevant way to drive

conversion with our brands.

• Work with eCom or Click & Mortar Account Manager to define current and

future customer portfolio, ensure content is available on a timely basis and is

proactive against the upcoming customer eContent needs.

• Benchmark and assess our and competition execution online through

qualitative and quantitative data points: content quality, integrity, availability,

placement. Utilize Profitero as a diagnostic and insight-driving tool.

• Work with eCom Content Manager to ensure most updated best practices are

shared and updated in customer’s sites.

• Monitor and anticipate new eMerchandising trends and winning tactics,

partnering with the customer team, CMI and the retailer.

• Consistently provide ideas on how we can influence and how we can provide

great new experiences to the eRetailer digital shelf.

• Maintain an active awareness on industry trends and best practices.

• Work with key stakeholders to define and implement improvement strategies,

projects and tests. Define and continuously measure KPIs to assess retailer

eMerchandising strategies and execution capabilities.

Europe, Middle East, North Africa (EMENA) eContent Digital Lead


• Develop and lead eContent Brand Acceleration program for EMENA

• Lead the deployment of the E2E eContent Operational Model in a holistic

manner across EMENA based on 6 key principles

• Lead the eContent infrastructure deployment (DAM, PIM) and ensure direct

management of the DAM at EMENA level

• Define eContent masterplan together with the EMENA generating demand

teams and define subsequent initiatives related to it (Gap analysis, Brand

playbook planning, etc.)

• Lead a team of eContent expert (1) DAM Librarian (2) eContent Project

Manager, recognized as Subject Matter Experts within EMENA and Nestle

• Setting and monitoring performance (content compliance % reporting)

• Manage the relationship with PetCare SBU/Market, eContent Global Center of

Expertise ensuring EMENA deploy latest best practices on eContent

• Build and consolidate market learnings to share with global, regional and local

digital marketing / eBusiness teams

• Training and enabling the regional Brand teams on eCommerce content

requirements


Examples: eCommerce roles & job descriptions cont’d

Supply chain, logistics & customer service

eCommerce Supply Chain Manager, PepsiCo


• Managing the operational customer relationship with top national eCommerce

partners while integrating their distribution network across our great, “North

American Nutrition” portfolio. In a warehouse-delivered environment we

are making brands like Quaker, Gatorade, IZZE, Naked Juice and Tropicana

available to consumers across the country at the click of a button.

• “Winning” in the national supplier of the eCommerce space for best-in-class

service and SKU assortment

• Defining the strategic sourcing for best-in-class customer execution for

all of the Amazon banners (.com/Pantry/Fresh/Prime Now), Boxed.com,

Walmart.com, Jet.com, Gatorade.com, Vitacost.com and Fresh Direct

• Integrating Walmart.com and Jet.com into the PepsiCo distribution network

as they look to expand their online presence

• Driving business metrics by bringing together key stakeholders, executing

process and guiding decision-making with data

Customer Supply Chain Rep—Digital Commerce, Mars


• Constructively challenge internal order to cash processes and requirements

to achieve satisfactory service for high priority Digital Commerce customers.

Investigate new delivery options for low weight orders with short lead times to

serve new Digital Commerce needs.

• Analyze Amazon fines and fees to identify necessary project work streams

to be undertaken, and provide suggestions to Supply Chain Managers, EDI

Managers and Regional Distribution Managers. Amazon fines and fees have

been reduced from averaging over $9,000/month in the last year to under

$1,000 in the last month.

• Manage customer relationship, order fill rate and vendor lead time for 11

Digital Commerce customers including Amazon and Walmart.com. Adopted

additional Grocery and Specialty customers to fill the open needs of the

business.

• Collaborate with Account Managers and Sales Analysts to create a bridge

between Sales and Supply, ensuring that our business is prepared internally

for rapidly changing customer requests and requirements.

• Designed automated Excel-based Amazon tracker, organizing large amounts

of data in an easily navigated format, reducing non value-added time spent

managing data. This created an automated process to manage orders, item

details, case fill cuts, order lead time and GSV.

• Influenced internal financial stakeholders to increase Amazon’s credit limit to

reduce vendor lead time, improving service for a high-priority customer.

• Partner with Wrigley counterparts to identify and discuss Digital Commerce

challenges, and develop cross-segmental solutions.



Determining headcount needs

On top of understanding new roles, most executives

struggle with how many people are necessary

to successfully perform in the channel. It could

be helpful to benchmark against some industry

standards.

For example, Profitero’s analysis of Amazon-

dedicated headcount by company size could serve

as a guide to understanding the number and types of

roles to consider adding as you elevate eCommerce

within the organization.

Amazon-dedicated headcount in CPG companies

Amazon-dedicated headcount: People who have ‘Amazon’ in their job title and/or have Amazon as their retailer.


CPG company’s annual

Amazon sales

Average Amazon-dedicated

headcount

Amazon-dedicated headcount as a %

of total eCommerce headcount

Amazon’s sales as a % of company’s annual revenue

$250M+ 9 6% 1.6%

$100M to $250M 5 13% 1.9%

$50M to $100M 3 11% 1.6%

$1 to $50M 2 11% 0.3%


Determining headcount needs cont’d

% of companies with Amazon-dedicated headcount by seniority level Average Amazon-dedicated headcount by seniority level

Company’s annual Amazon sales

$1 to $50M

$50M to $100M

$100M to $250M

$250M+

VP 5% 17% 0% 0%

Director 42% 33% 45% 71%

Manager 58% 83% 82% 100%

Senior 16% 17% 27% 43%

Staff 32% 17% 73% 57%

Company’s annual Amazon sales

$1 to $50M

$50M to $100M

$100M to $250M

$250M+

VP 1 1 0 0

Director 1 2 1 2

Manager 2 2 4 5

Senior 1 1 1 3

Staff 1 1 2 1




Headcount—some influencing factors

Of course, the appropriate level of resources can

actually vary widely depending on a number of

factors, including:

Short- and long-term performance objectives. For example, do you want to aggressively invest in a

grab for share? Or contrarily, just enough to sustain

share while prioritizing channel profitability?

Customer and brand portfolio. Typically, the more retailers you intend to support and

the larger your product catalog, the more resource-

intensive staffing model required.

Level of internal versus external resourcing. As previously discussed, outsourcing can be a smart

way of building up your eCommerce business at

the onset, or even on an ongoing basis, rather than

adding internal headcount.

Years of experience of Amazon-dedicated headcount



SeniorityYears of experience (avg.)

Years of eCommerce experience (avg.)

Job title example

VP 21 6 Vice President Sales, Amazon & Clubs

Director 15 5 Global Amazon Director

Manager 11 3Senior Sales Manager—US eCommerce Amazon

Senior 10 3Senior Account Executive US eCommerce—Amazon

Staff 6 2 eCommerce Business Analyst—Amazon


Dedicated eCommerce headcount globally varies by segmentOur LinkedIn analysis also illustrates that eCommerce headcount by function or role—as well as level—varies widely by category segment.

Alcohol BabyBasic HH goods

Beauty & cosmetics

DIY/tools ElectronicsFood & beverage

Home goods

Office supplies

Personal care

Pet supplies

Pharmacy, health & wellness

Toys & games

Number of companies 13 12 10 13 1 4 43 7 5 9 13 19 6

Revenue / Headcount $766M $336M $342M $444M $250M $389M $447M $97M $408M $189M $483M $759M $36M

Total headcount 206 81 321 238 20 85 1,129 300 66 829 124 462 376

By role

Channel management 93 27 79 117 3 28 332 123 17 257 33 117 108

Account management 18 11 71 38 4 11 160 31 13 138 30 38 18

Marketing & media 34 12 12 26 6 7 185 30 8 83 17 54 55


6 7 26 13 12 55 44 14 33 10 59 90

Digital acceleration & innovation

8 1 9 10 3 71 2 4 37 3 47 63

Capability management 1 6 16 8 1 5 79 21 1 44 2 43

Data analytics 6 6 18 10 3 3 57 19 4 25 11 20 8

Strategy 10 38 5 1 8 33 6 20 2 44 4

Supply chain & operations 13 3 16 6 3 45 11 4 29 5 11 7

Brand management 2 2 12 1 1 28 76 10 7

Category management 3 1 15 1 24 6 21 1 6 2

Finance 3 2 12 1 29 4 2

Insights 1 2 1 1 17 1 16 1 5 4

Shopper marketing 4 2 3 18 11 4 1 2

Trade promotion 1 1 2 2 3 4 2 4 1 1 4

HR 3 1 5 2 4 2

Legal 1 1 1 2 2 2 4

Retail search optimization 2 2



Dedicated eCommerce headcount globally varies by segment cont’d

Alcohol BabyBasic HH goods

Beauty & cosmetics

DIY/tools ElectronicsFood & beverage

Home goods

Office supplies

Personal care

Pet supplies

Pharmacy, health & wellness

Toys & games

Number of companies 13 12 10 13 1 4 43 7 5 9 13 19 6

Revenue / Headcount $766M $336M $342M $444M $250M $389M $447M $97M $408M $189M $483M $759M $36M

Total headcount 206 81 321 238 20 85 1,129 300 66 829 124 462 376

By level

EVP 1 6 3 1 5 2 2 3

VP 5 5 7 18 2 1 18 6 2 8 3 11 13

Director 36 16 51 54 2 18 176 55 11 168 25 96 40

Manager 102 34 189 105 13 48 561 147 29 375 63 239 173

Senior 23 9 19 16 1 4 101 27 3 89 13 20 15

Staff 40 17 54 39 2 14 270 64 21 184 18 94 132



Hiring from retailers, especially Amazon

It’s not uncommon for CPG companies to go

directly to the expert—Amazon—when staffing

eCommerce teams.

Based on our LinkedIn and public job posting

analyses, we found that 17% of US companies have

hired somebody from Amazon. We then decomposed

this figure by role to understand the type of work

they’re being hired in to do.

• A meaningful 35% hired away from Amazon

work in a channel management role.

• Another good chunk of them, 16%, are in

supply chain.

This is a common phenomenon that happened

in brick-and-mortar retail as well. When there’s a

key new retailer that you need to understand and

accelerate your performance with, what better

way to ramp up quickly than hire people that have

experience at that retailer.

US companies that have hired from Amazon

Source: Profitero’s LinkedIn analysis. Scope: US

83% 17%

18% 4% 4% 4%2% 8% 8% 16%35%

% of companies that hired from Amazon

Employees hired from Amazon by role

Did not hire from Amazon

Account management Category

management


Channel management

Supply chain & operations

Strategy

Marketing & media

Capability management

Data analytics

Hired from Amazon

17% of US companies

have hired an

employee who has

worked at Amazon.

35% of employees hired

from Amazon work in

channel management

roles; 18% in account

management.

5 key takeaways

Structure follows strategy. It’s important that everyone in the company is on

the same page regarding the firm’s commitment

to eCommerce and its definition of success. So,

first things first. Define the strategy up front and

communicate it internally. Only then will budgeting

and resourcing around eCommerce fall into place—

with everyone in the organization understanding

it, and feeling some level of ownership and

involvement.

Culture counts. Whether it’s done by experimenting or simply

instilling a sense of ownership and involvement in

every part of the business as you go through a digital

transformation, company culture is key. Firms must

help every team and individual understand what

digital means for them, have the right incentive

structures in place, and know what they can do to

impact success. Otherwise it doesn’t matter what

your eCommerce budget is or how big your team is.

Dedicated is better than designated. As beginners, many companies assign responsibility

for eCommerce to individuals or teams with other

core responsibilities. But when work becomes mission

critical and identified as driving performance, it

deserves someone dedicated to it. Then, as the

business scales and volume grows, more dedicated

resources may be justified.

In-source and develop expertise where it matters most. Outsourcing critical activities or “renting” the same

team as the competition can help accelerate results,

but we recommend developing expertise internally in

areas you view as strategic—anywhere work can yield

a competitive advantage.

With increasing stakes and commitment comes specialization. Performing at world-class levels of excellence requires

expertise and specialized tools. Consequently,

industry leaders increasingly are dedicating people

in specialist roles to ensure that important work gets

done and done right, at the right level. It’s important

to identify gaps in your eCommerce teams and where

specialists may be needed—by country, account

team, business unit or function.

1 3 5

2

4



Maturity model: Building an action planBeginner Intermediate Advanced What’s next?

Leadership Director of Alternative Channels or

other “designated” leader

Dedicated leader Dedicated leaders at multiple

levels -- global, country, customer

Digital-native leaders in C-suite

Culture • Skepticism

• Defensiveness

• Disincentivization

• Acceptance

• Rudderless experimentation

• Competing incentives by

channel / role

• Purposeful experimentation

• Aligned incentives

• Self-obsolescence

Commercial inventiveness

Structure Limited internal support; most

functions are outsourced

• Designated in-house teams

• Centers of excellence

• Dedicated digital specialists in

traditional functions

• Accelerators &, incubators

• New specialist functions

• New agency/partner

relationship models

27

Profitero tear sheet—Dedicated eCommerce roles overview

BUILDING A HIGH - PERFORMANCE ECOMMERCE ORGANIZ ATION

Description Yrs of exp.

Yrs of eCom exp.

Worked in tech

Worked at Amazon

Worked in consulting

Channel management

• Responsible for overall eCommerce channel sales, performance and P&L

• Plan and implement digital and eCommerce strategies for new and existing online channels to drive sales

• Overall responsibility for establishing strategy, organization and capabilities

13 5 3% 3% 4%

Account management

• Responsible for business (sales, business growth strategies, KPIs, capabilities) with one or more customers

10 3 1% 3% 1%

Brand management

• Develop brand strategy and execute digital plans in support of key brands

• Responsible for driving marketing and business growth through the eCommerce channel for assigned brands

10 3 1% 0% 4%

Capability management

• Select and implement digital capabilities that drive business results

• Develop, deliver and provide IT support for Digital and eCommerce applications, platforms and portal

14 4 13% 1% 6%

Category management

• Work with retailer partners to improve category trees to improve shopper journey and category profiles

• Identify market and category share trends for sales projects

11 3 4% 4% 1%


• Develop, syndicate, audit and analyze digital product information and content for brand and retailer websites

• Responsible for developing expertise in content sourcing and driving digital usability and conversion

12 5 4% 1% 1%

Data analytics • Track market and organizational sales data to measure digital performance

• Translate data analysis and research into actionable strategies that drive sales, conversion and growth

9 3 4% 2% 7%


Profitero tear sheet—Dedicated eCommerce roles overview cont’d


Yrs of eCom exp.

Worked in tech

Worked at Amazon



• Develop and implement innovative digital solutions, delivering sales growth and new customer acquisition across the eCommerce channel

• Lead the digital transformation internally across organizational systems and externally with retailer partners

• Implement and share digital best practices throughout the organization

15 5 5% 1% 5%

Finance • Lead eCommerce financial assessment to make investment decisions and drive future growth

• Develop financial projections for organizational digital strategies, platforms and brands

• Manage the financial go-to market development for new eCommerce channels

12 2 0% 0% 8%

HR • Set and drive recruitment strategies to build new teams across all eCommerce divisions

• Develop and implement organizational eCommerce infrastructure

• Manage internal requests and requisitions across the eCommerce team

11 1 0% 0% 6%

Insights • Apply analytics tools and techniques to increase shopper understanding and optimize operations

• Develop and implement research plans to improve eCommerce performance

• Establish organizational research approach and methodology

12 4 2% 0% 2%

Legal • Ensure internal and external legal compliance across all platforms and processes

• Develop organizational processes that support digital compliance

• Support all company employees responsible for key areas of compliance

15 5 0% 0% 0%


Profitero tear sheet—Dedicated eCommerce roles overview cont’d


Yrs of eCom exp.

Worked in tech

Worked at Amazon


Marketing & media

• Plan and execute digital marketing campaigns and strategies in support of the eCommerce channel

• Align eCommerce marketing plans with overall brand marketing goals

• Determine media investment for key brands

12 5 2% 2% 5%

Retail search optimization

• Develop expertise on retailer search algorithms

• Optimize products’ performance on retailer websites10 4 25% 0% 0%

Shopper marketing

• Design and execute shopper marketing events and promotions for retailer customers

• Drive customer engagement via shopper marketing plans that contribute to organizational, category and channel growth strategies

12 3 0% 0% 2%

Strategy • Develop measurement and KPIs for key digital initiatives

• Define short-term and long-term strategic goals for the eCommerce channel

• Create new organizational eCommerce teams and divisions

14 4 3% 3% 10%

Supply chain & operations

• Responsible for eCommerce channel stock management, supply chain logistics

• Prioritize, identify and resolve daily customer and retailer partner issues12 3 3% 5% 3%

3 0

Ask Profitero how our expert analyst teams can

support your eCommerce organization in getting the

most from your digital shelf investment.

For more information,

email [email protected]

or visit http://www.profitero.com.

For additional guidance, contact Profitero today at:

Tel US: +1 844 342 7464 Tel UK: +44 208 123 3101

Profitero is the eCommerce Performance analytics

platform of choice for leading brands around the world.

With Profitero, brands can measure their digital shelf

performance across 8,000+ retailer sites and mobile

apps in 50 countries, gaining actionable insights to

improve product content, search placement, ratings &

reviews, availability, assortment and pricing. Profitero

also allows brands to measure their Amazon sales &

share performance, along with the ability to correlate

their sales performance with changes across the digital

shelf. Many of the world’s leading brand manufacturers

depend on Profitero’s granular and highly-accurate data

to measure and improve their eCommerce performance.

These include Barilla, Beiersdorf, Edgewell, General Mills,

Heineken, Kids II and L’Oreal.

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