procter & gamble Essay

Words: 7920
Pages: 32

9-613-045
APRIL 3, 2013

THOMAS H. DAVENPORT
MARCO IANSITI
ALAIN SERELS

Managing with Analytics at Procter & Gamble
Alan Torres, vice-president of North America Fabric Care at Procter & Gamble (P&G), watched and listened as his embedded IDS analyst, Julia Wright, graphically displayed the initial results.
Torres leaned back to take in the complete set of 12 graphs and charts on the massive 8-foot by 32foot screens in a specialized meeting room called a Business Sphere at P&G’s headquarters in
Cincinnati, Ohio. The company had introduced a more concentrated, also called compacted, powder laundry detergent in Target® stores at the end of February 2011 and results from the first two months were better than anyone had expected.

Critically, the new structure would allow P&G to more effectively develop and implement innovations on a global scale. The 1999 annual report described Organization 2005 as a “realignment of the organization structure, work processes and culture designed to accelerate growth by streamlining management decision-making, manufacturing and other work processes to increase the Company’s ability to innovate and bring initiatives to global markets more quickly.”7
Following the restructuring, P&G’s 129,000 employees were organized into four independent global organizations: (Exhibit 2)

Global Business Units (GBUs) The primary driver of commercial activity at P&G was the
GBU. The product line-based GBUs had primary responsibility for developing strategy, building brands, manufacturing products, developing and bringing to market innovations, contending with competitors, and delivering profits. By centralizing at the global level, GBUs were better able to standardize manufacturing processes, coordinate marketing activities, build global brands, identify significant innovations and bring new products to market quickly. As of 2011, P&G consisted of
GBUs covering five product-based segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric Care and Home
Care, and Baby Care and Family Care.
Market