What has it done for Utzs business?
It has let our salespeople get more attuned to their goals and how they’re achieving them, especially with individual accounts. The information the system provides lets them more effectively plan and interact with their accounts. The [information] can show them what’s happening on an immediate basis. Right after a promotion, they can show a store’s category manager what happened. That information is available and easily accessed. Q: How many more chips do you sell because of this? A: Over the last three years, we’ve averaged overall sales gains of 15%, which is better than what we got before we put this system in. I can’t say it’s all because of the data, but it has definitely enhanced performance. About half the gains come from putting new products into [wholesale] club stores and to some degree because of geography. Q: For a long time, you concentrated investment on factory equipment to cut production costs, rather than investing in IT. What happened in 1998 that convinced you to cha
