Moving to CPG and OTC

Typical OTC Medication Aile in Drugstore or Grocery

I'm very excited to have made a career change, and as of December 3 have been working at Symphony IRI Group.  Formerly known as Information Resources, this firm for over 30 years has collected and analyzed shopper scanner data from groceries, drugstores, and other retailers.  They also manage a large consumer panel of individuals detailing their shopping patterns and motivations.

As a result, I will be deeply involved in data mining, and looking for innovative ways to summarize shopping patterns to help both manufacturers and retailers.  Application areas like media planning, inventory and assortment, and pricing.  These are the core business problems of consumer packaged goods (CPG). Fascinating discipline, filled with smart data scientists.  

From a healthcare perspective, most of my focus will now shift from the Rx world to the over the counter (OTC)  world; where consumer are playing an active role in managing their health in areas like pain relief, allergy, well-being, vitamins, skin care, etc.   One might think of this as the beginning of a patient's journey, before seeking physician consultation, or perhaps a parallel customer journey. 

Also on the docket, how does CRM, digital and social, affect the worlds of CPG and OTC?   Stay tuned.