Articles

23.2.2011 P&G plots digital future

Procter & Gamble, the FMCG giant, is using digital technology to transform its approach to reaching shoppers around the world. Speaking to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Robert McDonald, the firm's chief executive, suggested that the company's core aim was to forge meaningful bonds with individual customers. "If you look at our packaging, generally it's in the language of the country, and we work very hard to create those one-on-one relationships with every single consumer in the world," he said. "It's easier to do that if you work in the local language and in the local culture than if you're this international company with an international brand that's somehow coming from abroad."

Digital technology is reshaping many aspects of the corporate agenda, and P&G hopes to harness these capabilities as a means of driving growth. "The ultimate goal of a global company is being recognised as a local company," said McDonald.  "And when you think of that internet allowing this one-on-one relationship with every consumer, it enables that." Sustainability has rapidly climbed the list of priorities for most multinationals, and P&G now aims to become "neutral to the environment", a target applying to its products and operations. Although an exact strategy is not yet finalised, initiatives to date include developing detergents which function in cold water and introducing a "sustainability scorecard" for suppliers.

B.L. 23.2.2011