Great New Opportunities at IBA

Independent Brands Australia (IBA) has announced plans to update its Merchandise & Promotions (M&P) function, aligning it to the core strategies of the ALM/IBA business. The transition is anticipated to reach completion by the end of February 2017.

The business' core strategies are made up of three major factors. The first core strategy, "Successful Independents", will see IBA streamline operations for efficiency and sustainable long-term growth.

As per its second strategy to "Work Smarter", IBA will look to deliver a simpler and more efficient model by removing the duplication of administrative tasks across the states, establishing clarity in the decision-making process and removing overlap of accountability for each role in the M&P function.

The final strategy, "Best Store in Town", will see IBA place a greater emphasis on tailoring to better satisfy state and banner specific requirements, delivering on Shopper and Retailer expectations, and increasing support and engagement from local IBA teams with a focus on enhanced Retail execution.

The new model will see the State Promotions Managers transition into new positions as IBA Business Managers. In the new role, IBA Business Managers will work with local committees to establish the framework for local market expectations and requirements, focus on retailer relationship management and partnerships, and lead the Field Sales Team in driving the execution of promotional programs.

State-based Promotional Co-ordinators and admin resource will be re-allocated to the Support Office, grouped into dedicated Promotions teams for each of the retail brands and tasked with building the promotional activity for all states. While the IGA team will continue to operate out of the Melbourne office, all other brands will now operate out of Macquarie Park, Sydney.

Analytics resource will also be centralised to the Support Office. The team will provide focused category analytics and insights to support the decision-making of the Category Management and M&P teams, as well as undertake the state reporting requirements.

Rod Pritchard, General Manager - Merchandise at Australian Liquor Marketers, said team members with role changes have been communicated with, and opportunities for redeployment are being explored in the cases where positions are likely to become redundant.

“Supporting our people through this transition period remains our priority, and we will be working closely with those in roles affected by the changes,” said Pritchard.

(You may also be interested in LSA/NORA Partnership Driven by Online Retail)