Thought leadership and our proudest moments

Despite businesses having clear and quantifiable costs, very few have detailed information. What if the true cost included the costs all the way to the shelf, taking into account retailers distribution network, in-store processes and waste levels on shelf? Our CEO Paul Eastwood shares his thoughts...

Advances in data availability mean that we must be smarter in using it to our benefit, advances in computing power mean we can do this cost effectively. Oliver North, Partner at Pollen Consulting Group, shares his insights...

Although it can be tempting to think of Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) as an IT project, organisations that succeed have treated it first and foremost as a business transformation initiative. Our CEO Paul Eastwood shares his thoughts...

Everyone has noticed an inflation in petrol prices, but what is next? Due to the impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine, companies are warning their prices will start to increase. Stephan Mang, Partner at Pollen Consulting Group, shares his thoughts...

Logistics and supply chain functions are truly becoming a competitive advantage for businesses. Smart, forward thinking logistics personnel are finding themselves a seat at the boardroom table, and they are focused on four key areas. Paul Eastwood, Partner at Pollen Consulting Group, shares his thoughts…

We are excited to announce that Pollen Consulting Group have joined Argon & Co, the global management consultancy that specialises in operations strategy and transformation. Read the full press release here...

Traditional supply chain costs make up 5-10% of the Profit and Loss, where true operating costs (including materials) make up 60-70%, yet so many businesses talk about how they optimised their supply chain in isolation to the true operating costs; very few connect the two. Doing so can unlock so much more in delivering a business strategy. Our CEO Paul Eastwood shares his thoughts...

We take a closer look at the Retail sector with a focus on Forecast Accuracy. We asked industry expert Graeme Douglas to shares his thoughts on how forecasting has evolved. See what he had to say ...

We spoke to industry expert Greg Van Praagh from Real Pet Food Company about the impact of COVID and Brexit and what this means for the future of the Pet Food sector. See what he had to say ...

Traditionally there are two main consulting approaches: boutique players addressing small parts of a business and the Big houses that play across everything, but in a more general way. Launching Pollen was a unique opportunity to hit that sweet spot in the middle. Our CEO Paul Eastwood reflects back to the inception of the business and growth across the years…

Industry expert, Graeme Douglas, shares his thoughts on how retailers can approach reducing waste and how consumers and the government can work with charities to increase the speed of response.

"DIFOT (delivery in full on time) is a common measure for customer service. Our CEO Paul Eastwood shares his thoughts on using Smart Analytics and Planning Systems as a replacement to flag potential risks and manage the supply chain to fully optimise...

Following the recent completion of Pollen UKs first project we spoke to Greg Van Praagh: Ops Lead UK & Europe from Real Pet Food Company on his experience of working with Pollen...

How can independents keep up with retail giants? Our CEO, Paul Eastwood, shares his thoughts....

Pollen are proud to be members of the Pet Food Manufacturers'​ Association - PFMA. Having worked with pet food manufacturers since our inception this is a sector very close to our hearts and we are excited to collaborate and have the opportunity to share our experience. Read the full press release here.

From Pollen HQ in Sydney Australia to Pollen UK in Nottingham England - CEO and founder Paul Eastwood introduces UK MD Derek Cunningham.

How is Pollen different to other Management Consultancies...? How would you describe Pollen in 3 words...? We asked our team what they like about working at Pollen. See what they had to say...

The pandemic has largely impacted supply chains as international networks are becoming choked with reductions in port capacity, limited air freight capacity and surging demands. Sean Mitchell, Partner at Pollen Consulting Group, provides insight on how "More choice, quicker and cheaper” online will accelerate and will need to be addressed in a sustainable manner. 

As consultants of choice for manufacturers, we often work with clients who have almost no inventory of critical spare components for their assets and machinery. Our Engineering expert Jack O'Brien shares his thoughts on how holding critical spares can improve business performance...

Pollen welcome a familiar face to the team as former client and Supply Chain expert Sean Mitchell joins as a new business partner to head up the Supply Chain practice as well as being a major piece of the strategic alliance with property experts Colliers.

Colliers’ Occupier Services has recently formalised a strategic partnership with Pollen Consulting Group to deliver the best end-to-end solutions for occupiers of industrial property. We spoke with both companies about the new partnership, and how they reinforce each other’s strengths.

The world is changing at a pace like no other; supply chains are too. Before you decide to change, just check it has longevity and isn’t a knee jerk action to a short-term spike… Our CEO Paul Eastwood shares his thoughts on the topic...

Pollen stands by our friends at SPC in making vaccines compulsory for all employee and contractors. Read the full announcement here...

We are excited to announce an industry-first collaboration with Colliers - by combining Industrial Advisory specialists and supply chain experts to provide a full end-to-end industrial advisory service. Read the full Press Release here...

Container ships are piling up in front of the ports, prices for freight containers are exploding, and there are problems in supply chains around the world. Dr Stephan Mang, Partner at Pollen Consulting Group, provides insight on how this has effected different trading regions in the world.

This has always been our business ethos and following National Tree Day we wanted to share how we made this metaphor a reality by collaborating with the Fifteen Trees Organisation.

With the market saturated with old school consultancies, we were keen to discover what makes Pollen a point of difference; we asked our clients what made them engage with us and what they believe makes a good consultant stand out from the pack...

The world is changing. Technology is continuously improving on an exponential scale and we are already moving beyond Industry 4.0, whereby data and the internet are the new means of production.  Matthew Nixon our digital architect discusses pain points of data analytics and how to address them.

In order to run a successful business, profitability is a key driver. This would assume that most businesses have a very good handle of what products add to that profitability.  Unfortunately, with the many moving parts of FMCG, it can be difficult to know which products are contributing to (or reducing) your overall profitability. Our Director Oliver North discusses SKU Profitability in more detail...

The concept of Triple Bottom Line (TBL) is a fundamental component to establish a sustainable supply chain with its comprehensive approach to operations, considering three bottom lines; People, Planet, and Profit.

Pollen Academy have expanded their portfolio to include a ‘Senior Leader Coaching’ course aimed at executives wanting to develop their vision and leadership skills led by Pollen Director and accredited coach Stephan Mang...

As the name would suggest, we see a lot of synergies within our work ethics at Pollen - what better day than World Bee Day to share some of these sweet lessons we can learn from bees...

Following 5 years of growing success in ANZ, Pollen Consulting Group have taken the exciting step to open a UK office.

Our Director Stephan Mang discusses statistical process control, how to implement this and the benefits of doing so.

Pollen’s newly added Retail Supply Chain service, directed by Alex Linton, offers clients strategies and initiatives which transform their end to end value chain enabling them to grow whilst becoming more efficient.

How scenario planning and IBP are both the engine and the brain in the digital world.

With more than $26 billion spent annually on refrigeration in Australia, this is a major cost to our industry. So, how effective is your freight and refrigeration in supporting product quality and how do much they cost? Our director Scott Varker of Pollen Asset Advisory shares his insights on this topic.

Our director of Pollen Technology, Oliver North, shares insights on what is required for a successful technology implementation and how he believes the balance of tech & consulting is the key to unlocking business capacity.

Pollen Academy have expanded their ever-growing portfolio to incorporate an online Lean Six Sigma / Green Belt Program in collaboration with training organisation Vative. The debut kicks off 9th Nov 2020 with training delivered by Vatives experienced facilitators and a demonstration of results coached by Pollens team of operational excellence consultants.

Whilst most of us are working remotely, well-being at work and especially mental health are becoming increasingly important for a healthy and empowered workforce. We are pleased to see many creative initiatives that support mental health; The Craft Beer Coopery is a social enterprise doing just that, with a strong focus on men’s mental health. We spoke to founder Trevor Lowder to find out more about this crucial topic…

With an ethos to cover every element of the COO remit, we have added Procurement to our portfolio of capabilities; headed by our new Director Aleksander Strasek who has big plans for the new division...

Australia’s food commodity market is well and truly in inflation mode. The long-lasting drought, the devastating bush fires and now the uncertainty around COVID-19 are taking their toll. Our director of Procurement, Aleks Strasek shares insights on 'best in class' practices in this inflationary environment...

A view from beyond the COVID-19 disruption, looking back at the the crucial role of the right procurement strategy in business survival - our director of Procurement Aleks Strasek shared his thoughts with Retail World...

Delivering result-oriented support to organisations throughout the value stream is in our DNA and as part of our social responsibility we endeavor to use our capabilities for a good cause wherever possible. With this is mind, we collaborated with 'The Bread & Butter Project’ to help provide solutions to some of the challenges they were facing. Read the success story here...

We have created a dedicated fast-acting Rapid Response support service which offers resources and advice as early as tomorrow for as long as required. Whether it's urgently solving a problem or helping you work through a potential opportunity; we have the horsepower, heads, brains and experience to keep you moving. Read more here...

With COVID-19 cases spreading throughout Australia, manufacturers want to take precautions, protect employees and keep production running safely. But, how do you ensure this in a complex environment like a shop floor?

An optimistic approach from a business perspective - Our CEO Paul Eastwood shares his thoughts on how businesses should stop trying to manage the doom and gloom and consider the way to survive will be to get ahead and think about upsides...

We knew there must be a better way to review performance in a simple but exhaustive manner; after months of research and development, we are proud to introduce the Business Analytics Dashboard…

Register HERE for our upcoming networking breakfast event hosted at Pollen HQ

The future of farming will see fewer people in the field, more machines, more technology and more efficiency as a result. Pollen interviewed Xavi Silva Garcia (CEO and founder of HEMAV) to discuss the sector that is tipped to be Australia's next $100 billion industry…

Studies show that adult learners only retain 20% of what they are taught in a training course / workshop if the content is not implemented; furthermore, the implementation needs to be ongoing in order to be effective. Pollen Academy shared their thoughts on why this happens, and what we can do to ensure training is successfully implemented into a business...

We recently hosted a networking breakfast event where a panel consisting of some of the brightest minds in the digitisation area came together to discuss issues that both multinationals and SMEs are facing within the sector - Food & Beverage Industry News summarised the key take aways...

Pollen Asset Advisory was recently launched as a service offering to meet a growing need from clients for an integral approach to supply chain transformations. Our director Scott Varker speaks to Consultancy.com 6 and reflects on the importance of asset advisory in the FMCG market space.

The war on plastic is well underway, but is the FMCG industry fighting the right battles? We shared our thoughts with Retail World Magazine...

Conducting business in a socially responsible way is engrained in our DNA. We believe this a driver for business success and we will continue to strive to make the planet, our environment and our communities a better place than when we began. Read our full Corporate Responsibility Report here...

Since establishing the business in 2016, Pollen has gone from strength to strength; most recently winning 'Most Innovative Supply Chain Management' in the Global CEO of Excellence awards 2019 as well as 'Best Professional Services' at the Young Entrepreneur Sydney 2018 awards and being listed as an 'AFR Top 100 Fast Starter' and 'The One To Watch' by Consulting Magazine...

Big data is defined as large sets of data that are analysed using powerful computers and software to reveal insights into the world and is being used in a wide variety of industries. The question is: why aren’t more companies within the FMCG industry utilising this technology? We shared our thoughts with Inside FMCG...

The evolution of products has been pretty unprecedented over the last couple of decades, yet what has always lagged behind is pretty simply the supply chains and manufacturing facilities that sit behind these businesses... we spoke to Inside FMCG about why we believe it is time to change and how it doesn't have to be complex.

Pollen Academy teamed up with Operational Expert Ishan Galapathy to launch a "Confident Frontline Leaders" Program. REGISTER HERE to find out more and complete a readiness assessment to receive personalised feedback.

This event has now passed - register for our next breakfast event... HERE

Pollen Consulting Group are bridging a gap in the FMCG market by offering industry specific Lean training that offers a guaranteed ROI.

What is ROCE? and why is it so important to factories and supply chains? Our director of Pollen Asset Advisory Scott Varker talks in more detail to Inside FMCG...

Why does the UK seem to be so far ahead of Australia in the Fresh Food space? We spoke to Food Manufacturing Magazine about the challenges Australia face when delivering fresh in Supermarkets and how this could be resolved...

We believe there is a simple solution for this complex problem. Our Head of Pollen Technology Oliver North talks to Inside FMCG about how businesses can best prepare for Supply Chains of the future...

Retailers have warehousing strategically placed to consolidate products and ship to their stores, which, generally speaking, is a pretty efficient way of working. Both Woolworths and Coles continue to invest in automation and capacity to service the market, but could – and should – they be doing more? We shared our thoughts with Retail World Magazine...

Since establishing the business in 2016 Pollen has gone from strength to strength, and has nestled itself as a leading player in Australia’s A$7 billion consulting industry.

"Industry 4.0" is the word of the hour in the manufacturing industry. The way we produce goods today will change drastically and we will see a profound and multifaceted industrial structural change in the near future. Our Director Stephan Mang talks to Inside FMCG about Factories of the Future...

Our Head of Pollen Technology; Oliver North, talks about digital twins in the FMCG sector and how they can optimise a business and ensure the journey towards being relevant tomorrow.

Industry 4.0 is about to bring significant change. It’s 100 per cent coming. But it’s 100 per cent not complicated. We shared our thoughts with Retail World...

How do companies meet tomorrows challenges, whilst achieving todays operational goals? We shared our thoughts with Inside FMCG...

Pollen Consulting Group welcomes new director Scott Varker who will head our new service offering - 'Pollen Asset Advisory'

According to our caffeine maths…we calculated that we have saved over 10,000 plastic cups in 2018!!

How can technology be used to tackle food wastage and maximise supply chain efficiency in the retail sector? We shared our thoughts with Inside FMCG...

How can value chains be transformed through collaboration in the FMCG sector? We shared our thoughts in Retail World Magazine.

The final in a series of thought leadership videos taken from our 'Pollenation by the Pool' breakfast event, where our panel of industry experts discuss the importance of consumers and the effect they have on the FMCG industry.

The third in a series of thought leadership videos taken from our 'Pollenation by the Pool' breakfast event, where our panel of industry experts discuss if Technology is Hype or Reality?

In the second video from our 'Pollenation by the Pool' breakfast event, our panel of industry experts discuss how collaboration and co-creation could lead to a better ROI.

Beyond the big-name players, the Australian food industry is hugely fragmented and in need of consolidation we shared our thoughts in Retail World Magazine.

It’s ironic that despite businesses having clear and quantifiable costs, very few have the detailed information of these costs at their fingertips. We shared our thoughts with Retail World Magazine...

Our panel of experts discuss why Australia is the ideal test bed for companies around the world.

The crowds gathered at Sydney Oval on Tuesday night to watch in anticipation as Pollen FC played Sydney Uni. The resilience, mental strength and immense concentration that Pollen FC showed had Sydney Uni shaking in their little booties.

To get ahead of the competition, retailers will need to adopt and adjust to new ways of meeting customer needs.

A Culture of Change.

The two biggest challenges to the Australian FMCG industry are the arrival of Amazon and changing customer behaviours - each one fuelling the other. And if the incumbent retailers continue to sit on their hands, new entrants to Australia will be breeding more Amazonians as they go.

It is our vision that together with our clients we can step change the food and beverage sector, moving from a sector that lags to one that leads on innovation across the entire value chain.

FMCG has much it can learn from the efficiencies and cost savings of vendor-managed inventories.

Could Australia be the sandbox for the globe with overseas companies coming here to play and innovate. Oliver North most certainly thinks so it his article publish in the InsideFMCG Towards 2020 report.

First published in Retail World, read how our CEO thinks independents can get ahead of the retail giants in their value chains.

Our first of two interns this summer is Timothy Macmillan who joined the Pollen Intern Experience (PIE) for 12 weeks before heading to compete his Doctorate at University.

In a recent interview with Inside FMCG Woolworths chief Brad Banducci said: “We’ve gone from being reactive […] to being much more collaborative and much more forward looking with suppliers”. Woolworths has been working with PFD Fresh to Go and Pollen Consulting Group to harness savings in the end-to-end value chain.

No matter where you turn, it seems that everyone who is involved in manufacturing has been talking about sales and operations planning, or S&OP for a decade or two. How can you ensure success....

German supermarket chain Aldi is making a push into China leveraging Australian products on an e-commerce platform, aiming to take advantage of the rapid expansion of the Chinese middle class. It was beaten to the gun by Australian supermarket giant Woolworths, which launched an online store there in January, on Tmall Global, the overseas platform of Alibaba Group’s B2C business.

Paying small supplier in 14 days is hardly a game changing commitment. Retailers should take a leap of faith and be focusing on how they can create velocity to reduce stock and in the process free up funds for investment in their end to end supplier chains.

Private label is still significantly under traded compared to other countries. Both retailers and suppliers need to change what they’re doing for private label to be truly firing on all cylinders. In our view, there are three areas which will affect growth: consolidation, considered supply chain integration and improved collaboration.

British supermarket giant Tesco announced it is to buy wholesaler Booker for £3.7bn, claiming it will create “the UK’s leading food business”. For years, Australian supermarkets have recruited Brits, closely following the latest trends in from Blighty. So what does the latest move in the UK mean for the Australian industry?

We are programmed to find a reason to not like our neighbours, per research we go out of our way not to talk to them! I get the feeling we perhaps take the same approach in our value chains, it is often easier and less hassle if we just meet once a year and agree a price...

Management consultancies will tell you they can solve all your problems and probably the worlds’ too…. It is also likely, that whatever area you inquire about, they will have the corresponding experts. Or it will be their methodology they tell you that you cannot live without...

After 10 years of working for the same company it recently became a time for change. For a decade I was focused on moving myself and the business forwards, I very rarely took holidays, I would regularly do a 60-hour week, occasionally forget where I had actually been that week.