Love-Hate
What's Great
Training Opportunities
Most consumer products companies offer their employees top-flight training opportunities. In most of the big players, college and MBA recruits go through intensive management training programs. And some companies offer management trainees rotations through various functional areas, so trainees can get a thorough understanding of how the business works.
See the Results
Several insiders tell us that while many of their friends spend their days giving advice (as is true of consultants) or buying and selling securities (brokers, traders), one of the things they really like about working in CPG is that you work with tangible products. Says one, “We actually make a product, a real, physical thing, and I like that.”
Contributing to the Culture
Sometimes, you’ll even be able to get the jolt of satisfaction that comes from working on a product that becomes somehow iconic, part of the popular culture. For instance, imagine if you’d worked on bringing Reece’s Pieces to market before they were featured in Spielberg’s E.T.—that would’ve felt pretty cool, huh?
What's To Hate
Bureaucracy
These are big companies we’re talking about. Which can mean having to deal with layers and layers of bureaucracy. Many insiders say they spend too much time selling ideas to various levels of management, and not enough time implementing new ideas that will help their companies compete in the CPG marketplace. One brand management insider says, “It can take a while for a great idea to get to the shelf.” Another insider says, “As our consumer base changes, we obviously need to change, but change can come slowly in CPG.”
The Old School Still Rules
Similar to the effects of big bureaucracy, many CPG companies contain lots of long-time employees, which can mean resistance to new ways of doing things at all levels. As one insider puts it, “There can sometimes be an old-school mentality.”
Follow the Leader
Some of the consumer products companies and divisions within the companies are known as “fast followers”—companies that imitate rather than innovate. These companies grow by acquisition rather than by invention. Other than a few line extensions here and there, they rarely introduce revolutionary new products. This isn’t an industry-wide phenomenon, of course, but again, it is true that the CPG industry as a whole is slow moving and risk-averse.
Major Players
Major Players, by 2003 Revenue | ||||
Rank | Company | Revenue ($M) |
1-Year Change (%) | Employees |
1 | General Electric | 134,187 | 3 | 315,000 |
2 | Altria Group | 81,832 | 2 | 166,000 |
3 | Nestlé | 70,823 | 10 | 253,000 |
4 | Unilever | 53,674 | 6 | 235,000 |
5 | Procter & Gamble | 43,377 | 8 | 98,000 |
6 | Kraft Foods | 31,010 | 4 | 109,000 |
7 | PepsiCo | 26,971 | 7 | 143,000 |
8 | Tyson Chicken | 24,549 | 5 | 120,000 |
9 | Coca-Cola | 21,044 | 8 | 49,000 |
10 | ConAgra | 19,839 | –28 | 63,000 |
Sources: Hoover's; WetFeet analysis. |
发表评论 评论 (2 个评论)