Insights About Danone’s RGM Journey from CPG Leadership Event Hosted by Crisp and UpClear 

Revenue Growth Management (RGM) is evolving. What was once a reactive, report-led discipline is rapidly becoming the core driver of commercial strategy. To borrow a phrase, RGM has become “the steering wheel of the company’s cockpit.”  Today, an effective RGM function is powered by data, integrated systems, and teams aligned to a creating and managing a single version of the truth. 

Danone’s Analytics-Driven RGM Journey 

John Fernando is Danone’s Senior RGM Manager.  Since joining the company in 2023, John has led a cross-category push to modernise RGM. The team faced several significant data challenges, including disconnected and inconsistent data that lacked the granularity required for robust analysis, making real-time performance evaluation difficult. Furthermore, their reliance on sell-in data, rather than crucial sell-out metrics, reduced the possibility of properly assessing promotional ROI, particularly for seasonal product lines. 

John’s vision has remained consistent: transitioning from disconnected tools and spreadsheet reporting to insight-driven, scalable operations. 

“I strongly believe analytics is the engine that fuels the transformation when it comes to strategic excellence.” John Fernando, Senior RGM Manager, Danone 

To make this vision a reality, John and his team focused on four key pillars: 

1. Structure 

Creation of a unified data model, using retailer data from Crisp SKUtrak and promotion data from UpClear’s BluePlanner.  Both of these in a harmonised data layer, establishing a ‘single source of truth’ for decision-making and a consistent baseline from which to work. 

2. People

“If people don’t come along,” noted John, “the tools won’t work.” For Danone, that meant investing in training and capability development programmes. 

Regular workshops helped embed the shift from number-crunching to storytelling. As technology crunched the numbers, the team transitioned to establishing RGM as a value-added business function that enables the business to make better, more proactive decisions. 

3. Tools

Danone’s move to Power BI and UpClear’s BluePlanner allowed both RGM and commercial teams to answer their own questions in real-time, without needing to prepare static reports. They can now visualise core KPI metrics to support rapid decisions. 

Daily input from Crisp SKUtrak, aligned with strong master data management (MDM), has helped to create a clean, consistent dataset that supports granular ROI analysis. 

This rigorous approach to RGM has enabled Danone to make a significant leap in terms of its RGM maturity. The result: clearer ROI, more accurate KPIs, faster planning, and better decisions across commercial, finance, and category teams alike. 

Shared Industry Challenges, Shared Ambitions 

Shared at a joint UpClear and Crisp event with CPG RGM and commercial leaders, John’s insight into Danone’s successes struck a chord with attendees, with leaders then discussing common hurdles and perspectives on RGM’s future: 

“Scaling RGM is hard without a strong foundation.” 

Disconnected, often outdated legacy tools, and under-skilled teams all slow progress. Even the best strategies stall without consistent data and core capabilities to support them. There was strong agreement on the need to first build these core capabilities – reliable data, aligned systems, and upskilled teams – before layering on more advanced analytics and tools as the business matures. 

“Predictive analytics are now essential.” 

“We need to move from looking back to looking forward.”  

“Scenario planning and forward-looking insight are becoming non-negotiable.” 

“Adaptability matters.” 

“A global dairy brand and a mid-size snacks business require different insights – but the same strategic clarity. Solutions are what you make of them, flex to a business’ specific circumstances.” 

“Integration drives impact.” 

“Cross-functional tools help insights travel around the organisation – into sales, finance, demand planning, supply chain…and into decisions. When everyone works from the same version of the truth, performance can accelerate dramatically.” 

Recommendations for your RGM strategy: 

• Build RGM into the core of commercial strategy. RGM needs to be at the heart of CPG operations across multiple teams – not just as a reporting function, but as a growth enabler, driving smarter planning, better trade-offs, and shared performance goals across commercial, finance, sales operations & demand planning teams. 

• Design RGM capabilities to enable proactive decisions.  With accurate data and the right tools, understanding incremental ROI from promotional activity can be optimised for greater impact. By moving from analysis to actionable insight, teams get better, more constructive insights and reduce wasted effort by eliminating ‘incorrect intelligence’ before it can take hold. The result: a more proactive, insight-driven approach to commercial planning that improves business performance across departments. 

• Harmonise your tools and data. Consolidated systems and automated reporting provide consistent, decision-ready insights, freeing up teams to act, not just investigate. 

Effective implementation of these changes will move your RGM capability forward. As John succinctly summarised,

“By consolidating our data and automating reporting, we’ve not only saved time but also made it easier for commercial teams to make faster, more informed decisions.” John Fernando, Senior RGM Manager, Danone 

Thanks to John, our partners Crisp and everyone who joined us at the event. If you’d like to understand more, are thinking about embarking on your own RGM journey, or you’ve already started, let’s keep the conversation going.

About UpClear

At UpClear, our mission is to empower Consumer Goods brands to maximize revenue performance and trade investment returns through intelligent, collaborative software—providing a single source of truth, streamlined automation, and actionable insights. 

BluePlanner Revenue Management software supports end-to-end processes, from Annual Operating Planning to Account Planning and Execution.