FA-BU-BLEU OR BLUE SPARK? FRISK OR KLENE? FEARLESS LEADER SUCCEEDS ON INTERNATIONAL STAGE

Does a store check in Chelsea differ from a store check in Nanterre? Will the share of shelf be calculated differently in a Carrefour or a Tesco? Does Territory Management, where you draft your schedules, differ according to the spoken language? No, of course not. Blue Spark from Innocent Drinks – a refreshing drink with apple, lime and coconut water – tastes exactly the same in France but is called Fa-Bu-Bleu. And the originally Belgian peppermints from Frisk, or the licorice drops from Klene, both tasty treats from Perfetti Van Melle, lie on the same shelves at the same strategic points in both the Netherlands and Belgium.

FA-BU-BLEU OR BLUE SPARK? FRISK OR KLENE?   FEARLESS LEADER SUCCEEDS ON INTERNATIONAL STAGE

Innocent Drinks, the successful and sustainable smoothie-maker from Coca-Cola, and sweet producer Perfetti Van Melle, well-known for Mentos, have recently embraced the FMCG app Fearless Leader from Avento to provide international support to their field workers. These are important steps along the path to growth and for the visibility of Fearless Leader in the international FMCG/CPG market.

“As if there are no borders or national markets”

Recently, the world-renowned champagne house Laurent-Perrier equipped its field workers with Avento Fearless Leader. The app has been available on almost all continents for years, thanks to Duvel and the Moortgat brewery. “But we are now effectively removing all of the borders,” says CEO Tom Moortgat from Avento. “Innocent Drinks France have 40 field workers who are equipped with Fearless Leader and the technical coordination of the implementation is taking place from the company’s London headquarters. This is a genuine confirmation of our international ambitions. The same goes for Perfetti Van Melle. Around 70 field workers in Belgium and the Netherlands are working with Fearless Leader as if there is no difference at all between Belgium and the Netherlands. We have now also appeared on the radar of Perfetti Van Melle in Germany.”

Putting our FMCG/CPG sector expertise at the disposal of customers” 

Avento Fearless Leader has been specifically developed for the Fast Moving Consumer Goods/Consumer Package Goods sector. It is founded on over 10 years of accumulated experience in the sector and is continuously updated with new features which enable the field workers but also the business as a whole to function more efficiently and be more results-focussed.

“The app is equipped with features such as automatic planning optimisation, action/mission management, range management, store checks, GPS – tracking, reporting, analysis and forecasting, with integrated outlook and diary. Among our customers, this leads to better field performance, improved numeric distribution and better results”, explains Tom. “That is exactly why Fearless Leader has been implemented on a broad scale by Innocent Drinks and Perfetti Van Melle. Avento is clearly leading the sector as a specialist in this field. Thanks to our extensive experience, we know all about the various ins and outs. We know what is going on, which trends are around the corner, the various pitfalls and the opportunities. That is what makes us so different to your everyday IT players.”

‘Preferred solution’ for Microsoft & Independent Software Vendor

“Both Innocent Drinks and Perfetti Van Melle found out about Fearless Leader via the AppSource, Microsoft’s library of approved software. Our great connection and collaboration with Microsoft is a vital element of this story. Since August this year, Avento has held the Independent Software Vendor (ISV) status with Microsoft. This means we are actively supported by Microsoft because Fearless Leader is distinct both on technical and software levels, and within our target market in the business context. That is how we gained the ‘preferred solution’ label in AppSource”.

This active support is founded on three pillars: co-developing, co-marketing thanks to the presence of Microsoft’s promotional channels, and co-selling together with Microsoft and its partners across the globe. It is the ultimate guarantee for Avento’s customers. Tom Moortgat: “We have had to work hard for this. The ISV status was obtained after numerous selection rounds and remains a ‘work in progress’ because we have to constantly fulfil new criteria. But it is certainly worthwhile and you won’t hear us complaining. On the contrary”, says Tom.

How does Avento Fearless Leader create extra value?

Avento Fearless Leader succeeds on the international stage because it creates genuine added value for its customers. In the following blogs, we will explain how the app supports expansion in the sector, we will take an in-depth look at the impact of the app’s introduction on an organisational level, and also examine data mining. We will also focus on the role that the ISV status and Microsoft’s AppSource are playing.