CEO Insights Magazine

The Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry is rapidly evolving and becoming increasingly competitive. Many companies struggle in this highly dynamic trading environment because of a lack of updated selling skills, processes, and systems. Realizing this need, Miguel Suterio founded Trade Dynamics Consulting - a company that provides highly specialized sales training services and sales automation software for the FMCG industry.

Miguel is the Founder and Managing Director of the company and brings with him three decades of professional experience in FMCG sales. He believes that the future of sales is in process automation and artificial intelligence. In an interview with CEO Insights Asia magazine, Miguel shared his professional journey and the lessons he learned along the way. Here's an excerpt from the interview.

Tell us about your professional journey and what inspired you to establish Trade Dynamics  Consulting.

My career began in sales at Unilever Philippines in 1993 where I held various roles in modern trade management, distributor management, and trade marketing. In 2001, I moved to Shell as Country Manager for the Shell Select convenience store chain, and this allowed me to think like a retailer, manage a nationwide network of stores and engage with suppliers. In 2004 I returned to sales as the National Sales Manager of Associated British Foods. As a sales leader, having a highly skille  sales organization was vital. However, during that time, sales training courses were mostly generic, theoretical, and outdated.

There were very few training courses that were designed for FMCG and fewer still that were at pace with the changing trade landscape. Thus in 2006, I left my corporate career and along with partners, established Trade Dynamics, with the goal of being the most effective sales training company for the FMCG industry. The company has now provided services to thousands of sales professionals from over a hundred companies across the Asia Pacific region.

In 2010, with the growth of mobile apps, I realized that the future of sales was in sales force automation (SFA). I diversified the company and developed SFA software specially designed for the FMCG industry. Engagia is now the leading FMCGSFA in the Philippines and gaining new clients overseas. Aside from Engagia, we now also offer other software products such as Boxtrakker for delivery tracking, Shopmetrix for merchandiser automation, Storekonekt for B2B e-Commerce, and Promotrakker for promotions tracking. Our mission now is to level up FMCG sales organizations by not  only providing leading-edge sales training services but powerful end-to-end sales automation software as well.

You possess three decades of experience working in the industry. What is your success mantra?

Focus and innovation. My entire career has been focused on FMCG sales. This has given me an extensive understanding of the industry that is reflected in the highly specialized services and software products that we provide. In parallel, continuous innovation is deeply rooted in our company DNA. We have always found innovative ways to deliver highly effective training services and we continue to deliver over a hundred software enhancements a year to ensure that our software products are the best in their class.

How would you define your leadership style and how do you drive growth at the organization?

My leadership style is transformational. Trade Dynamics is a company that is constantly evolving, and my role is to ensure that the vision for the future is always clear and inspiring. I focus most of my time and energy on developing strong leaders in line with the company’s values, culture, and ways of working and providing them with the resources and authority they need to succeed.

Going forward, what are some of the developments and changes in terms of market behaviour?

The FMCG industry is developing very quickly as a result of rapid technological and societal changes. Today's advancements in connectivity, computing power, and artificial intelligence are further accelerated by massive business and consumer adoption of mobile apps. This will digitize the entire extended value chain from the manufacturer to the trade to the consumer. Because of this, massive amounts of new data will be generated and industry expertise alongside artificial intelligence will be critical for companies to unlock the value of all this information.

In light of your strong industry experience, what advice would you give to budding industry leaders?

FMCG leaders of today must realize that to deliver long-term sustainable growth, organizationaltransformation must happen at pace with digital transformation. Knowledge, skills, processes, systems, and behaviours are all interconnected. Companies that can level up their people and their technology in a fast and integrated way will be ready for the many challenges and opportunities the future holds.

Miguel P. Suterio, Founder & Managing Director, Trade Dynamics Consulting Int’l Inc

Miguel P. Suterio is an FMCG sales/trade marketing expert and technology entrepreneur who provides highly specialized sales training, consulting, and software services to help FMCG companies level up their sales organizations.

• Hobbies: - Travelling with family, gardening, and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu

• Favorite travel destination: Florida, Italy, Dubai

• Favorite cuisine: Indian, Middle Eastern, Italian

• Favorite Books: Zero to One by Peter Thiel, The Four by Scott Galloway, Spent by Geoffrey Miller, The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber, The Upstarts by Brad Stone