Avon Advances Service Supply Chain Transformation

Avon's first Vice-President of Sales & Operations Planning will drive integration and innovation to enhance service, reduce cost and build agility

New demand forecasting technology goes live in the UK, Mexico and Russia, raising the bar on sales planning with real-time visibility for better execution and delivery

World-wide satisfaction pulse surveys instigate and reveal fast and significant progress on service improvements as measured by Representatives

LONDON, Sept. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) today announced key milestones in the transformation of its [service] supply chain, fueling greater flexibility and connectivity throughout its supply chain and delivering marked improvement in service quality as well as satisfaction and retention levels for Avon Representatives. Transformation efforts thus far have included digital applications, leadership appointments and operational changes, such as:

Appointment of fresh leadership to newly created Sales and Operations Planning role: 

• Rob Lowndes, currently Vice President, Global Fashion and Home, will assume the role of Vice President, Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP).
• The role will leverage Rob's deep expertise in commercial operations to drive critical improvements. Rob will also be responsible for matching objectives to new technologies, adopting an integrated value chain perspective in order to manage sales and more effectively order planning to improve product availability and service levels across Avon's global markets. He will report to Avon's Global President, Miguel Fernandez.

Utilization of exclusive software to provide real-time sales planning visibility for Representatives, enhancing their execution and delivery abilities:

• Avon's next generation technologies allow for increased adaptability to demand volatility, a dramatic reduction in delays to service delivery, greater inventory and process efficiency, strategic resource allocation and end-to-end Representative engagement.
• Avon's exclusive demand planning software accurately forecasts Representative and customer demand and synchronises Avon's ability to meet these demands by right-sizing inventory requirements across its supply chain.
• This unique new Machine Learning Model has gone live in all three of Avon's top 10 markets, after successful pilots in the UK, Russia and Mexico.
• Plans are in place for further roll-out to Avon's top 15 markets by early 2019, beginning with Brazil in November, with a longer term goal of using this advanced technology to achieve a fully automated campaign planning process.

More consistent and in-depth tracking of growing Representative satisfaction through regular pulse surveys:

• In early April, Avon committed to speaking to up to 100 Representatives in each of its top 14 markets each day, measuring satisfaction scores across 10 fundamental service KPIs and applying the data to immediate preventative and corrective actions.
• In just 11 weeks, Avon made 25,000 calls to its Representatives and achieved:
• 30% reduction in damaged boxes
• Successful launch of reinforced and compartmentalised boxes in five countries
• Average representative satisfaction scores up by as much as 30% in some markets.

Jan Zijderveld, Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are making significant progress to our service supply chain, and these efforts are beginning to show results across the organization, particularly with regard to Representative satisfaction and overall operational improvements. Through the application of targeted demand planning software, we are building a smarter supply chain that better understands the immediate needs of our Representatives, and responds and reacts to them with greater efficiency and effectiveness. We look forward to benefitting from Rob's leadership as he advances our positive momentum in this crucial area. We are extremely focused on finding new and better ways for Avon to deliver the level of quality and service our Representatives deserve."  

ABOUT AVON
Avon is the Company that for 130 years has proudly stood for beauty, innovation, optimism and, above all, for women. Avon products include well-recognized and beloved brands such as ANEW, Avon Color, Avon Care, Skin-So-Soft, and Advance Techniques sold through approximately 6 million active independent Avon Sales Representatives. Learn more about Avon and its products at www.avoncompany.com

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to service changes, cost savings, forecasting, sales planning, changes in supply chain, enhancements in digital and technological capabilities and changes in management.  Because forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties, actual future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility of business disruption, competitive uncertainties, and general economic and business conditions in Avon's markets as well as the other risks detailed in Avon's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Avon undertakes no obligation to update any statements in this press release for changes that happen after the date of this release.