20th Anniversary of OEX Cursor

During the pandemic, sales in the e-commerce channel grew rapidly and captured both the headlines and the consumers’ hearts. Nevertheless, the traditional brick-and-mortar store trade is doing well, undergoing changes and development. OEX Cursor, a provider of sales support activities for well-known Polish and foreign brands, is celebrating its 20th birthday and continues to enjoy business growth. Today, however, the market needs services that help brands meet changing consumer expectations. Key among them are the speed and convenience of the shopping experience, as well as the offer personalization and the building of a real bond with the brand.

The history of OEX Cursor began 20 years ago with promotional campaigns for such companies as Nestle, Danone or with direct sales projects for Telekomunikacja Polska (now Orange), Masterfoods (now Mars), Philip Morris and Procter&Gamble. A number of high-level professionals who started their adventure in the industry in the mid-1990s still work for OEX Cursor.

‘At the time, the main challenge was the management of huge field structures. We had to draw up over 10 thousand annual tax return forms for all our collaborators. The then new concept of outsourcing was gaining popularity in Poland. From the beginning, we focused on the quality of the tasks performed, because we knew that we could not disappoint customers who have given up or reduced their own structures and entrusted us with important activities on which their sales results and brand image depended,’ says Przemyslaw Bogdanski, President of the Management Board of OEX Cursor, who has been with the company since the beginning.

OEX Cursor was the first in Poland to build and manage the so-called shared field structure, which involved a provision of a field team capable of servicing various manufacturers (and therefore not exclusive). Such a service, which includes, for example, commercial, merchandising, auditing or installation activities, is provided in various sales channels – from traditional brick-and-mortar stores, through petrol stations and supermarkets, to cash&carry outlets, discount stores or pharmacies.

‘Both the shared model and the dedicated model (i.e. a team working exclusively for one client) are developed today based on modern technology. We focus on data analytics and advanced reporting systems for clients. We are responsible for the implementation of very specific quantitative and qualitative parameters established in consultation with the customer. We are a company based on human activities, but we want them to be more effective, so we add technology and those solutions that allow us to increase the satisfaction of our customers and, consequently, give us a competitive advantage.

We help our clients optimize processes, which is essential today, especially in the FMCG industry, since consumers expect convenient and fast shopping experience. Consumers do not want to waste their time looking for goods or price information. In this area, we offer our clients not only a whole range of services such as merchandising and sales audits, but also the outsourcing of claim handling processes, or the installation of small POS, verification of contractual assumptions and staff education,’ said Przemyslaw Bogdanski.

The field marketing activities implemented by the company are an area where manufacturers can build their brand world. While online retailers are figuring out how to replace those experiences where the customer can physically touch the product, we offer a spectrum of activities that are suggestions for attractive leisure activities, build a community around the brand or educate and impart knowledge on the brand and the product values.

“I often mention here the Barilla brand, with which we taught Poles to cook pasta al dente. We are slowly returning with activities after the period of restrictions and are working on new sampling projects,’ explains Przemyslaw Bogdanski.

Today, OEX Cursor has thousands of completed projects, a staff with years of experience, support from the OEX Group and technological solutions. The group of the Company’s long-standing clients include Unilever, Coca-Cola, Bosch, BAT and Citibank.

‘In the past two years, we underwent many changes to optimize operations. We significantly improved our profitability and I am proud to say that Cursor’s core business based on sales force outsourcing, merchandising, event campaigns and sampling has grown by 20% within the last 3 years. That is a lot, considering the fact that we had a year of restructuring and a year of the pandemic. We currently have in our portfolio contracts that we have been implementing for many years as well as new contracts. We are invited to participate in most tenders in the sector, and the OEX Cursor brand is strongly recognized. Also the customers appreciated our cooperation with them during the pandemic. It was a period during which we had to demonstrate great flexibility, many a time coupled with crisis management skills. Therefore, we really appreciate the customer satisfaction ratings, which in annual surveys never fall below the level of 97%, when it comes to our service.’

The pandemic was a difficult period for the event industry. Field marketing projects were postponed or it was tested, with varying successes, whether or not they could be implemented via the Internet. The Company used the time to update its strategy and expand its service portfolio.

‘We talked to customers several times a day. We consulted with each other ways how best to manage the situation. We focused on safety and shared all solutions and materials with our contractors. Close cooperation, experience sharing and good communication were needed as never before. We used the lockdown time to update the strategy, involving all levels of management in the process. I wanted to make the most of field knowledge in this process. It gave very good results and resulted in the words of acknowledgement from customers who really appreciated the changes made,’ added Przemyslaw Bogdanski.

On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, OEX Cursor has the pleasure to invite everybody to take part in the 20 x 20 promotional campaign, in which we offer a flexible package of auditing and merchandising activities for your company.

The article was published at the www.dlahandlu.pl website: https://www.dlahandlu.pl/detal-hurt/wiadomosci/w-pandemii-rozmawialismy-z-klientami-po-kilka-razy-dziennie,98682.html