Leadership Perspectives

Alejandro Pliego is a Senior Commercial Executive with over 25 years of experience driving growth and leading high-performing teams in two of the world’s top FMCG companies. He has over 20 years of experience with Nestlé in various leadership capacities and over five years with Kimberly-Clark de México. He has a proven track record in exceeding sales targets and building sustainable business strategies across Modern Trade, Traditional Trade, and E-commerce.

Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to lead and develop large teams in highly competitive environments.  Something I’ve consistently seen is that building a high-performing team requires more than just capable individuals. It depends on a strong culture of leadership, clear communication, continuous development, and feedback.

It’s essential to have proactive and passionate people who are aligned with the culture, and to provide them with ongoing training in both technical and interpersonal skills. Clear and timely feedback, combined with recognition of achievements, creates an environment of commitment and motivation.

Technology has been a great ally in enhancing the work of sales teams, especially when it comes to in-store execution. Tools that provide real-time information, such as sell-out data, inventory levels, and planned daily activities, have significantly improved operational efficiency. This allows us to better prioritize opportunities, allocate resources more strategically, and optimize execution at the point of sale.

Additionally, real-time performance visibility is key. It enables us to quickly identify deviations or opportunities, adjust plans on the go, and make faster, data-driven decisions. Ultimately, technology has strengthened both operational accuracy and the field team’s ability to respond effectively.

Without a doubt, technology should be seen as a strategic ally.

The right selection of partners is key to business success. It’s not just about a commercial exchange. A successful partnership goes far beyond that and must be built on trust, proper alignment, clarity, and commitment.

I always look for partners who are committed to delivering excellence, who are flexible and able to adapt to change, and who have a strong focus on results. It’s also important that there is a genuine interest in continuous improvement. Only then can we build a long-term relationship that brings mutual benefit to both parties.

Artificial intelligence, and particularly image recognition, is undoubtedly transforming the way we identify opportunities, especially at the point of sale. It allows us to automatically and accurately detect key elements such as product availability, proper display, shelf compliance, and competitor activity. It also helps us quickly identify opportunities or unattended areas that may have gone unnoticed before, especially considering the high number of SKUs managed.

In addition, AI enables us to analyze large volumes of data, which makes it easier to anticipate needs and adjust the commercial strategy more effectively, accurately, and in a timely manner.

I believe the use of these tools at the point of sale is still developing. Few companies are currently using them, but it’s something that will undoubtedly grow exponentially in the coming years.

I’m confident that more and more Mexican companies will adopt these technologies to optimize in-store operations, make better use of information, and make more accurate decisions.

In a few years, the way we operate at the point of sale will be radically transformed thanks to image recognition and artificial intelligence.