The sales professionals who will thrive in the age
of AI are not just those with the gift of the gab
or the most data. They are the ones who know how
to Speak Shopper. Drawing on 25+ years of
experience across 50+ countries and some of the
world's leading Consumer Goods and Retail
organisations, my new book shows you exactly how.
Learn More About the BookExplore Route to Shopper®Coming Soon

About Ankur (ASB)

ASB

Ankur Shiv Bhandari

“Speak Shopper or Get Shelved. The choice every sales professional faces in the age of AI.”

Ankur Shiv Bhandari is the founder and CEO of Asbiverse Group, a business ecosystem built around a single organising principle: Shopper Focused Value Creation. Everything Asbiverse Group does, across all of its divisions, starts and ends with the shopper. It is this conviction that led Ankur to develop a suite of proprietary methodologies, each addressing a different dimension of commercial and organisational excellence.

At the heart of this body of work sits Route to Shopper®, the world’s most comprehensive commercial excellence methodology for Consumer Goods and Retail professionals. Alongside it, Ankur created Intentonomics®, a framework that addresses the fundamental challenge facing individuals and organisations worldwide: the gap between knowing what needs to be done and consistently executing it. Together with K.S.A.R.™ and PIFFLE®, these methodologies form part of his broader Excellence Intelligence™ framework, enabling organisations to build Capability Ecosystems that deliver measurable and sustainable results.

His life’s work also has a core focus: supporting sales professionals to become Commercial Excellence Leaders who understand that placing the shopper at the centre of every commercial decision is not just good practice. It is the most powerful and sustainable source of value creation available to any brand or retailer.

His forthcoming book, Speak Shopper or Get Shelved: The Shopurai™ Way to Future-Proof Your Sales Career in the Age of AI brings the Route to Shopper® methodology to a global audience for the first time. It is the product of 25+ years of commercial experience across 50+ countries with some of the world’s leading Consumer Goods & Retail organisations, distilled into a practical roadmap for every sales professional navigating the most profound transformation their industry has ever seen.

Starting his career at grassroots level in India, Ankur has spent more than two decades based in the United Kingdom, working at every level of hierarchy across every commercially active continent. He has served as employee and trusted adviser to some of the world’s most respected organisations including Procter and Gamble, Unilever, Accenture, WPP, Coca-Cola, Kellanova, Kantar, Panasonic, GSK and Abbott, bringing the same discipline of Shopper Focused Value Creation to each engagement.

Alongside his professional work, Ankur has always believed that the same principles of capability and intent that drive commercial excellence have a place in public life too. He was privileged to serve his local community as the first person of Asian origin elected as a Borough Councillor to Bracknell Forest Borough Council, and subsequently as the first person of Indian origin elected Mayor of the Borough, an opportunity he remains deeply grateful for.

His academic foundation includes an MBA from Leicester Business School and a Post Graduate qualification in Academic Practice. He is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Law, embodying the lifelong learning mindset he brings to every practitioner who walks the Route to Shopper® path.

Coming Soon

Speak Shopper or Get Shelved: The Shopurai™ Way to Future-Proof Your Sales Career in the Age of AI

 

The Consumer Goods and Retail industry is undergoing its most profound transformation since the advent of ecommerce. In Speak Shopper or Get Shelved, Ankur Shiv Bhandari offers a response to every sales professional asking whether they are about to lose their career to a machine – one that is both challenging and deeply reassuring. Grounded in 25 years of global commercial experience across 50+ countries, the book introduces the Shopurai™ Way: a progressive, disciplined approach to commercial excellence that AI cannot replicate.

“While AI can optimise a promotion in ninety seconds, it cannot form the intent to serve a human being standing in front of a shelf.  If you work in consumer goods or retail, this book is not optional reading.” 

– Wayne Levings, CEO Kantar Americas & Global Chief Client Officer, Kantar

Work Profile

Business Roles

Founder

Asbiverse Group

Based: Bracknell South, Berkshire, United Kingdom

 – Present 

Outline

Asbiverse Group is a business ecosystem built around a single organising principle: Shopper Focused Value Creation. The belief is straightforward. Every dollar of revenue in Consumer Goods and Retail is ultimately decided by a shopper. Building the capability, tools and intelligence to create value at that moment of decision is the most important work any commercial organisation can do.

Five specialist divisions come together under this shared purpose, each addressing a different dimension of Shopper Focused Value Creation. The Commercial Excellence Academy develops the people who create shopper value. Autumn Dew Studio designs the packaging and point-of-purchase materials that influence the shopper at the shelf. Ougment provides the analytics and intelligence that reveal where shopper value is being created or lost. Direczion aligns entire organisations around the shopper, beyond the sales function. And Asbiverse itself drives the research, innovation and infrastructure that connects all five.

What makes the Group distinctive is not any single division. It is the fact that no other organisation owns this complete ecosystem. Competitors train salespeople, or design packaging, or provide analytics. Asbiverse Group does all of it, connected by one philosophy and one proprietary methodology: Route to Shopper®.

Six business units of Asbiverse Group:

Kantar-Consulting

Managing Director

Kantar Consulting

– Dec

Led Kantar Retail’s growth and delivered projects in parts of South East Asia, Europe, Middle East & Africa. Translated Kantar Retail’s global capability offer into what was relevant for the regions. Won new clients and managed existing global relationships.

Key achievements

• Projects won and delivered for Castrol, Lenovo, Friesland Campina,Coca-Cola, Tetra Pak, Abbott, Carlsberg etc
• Biggest success was winning Castrol’s majority training business across India for 2 years. Multiple training programs were developed and delivered for different levels of sales & management hierarchies

Accenture

Management Consultant (Consumer Goods)

Accenture

–

Sales Transformation consultant for Consumer Goods Industries. Focus on Sales Strategy & CRM.

Consulting project roles:

09/2009- 05/2010— SAB Miller Plc
Sales Integration Lead- Global Front office transformation

• Led Business Process design & integration for SAB Miller to deliver a combined business solution for total sales based on global best practice. Focus of integration was within the four functions of sales and between sales and other workstreams such as finance, demand, supply, marketing etc. The four functions of sales were Trade Promotions Management ( included key account management and Trade funds & claims management), Field sales planning & effectiveness, Telesales and sales back office.

07/2008- 09/2009 — Diageo Plc
Global Design Director/Commercial Processes Lead

• Led Re-design of key components of the Global sales/commercial strategy across multiple brands (Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Bells etc.) and markets with best practice input. Areas of Focus include Integrated Business Planning, Customer Management, Trade Investment strategy inc. Trade Promotions Management and Sales coverage/effectiveness strategy.
• Focus was also on building sales function capability to execute the new strategy and processes

10/2007- 06/2008 — Procter & Gamble
Global Transformation & Transition Lead

• Led Business Transformation/Transition to a new Global growth model for P&G. Led the definition of this model, this is an industry’s first custom built model which provides sales/profit increase and cost reductions at the same time on a global scale. The Project involved a business of more than $75 Billion and is being worked on across six continents
• Led the deployment of the solution to the 5 Pilot markets in Asia

08/2007-10/2007—Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Subject Matter Expert

P&G

Various Roles

Procter & Gamble

Market Strategy & Planning Manager

May 2005 – June 2007

• Managed the national business across more than 10 European customers on core categories for the business
• Setting strategic and commercial direction for National account managers and implementing initiatives in National Accounts
• Owner of National budgets for the channel
• Consultant to the trade on category management including optimization of consumer insight converted to sales in-store
• Owner of selected western European initiatives by managing test market in UK

Business Development Manager

May 2002 – May 2005

• Managed a national business worth approx. £15 million+($28 million) with record share levels
• Profile included Strategy setting, turnover responsibility, budgets, supply chain co-ordination, category management, managing brand priorities on brands such as Ariel, Daz, Fairy, Flash etc
• The business handled was UK’s biggest national chain of cash & carries servicing the retail convenience, CTN and forecourt sector and also included a national retail chain with more than 700 retail stores
• Jury member of industry leading awards for 2 consecutive years
• Previous experience in P&G of managing the away from home sector which served industries such as travel, hotels ,Nhs, events, workplace, pubs, restaurants and quick service retailers directly as well as via distributors
• Training and coaching responsibilities

Campus Recruitment Team Leader

–

Note: This was in addition to Ankur’s commercial responsibilities

• Headed a multi-functional team on one of the top ten campuses in UK
• Involved in interviewing & selection of future talent for P&G
• Experienced trainer on sales colleges

dulux

Area Head (ICI Paints now Akzo Nobel)

AkzoNobel

–

Profile:

Profile included depot management, new market development, dead market revivals, product launches (Dulux), channel management, devising marketing and sales promotion strategies

• Turnover increased by approx. 20%
• Debtor days decreased from 72 to 18
• Network growth of approx. 300%
• Increase in Brand Recall
• Managed a team of sales representatives

Perfect

Senior Marketing Executive

PERFECT BREAD PRIVATE LIMITED

–

This was a new company dealing in bakery products (Perfect Bread) and Ankur developed the market for this company in five states of India including Delhi and National Capital region Delhi making it the leader in three states and a strong competitor in two. Ankur headed the total sales force in these areas for the start-up enterprise. It possesses a strong market presence now.

Academic Roles

SMU

Senior Lecturer- International Business ( P/T)

St Mary’s University, Twickenham

Based: London, United Kingdom

 –

Outline

In line with Ankur’s focus on Capability Development of Individuals and organisations, he was presented with this fantastic opportunity to support Academic research & teaching at St Mary’s University (Part-Time), which he was delighted to accept. This provided an excellent opportunity to realise strong synergies between the latest Research thinking in Academia and professional capability development.

Key Responsibilities

  • Supported Post Graduate Business programs in the university including “International Strategic Management”, “International Marketing” and “Digital Marketing.”
  • Ensured that the thinking on the latest industry requirements was always current and various management approaches could be regularly challenged and refreshed.
  • Created a connection between Industry and academia at this professional level as there were strong synergies.

Community Roles

BFC

Mayor of Bracknell Forest

Bracknell Forest Council

Based: Bracknell

–

Representing the Borough of Bracknell Forest as its First Citizen. First-person of Indian origin and also the first person of Colour to be elected to this role.

Borough Councillor- Local Government

Bracknell Forest Council

Based: Bracknell

–

Elected as the first ever Asian origin Borough Councillor to Bracknell Forest Borough Council in May 2019 Council elections. This was Ankur’s opportunity to give back to the society and he served the communities in the Bracknell Borough by:

• Addressing any community needs in his ward
• Being part of the Economic Skills Development Partnership – focused on ensuring his residents had the right workplace skills that could aid their economic development
• Being part of the Planning Committee- overseeing planning applications in the Borough delegated to the committee
• Being involved in multiple other community projects focused on improving the experiences of his residents

WCM

Liveryman and Chairman of Membership

The Worshipful Company of Marketors

Based: London

January 2020 – November 2022

Ankur was proud to be enclothed as a Liveryman of the Worshipful company of Marketors ( Livery company). As part of this role, he focused on the development of the Marketing profession.

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