I could be wrong about 2nd qtr numbers but that is what understood from K's presser. And from a Mgr. Let's be realistic here, Eanie-Day does not want the huge costs associated with a DSD sales force. That's fine but along with that action will be a reaction: reduced sales.
If Kelloggs leadership thinks sales will now increase without DSD controlling the sales, orders, inventory and merchandising on almost a daily basis in a store then K leadership truly have NO idea what is going on at store level. Call the termination of DSD for what it is: a salary dump purely motivated by P&L pressures.
To say this is motivated by online purchasing trends is ludicrous. I live outside a major metropolitan city and I don't see the online Grocer delivery trucks clogging the roads nor do I see many of the store online employee shoppers.
DSD was the easiest target to attack and had NO advocates or champions to save it. We all know the account teams coukd -hit the bed and still keep their jobs (Acme). But now the account teams are the low hanging fruit and if sales slip significantly, they along with new snak reps will be hit next. Then starts the death spiral.
Once again, you can't run a sales organization thru reports behind a desk.