CPM International | Sales Outsourcing & Customer Experience Agency

## CPM International: Sales Outsourcing and Customer Experience Agency

CPM International is a sales outsourcing and customer experience agency that has been operating since 1936. The company works with brands across multiple countries, connecting them with customers through physical, digital, and virtual touchpoints. With 90 years of operation behind it, CPM has built an international delivery network spanning multiple markets and languages, serving clients in sectors ranging from food and drink to technology, luxury goods, and automotive.

### What CPM Actually Does

CPM's service portfolio is broader than a typical call center or back-office outsourcer. They position around three outcomes: getting consumers to try a brand, converting them to buyers, and keeping them loyal. The services that sit behind that framework are concrete and varied.

**Sales outsourcing** is the core offering. CPM deploys field sales teams on behalf of clients, managing the full sales execution function so the client does not have to build or manage that headcount internally. This covers both direct and indirect sales channels.

**Digital sales** extends that into online and remote channels, covering digital customer acquisition and conversion work outside of a physical retail or field setting.

**Merchandising** involves in-store presence, product placement, and shelf compliance work. This is hands-on, territory-based work requiring people in physical retail locations, checking and correcting how client products appear on shelf.

**Auditing and compliance** sits adjacent to merchandising. CPM teams verify that agreed commercial terms, promotional displays, and product standards are actually being executed at the point of sale, not just promised by a retailer.

**Customer support** is CPM's inbound service channel, handling customer contacts on behalf of client brands. The research does not specify channels in detail, but CPM frames this as part of a broader customer experience function rather than a standalone contact center operation.

**Sampling, demos, and active selling** means CPM puts brand ambassadors in front of consumers to drive trial and direct conversion, in-store or at events. This is face-to-face brand activation work.

**Experiential** covers broader brand experience programs, which typically include events and consumer engagement campaigns designed to build emotional connection with a product or brand.

**Data science** is listed as a distinct capability. CPM frames strategic planning and data science as core to how they allocate and deploy resources, selecting the right approach for each market and channel. Whether this is a standalone consulting service or an internal tool that supports delivery is worth clarifying on a call.

### Who They Work With

The client roster in the research includes Diageo, McAfee, and Asahi. That is a meaningful signal. These are large, internationally operating consumer brands with high standards for field execution, reporting quality, and partner accountability. CPM is not positioned as a startup-friendly or SMB vendor. The engagement model, international footprint, and service complexity suggest a client base of mid-to-large brands with real volume and a need for consistent multi-market execution.

The testimonials from these clients are specific enough to be useful. Emily Ashton, Field Planning Manager at Diageo, cited "consistency and professionalism" and described the relationship as one where "challenges are addressed quickly" and alignment is maintained. Christophe Rocca, Channel Marketing Manager EMEA at McAfee, specifically called out "daily monitoring through dedicated tools (such as Viva Engage)" and "the quality of the reporting" as factors that contributed to program success. That last point is worth noting. In a field sales or merchandising program, you cannot see what your teams are doing in real time. The fact that McAfee's regional marketing lead singled out reporting quality and a named tool suggests CPM has invested in visibility infrastructure rather than just delivering a headcount. Asahi's representative highlighted "consultative support outside of the core offering" and described the relationship as genuinely flexible and responsive across commercial, operational, and people capability challenges.

Sectors mentioned include food and drink, luxury, technology, and automotive. CPM does not appear to specialize in a single vertical. The common thread is consumer-facing brands with physical retail or field sales exposure.

### Delivery Model and Global Footprint

CPM operates across multiple countries and uses a "liquid approach" to resource deployment, meaning they select and allocate people dynamically based on where demand is. The website is available in English, Dutch, French, German, and Italian, which maps to a primarily European operational base alongside broader international coverage. Exact office locations are not specified in the research beyond "global network" and "our locations."

The company calls its approach "liquid," which in practice means flexible resource deployment rather than fixed team structures. For a buyer, that has both upside and downside. The upside is scalability and market flexibility. The question worth asking is how that translates to team continuity and brand knowledge retention when the same agents are not always assigned to your account.

### Editor's Take

CPM International is a serious, established operator in the sales outsourcing and brand experience space. Ninety years in business is not a marketing claim. It reflects genuine institutional knowledge about how field sales programs actually work at scale across markets.

That said, the buyer profile here is specific. If you need a straightforward inbound call center at a low cost per seat, CPM is probably not the right fit. Their value is in integrated, multi-channel programs that combine field execution, digital sales, data reporting, and customer experience into a single managed service. That kind of engagement requires budget, clear objectives, and internal stakeholders who can engage meaningfully with a strategic partner, not just a vendor.

I would verify a few things before shortlisting: how they structure account management for your specific market (the same person or a rotating resource pool?), what reporting looks like in practice and how quickly they surface execution gaps, and whether their data science capability is embedded into delivery or a separate layer that only engages at program review. The McAfee reference gives me some confidence on the reporting side, but I would want to see an example dashboard or report before signing anything.