Thanks to ShelfWise’s cooperation with ABR SESTA and OEX Cursor there is a new way to support distribution and implement best standards of shop display into 10.000 of the most important points of sales in Poland. Using the image recognition technology to gather advanced data from shop shelves it will be possible to audit previously omitted shops of the traditional channel.
The ABR SESTA Research Institute specializes in research of the purchasing environment both from demand side (shopper) and supply side (merchandising, assortment, prices and promotion). It is one of the TOP research agencies in terms of revenue from retail audits and FMCG industry research.
Due to many years of experience in market research and established market position we decided to ask a few questions to Bartłomiej Niedbał – Managing Director od ABR SESTA.
What will be the result of the „project 10.000”?
Project 10.000 is aimed primarily at increasing the probability of sales in traditional trade stores. The result of the project is a tool for everyday use in sales and operational activities. Maintaining long-term growth dynamics is not possible without building positive relationships with business partners. The key here is the recommendation of effective in-store solution, and by that we mean an assortment tailored to consumer needs as well as its placement in line with shoppers expectations in traditional channel stores.
Who will benefit from this kind of solution?
The project is dedicated to FMCG leaders who want to manage sales force more effectively, precisely adjust the assortment and handle other activities in today unsupported stores.
We analyze in detail the point of sales, it’s surrounding, available product categories (their width, depth) and purchasing power (population and disposable income). The combination of data from various sources gives a wide range of inference possibilities that’s why we adapt the offer and scope of cooperation to the client’s needs. Knowing the specificity of the FMCG market and management models we offer comprehensive support in this area.
How can this affect the FMCG market in Poland?
FMCG leaders have deep knowledge about their clients, their needs and expectations, but on the other hand they are not able to reach all points of sales. Project 10.000 includes visits to 10.000 unsupported before traditional stores. We get to know current state and then we set the directions for the growth of category as well as implement and monitor the effects of the introduced changes. As a result, store owners gain access to knowledge in the field of category management and ready to use tool that take into account specificity of the point od sale. FMCG producers and distributors pay attention to long term relations as well as monitoring basic category indicators to set priorities for actions. We have to have in mind that in some FMCG categories, the traditional challenge generate more than half of the turnover. At the end but none-less important is the customer who finds among the offer products which satisfy his needs. The changes that we are introducing are aimed to improve shopping experience. In other words to adapt assortment and its arrangement to consumer needs.
Raw data itself seems discouraging. Will there beany strategy guidances in the analyzes?
The basis of the project are the recommendations. The main areas of guidelines are merchandising standards, shelf sh, re and numerical distribution. It is worth noting that project 10.000 does not end with sending data and recommendations. In the project, we define and monitor the indicators for effective inventory and shelf management. We developed scoring calculation models that take into account the specificity of category and their management practices. We set priorities, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of all changes in the store.
What was the reason for skipping those smaller sales point so far?
Manufacturers cooperating with traditional stores admit that it is an extremely demanding market, and the costs of reaching dispersed outlets are very high. The combination of competences of OEX Cursor, ShelfWise, and ABR SESTA significantly reduces this cost. Another reason is the time and resources necessary to collect, order and analyze data. The use of the newest technology enables data delivery and analysis almost in real time. Naturally, the direction of project development leads to full automation of the process, that is collecting, processing and analyzing data to deliver the best recommendation for the product of each category in the traditional shop channel.