For most FMCG companies, information concerning coverage and activities that are performed in Modern Trade stores is key to improving visibility and sales. To achieve the same a focused approach is made with the help of Merchandisers covering modern trade stores. Merchandisers can be company-owned salespersons or 3rd party salespersons working for the brand.
Merchandisers visit a lesser number of outlets when compared to salespersons working in the general trade market, as activities that are required to be carried out by merchandisers at the MT stores are different from that of GT salespersons. Merchandisers are expected to ensure adequate stocks are available and proper visibility of the products and promotions at the stores for walk-in customers. It has become important that Merchandisers are equipped with adequate data while visiting modern trade outlets to be more productive.
Planning: The companies need to have a plan for MT outlets coverage, it helps the merchandisers to be prepared and do proper outlet execution and brings visibility to the company about the adherence of the plan, and tracks any deviation with proper reasoning to improve the planning.
Attendance: Visibility of the merchandiser’s attendance is a key input for companies, for example, some companies do salary calculations of the merchandisers based on the minimum days they worked in the market and no of hours they worked in a day. Companies are also keen on tracking the time that the merchandisers are spending in each outlet.
Stock Taking: When the merchandisers are working in the outlet it is important to check the availability of stock, even though it is not possible to take stock of all products, it is expected to capture the stock details of certain key products/brands as per the company requirements. In some cases, it is the merchandiser’s responsibility to ensure the stocks are replenished in the store shelves from the store godown.
Share of Shelf: Merchandisers’ key activity in the store is to ensure the products are placed properly on the shelves and to ensure the visibility of the products to walk-in customers. It is also expected that the shelves are arranged as per the suggestions shared by the company as a planogram. Once the merchandiser arranges the shelf, they capture shelf details like the shelf, products front facing, no of rows, nearby products, etc. and capture a photograph of the same as proof/reference for the activity.
Competitor Information: Apart from capturing information about company products, merchandisers also capture information about competitors’ products which could be the shelf the competitor products are placed on, brands present, a photograph of the shelf, etc. to give visibility of the competitors to the company.
Order Taking: In some cases, merchandisers also collect orders from the outlet instead of salespersons visiting the outlet for taking orders. Merchandiser, post-stock-taking and shelf arrangement, work with the store manager for orders and the orders captured are shared with distributors/companies for processing the order.
Automating Merchandiser: Automation will help the Merchandiser with adequate data to do store activities in a much better manner and enable the merchandisers to the above-mentioned activities in a much-organized way. Automation can provide complete visibility of the activities that are performed by the merchandiser and helps them to take well-informed decisions and make the merchandiser more productive during the MT store visit.
Automating Merchandising SFA: Automation can help to improve merchandiser performance, save time, and help improve the performance of the field teams. It can help capture stock information, and staff performance, track product and shelf quality, and enhance brand and competition audits accuracy.
Automated, AI-driven SFA can help merchandising solutions can help brands increase accuracy, improve productivity and drive brand sales with comprehensive solutions.
