Maximizing Sales Performance

Transcription

1 WHITE PAPER Maximizing Sales Performance at Store Level Gaining Real Time Insight through Quick, Cost Effec ve Retail Audits Enabling CPG Manufacturers to Verify Shelf, Promo on, and Compe on Status

2 SUMMARY Mobile Technology can now provide sales management with a real me view of the in store merchandising situa on to maximize the consumer experience. Is there a gap between planning and execu on of in store programs? Read why Flowfinity is quickly becoming the industry standard for quick, cost efficient mobile retail audits that facilitate compliance and sales performance. TABLE OF CONTENTS Closing the gap between planning and execu on of CPG in store programs Improving retail channel management through immediate feedback of in store ac vi es Increasing insight through more reliable and accurate data at the point of sale Gaining a compe ve edge by responding in real me to store level issues and opportuni es Reducing the overall cost of se ng up and running retail audits The business value of a mobile retail audit solu on About Flowfinity

3 CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN PLANNING AND EXECUTION OF CPG IN-STORE PROGRAMS Head offices need visibility into the execu on of in store programs CPG companies spend significant me and money planning, execu ng, and evalua ng in store programs. Visibility is inherent to the process, but actual execu on is not always seen from head office. For example: 1. How do we measure our Merchandising goal of Best in Class? 2. Are our products properly priced and posi oned on the shelf? Are we out of stock? 3. How do you know if trade promo on agreements are being honored at the point of sale? According to recent research published by Consumer Goods Technology, promo onal compliance among retailers has grown in importance with many CPG companies leveraging merchandising ac vi es to help manage promo onal execu on. Whether it be compliance, ongoing shelf performance, pricing levels, or compe tor analysis, head offices need Consumer goods companies are able to take ac on to ensure merchandising accountability visibility into the execu on of in store programs in order to close the gap that exists between what is actually occurring in the retail channels and what head office has planned. Sales success depends on merchandising execu on at the point of sale. THE SELLING VALUE CHAIN Leading CGP companies, such as Heinz and Bacardi, have come to rely on Flowfinity s mobile retail audit solu ons to gain a real me view of what is happening at the store level. 2

4 With immediate access to audit data consumer goods companies are able take ac on to ensure merchandising accountability in order to drive more successful in store programs and sales. IMPROVING RETAIL CHANNEL MANAGEMENT BY ATTAINING TIMELY FEEDBACK ON IN-STORE ACTIVITIES Is your organiza on challenged to answer these typical ques ons? 1. Have we achieved target distribu on of the new item in the top five accounts na onally? 2. What percentage of stores has the POS up for the Summer promo on? 3. How many stores have the half pallet display in store right now? 4. How many retail stores in the North East have launched the compe tor s new product? In what sizes? Can I see a photo? 5. Do we have any out of code product on shelves? Where? Flowfinity users can answer these ques ons and many more within minutes! In order to maximize value within the retail channel management, CPG companies need to know in real me the situa on at the point of sale. Being Receive audit results instantly from the field able to receive audit results instantly from the field is the major reason why Heinz implemented a mobile retail audit solu on. Heinz has benefi ed by receiving melier scorecard informa on and having the ability to instantly access detailed reports for more than five years. Bacardi also has relied on Flowfinity s mobile retail audit solu on for more than two years to collect survey data on smartphones. Bacardi, like many consumer goods companies, used a paper based approach to conduct their retail audits and found that paper forms were cumbersome and the mul step manual entry processes delayed results from their na onal surveys by up to three months. Bacardi needed more accurate, immediate data that management could act on they found that solu on with Flowfinity. 3

5 Another business value associated with switching to a mobile retail audit is improved produc vity for sales opera ons and the account representa ves that are visi ng each retail store. Because Flowfinity s surveys are simple to design and quick to deploy, business managers with no IT or technical Double the number of sales calls that each account representa ve completes in a day background can instantly push out more audit surveys and even make adjustments and changes on the fly. And with the surveys being easy for the account representa ves in the field to key in on their smartphone or tablet, companies like Laura s Lean Beef have doubled the number of sales calls that each account representa ve completes in a day! A Tier 1 na onal beverage products manufacturer found that with their account representa ves able to record store audits in their database in real me, it eliminated the need for them to re enter the results a er leaving the stores this delivered efficiency and improved accuracy of the data. INCREASING INSIGHT THROUGH MORE RELIABLE AND ACCURATE DATA AT THE POINT-OF-SALE "Be er insight is key to managing fast moving consumer goods in highly compe ve retail channels," states Eric Ginsburg, Associate Manager for Sales Opera ons, Heinz. Be er insight is dependent on both the quality and quan ty of data. The more data points available, the deeper the analysis possible, resul ng in superior merchandising strategies. The more reliable and accurate the data from the field, the more confident account and business managers can be in turning that insight into ac onable plans. IMPROVING HEAD OFFICE < > FIELD COMMUNICATION 4

6 Flowfinity s mobile retail audit solu on drama cally improves the quality of survey data from the retail channels. Not only does it eliminate blank and Gives management a real me view of how promo ons are being executed across the country illegible responses common to paper and spreadsheet based systems, it also provides flexibility to add new survey ques ons and send photos of the shelf. Flowfinity clients have improved their insight by adding photos to their retail audits giving management a real me view of how promo ons are being executed across the country op mize merchandizing execu on. Not only is the quality of data important, the quan ty of data from the field is also extremely valuable. With Flowfinity s retail audit solu ons being flexible and easy to deploy, management can deploy mul ple surveys to not only capture display, shelf, stock, price, or compe tor data, but even consumer or retail manager ques onnaires. Heinz has found that over the last five years of relying on Flowfinity s solu ons, they have been able to obtain more data than was ever possible with their previous paper andspreadsheet approach. Today, Heinz has over 20 automa cally generated reports on their key performance indicators (KPIs) and are able to slice and dice their raw data to discover how to improve shelf performance, overall in store programs, and sales. VALUE OF QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF DATA Understanding the merchandizing environment = A be er understanding of the consumer experience 5

7 GAINING A COMPETITIVE EDGE BY RESPONDING IN REAL-TIME TO STORE LEVEL ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES So what is the true business value of real me insight? In addi on to monitoring trade promo on compliance and relevant key performance measurements, a key value of a mobile retail audit solu on comes in the Influence performance at the retail level through faster access to detailed reports ability for CPG companies to respond quickly to what is happening in the channel. For both Heinz and Bacardi, Flowfinity s customizable smartphone applica on gave them greater ability to influence performance at the retail level through faster access to detailed reports. Gaining a compe ve edge by iden fying emerging trends in real me can lead to be er accountability measurements and improved tac cal promo ons. RESPONDING FASTER WITH REAL-TIME DATA Another business value of a mobile retail audit solu on is improved channel rela onships. A Flowfinity customer has been able to improve customer rela onships now that their account representa ves are able to respond immediately to changes in compe on, customer requests and promo ons. Make fact based recommenda ons that improve the rela onship with both buyers and local store managers And for one leading na onal food products manufacturer, being able to provide immediate feedback to brokers has resulted in faster resolu on of in store issues. In the case of Laura s Lean Beef, they experienced significant improvement in responding to quality assurance issues a er deploying Flowfinity s retail audit solu on. They now resolve most issues within 2 3 hours compared to 2 3 days previously this has given them an important compe ve advantage. Confident decision making based on accurate and mely informa on facilitates effec ve management of retail channels and 6

8 Cost Effective $ empowers account managers in the channel to make fact based recommenda ons that improve the rela onship with brokers and local store managers. REDUCING THE OVERALL COST OF SETTING UP AND RUNNING RETAIL AUDITS So what kind of ROI can be expected with a mobile retail audit solu on? A Tier 1 consumer goods company found that they were able to reduce the cost of their retail audits by 75%, resul ng in an annual savings of over Reduce the cost of retail audits by 75%, resul ng in an annual savings of over $250,000 $250,000 using Flowfinity mobile audits! Any CPG company that has an interest in measuring and managing the in store experience can costeffec vely deploy Flowfinity s mobile audit solu on. For example, Laura s Lean Beef significantly reduced their maintenance costs compared to their previous proprietary so ware solu on, and has found the Flowfinity solu on easy to support and update. Flowfinity is quickly becoming the standard for mobile retail audits for consumer goods companies to gain valuable insight from the channel. Bacardi no ced considerable savings in the costs associated with opera ng their na onal surveys in first year of deployment. Another leading na onal beverage products manufacturer quickly discovered that mul ple surveys Reduce paper work and overall costs by 25% can be deployed at a very low cost to address mul ple channel marke ng topics. For Sales Partnerships Inc, they were able to reduce staff costs and improve the accuracy of the data by elimina ng the re entry of data. Customers also find they reduce paper work and overall costs by using Flowfinity on smartphones. When compared with tradi onal clipboard and spreadsheets, expensive outsourcing, or in house proprietary systems, switching to Flowfinity is a low risk, proven solu on with a very compelling ROI. 7

9 THE BUSINESS VALUE OF A MOBILE RETAIL AUDIT SOLUTION Conduc ng mobile retail audits using Flowfinity is a proven, powerful and Timeliness and accuracy of reports result in more successful in store programs cost effec ve way to monitor: displays, shelf facings, stock levels, prices, and compe on at the point of sale and ensure merchandising strategies are being executed according to plan. The business value of a mobile retail audit is in the meliness and accuracy of reports that enable managers to respond faster to channel issues and opportuni es resul ng in more successful in store programs and sales performance. As retailers con nue to drive more profit from their own private label products, it s important that consumer goods companies be innova ve and resourceful in order to op mize and exploit their own brands. Changing the way retail audits are conducted by adop ng a proven mobile solu on that gives management a real me view of what is happening at the store level is the best way to do this. With Fortune 500 companies relying on Flowfinity in na on wide deployments for over five years, it only makes sense to go with Flowfinity mobile retail audit solu ons to give you the most accurate and mely insight to your retail channel. FLOWFINITY - QUICKLY BECOMING THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR MOBILE RETAIL AUDITS To learn more about Flowfinity Ac ons Consumer Packaged Goods solu ons: ons Read Case Studies on Fortune 500 companies who have implemented Flowfinity solu ons: 8

10 ABOUT FLOWFINITY Flowfinity provides a proven, fully customizable solu on for building enterprise mobile apps without programming. Since 2000, Flowfinity has helped leading companies across industries empower their mobile Flowfinity quickly becoming the industry standard for mobile retail audits workforces in order to enhance produc vity, engage management, and improve business insight through all areas of the organiza on. By making it easy and fast to mobilize day to day business processes on tablets and smartphones, Flowfinity enables mobile teams to access, report, and share informa on when and where they need to. Top global brands in CPG and other industries rely on Flowfinity so ware as the standard technology for automa ng cri cal business processes. Learn more about Flowfinity Wireless at Flowfinity and Flowfinity Audits are trademarks or registered trademarks of Flowfinity Wireless Inc. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 9