Our response:

After managing the merchandising for these categories within our clients’ retailer for some time, both parties had noticed a challenge, that several stores across the estate had inaccurate stock levels on their system, which was preventing the right amount of stock from being sent in store, resulting in lost sales and gaps on the fixtures.

Unfortunately, this is common across these categories, as high theft levels and the high number of small SKUs can quickly become inaccurate without a lot of focus. eXPD8 were however determined to work with the retailer to provide a cost-effective, accurate solution. 

Due to the complex nature of this important process, our team worked closely with the retailer and our Field Management team to ensure no detail was overlooked within planning. Ahead of the launch, we completed several visits to a variety of stores to fully understand the end-to-end process and develop a training module which each merchandiser would be required to pass ahead of completing any visits. 

Our Beauty team then worked closely with the retailer and our data team to develop a visit model which would ensure each store received the right number of visits and call-time based on their space and sales. Visits were also aligned with regular replenishment calls and the retailers’ delivery schedule to ensure a cohesive overall stock management process.

Our Central office team developed a clear set of briefs and questions, and merchandisers were providing additional supporting guidance should it be needed. Prior to the launch we decided to phase the roll-out of the process out, to ensure any learnings found within initial stores could be considered for the rest of the estate.

Overall, gap scanning has had an extremely positive impact on stores’ availability levels and sales, reducing the number of fixture gaps by as much as 30% within some quarters.