Re-Thinking Retail Execution Strategies
18
SEP, 2018
Over the past five years, the retail landscape has evolved to keep pace with buying trends and consumer demands. CPG companies, on the other hand, have been slower to adapt. After stumbling across an industry report that revealed 64% of Retail Execution professionals still use pen and paper, it’s evident that many CPGs are blatantly resisting 21st century technology in the field and need to re-think Retail Execution strategies.
To be clear, Retail Execution has officially moved beyond basic order taking and surveys. CPGs who struggle with the necessary transition from ‘transactional to actionable’ are at risk. Arming field reps with tools that offer more benefits than a clipboard can turn a store visit into a bountiful field intelligence mission.
64% of Retail Execution professionals still use pen and paper.
The most successful CPG brands are using Sales Force Automation technology to turn daily field intelligence into actionable data that supports new SKUs, improves product launches, drives revenue, and grows market share. They are providing field reps with selling aids, supervisor coaching, offline pricing, and cooler management to improve product availability across various markets. You can’t do that with paper.
Solution providers are already re-thinking retail execution. Technology that was once considered groundbreaking – mobile, real-time data, 24/7 access via the cloud – have become standard functionality for top retail execution field teams. The next wave of retail execution will leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning to further elevate productivity and data collection during a store visit. Future capabilities surrounding augmented reality, voice recognition and text-to-speech are closer than you think.
While some CPGs may not be ready for AI or voice recognition, every CPG company should be implementing tools that can enhance insights, decision-making and overall productivity in the field. Retiring pen and paper is a good place to start.
