ORLANDO, Fla. -- Should the plan-o-gram process be a matter of continuous product-set updating? Dr Pepper Snapple Group thinks so and aims to help retailers get there through partnerships and technology.
The goal is to update the plan-o-grams continuously by feeding more data into the system automatically, according to a CPG Matters report.
“We want to make category management a continuous process, not a project-based process,” John Williams, director of category management for the Plano, Texas-based beverage maker, said during a presentation at the annual Category Management Conference hosted by the Category Management Association (CMA). “We need to be more automated and then focus on insights and the shopper. That’s where we see it going.”
"Continuous category management" is generally defined as a process that employs real-time information and instant alerts to enable trading partners to make informed category and product merchandising decisions more rapidly. Many experts believe that is possible by leveraging new data collection technologies that will lead to better insights, according to the report.
“In practical terms, today we have cameras in the store that can monitor shopper behavior,” said Danny Halim of JDA Software Group, who spoke with Williams in the CMA presentation. “But it’s not just looking at the shoppers, but also paying attention to the conditions of the shelf."
Williams said continuous category management would mean having data feed into the process and allowing plan-o-grams to be created and reviewed automatically.
“Think about having the right data for our assortments, looking at items coming into the market and alerting a buyer to items that should be added to that assortment,” he said. “Through automation, we can say where those items should be placed automatically in the plan-o-gram.
“We can also have analytics based on trends,” he said, “not on what previously has happened. Days of supply: We could use a methodology that would be part of it. You would have the right days for a bottler delivery to the stores so you’re not out of stocks. We then take it from category to aisle and to the rest of the store.”
Click here to read the complete CPG Matters report.
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