Maximizing Sales Performance

(1)

Maximizing Sales Performance

at Store Level

Gaining

Real

‐

Time

Insight

through

Quick,

Cost

E

ﬀ

ec ve

Retail

Audits

Enabling

CPG

Manufacturers

(2)

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

Flow

fi

nity

is

quickly

becoming

the

industry

standard

for

quick,

cost

e

ﬃ

cient

mobile

retail

audits

that

facilitate

compliance

and

sales

performance.

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

Flow

fi

nity

2

3

4

6

7

8

9 SUMMARY

(3)

CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN PLANNING AND EXECUTION OF CPG 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

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.

Head oﬃces need

visibility into the

execu on of in‐store

programs

Consumer goods

companies are able to

take ac on to ensure

merchandising

accountability

THE SELLING VALUE CHAIN

(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

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.

Receive audit results

instantly from the

(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

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.

Double the number of

sales calls that each

account representa ve

completes in a day

(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

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‐and‐

spreadsheet 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.

Gives management a

real‐ me view of how

promo ons are being

executed across the

country

VALUE OF QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF DATA

Understanding the

merchandizing

environment =

A be er understanding

of the consumer experience

(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

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.

Influence performance

at the retail level

through faster access

to detailed reports

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.

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

Make fact‐based

recommenda ons that

improve the

rela onship with both

buyers and local store

(8)

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

$250,000 using Flowfinity mobile audits! Any CPG company that has an

interest in measuring and managing the in‐store experience can cost‐

eﬀec 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

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.

$

Cost Effective

Reduce the cost of

retail audits by 75%,

resul ng in an annual

savings of over

$250,000

Reduce paper work

and overall costs by

(9)

THE BUSINESS VALUE OF A MOBILE RETAIL AUDIT SOLUTION

Conduc ng mobile retail audits using Flowfinity is a proven, powerful and

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:

 Read Case Studies on Fortune 500 companies who have implemented

Timeliness and

accuracy of reports

result in more

successful in‐store

(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

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 ‐ quickly

becoming the industry

standard for mobile