Shelf Management Interventions

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Shelving Leads Offtake Generation

Shelf management or shelving is the routine practice done and arranged by shopkeepers and their counter sales team. They used to make placement, storage, and replenishment of stocks on the shelves & racks regularly.

• Proper shelving creates consumer awareness, enhances stock accessibility to the shoppers/consumers and makes convenient to fulfill and serve their product requirements efficiently. Moreover effective & efficiently handled stock and shelf management leads to retailer's investment optimization through smooth cash flow, relatively more rotations and minimum damages.                                                                                                           
•  Selling new brands/variants/packs requires lots of efforts and promotional supports, if it is not available on the shelf, all efforts will go in vain because of non-visibility. Even shoppers ask for the particular pack, probably it may be overlooked by a counter salesman. Therefore proper placement of products is crucial.                                                                              
•  Normally shelf storage is done category wise, all products belong to a particular category get shelved together and single/assorted placement done depending on product contribution and space availability at store.                                                                                                                               
•  Day by day market scenario is becoming more competitive & demanding, therefore it is not feasible to leave things on retailers' discretion.                                                                                                                          
• It is the sales team's responsibility to intervene on a minimum of 20% outlets/value-weighted stores where concern categories/total related business contribution is around 80% across channels.                                           
•  Trade relationship plays a key role in shelf management interventions.                             The sales team has to design appropriate trade & micro marketing plans, negotiate it with the store owner and make it documented properly.                                                                                                                             
•  Effective shelving has to be done by a merchandiser with the coordination of store salesman.                        Placement of the products has to be done category wise and share of the space should be more than share of your business across concern categories.                                                             
• Suggested plans...

1. Shelves space+monthly value target+hot spot visibility linkage
2. Shelves space+monthly value target linkage
3. Shelves space+monthly value target+Monthly offtake/sale out target linkage

• Objectively, the share of the shelf must be more than the share of current business to maintain and increase market share.                                                                                                                               
• The availability of the products is the core responsibility of the salesman/sales officer and shelving/visibility is of merchandising team. There should be proper alignment between them and their store visits.                                             Moreover, the whole process & business output progress should be leaded, monitored and controlled by territory officer & area manager.                      Usually, the trade marketing team also tracks and supports these activities.                                                                                                  
• Last but not least, shelving at 80% outlets which contribute around 20% business has to be managed through relationship building, schemes redesigning & personal efforts by salesperson itself. Usually, merchandisers are not assigned to these stores.                                                                                              Sale well, shelve well & replenish well, business growth would be certainly well !!                                                                                         Kindly publish your valuable comments.   
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  Courtesy
  PKGoel
   Sales Trainer
  9319155888
  
  
  Pkgoel_22@yahoo.co.in