Vendor Consolidation Frees Up Personnel, Puts Display Projects on Fast Track | Grocery

4/11/2024

RRD Supply Chain Solutions supports major retail chain in creation, supply, and management of seasonal in-store product displays

CHALLENGE

The category managers at a major grocery and pharmacy chain were overwhelmed with responsibilities and tasks related to seasonal product displays. The displays, which showcase trending new products to customers, also serve to identify those products that are in high demand. 

However, the displays were pulling category managers away from their primary duties. They were tasked with sourcing and managing the entire display supply chain — the products through CPG suppliers; the creative agency; the packaging vendors; the pack-out vendors; and the logistics providers. In addition, they were responsible for tracking all shipments, chasing complaints, and fixing all related supply-chain problems. They were also in charge of consolidating invoices from their various providers and allocating them to the store level.

As a result, the various display projects were often behind schedule. Just as importantly, the grocer’s category teams were limited in the amount of time they could devote to researching new products, scrutinizing sell-through data, providing in-store support, and performing other business-critical tasks. 

SOLUTION

To overcome these challenges, the grocery chain partnered with RRD Supply Chain Solutions to implement a CPG merchandising program. Featuring themed displays specifically created to sell point-of-sale products in retail environments, the program’s displays boast unique designs and product offerings. To accommodate the chain’s limited floor space, the displays are engineered to be sleek and efficient. 

Following consultation with the grocer’s team, RRD conceives, designs, prints, and assembles the displays, which are tailored to the seasonal product the grocer wishes to promote. The grocery chain usually targets a specific product for each display, but they also source RRD’s extensive network of CPG suppliers for product possibilities. The displays are then shipped to the grocer’s various locations around the country. 

Once each display project has shipped, RRD provides the grocer with a single, consolidated bill of materials and services. The invoice includes all project components — products and fees for design, the displays themselves, pack-out, fulfillment, and logistics. The category managers no longer have to concern themselves with those tasks. 

In addition, the grocery chain is provided with consolidated reporting via a single online portal. With this reporting, the grocer can see where product is shipped, how much is shipped, which sales can be attributed to a particular store, and other data. 

RESULTS

RRD’s support in sourcing and managing the complete display supply chain substantially reduced the number of vendors the grocer had to manage.  This enabled the grocer’s product managers to focus on their primary responsibilities.

Other benefits include: 

• Display projects are completed on time, with consolidated reporting and cleaner execution at the store level
• RRD’s online portal enables the grocer to track shipments, address any supply-chain issues, and more, eliminating their previous reliance on spreadsheets and emails to facilitate the process
• The RRD team has proposed new CPG categories and innovative, high-margin products, allowing the grocery chain to review a broad range of revenue-generating solutions versus having to seek these out themselves
• With RRD’s assistance, the grocer is able to explore various options for future displays, from temporary to semi-permanent and permanent