Creating a CPG merchandising checklist enables your company to keep things in order and follow best practices. Consumer packaged goods companies, distributors and wholesalers can all benefit from making a checklist. There are several essential things that should be included on any CPG merchandising checklist, so we have compiled some of the top considerations to remember.
Define Information About Store Visits
One of the first, and most important, things to do is think about the information that needs to be defined for each visit. There are various questions that need to be asked and answered, such as when and where each visit is, who is conducting the visit, and other essential details. Recording these details by hand or using spreadsheets is a slow and inefficient way to do this when multiple store visits need to be carried out in a day. Instead, these details can be automated using the right technology. You can optimize team performance and automate data collection with multiple users on your retail execution platform. Setting up and assigning store visits and more is easier than ever.
Label Your Checklist
When creating your checklist, it’s essential to make it clear and precise. Your field reps need to be able to easily read and understand each section so that they can save time while inputting accurate data. Every section should have a title that makes sense and indicates exactly what the section is about. This is made a lot easier if you’re using the right retail execution software. Your team will be able to find what they need by scrolling quickly through and jumping to what they need using their mobile device. Our mobile app means they can manage everything on their phone or tablet.
Customize Checklists to Each Location
Every store is different, and not every part of your checklist is going to be relevant for all of your locations. Depending on the size of a store or the type of location, you might want to include or not include various sections so that you can control and monitor the locations in different ways. Customizing your checklists doesn’t have to mean creating individual lists from scratch for each location. With technology on your side, you can easily add or remove sections as needed. This is much more beneficial if you want to save time for your field reps. They will always have the relevant questions and sections that they need, without having to try and sort through anything that’s not needed for that location or task.
Include Essential Sections on Your Checklist
There are some crucial items you will want to include on your CPG merchandising checklist to ensure it is complete. There are plenty of ways to customize for each location or different markets, but there are certain areas that are important to consider.
You will want to include a section for what’s on your shelves. This could include what’s in stock, pricing, and signage. Additionally, you can include the amount of shelf space and their location, as well as planograms. In-store promotions should have a section, with space for data on signs, displays, and other information that helps you to track how well promotions are performing.
Keeping track of staff performance is also important. You will need to know about levels of staff training, their knowledge of your products, and customer service and satisfaction. Another essential section to include is what’s happening behind the scenes in your back room. What are the stock levels like and are your products being stored in the right way?
Keep Sections Short
Large sections on your checklist can be overwhelming and take longer to complete. Breaking them up into more, smaller sections can help to make the checklist more manageable. It’s easier to input data when using a mobile device and can help to make all of the data more specific and helpful.
Attach Value to Answers
Turning the data inputted as answers into quantifiable information is an important part of making the most of your checklists. It’s crucial to know which answers to your questions and sections are most important and when they might raise red flags or indicate especially good performance. You can do this by assigning points to different criteria that help to measure when a location might require particular attention.
Use Clear Language and Images
If you want certain standards to be followed, you need to be clear about what they are. When creating your checklist, use specific and clear language to describe the data that you are looking for. Try to use specific timeframes and solid numbers to make your standards obvious and ensure they can’t be misunderstood. Shelvz also allows you to add visual information to your checklists with photos and images. Field reps can also add further visual information with photos of shelves, promotions, or anything else that may be relevant to add context to their data.
Take Frequency of Visits Into Account
When handling different numbers of visits, it often necessitates the creation of multiple forms. Some visits might be performed more often than others, with different requirements for collecting data. This might sometimes be confusing when there are several forms to sort through. Retail execution management software makes this easier to manage, ensuring field reps only see what they need to, no matter what type of visit they are conducting.
Involve Your Teams
Don’t forget to get your merchandising team and field team involved when planning and creating your merchandising checklist. They can provide valuable feedback that ensures you cover all important ground as you put your checklist together. It will ensure you don’t leave anything out and that the checklist is created with the help of people who are involved in these tasks on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, it will help to make sure everyone understands the checklist and what is expected of them, as well as the purpose behind what they are asked to do.
When you are building a CPG merchandising checklist, make sure that you are using the right software like Shelvz’ portfolio visibility to implement it.
