European Beverage Distributor Transforms In-Store Merchandising with Ivy Eye
A European family-owned distribution company aimed to optimize operations and gain a competitive edge in the market by streamlining its in-store merchandising activities and closely monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time. The company partnered with Ivy Mobility to implement Ivy Eye, Ivy Mobility’s native image recognition solution that automates retail merchandising processes.
Challenge: Manual Operations Limiting Merchandising Effectiveness
Prior to implementing Ivy Eye, the company’s merchandising field force used a smartphone-based data entry solution to track retail execution KPIs. This manual process was time-consuming and prone to errors, hindering the company’s ability to cover retail outlets effectively. As the beverage distributor company expanded into new markets, the need to hire and train field agents became an increasing challenge. The company faced several issues:
- Manual Data Entry: Labour-intensive and error-prone, resulting in inaccurate data.
- Low Visibility: Lack of real-time access to KPIs such as planogram adherence, eye-level product presence, and on-shelf availability (OSA).
- Ineffective Operations: Manual procedures decreased productivity and overall merchandising effectiveness.
They needed a solution that could integrate seamlessly with its merchandising operations, automate the process, and provide real-time data visibility.
Solution: Automating KPIs with Ivy Eye
To address these challenges, the company partnered with Ivy Mobility to deploy Ivy Eye, an advanced image recognition solution that automated the generation of KPIs by analyzing captured images of store shelves. The solution drastically reduced the time spent on manual tasks, improving productivity and data accuracy. Key KPIs automatically calculated by Ivy Eye include:
- On-Shelf Availability (OSA): Monitoring product availability on shelves.
- Share of Shelf: Measuring the shelf space occupied by their products.
- Planogram Compliance: Ensuring products were displayed according to predefined layouts.
- Pallet Share & Pricing: Monitoring the number of products on pallets and verifying correct pricing.
The result? Merchandisers saw their time in-store cut from 45 minutes to less than 20 minutes, thanks to real-time KPIs that allowed for immediate action on discrepancies between actual and target performance.
Market Challenges & Implementation
European Distributor’s market presented several technical challenges, such as product size variations, low lighting conditions, improper arrangement of products, SKUs kept in coolers, Water bottles covered in transparent packaging, etc. However, Ivy Eye was already designed to tackle these issues with built-in technological enhancements, ensuring smooth implementation.
Ivy Eye comes equipped with advanced features designed to optimize image recognition in retail environments. Its machine learning algorithms enhance the system’s ability to accurately differentiate between similar products, while the built-in lighting detection automatically activates flash to ensure clear images, even in low-light conditions. Additionally, Ivy Eye provides detailed guidelines for proper camera positioning, helping field agents capture images at the optimal angle and distance for precise product recognition.
Ivy Mobility provided comprehensive training and ongoing support to ensure the company’s merchandising team successfully adopted the solution.
With Ivy Eye, the European Beverage Distributor transformed its in-store merchandising by replacing manual data collection with automated, real-time processes. This shift improved operational efficiency, reduced errors, and provided critical insights into retail performance. The success of the solution prompted the company to expand Ivy Eye across its entire merchandising team, empowering the company to make data-driven decisions and enhance execution, ultimately boosting its competitive edge in the market.