Traditional but largely accepted method of POSM execution is through store to store visits by field executives (often called as Visual Merchandisers or VMs) wherein they deploy the POSMs in stores & capture the reports through online applications. This method is widely used in all sectors be it telecom, retail, IT, FMCG, or automobile industries. However, it comes with a huge burden of cost to the company. 85% of the total expenses related to manpower staffing of these VMs are related to there salaries & reimbursements. Thus, optimising VM productivity & visit effectiveness is the ultimate goal for the companies to gain maximum return on investments.
There are following methods to monitor & improve the effectiveness of POSM installation in retail:
Measuring Time Spent Per Store
Retail stores are of different categories & accordingly scope of work of the VM changes basis classification of the merchant as per company's guidelines. Thus, time spent per store also changes as per the assigned scope of work. Comparing the actual time consumption in store with the standard benchmark leads to deviation analysis & insights on how effectively the team is working on ground. This can be done through latest applications available for retail data collection & analysis tool. One of the best example is 1Channel application developed by Channelplay. For instance, a MBO requires 10 min of effective time in store but on analysing one found that there VM is spending only 3 min on an average. This may help in taking further decisions & actionables.
Measuring Time Spent Per Day
As per the Indian working standards, a minimum of 8 hrs of work time per day is required by an executive in field to be considered as "adherence" to company's policies. There may be a few markets where a VM's per day time spent is less than 8 hrs on an average. Such data needs to be analysed regularly and in case of recurrence, further actionable could be either of these: 1) Optimising the PJP of the VM. 2) Training the VM on time spent per day & time management. 3) Re-evaluating the need of VM in that area.
At Channelplay, we diligently keep a track of all such activities of VMs at a very micro level.
Cross Check & Data Authentication
Data capturing apps work as an input-output tool & a few of the tools like 1Channel, also works as analysis tools, which gives automatic & periodic insights as per the requirement. However, all this is depended on the input by the VM on field. Thus, credibility of the organisation depends upon the robustness of data it captures & presents to its clients. Ultimately, data cross check & validation are nowadays considered as an integral part of the processes & cannot be exempted from the overall approach.
At Channelplay, processes are designed in such a way that it actually drives the behaviour of the VMs in market & KPIs of the supervisors are designed specifically to cross check & authenticate the data before it gets presented to client.
Other Traditional/Fundamental Methods
Productivity benchmarking basis category of outlets & town types, planogram guideline adherence, deployment grid adherence, campaign/visit & unique outlet coverage adherence are other traditional but reliable methods of measuring the effectiveness of the VM activity in retail.
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