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 The short distance from the back of a retail store to the aisle where shoppers fill their trolleys and baskets is the current battleground for innovation in the quest to gain efficiency, improve availability and promote sales.
Many studies have referenced the cost of replenishment and the impact of out-of-stock situations that support the focus and drive for improvement in the ‘last mile’ from distribution centre to retail floor. To name a couple, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants suggest that up to 65 per cent of supply chain costs are incurred between the distribution centre and the retail floor, and the Australian Food and Grocery Council’s Efficient Consumer Response Australasia (2011) noted that:
‘Retail ready packaging supports improved operational efficiencies at store level including: faster stocking of shelves; improved stock rotation; ease of product identification – leading to better on-shelf availability and increased sales and, most importantly, an enhanced shopping experience.’ CHEP has been developing solutions to address the retail ready challenge for a number of years and has two returnable solutions in the market - the display pallet and multi-product beverage tray - that are gaining momentum across major grocery and general merchandise retailers alike and are increasingly being rolled into the aisles.
The plastic display pallet, initially launched for grocery supply chain and merchandising, is now also being used to merchandise in big box stores for a variety of products. CHEP Australia Business Development Manager, Frank Vittoria, says: “By tackling fast turnover items and transitioning them onto a display pallet format, strong efficiencies are gained in both replenishment time and frequency.”
“With the display pallet, when a unit is shopped down, you can very quickly wheel a new pallet from the back of house and pop it in place in one movement. Ultimately, stock will be more readily available in aisle or gondola,” Frank says.
The CHEP beverage tray works in harmony with the display pallet and is a solution that replaces aisle shelves. The tray is also gaining momentum with expansion across different bottled products and retail applications as replenishment benefits and great availability are being seen by retailers and customers alike.
“Our retail ready solutions are enabling ‘one-touch’ supply, taking out handling as products are packed directly from production, then move through the supply chain onto shop floor without any further packing or unpacking required,” Franks says. Visit www.chep.com.au for more informaiton.
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