Building an effective merchandising structure
Client
Kompania Piwowarska, part of the global Asahi Group, is one of the largest beer producers in Poland. Its portfolio includes highly recognizable brands such as Tyskie, Żubr, Lech, Redd's, Książęce and Kozel. The company is known for its high operational standards and high expectations from its outsourcing partners. Since 2018, we have been working with Kompania's team responsible for sales and execution of activities in the traditional channel.
Challenge
Kompania Piwowarska was looking for a partner to take over responsibility for handling independent stores and lower-volume outlets - an area not covered by its own retail structure.
Our goal was:
- Ensure continuous availability of products on shelves and in refrigerators
- Optimization of exposures according to planograms
- Reaching hard-to-reach, dispersed locations
- Flexible seasonal support, especially during peak sales periods
- Implement reporting tools for full transparency of results and costs
- The scope covered southern Poland, an operationally difficult region with highly fragmented outlets and challenging logistics
Solution
Building a successful merchandising structure for Kompania Piwowarska required starting from scratch - from the creation of a route plan and visit standards, to reporting tools and a field team. Not only was it crucial to ensure a regular presence at the points of sale, but also to implement a working model that could be scaled and controlled in real time.
01
Project start: building from scratch
We started the project at a difficult starting point - more than 60% of the outlets in the region were not regularly serviced. This required the creation of an entire operating model from scratch.We designed a complete operational structure: from store lists and route plans, to the standard of the sales visit, to reporting methods. As a result, we ultimately covered about 6,000 outlets.
02
Team - flexible structure adapted to seasonality
A key element was to build a team that would ensure not only continuity of operations, but also flexibility during peak sales periods.We created a structure including:
- 30 PH in permanent service
- Up to 50 people active during seasonal periods
- Local coordinators to support operational quality
- Uniform standard of visits - based on step-by-step principle (FOZ, PSF)
03
Technology - full transparency and real-time data
From the beginning, we focused on maximum transparency of operations and access to data. Therefore, in addition to the client's systems (PURE, SELECTOR), we also implemented our proprietary tools: M.Mobile, M.Online and Power BI. Thanks to them it was possible:
- Real-time monitoring of KPI performance
- Tracking results on both a micro (individual points) and macro (entire region) scale
- Ongoing efficiency and cost analysis
- This merger has given Kompania Piwowarska full control over the project and the ability to react quickly to changing market conditions
Results of cooperation
The implemented solutions quickly translated into tangible results. We were able not only to achieve our sales and operational goals, but also to build a cooperation model that was appreciated by the client and extended twice by tender.
Achievement of sales targets at 113%
Significant increase in product availability and display quality
Effective implementation of uniform work standards in channels requiring
Continued cooperation for 6 years, with two contract extensions.
Added value - lasting impact on the organization.
The project provided Kompania Piwowarska with additional benefits beyond its original intent:
- A decrease in turnover in the team from 60% to less than 5%,
- Transfer of dozens of people from the Cursor team to internal KP structures,
- Adaptation of our tools and processes (e.g., M.Online, route optimization) in customer departments,
- Periodically, our teams have performed better than the Company's internal structure.
