The CPG Industry appears, once again, to be focused on in store execution and compliance.  Mantras like the In-Store Implementation Network's Plan-Do-Measure can be heard by numerous groups.  Some experts opine that measuring and managing at the store level is the best way increase sales dollars.  Others seem to think actually understanding issues at the store level is too large a task to undertake and it remains on the "too hard" pile.  

 

We thought it appropriate time to chat with an Industry Icon who is as responsible for modern day category and space management as any other industry figure, Ted Gladson.  Ted has roamed stores for five decades and has witnessed many changes over the years, playing an important part in many of the positive changes.
 

 

Service - One Store at  Time

Armed with a glassine sheet, a grease pen, a Polaroid camera and a vivid imagination, Ted helped pioneer the process known today as Space Management.  One store at a time, Ted walked into pharmacies all across America.  First, he took a Polaroid image of the shelf to memorialize what the store had in place.  Then he sat down with a calculator and sales reports to lay out the retailer's shelf based on what he thought the customer would view as a logical and easy-to-shop pattern.  Ted gave preference in both shelf position and facings to the brands and items most popular with those consumers.  When he was done perfecting his new shelf design, Ted would reset the section for the owner and then he took another picture to capture the desired set . . . in order to publish it to his sales force.   Ted employed his skill for perfecting product placement and created shelfsets designed to improve the customer's purchase experience and increase the retailer's revenue - one store at a time. 
 
After years of proving the very substantial ROI that both retailers and manufacturer could achieve from these practices, Ted left the corporate world to found Gladson Interactive.  Ted would run Gladson from 1971 until he sold the firm in late 2005.
 
Industry Leader and Icon

Both the industry and Ted's company changed radically over that period.  Ted was one of the first companies in the CPG industry to use portable computers, one of the first to begin using computer-based space management programs and the first to use product images in the space management outputs called planograms.  He also was first in offering outsourcing for the space management needs of manufacturers and retailers.  Ted stayed at the forefront of industry development, participating in many industry studies and movements including ECR, the Out-of-Stock studies and others until he retired.
 
"Over time," Ted recalls, "So many advances were made through technology that many people seem to have forgotten what the inside of a store is actually like.   Those in charge of sales, category management, marketing and even company management are so challenged with headquarters responsibilities that the store is often forgotten.   Recent movements to model consumer reaction to planograms, new products and point of sale thru virtual reality provide many benefits to the manufacturer and retailer in terms of flexibility and time savings, but exacerbate the distance between the decision makers and the reality of the shelf.  If you forget the store, you are out of touch with the consumer's experience and, well, that is what this is all about to begin with!"
 
Ted still keeps up with industry developments and trends although these days it is often while enjoying a beachfront view.  As Ted reviews the new approaches to the business he is pleased at the promise to return to a store focus on conditions and execution.   "Store-level execution, store-level measurement, store-level improvements - one store at a time.  Sounds familiar," said Ted.  "When done correctly, the approach has a massive and positive impact on sales and customer satisfaction."

 

Ted doesn't underestimate the daunting task facing retailers and manufactures in this measure and manage approach.  Stores have proliferated in format, size and merchandising practice often returning to store by store planograms.  How do you control the activities and make sure that the scheme is implemented and that it is maintained? 

ShelfSnap Technology Provides Accurate Mea surement - Enables Management

Technology once again comes to the rescue.   One such development has a familiar ring to Ted's approach, ShelfSnap, a Libertyville, Illinois company converts digital pictures, taken by store personnel, brokers or sales representatives, into exception based information.  This information reports distribution, shelf location, facings, assortment, OOS, displays and Point of Sale material.  The company uses advanced image recognition software and a specialized spatial analytic engine to yield richer store-specific insights and results.  The exceptions uncovered. are reported to manufacturers and retailers or exported to popular space management applications or task management applications such as Spaceman, JDA Prospace, Aldata Apollo, CAS, Red Prairie, Synergies Systems and others. 
 
In Ted's view, "ShelfSnap is the most important development in moving the space management and merchandising science ahead that I have ever seen.    It reestablishes the connection with the reality of the store . . . every store, so that plans can be built based on that reality.  I love the simplicity of ShelfSnap's approach to the business.  It provides a low-cost service, dependent on popular, accessible technology which produces superior and undisputable results." 
 
"I had my share of innovation contributions and enjoyed bringing those to the industry.  I am pleased that with ground breaking technologies such as ShelfSnap, we are moving ahead and, to some degree, confirming the business approach I followed early on still has value to offer."
 
"It is great to have a pioneer of Ted's reputation and stature confirm and support the ShelfSnap service."  Said Mike Spindler, CEO of ShelfSnap.  "There is a lot to be gained in terms of sales, savings and customer satisfaction, and it needs to be done - one store at a time."