International bundling of private label brands
The company is one of the leading retail and tourism groups in Germany and Europe. Approximately 345,000 employees work for the food retailer across 21 European countries. The retail group’s portfolio includes around 15,300 stores. In 2016, the company achieved a total external turnover of more than 58 billion euros. The company‘s core business is food retailing, with full-range and discount stores both at home and abroad.
Retail
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The analysis showed typical challenges we see with our retail clients for GNFR Procurement: Decentral Organization and high complexity, heterogenous demands and limited transparency.
Leon Jochman, Senior Project Manager, INVERTO
Initial Situation
Ever-increasing quality and price demands from customers, as well as strong competition, are shaping the food retail market in Germany and Europe. At the same time, private label brands have also been gaining importance in recent years. Retailers use them for customer retention and to differentiate themselves from the competition, whilst end-consumers value having a cheaper alternative to a branded product.
Objectives
We were commissioned, together with the internal private label brand team, to pursue the following project objectives:
- Development and implementation of a customised process for the systematisation of bundling procurement of private label brands
- Increased collaboration across sales and distribution channels
- Optimization of product ranges through standardization of recipes, weights and packaging, reduction of product versions and the introduction of product innovations
Course of action
The participation of all the stakeholders was essential for the successful implementation of long-term process changes. A key element was therefore the introduction of a regular workshop at which buyers and category managers from all the sales and distribution channels examine a product group’s range design. This meant identifying the bundling of products and determining new listings of products from other countries. We worked with the private label brand team on the intensive preparation and moderation of these workshops. Structured data collection as well as critical review of recipes, packaging specifications and supplier structures meant that measures could be determined for bundling across different countries and sales and distribution channels.
To enable the successful implementation of the new product ranges in the various countries and distribution companies, clear process guidelines were established regarding operational handling, internal communication and the harmonisation of contract periods.
Results
An international bundling process, tailored specifically to the customer, was developed and successfully implemented. Bundled bid requests and adjustments to product ranges have improved procurement conditions and gross profit. Key factors for success were a cooperative partnership approach, professional change management and the personal involvement of the buyers from all the countries in joint workshops.
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