Part Four

…This is the fourth in a series of articles featuring BP’s ongoing progress with Gladson’s Image Merchandising Solutions Team… 

(for Parts 1, 2& 3 click here)

So far, BP and Gladson have run a large pilot to determine how Gladson’s Image Merchandising Tools will impact store sets and out-of-stocks.  Set time was cut in half, out-of-stocks virtually eliminated and sales results far exceeded expectations…

The BP pilots performed extremely well.  Over 40 stores have been set, reset repeatedly and continue to demonstrate reduced reset times, reduced out-of-stocks and increased sales. 

How would BP and Gladson do the massive roll-out necessary to support the varied needs of over 1,400 stores to be implemented over a short period?  In addition, price, product and strategy changes would need to be supported ongoing. 

“The first phases of the rollout did not go nearly as smooth as we had hoped,” states Gladson's CEO.  “We had underestimated the complexity and variety of image strips and tags necessary to meet the varied needs of each of the hundreds of stores we needed to supply each week.   Many of the assumptions both partners had made during the pilot were stretched as we moved into full roll-out.”

Indeed the task was significant.  Over 900 stores were rolled out over four months in 2005 and another 570 stores were completed in another four-month period in early 2006.  Almost as soon as a store was reset with the new planogram designs using the Image Merchandising Solutions, category revisions, new products and pricing changes needed to be supported. 

“There were a lot of heroics during the rollout.  Both teams spent a great deal of time and effort to meet deadlines.  Some days were pretty stressful, but we got it done.  The results were everything we had experienced in the Pilot.  BP gained a half day's sales in the reset time alone, which translates into about 285 day's worth of store sales and profits from the latest rollout.  So the gain was worth the pain.  We have worked through those early issues and now have a program that generates reliable operations and produces terrific results,” according to Nancy Knott. 

“The ongoing impact from the Gladson Image Merchandising Tools guarantees a return on BP’s Category Management investment in its retail environment.”  Gladson's CEO continues, “The Image Merchandising Tools also impact the shopping experience for the consumer in a positive way.”

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