How FMCG companies are managing their merchandiser staff during peak time.
A merchandiser is a person who manages and controls the stock. They work closely with the buyers, to ensure the availability of the product, right pricing, and right timing as well; Thus ensuring the overall profitability of the company.
Hence we know that a merchandiser plays a key role for any company especially FMCG companies which deal with high demand and fast-moving products. During peak seasons, the role of a merchandiser gets more crucial than before as all the key decisions with respect to availability and pricing are based upon them. In today’s growing economy, every second day there is a new store launching both physically and online. A merchandiser has to keep up to this growth as well, so as to ensure his products are stocked up in all the leading old and upcoming stores.
How can FMCG companies manage all their merchandiser staff?
The first step is having enough merchandiser staff so that they can take ownership of a particular region, or buying company. Because of the growing economy, many FMCG companies are understaffed. This directly causes more stress and unwanted pressure on the existing employees and thus forcing them to not work to their full potential.
The second step is to have proper planning and execution. A proper streamlined plan as to what the merchandiser must focus on should be given. A merchandiser cannot make every plan and strategy work every time. So proper planning and resource allocation help FMCG companies deal with the merchandisers better.
The third step is effective communication amongst all merchandisers. This will ensure every merchandiser knows their jobs and knows what other merchandisers as well are doing. This helps to stay motivated and helps in situations where they need to take over. Nowadays there are a lot of software solutions that help in effective communication and coordination.
The fourth step is to trust your merchandiser's judgment and give them full ownership. This way the workload is distributed and companies can focus on other issues. A merchandiser needs to be given ownership to operate at his maximum potential and think of new strategies and new methods to reach the customers.
The fifth step is to give them full knowledge about the product. Conduct training and encourage them to ask questions. As in the future, they will be facing customers and the last thing a customer wants to hear is ‘I don’t know’ about a product. So FMCG companies must spend time training their merchandisers before the peak season.
Lastly encouraging and compensating them with benefits and perks always works positively in such a competitive environment. Thus FMCG companies must spend some amount on merchandiser benefits.
These few steps coupled with the right attitude and right work culture will help any company to manage its merchandisers well. Which will in turn result in an increase in sales and productivity.
