STORES Magazine - January 2009 - (Page 42)

NUTS AND BOLTS / CATEGORY MANAGEMENT Category Management Gets a Tune-Up AutoZone revs efficiency with exception-based solution BY MICHAEL HARTNETT D etails, details, details. AutoZone’s need for basic information about how its assortment of more than 20,000 SKUs is performing at its 4,100 stores involves a review process that spans several months and routinely requires some 100 individual steps for each category. For Memphis-based AutoZone, a $6.5 billion company positioned as the leading auto parts retailer in the United States, the solution for surmounting this mountain of complexity is a new application from Reflexis. “With a multitude of different category managers that own each of the category reviews, we’ve got the same systemic issues that can come up each and every time,” says Kevin Melton, director of planogram processes and customer satisfaction for AutoZone. Reflexis’ Merchandising Process Manager provides “realtime visibility to changes “As you document the review processes and in status, and can identi- what each step means, you’ve got something fy process improve- valuable that outlines every step in the process ments, increase or de- with great examples.” — Kevin Melton, AutoZone crease the [appropriate] timeframe for a task and identify systemic issues that become visible.” MPM is an exception-based system, “rather than one which spends time on what the current status of a review may be,” he says. “The statuses of the various steps are color-coded so that if something needs attention, it will jump off the screen.” This allows AutoZone to “easily document 100 or more steps for each review.” For Melton, the category reviews “are all about having the right mix of products in the right stores at the right time for our customers.” Based on AutoZone’s positive experiences with Reflexis’ Task Manager application, which tracks products and programs beginning with the merchandise on store shelves, Melton identified the need for an application that would reach upstream to offshore vendors, shippers, the domestic supply chain and retailers’ individual distribution centers. The result of that collaboration was MPM, which was installed last January. While AutoZone’s most pressing need for MPM was in category reviews, the solution also lends itself to product sourcing, price negotiation, package design, fixture approval, database updates and marketing and promotional programs, says Murtaza Ghadyali, vice president of product management for Dedham, Mass.-based Reflexis. The benefits of the application include increasing efficiency in the planning and execution of merchandising initiatives and boosting revenue by monitoring key operations and responding quickly to resolve merchandising and supply chain glitches. MPM also brings standardizaWWW.STORES.ORG 42 STORES / JANUARY 2009 http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - January 2009

STORES Magazine - Jauary 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Mechanical Marvel P&G Invests in Ocado Now I Remember What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Breaking the Monotony Multi-Channel Concept2Watch E-Commerce Analytics Category Management IT Systems In-Store Technology IT Systems Communications Website Strategy Communications SOA Energy Video Surveillance Employee Theft Online Fraud Industry Perspective Loeb Retail Letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword End Cap

STORES Magazine - January 2009

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