Gone in 60 minutes: Coles ramps up pick-up options

These types of headlines for the major retailers are great PR – “Gone in 60 minutes: Coles ramps up pick-up options as customers push for more speed“, yet these initiatives still don’t address one of the major issues raised by consumers. Out-of-stock and substitution!

Offering consumers convenience is great, but not at the expense of substitutions or non-delivery.

For those suppliers in the trade, you know all too well how the retailers would react if you were to substitute or heaven forbid, not deliver.

Over the past 15+ years there have been various auto replenishment systems rolled out, yet even these haven’t solved the ongoing out of stock issues (this precludes pandemic supply chain related issues over the past few years), as they typically don’t account for in-store activities or misadventures.

Even with the push for e-commerce, retailers today need to work even more closely with brand owners and suppliers to monitor and respond to out of stocks.

Read more on the Purveyance Sales Execution CRM and Purveyance Marketplace.