Trade Centre first wholesaler to use electronic shelf labelling
Aug 27 2009
Retail Wrap >>

Trade Centre, the FMCG company owned by Metcash Africa, has become the first wholesaler to use electronic shelf labeling (ESL). It has reduced costs and gained a rapid and accurate ability to update prices since it rolled out a Pricer ESL system from XON group company Skydirect. Following the successful year-long pilot and rollout at its Hillfox store, Trade Centre will roll the system out at its other stores in phases. The second Trade Centre, East Rand in Boksburg, has been completed and currently Trade Centre Springs is being implemented. 

“We are so confident that the new electronic shelf labelling system has eradicated price discrepancies in our Hillfox store that we now offer customers a R30 reward for finding a discrepancy,” says Rob Pearse, GM of Hillfox Trade Centre. “Wholesale customers are very price-conscious and shop around to make sure they're getting the best value for money, which is why they are quick to complain if there is a discrepancy and they quickly become disgruntled.”

Other benefits include:

• the ability to automatically update around 700 prices each day without sending people onto the shop floor.
• important, intangible benefits in efficiencies derived and the customer satisfaction improvements
• reduced costs in stationery - the Hillfox store, for example, no longer needs to print 22 000 shelf talkers, and has no need to print daily updates as prices change. Under the previous manual system, shelf talkers were printed overnight and 8 employees had to arrive early for work to ensure they were displayed in time.

“Metcash has always valued the importance of having live data and information for management, so we are always looking to improve our systems,” says Anver Sallie, management information systems GM for retail and distribution systems at Metcash Africa. We are aggressive in terms of our information systems and we are early adopters. Our information systems tell us exactly what is happening in our stores at all times. We are the first wholesaler to implement this system.”

Adapted from source: Bizcommunity.com, 20 August 2009