Improving Selling Space Productivity

Who's Involved

The job roles and functions that make contributions to improving space productivity include: 

• A headquarters space management team which is most often part of Store Operations. Their mission is to optimise selling space deployment by department or category. 
• A visual merchandising team that manages fixture level presentation, and in category management may develop planograms and define replenishment parameters to help maximize on shelf availability to shoppers. 
• Buyers who select products and create assortments. 
• Merchandisers who determine inventory needs to support sales plans and determine or heavily influence the space needed to display the inventory effectively. 
• E-Commerce people who leverage relevant store best practices to improve online productivity. 
• Marketing people who create window plans, display signage and marketing campaigns to promote traffic, and who do analyses of CRM databases to create meaningful customer segments and the share each segment takes in individual stores or store groups. 
• Marketing, E-Commerce, and Store Operations people who plan and implement omni-channel retail operations combining the strengths of each channel. 

All these people need to be alert to the business improvement potential of an optimized space productivity business, leveraging the power and contribution of each channel. 

Martec Solution

We provide a complete suite of e-learning training, coupled with a series of supporting services to upskill your people in selling space management, visual merchandising, aspects of store design and applying some of the techniques that work in stores to improve online performance. 

Our Space Management and Merchandise Presentation Suite includes 6 modules: 

• Introduction to Space Management 
• Selling Space Planning and Management 
• Store Approach, Entrance and Windows 
• Product Positioning and Signage 
• Merchandise Presentation and Offering Inspiration 
• Online Merchandising. 

Modules 1 and 2 currently exist as e-learning similar in style to Martec’s other e-learning programs.  The content for the other 4 modues is available now in our Retail and Consumer Goods Industry WIKI and Performance Support System. E-Learning versions will be rolled out over the next several months.  Anyone licencing a class automatically also gets access to the WIKI.

Space Management and Merchandise Presentation Suite Target Customers

Module 1	Introduction to Space Management
	Primary Target Audience	Secondary Audience	Comments
	New hires to retailing in various roles and consumer goods companies’ category management teams	Companies providing related services to retailers, e.g. consumer goods manufacturers, category management teams and planogram software providers.	Basic concepts in selling space management, store layout and allocation of space to departments/ categories.
Module 2	Selling Space Planning and Management
	Primary Target Audience	Secondary Audience	Comments
	HQ based space management teams, Buyers, Merchandisers	Area Managers, Regional Directors/VPs, Marketing, IT, Finance,	Addresses the strategic allocation of space by merchandise department or category.  It includes detailed process descriptions, key calculations and the use of key metrics.
Module 3	Store Approach, Entrance and Windows
	Primary Target Audience	Secondary Audience	Comments
	Store Managers, Area Managers	Real Estate Managers, Marketing	Addresses the approaches to the store, external store areas like parking and gardening space, the entrance and window usage including external signage.
Module 4	Product Positioning & Signage
	Primary Target Audience	Secondary Audience	Comments
	Visual Merchandisers, Store Managers and Deputies	Marketing, B&M team	Product placing for regular product, impulse items, promotional products, planograms, promotional signage, use of fixtures.
Module 5	Merchandise Presentation & Offering Inspiration
	Primary Target Audience	Secondary Audience	Comments
	Visual Merchandisers, Store Managers and Deputies, Planogrammers	Wider Store Operations people, Marketing	How to make the best visual impact on shoppers and the importance of providing customers with inspiration, together with ideas from other companies.
Module 6	Online Merchandising
	Primary Target Audience	Secondary Audience	Comments
	E-Commerce, Marketing	Store Managers and those involved in Omni-Channel, B&M	How to trade an online store using many of the skills and disciplines used in physical stores.

You can download our Space Management Fact Sheet and get the full details of each module including objectives, detailed scope, and content. 

Our e-learning classes include: 

• Downloadable resources to support revision of key content and job aids to support day to day performance 
• Exercises to practice skills 
• A mastery test to show understanding and application of skills. 
• A digital badge for those achieving a 70% pass mark on the mastery test.  The badge can be posted on social media to show learner achievement and increase motivation to master the program. 
• An action planning spreadsheet, which can be downloaded at the start of training and capture the learner’s ideas on how they can improve space productivity.  This will form a start point for improvement implementation planning once classes are completed and can be monitored by company management.