Merchandisers visit many stores and check that shelves, coolers and promotional displays look as agreed with each retail chain. Without structure, photos stay in phones and chat groups, and the key account manager learns about an empty shelf too late.
Make each store a place of interest
Create a place of interest for each store you serve, with your store number as the custom ID and the chain and town in the name. Print a QR code with the custom ID and put it in the back office, so the merchandiser scans it at every visit. The Places of Interest view then shows every visit to that store. See Setting up places of interest (POIs).
Run each promotion as a project
A campaign has a start and an end, and you must show that the display stood in every store during it. Create a project for each promotion, with your campaign code as the custom ID and From and To dates. Merchandisers pick the ongoing project, so all photos of the campaign are in one place. See Grouping reports by project.
Use tags for shelf audit findings
Create a category of tags (previously called types) called Shelf audit, with tags such as Out of stock, Wrong price, Display missing, Cooler broken and Competitor display. Add an OK tag, so a correct shelf is also on record. See Adding and editing tags (types) for reports.
Example: during a summer beer campaign, a merchandiser scans the store’s QR code, photographs the cooler and picks Cooler broken.
Plan store visits as tasks
Give each merchandiser a task for each store visit. Connect the task to the store’s place of interest and the campaign’s project. Write in the description what to check, for example “Build the end-cap display and photograph the cooler”. Task View shows which visits are still open. See Creating and assigning tasks.
Alert the key account manager
Set an email alert on Cooler broken and Display missing, so the key account manager gets an email when a merchandiser creates such a report. The manager opens it from a link and needs no Venzeo login. See Activating an email alert notification.
Which features to use
| Feature | Use it? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Places of interest | Yes | One per store, store number as custom ID, QR code in the store |
| Projects | Yes | One per promotion or campaign, with From and To dates |
| Tasks | Yes | One per store visit, connected to the store and the campaign |
| Email alerts | Yes | Cooler broken and Display missing to the key account manager |
| Assets | When you own the coolers | One asset per cooler or display stand, with a QR code on it |
| Venzeo™ Request | Sometimes | Ask a store manager for a photo of the shelf between visits |
| Groups | Sometimes | One per region or key account, so each team sees only its stores |
To ask a store manager for a photo without the app, see Requesting photos from someone outside your team by SMS.