Building a lasting capability through people, process and technology
At a glance
Intergamma needed a Merchandise Planning capability to better manage excess stock of seasonal assortment
IG&H and Intergamma collaborated intensively to develop this capability–including building an intelligent WSSI-tool
We tested and trialled Merchandise Planning in an 8-week pilot, where tangible results quickly showed
Intergamma now has a team of Merchandise Planners on the ground, fully equipped to further realize Merchandise Planning's value potential
Like most retailers, Intergamma is continuously searching for ways to optimize their balance between supply and demand. This is an even bigger challenge for Intergamma’s one-off assortment and seasonal assortment, such as garden equipment, decorations and furniture. Typically these kinds of products are made to order: they have long lead times, are purchased far in advance and usually sell for just one season. Selling through in-season is therefore pivotal in making sure you aren’t left with excess stock after the selling season.
That’s why Intergamma was looking for ways to build a Merchandise Planning capability from scratch. A capability that’s most often seen in fashion but works very well for any kind of seasonal assortment.
Intergamma Merchandise Planning: developing a true retail capability
Building a capability requires more than just a strategy or idea. That’s why Intergamma and IG&H joined forces and collaborated closely together to build and shape their Merchandise Planning capability. Logically that involved people, process and technology – tested and trialled through an intensive pilot.
People: describing the required resourcing, skills, competencies needed for Merchandise Planners, as well as the impact of this for other adjacent roles in both Commerce and Supply Chain.
Process: a pragmatic but complete description of the role of Merchandise Planning in the commercial process, governance setup, meeting cadence, KPIs, along with actionable tools and templates that the Merchandise Planners could use.
Technology: an Excel-based WSSI tool (weekly sales, stock and intake tool) that’s automatically connected to Intergamma’s data platform – making it easy to use, scalable to other categories, and maintainable by Intergamma itself.
"The pragmatic and hands on approach of IG&H worked very well with our team and our company culture. By helping us realize tangible results in a limited time, they’ve truly shown how to make strategy work."
Constantijn Weytingh | CCO at Intergamma
To ensure adoption, we collaborated intensively with Intergamma through highly interactive workshops fuelled by IG&H’s retail best-practice. We tested and trialled the Merchandise Planning setup through an eight-week pilot in which the first tangible benefits of Merchandise Planning rapidly showed. For example, insights on excess stock and price enabled Intergamma to specifically apply discounts to certain products and monitor the resulting sales effects.
Intergamma is now further strengthening its capability with a team of Merchandise Planners on the ground, equipped to further realize the value potential.
