Retail Quality Audits
Stericycle conducts Retail Quality Audits to help you evaluate product quality and assess market conditions at the retail level – that is, where consumers make the final determination of quality. The audits are designed to provide statistically valid data, collected consistently and objectively to provide meaningful and actionable results. Through our computer-based data collection system, we facilitate rapid conversion of field data for interpretation and concise reporting.
The benefit to collecting data at the “point of purchase” is that it allows your company to view market conditions through the consumers’ eyes and identify opportunities for improvement in both quality and profitability. Our management team’s vast experience, along with a staff well-versed in logistics, data analysis and report generation, together provide you with the accurate and timely retail quality evaluations you need to make sound business decisions.
All retail channels of distribution can be audited, including supermarkets and grocery stores, drug stores, convenience stores, mass merchandisers or ”big box” stores, gas station markets, vending machines, and even retail food service channels. Typically projects include in-store data collection, product purchase for further testing, or shipment to client-designated labs or to the client.
Elements of Retail Quality Audits include but are not limited to:
- Package Assessment: The evaluation of primary or secondary package condition according to standards defined by the client. These may include defects such as dents, cuts, label scuffs, missing or illegible lot codes, etc.
- Product Assessment: The evaluation of product according to standards defined with the client, including attributes such as color, count, breakage, weight, odor, taste, foaming, etc.
- Age Distribution: The age of product on the shelf or in other retail inventory, typically performed to assess shelf rotation practices of store staff, Merchandiser or Direct Store Delivery (DSD) group.
- Shelf-Life Studies: The purchase and evaluation of products according to standards defined with the client at specified ages.
- Display Audits: The collection of in-store display data regarding product position on-shelf, such as eye level, bottom shelf, end cap, or free standing display.
- Availability: The collection of in-store availability data regarding product presence on-shelf, defined as Available (SKU is tagged and product is found), Out of Stock (SKU is tagged and no product is found), or Not Available (SKU is not offered).
- Product Sampling Plan: This element defines how samples will be evaluated in-store and/or purchased for further testing.
- Manufacturing Performance: The routine assessment of a plant’s quality performance, variability from plant to plant, and co-packer performance to identify potential sources of product quality issues.
- Distribution Tracking Studies: The evaluation and tracking of product in primary, secondary and/or shipping package throughout the supply chain, beginning at shipment from the plant to a warehouse or distribution center (DC) to final shipment to retail.
- Competitive Benchmarking: A comparison project monitoring a combination of your products as well as your competitors’ products.
- Product Launch Monitoring: A project designed to assess the popularity or acceptance of a new or reformulated product, or a product in new packaging, typically utilized in a regional or national rollout.
- Test Market Audits: A project designed and utilized to assess a new or reformulated product or new package in a designated test market.
- Claims Substantiation: A project designed to determine whether a label or other advertising claim is supported by sample testing or sensory evaluation.
- Trade Marketing Compliance: An evaluation for manufacturers to ensure retail locations are complying with requirements of a client’s trade marketing spending.
Our field force of highly trained professionals provide cost-effective data collection with minimal response time in order to get you the information you need to make the right business decisions and stay ahead of your competitors.
