Transforming Retail Execution in Romania: A Case Study of Mars and Ailet
“Our goal was to enhance trade marketing execution and decision-making while improving information exchange with our partners. Ailet’s solution performed remarkably during the pilot, demonstrating advanced AI capabilities, efficiency, speed, and reliability. Consequently, the IR technology was rolled out across all teams, contributing to notable business outcomes.”
- Marcel Clichici, Sales Systems Manager at Mars
Context
Mars, a global leader in confectionery with brands such as Snickers, Mars, and M&M’s, was facing fierce competition and unprecedented inflation, similar to many other manufacturers in the post-pandemic market amidst geopolitical turbulence.
The company's route to market in Romania involved partnerships with several key distributors. This enabled leveraging partner field teams to ensure product distribution and sales in thousands of stores across the country. However, it also resulted in a lack of in-store data and challenges in exchanging expertise and focusing teams on key objectives.
Objectives
Mars aimed to further improve retail execution and gain a deeper understanding of in-store activities. The key business needs included:
- Obtaining product availability and out-of-stock (OOS) data for efficient distribution and order placement
- Collecting relevant market data from covered stores to enhance execution management
- Reducing time spent in stores and minimizing training costs
- Establishing a unified source of information to foster stronger partnerships with distributor teams
Solution
The decision was made to implement an Image Recognition solution for use by distributor teams during store visits. Mars evaluated and tested several solutions, ultimately selecting Ailet for its superior performance during the evaluation process due to:
- Advanced IR technology: Short product training, fast online recognition, and high recognition accuracy
- Extensive integration capabilities: Integration with SFA mobile apps, master data integration, and server API
- Minimal investment in hardware: Low end-user equipment requirements allowed the use of existing heavy-duty handheld devices
- Cost efficiency: Optimal system implementation and service costs
The integrated solution, based on Ailet’s Retail Execution module, was successfully implemented within 3 months by the joint team of Mars, Ailet, and the distributor. The key project parameters included:
Results
Image recognition technology transformed retail execution for Mars, delivering actionable insights and enabling business development:
- Enhanced Efficiency: Field teams were equipped with a tool that allowed them to quickly assess store conditions and focus on key improvements, reducing the time spent in stores.
- Improved Data Accuracy: Mars and distributor management teams gained access to objective in-store data, including insights on their own products and competitor activities.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Flexible BI reporting enabled the identification of areas for improvement and provided the ability to drill down to specific store visits for visual assessment of the situation.
- Increased Sales: Within 6 months of the project launch, the company saw growth in distribution and sales of top products, based on IR data, Nielsen Census, and sell-out data.
Conclusion
Mars' partnership with Ailet demonstrated the transformative power of AI in trade marketing operations. By leveraging Ailet's solution, Mars successfully overcame challenges, improved efficiency, and achieved significant business growth.
Are you ready to see how Ailet can transform your retail operations?
Schedule a demo today and discover how our AI solutions can help you drive sales, optimize your retail execution, and improve customer satisfaction.
