Loose toms - 100 per cent availability this quarter

Loose toms - 100 per cent availability this quarter

Efficient Consumer Response UK (ECR) has revealed the results of its first on-shelf availability study and showed that only three of the 200 products surveyed had 100 per cent availability.

Good news for the frsh produce industry, however, was that loose tomatoes and loose onions were two of the lines that had 100 per cent availability across the 350 stores that were included in the ECR study, which was managed by IGD. The other, for the record, was own-label baked beans.

The study, which measures on-shelf availability from the consumers' viewpoint to provide a benchmark for retailers and suppliers, found that out of the total lines 70 per cent scored between 95 and 99 per cent, 19 per cent between 90 and 94 per cent and 11 per cent below 90 per cent.

The study also looked at the overall availability performance of each retailer and found that the best performing retailer had 98.3 per cent availability and the worst had 91.7 per cent. From a manufacturers perspective, the best performance was 99.7 per cent availability dropping to 88.9 per cent.

Twelve categories, ranging from BWS to health & beauty to fresh produce, are covered by the survey. This quarter the top three performing categories were Bakery and Produce both with 98.4 per cent availability followed by cigarettes with 97.7 per cent. The worst performing category was Homeware with 87 per cent.

Chris Poole, logistics director, Procter & Gamble UK & Ireland and co-chair of ECR UK, said: “The fact that only three out of 200 lines had 100 per cent availability really highlights the scale of the challenge we have to deal with. The next step is for ECR UK to use the findings of this and the subsequent surveys to help the industry, work together to improve availability for our customers.”

A full list of the results follows.

On-Shelf Availability - the Consumer View

Food & Grocery Industry Quarterly Benchmark

Quarter 1

Retailer 91.7% - 98.3%

Manufacturer 80.9% - 99.7%

Product category 87% - 98.4%

BWS 95.6%

Cigarettes 97.7%

Dairy 95.7%

Ambient Grocery 96.2%

Frozen 92.6%

Health & Beauty 91.6%

Homewares 87.0% (lowest)

Household 95.7%

Meat & Fish 92.9%

Bakery 98.4% (joint highest)

Processed Meat 94.1%

Produce 98.4% (joint highest)

Own label baked beans, loose tomatoes and onions in the produce category all scored 100% this Quarter

ECR UK is an initiative led by the directors of leading retailers and manufacturers and managed by IGD, focused on driving collaboration between retailers and suppliers for the ultimate benefit of consumers. Over the past 10 years it has provided a framework for a variety of projects with a key benefit being the use of a common language between retailers and manufacturers.

ECR UK is led by its own executive board, which comprises of major retailers as well as a good mix of medium and large suppliers. The smaller suppliers are represented by both the West Midlands Development Agency and from groups presenting to the board on a regular basis.

FDS Field Marketing Ltd was selected to conduct the survey, which will now be conducted and published quarterly. FDS Group is a Field Marketing agency whose clients include Virgin, T-Mobile, npower and Interbrew. It is a member of the DMA and its Chairman, Alison Williams, chairs the DMA's Field Marketing Council.