Co-op look to UK bottling to safeguard consumer availability

By Angela Mount

Published: 11 March, 2016

"We want to be the best at Convenience," is the stated aim of the Co-operative BWS team. With the convenience sector showing market growth, the Co-operative is launching a new initiative to implement clustered ranging plans across its portfolio of over 4000 stores, and aims for "excellence in execution" on product availability.

For long a hybrid between mainstream supermarkets and small format impulse, the Co-operative has now firmly taken up the baton of convenience category leadership. With immediate effect, a new range will be implemented in stores throughout the country, tailored by cluster, to fit the needs of their diverse customer base.

The single most important part of convenience retailing is availability and the model is all about speed of response, depending on seasonal trends. The convenience model relies on the slickest of logistical plans to respond to customer demand, all too-frequently driven by unexpected climatic changes.

Over 40% of wines listed in the Co-operative are bottled in the UK, the majority via a long-established partnership with Kingsland Drinks.

"We need a supply chain that is agile," stated Simon Cairns, BWS category manager. "We currently work on a day one to day three pattern, but our ambition is to get to day one to day two; however, to do this, we need to have an optimal stock management system in place, for both our national distribution centre and our nine regional distribution centres, which is never easy. We need our suppliers to work with us on this, in order to ensure we can get the right products to our customers, at any given time, regardless of circumstance."

"It's time we stood up and spoke with confidence. We need to show authority in a segment of the market that's growing, and prove that we are doing the right thing for our customers," said Cairns. "I have a great team of buyers, who are passionate about what they do. Our aim is to bring in the very best products, make them accessible to our customers, and prompt their interest. Part of my job is to provide the logistical solution to do this. Now, we have a mean of putting the right products into the right stores."

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