Commodity matrix: definition, formation rules, filling basis with examples, necessary programs and ease of use

The success of any outlet - from the supermarket to the kiosk - is calculated by the efficiency of the circulation of goods without the accumulation of illiquid assets or expired products. For the most accurate preparation of the sales plan, a product gride is formed, in the literal translation - a product grid.

What is the price?

Depending on the size of the outlet, its location, trade and purchasing policy of the company and the format of the store, an assortment or product matrix is ​​compiled. This is a necessary marketing tool. But before forming the assortment, the necessary research is carried out.

1. Determine the format of the store, its area, evaluate the peculiarity of the location, preferences of the area of ​​the outlet, the traditions of the city. For example, a boutique is best located in the city center or in the prestigious outskirts of the private sector, and points with inexpensive goods - in industrial areas or in rural areas.
2. To study the portrait of your consumer, the demand that already exists and has not yet been realized; summarize the situation of finance and the average level of income per consumer.
3. Assess the capabilities of competitors, their advantages and weaknesses at the level of pricing and assortment policy, development prospects.
4. Develop your own pricing and product policies, select suppliers.
5. Compile a general and detailed classification of the product based on the data on customer demand.

As a result of a preliminary study, the store’s product matrix is ​​formed, which will reflect data on suppliers and goods, their packaging, quantity and properties of the goods, conditions for cooperation with suppliers.

Groups as a Strategy

The optimal assortment that meets the consumer needs of a diverse target audience consists of several main groups of goods. This determines the formation of the product matrix for the following groups of the sold assortment:

1. Leading. This group of products includes well-known products with stable prices, such as milk. This is the most important category with which the formation of the product matrix begins. This product group is usually familiar to the buyer, it is she who will play a decisive role in the desire of the consumer to make purchases from you. The average market price with an additional discount is better than any advertisement will convince the consumer of the veracity of the company's advertising offers. Thus, luring the buyer, you can earn on related products.
2. Related products are highly profitable groups whose product matrix is ​​recorded as reliable and demanded business support, that is, as a cake for tea or the addition of syrup to ice cream.
3. Prestigious - VIP products look expensive against everyday goods with an average price characteristic. Sellers of premium goods always remember that there is surely someone who loves expensive purchases. Against the background of a status item, everything else seems affordable, so the premium buyer takes ordinary goods without being capricious, making excessive demands on the premium product. Thus, in some cases, the price and satisfaction of exquisite consumer desires also decorate the goods.
4. Substitute or alternative products, such as margarine oil, tulle organza, Egypt-Tunisia, lemon-grapefruit. The more substitute goods a store offers, the more convincing it looks in the eyes of the buyer. However, busting in assortment offers is also not very good and can confuse a potential buyer. Everything must be balanced.
5. Partner products - this is the formation of a product matrix in combination with marketing programs of partner outlets for the development of the consumer market, the introduction of partner discounts and products in the assortment of your store. For example, in a computer equipment store - selling phones of another company with an affiliate discount and vice versa. Or in the hat store to offer affiliate discounts on bags and shoes from partner companies. Bags or shoes stores will do the same.
6. Package of offers - many products themselves are very good, but supplemented with any product, they are bought even better and increase the average checkpoint of the outlet.

Assortment Management Tasks

If the theater begins with a hanger, then in the store the role of such a hanger is played by the product matrix.

Having identified the main product groups, it is necessary to analyze the following indicators:

1. Average market prices of selected product groups. Consist of a price indicator below and above market.
2. The target audience. The sleeping area will require a convenience store, prices are possible slightly above average. A large supermarket will offer a wide range of products with low prices and special discounts, in fact, the supermarket has a different commodity-market matrix.
3. Suppliers. Different suppliers allow you to diversify the prices of goods of one product group.
4. Break the groups into subgroups, categories, individual positions. Buyers go for a specific product, usually a small fraction of the product group. For example, milk 1.2% fat and 10% sour cream of a local producer. Guided by the logic of the target audience, you can manage the product matrix. For example, if you have a discount store, you will need an assortment of products of well-known brands and brands, but with low prices. The boutique, on the contrary, does not focus on prices, but focuses on the variety, quality and assortment of goods of all brands declared in advertising booklets.

Here is such a depth, here is such a width, or to the question of balance

Analysis of the product range is carried out in two directions, taking into account the depth and width of each group.

1. Depth - the store’s revenue is greater, the more items in the product group. For example, the product matrix of a women's clothing store consists of business suits that bring 60% of revenue. They are diversified by trouser, skirt options, colors and fabrics.
2. Width - the commodity-assortment matrix is ​​changed with the help of related products. For example, in the same women's clothing store by expanding the group with blouses and accessories.

Given the different roles of product groups and their impact on the buyer, you can check the balance of the assortment. For example, the direction of impact by groups and the expansion of the product matrix in depth and width can be described as follows:

1. Rare - these are products that work on the style and peculiarity of the store, usually belong to the category of impulse acquisition.
2. The main ones are goods that bring in more than 50% of profits, the main locomotive for attracting visitors.
3. Basic - a group of quick commodity circulation, which brings from 40 to 60% of revenue.
4. Seasonal - goods of high seasonal profit and a diverse assortment.
5. Comfortable - this group is usually included in the purchase complex “for the company”. For example, in a shoe store, more than 70% of women tend to buy socks or stockings, tights or fashionable leggings with stripes. The product range matrix will necessarily reflect these needs upon the fact of the operation of the outlet.

Chemistry of sales, or how to compose a product matrix?

No one will tell you exactly what kind of assortment or grid of goods is needed for a particular store. There are many options and role models with a personal reference.

The product matrix, an example of its compilation for the grocery store can be seen from the attached table.

The main idea of ​​such a table is the allocation of each category of goods within the assortment direction, for example, “cottage cheese” in the “milk group” group.

Assortment management takes into account various indicators that affect the success of implementation.

The table can be replenished with various indicators, separately displaying suppliers, country of origin, packaging or packaging.

Therefore, before building the assortment matrix, the concept of trade is determined, the main stages of development to determine the optimal balance between the depth and width of the assortment. Analysis of the product matrix shows that:

1. A wide assortment (with a large number of product categories) orientates the distribution of goods to various consumer requirements.
2. And the number of positions in any of the product categories, that is, depth, as a product-assortment matrix, allows you to take into account the needs of customer groups in one type of product.

These properties and assortment formation methods optimize the use of retail space, warehouses, contribute to the formation of a wide range of prices. Thus, the main goal is achieved - the creation of a balanced assortment list of goods.

Shop by the side of the road or the secret of drogerie

Small shops "near the house" are called drogeri, translated from German - a pharmacy store. These are self-service stores that trade on the basis of cumulative discounts on household chemicals, cosmetics, health products, baby products, over-the-counter medicines, jewelry, and others.

Drogeries are non-food items that are convenient to buy near your home. Products for drogerie stores are usually with a wide selection of assortments; in European stores it reaches several thousand positions, prices are available, a long shelf life for various types of goods.

Managing the drogerie product matrix begins with customer characteristics:

For participation in profit, the assortment list is formed as a commodity matrix, the definition of which governs the share of profit of each group. A small store of 100-150 m ² drogeri format usually includes the following types of goods:

1. Detergents, cleaning products.
2. Personal hygiene products.
3. Cosmetics, perfumes, toiletries - more than 10% of revenue.
4. Body care.
5. Packaged goods in the food category: tea, sweets, coffee, cookies, drinks, sparkling wines.
6. Products for children.
7. Over-the-counter medicines.
8. Jewelry and accessories.
9. Seasonal goods, a special range for stocks.

To attention in the following table of a product group, as a product matrix, an example of the proposed ratio of assortment and profit:

An analysis of the drogerie product matrix shows that 90% of the turnover is provided by local and regular customers, who need to go to the store for no more than 10 minutes. Of the total number of buyers, 95% are women from 25 to 50 years old - this is the core of the target audience, they housekeep, care for their families and work.

The most famous drogery stores in Russia are Magnit Cosmetics, Smile of the Rainbow, South Yard, and Girlfriend.

The main advantage of these stores is work without a warehouse, savings on electricity, advertising, maintenance staff. The disadvantage is sometimes overpriced.

Reduce costs or inventory optimization

Reducing the costs of maintaining inventory, optimal differentiation of the assortment with similar positions, the choice of key suppliers of the required minimum depends on the effective management of the assortment matrix.

Using the example of an optics store, you can consider the issue of planning and optimizing stocks.

The product matrix in the optics salon is a document that includes the entire list of product items sold in it, as well as requirements for the assortment minimum.

The tool for tracking and controlling the movement of goods allows you to analyze the following positions of the store:

• balances of goods in stock;
• quantity of goods necessary for the order;
• accelerated procurement planning;
• optimization of stocks with the possibility of return to suppliers.

The market capacity of optical salons in Russia is 49 billion rubles. Here you can add the work of the Internet in the field of optics, lenses, and this is more than 50 billion rubles.

For product groups, the share of participation in income within the categories is distributed as follows:

• optics care products - 9.9%;
• contact lenses - 2, 2%;
• spectacle frames - 17.9;
• sunglasses - 28, 1%;
• lenses for glasses - 8.6%

Views of commodity resources

To optimize the assortment to achieve higher incomes, as a rule, is possible only with changes to the organizational structure of the company.

To carry out the analysis, several product views are used:

1. Classifier - assortment matrix or catalog of goods.
2. Specialist settings by product category or category manager.
3. Information settings about suppliers (manufacturers) of goods.
4. Any other settings adopted by a particular company.

All settings are made not only for categories and subcategories of products, but also at lower levels - for subgroups and individual products.

In this case, an Excel sample of the product matrix with automatic calculation of the given formulas may come in handy.

Each compiled matrix requires adjustments depending on changes in demand, the composition of customers, the formation of fashion and taste, the amount of income and, in general, due to the economic situation in the region.

Only such indicators remain stable:

1. Store format.
2. The capacity of the outlet.
3. The list of main (base) product groups.

They are not recommended to be changed.

In order to plan purchases and filling the store with a certain assortment, enlarged product angles are compiled according to the main characteristics. In this case, the goods of different subgroups can be combined into one group, which correlates with subcategories and categories of other goods and, accordingly, make up all kinds of product angles.

Use of information resources

Resource planning and sales performance are carried out using corporate information systems or an ERP management system.

The management system must meet the requirements of the time and meet the objectives of the store, understandable and easy to manage. Often, saving on automation of modules, the company loses in time, and purchasing managers and logisticians have to manually create Excel tables.

As a result, inaccurate data may appear, some inaccurate information due to the influence of the "human factor". However, if there is a uniform information system, such errors can be avoided; data entry at all levels will be similar to the required tasks and given parameters.

It is important that all company employees can work correctly with the database, reflect the information received in a single system for analyzing the assortment matrix, and have standards for using information technologies.

After all, all the data must match so that you can effectively manage the assortment. Internal and external movements of goods must be carefully recorded, reflected in the information systems adopted at the enterprise.

Having understood the structure of the assortment, having debugged all related business processes and ideas, we can conclude how the store’s information base matches the goals and objectives of the business, how accurately and correctly the goods are recorded. All this will be reflected in the effective analysis of the assortment matrix.

In order to properly analyze and manage the assortment, you need to know, for example, the following about suppliers of goods:

• what is attractive with one or another supplier;
• how the supplier relates to the execution of the order, in particular to the ordered product range;
• timely delivery;
• reserve suppliers and additional obligations;
• how effective are sales of goods in comparison with the costs of their purchase;
• optimization of work with suppliers.

In addition to these issues, the head controls the mandatory performance of the store:

• compliance with the rules for the display of goods in the hall;
• courtesy and professionalism of sellers;
• ease of entry and exit to and from the store;
• the availability of parking spaces near the outlet.

Optimization of the assortment may be useless in the absence of parking spaces near the store, and customers simply will not be able to visit it.

Currently, all large supermarkets begin to create retail premises with the equipment of parking spaces, the more there are, the more visitors tend to visit this store.

The external attractiveness of the store, polite and competent staff, accessibility - all this increases the efficiency of using assortment matrices in the company's activities.

Strategy and evaluation, principles of coherence

The structure of the created product matrix assigns its values ​​to all product indicators.

In the process of its formation, not only a category manager is involved, but also bookkeeping, logistics departments, financiers. For example, pricing is carried out by the marketing department, profit and turnover are calculated by the accounting department. Therefore, it is so important that there are no unfilled cells in the matrix structure.

The assortment of the store developed on the basis of the product matrix should be comparable with its strategic objectives and goals.

Therefore, when analyzing the effectiveness of the assortment, statistics are necessarily kept for all product positions with an assessment of the development of a category or subcategory over time.

The following categories of product range are evaluated:

1. Consistency of goods.
2. The rationality of trade.
3. Timely updating and uniqueness of the assortment.
4. Sustainability and competitiveness of product content.

It is recommended for the trading company to work efficiently to update the assortment at least once every six months, while large European supermarkets achieve the success of a complete renewal of the assortment once a year.

Updating the assortment consists in introducing new and promising commodity items into circulation, removing weak and inefficient ones.

Assortment matrix and work with it is to analyze a large array of information, so you need to use ready-made software, carry out work in several stages.

This will allow you to organize the work of the store efficiently and get a stable income from the company.

As you can see, the spheres of management in the formation of the assortment are interconnected, because management is a system property. Any changes in one control will inevitably lead to changes in all other components.

The development of an optimal product range is today one of the main components of the purchasing and marketing activities of companies, ensuring and maintaining the competitiveness of any commercial enterprise.