To improve in-store execution in African trade, work through five perfect store steps. Group your outlets and write a standard for each class, then turn it into a score. Check it with a shelf photo on every call, close each gap before the rep walks out, and coach the team.
The counter drifts between calls. A rival's carton takes eye level in a duka. The stockist delivers half the order to a provision store. A cooler you paid for fills with another brand's drinks. A good routine finds each gap on the next call, before secondary sales show it. For the definition, read what in-store execution means in African trade.
Step 1: Group your outlets and set a standard for each class
A Lagos supermarket and an open-market stall in Onitsha cannot share one perfect store. On one standard the stall fails every call, and nobody believes the number. Split your outlets into two to five classes, each with its own standard and a reference photo of an outlet that passes.
- Supermarkets and large self-service stores: the planogram, your brand grouped together and extra display space.
- Mini-marts and convenience stores: tight on space, so the core lines at eye level and one display.
- Dukas, spaza shops, provision stores and kiosks: they sell over the counter, so a planogram means little. Check the core lines, your back-wall display and the price.
The six perfect store pillars a rep checks on each call
The pillars follow the P's of retail: product (range and availability), place (shelf share), price and promotion, plus POSM. A rep should verify each by eye in a minute or two.
| Pillar | Passes when | Fails when |
|---|---|---|
| Must-stock range | Every line on the class's must-stock list is in. | The new launch never reaches the duka. |
| On-shelf availability | Those lines sit where a shopper can reach them. | Full cartons in the back, an empty front shelf. |
| Shelf share and placement | Your agreed share of shelf, held at eye level and laid out the way the planogram shows. | A rival takes eye level once the rep leaves. |
| Price | The shelf tag matches the list or scheme price. | The tag still shows the old price. |
| Promotion | The live scheme runs where shoppers see it. | The scheme is funded, but the shopkeeper has never heard of it. |
| POSM and displays | Agreed coolers, signs and racks (point-of-sale material) are up, holding your brand. | A fortnight on, the banner is gone or shows another brand. |
Hold the list to these six. A rep with ten minutes in a busy duka will rush a list of forty.
Step 2: Turn the standard into a perfect store score
Weight each pillar by the sales you lose when it fails. Range and availability weigh most, because a product that is not there cannot sell. The mini-mart below is an illustration.
| Pillar | Weight | Scored | Seen on the call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Must-stock range | 30 | 26 | 7 of 8 must-stock lines in; the new launch never came |
| On-shelf availability | 25 | 25 | All stock is on the shelf |
| Shelf share and placement | 20 | 5 | Facings kept, but pushed down to the bottom shelf |
| Price | 10 | 10 | Tags match the price list |
| Promotion | 10 | 10 | Scheme running, and the shopkeeper knows it |
| POSM and displays | 5 | 5 | Counter rack up and holding our brand |
| Store score | 81 |
On a dashboard, 81 looks healthy. The split tells the real story: most lost points came from the brand sliding off eye level. Show the rep that split in the shop, so they raise the shelf with the owner before leaving.
Set weights by comparing sell-out in same-class outlets that pass a pillar with those that fail it. Score only what a rep or shopkeeper can change; a stockist running dry is a supply gap. Then freeze them for a quarter, so a moving score means the outlet changed.
Step 3: Photograph the shelf once the van has delivered
A tick says the plan happened; a photo proves it. Shoot the shelf on arrival and score it, then shoot it again after the fix, so every fix has a before and after:
- A wide shot of the shelf or back wall, straight on, close enough to read the price tags.
- One photo of each cooler, rack or banner you pay for.
When the form and the photo tell different stories, go with the photo.
Plan the call for a day or two after the distributor's van, so the rep sees whether last week's order reached the shelf. Visit top sellers and the lowest scorers most often.
Step 4: Fix the gap while the rep is still at the counter
The stock is in the back room and the owner is right there, so fix it on the spot. Take the mini-mart that scored 81: the rep shows the owner the bottom-shelf photo, moves the facings back to eye level and shoots the shelf again. Then:
- Book the missing launch on the same call, with the Order AI Agent proposing what else to add.
- Log the stockist's miss as a supply gap, with a named owner and a deadline.
Counter space is granted as a favour. The rep who helps a shopkeeper sell more wins the eye-level spot back more easily.
Step 5: Coach reps, shop staff and promoters in short bursts
Training sticks when it is short and at the shelf:
- Share photos of a passing and a failing outlet, and ask reps to spot the gaps.
- Join each rep on a few calls a month and work on their lowest pillar.
- When a new pack or scheme lands, brief shop staff and promoters too: they mind the shelf between calls.
Perfect store KPIs to track by rep, route and region
Measure each outlet, then roll up by rep, route and region:
- Perfect store score: the weighted total and each pillar.
- Gap close rate: flagged gaps fixed by the next call. If it is low, the audits change nothing.
- Audit coverage: outlets audited, so a high average does not hide unvisited ones.
- Supply gaps: out-of-stocks caused by the distributor, reported apart from the score.
Each quarter, compare the sell-out of high and low scorers in one outlet class. If they sell about the same, your standard checks the wrong things. Full marks on every call is a warning too: the bar is too low, or reps fill the form from memory.
Retail execution strategy starts in the distributor's warehouse
Two habits lift the score most:
- Bring the distributor and stockist in. Many must-stock gaps begin in their warehouse, and no rep can refill shelves from an empty one. Share outlet scores monthly and check their stock before blaming the rep.
- Revisit a sample of audits. A supervisor rechecks a few outlets a month, plus any sharp jump or fall. Reps who know this send honest photos.
Where perfect store software helps, and where a person decides
A paper form or a WhatsApp photo group is enough for a pilot in one city. As the outlet list grows, supervisors stop opening every photo and ticks creep upward. That is when in-store execution software earns its cost: the app shows the outlet's standard and grades the shelf photo before the rep leaves, reading a kiosk in Kisumu the same way as one in Kano. It has limits: a blurred shot must be retaken, a closed cooler hides what is inside, and each new pack must be added before launch. A person still settles any disputed score.
In BeatRoute the audit, the order and the visit plan sit in one field app. Its VM Audit AI Agent, inside the visual merchandising software, checks each shelf photo for shelf share, placement and POSM, at 80% less cost per shelf audit than a manual one. The Scheduling AI Agent puts each rep's calls in order of need; with it, productive visits went from 45% to 78%.
Nigerian FMCG company AAVA Brands runs on BeatRoute and grew its store-level sellouts by 25 to 30%; the AAVA Brands case study tells how. To see a perfect store audit scored on your own dukas, kiosks and supermarkets, book a demo.
Frequently asked questions
What is perfect store execution?
Perfect store execution is a brand's written standard for each outlet class, checked and scored on every call. A duka is held to the duka standard and a supermarket to its own.
Who should run in-store execution: sales reps or merchandisers?
Let the rep who takes the order own the fix, since the shopkeeper is already talking to them and a van sales rep can refill on the spot. Use merchandisers where the call is too short for an audit, and send their findings to the rep and the distributor.
Should the perfect store standard change while a scheme runs?
No. Keep the core standard and weights, and add the scheme as a separate line with an end date, such as a counter rack for three weeks. This month's score then still compares with last month's.
Does perfect store execution include a supermarket's own store checks?
Not usually: perfect store work is a brand auditing its own lines in outlets it supplies. BeatRoute suits brands whose reps, merchandisers or promoters check stores the brand does not own; a retailer auditing its own stores for safety and operations needs a store operations tool instead.
