Southern Co-op has announced they have improved food waste while optimising sell-through and margins, through the implementation of WasteInsight, a dynamic markdown solution from Retail Insight.
With sustainability continuing to rise up the retail agenda, the symbol group retailer implemented WasteInsight, to enable its stores to calculate a product’s optimal discount price and timing of the markdown to reduce waste while maximising sell-through and minimising loss.
After its initial success, the WasteInsight solution was rolled-out to Southern Co-op’s entire store estate in January 2021.
By standardising and automating markdown processes, Co-op was provided with more visibility into the effects of their decisions, allowing them to analyse and understand the projected impact of those markdowns.
READ MORE: Southern Co-op scraps single-use plastic bags
“The new markdown process is far more transparent and proactive than it was before. Retail Insight’s solution enables us to steer our markdown strategy toward a more optimised way of working, with clear goals and improved visibility into outcomes,” Southern Co-op head of commercial operations Charles Duthie said.
“In-store teams have found WasteInsight easy and efficient to use, and it reduces a great deal of the manual work we struggled with previously.
“It’s great that we now have much better visibility of how our store teams are complying with the markdown values and timings, which is insight that we did not previously have.”
Paul Boyle, CEO of Retail Insight, added: “The Southern Co-op’s commitment to sustainable retailing that supports the community is almost a century and a half old, and reducing food waste through dynamic markdowns is just another step on its green retailing journey.
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