Implementing Efficient Consumer Response has delivered savings across the grocery industry of 118bn.
And delegates attending the , ECR Europe annual conference in Paris this week were told that a further 170bn of value had still to be unlocked. Reporting on the first survey of what ECR has achieved in the 10 years since it was launched, Boots commercial director of beauty Richard Holmes said ECR had delivered savings of 3.6%.
This is half the target of 6.9% set at the first ECR Europe conference in 1995. Holmes said this was because levels of adoption varied significantly: “ECR has delivered substantial benefits to some companies but many have not embedded it into their business practices.”
However, the research shows there is further opportunity to reduce operating costs and inventory by 3.3%, or 128bn, and achieve 4.9%, or 142bn, of sales growth. Adopters of ECR carried 10 days less inventory and had half the level of out of stocks than non-adopters.
The conference also heard that shoppers scored ECR-adopting retailers more highly than non-adopting retailers in areas including trust and loyalty.
“ECR makes a difference in value creation for shoppers,” said Professor Daniel Corstens from the University of St Gallen.
Siân Harrington, Paris