7-Eleven Mexico revamps category management

The Mexican operation of global convenience store retailer 7-Eleven is automating previously manual category management processes.

7-Eleven Mexico is deploying the SaaS-based Blue Yonder category management solution to address a gap in its enterprise management and gain the ability to create planograms. According to the retailer, this has resulted in a better consumer shopping experience and minimized out-of-stock products. 

The retailer completed the project working with Blue Yonder implementation partner Goldco. Other benefits of the tnew echnology rollout include:

• Operating a modern, structured category management process, enabling 7-Eleven Mexico to move from strategy to execution more quickly by leveraging advanced analytics capabilities.
• Strategic space allocation through data and analytics, improving the customer shopping experience by localizing assortment to a store level.
• Providing each store with specific assortment and shelf placement to efficiently operate with a localized assortment to better serve its shoppers.
• Gaining better control over the master planogram, resulting in fewer stockouts and allowing staff to implement changes more quickly.
• Streamlining planograming capabilities and increasing the analytic timeline for each category.

7-Eleven Mexico also intends to optimize layouts across stores, maximizing its use of space and reducing out-of-stocks, with the expected result of increased customer satisfaction. By leveraging a hosted SaaS deployment model, 7-Eleven Mexico seeks to obtain enhanced scalability and reliability, as well as the ability to take advantage of new solution upgrades as soon as they are available.

“We were seeking a solution that would allow us to align our commercial strategy, space management and product availability,” said Gabriel Aranda, revenue manager, 7-Eleven Mexico. “Blue Yonder’s category management solution offers us the ability to integrate its capabilities into our strategic, tactic and operational processes, allowing us to communicate information and strategy effectively and efficiently throughout the organization. Thanks to the successful implementation with Goldco, the solution has allowed us to see an improvement in the consumer experience.” 

“As a Blue Yonder consolidated partner and expert in category management strategy, we were excited to be part of this project. Partnering Goldco and Blue Yonder with 7-Eleven Mexico was imperative given their strategic vision,” said Jorge Mosqueda, practice director, Goldco. “We are excited to see the impact this Blue Yonder solution has on 7-Eleven Mexico’s business. We will continue supporting 7-Eleven Mexico throughout this rollout, and we look forward to seeing how our partnership can achieve greater goals in the years to come.”

“We are excited to see the space planning transformation that 7-11 Mexico has seen as a result of our category management solution,” said Jorge Sanchez, corporate vice president - LatAm, Blue Yonder. “The solution leverages granular shopper insights, data analytics, and automation to optimize space and floor planning for 7-11 Mexico. This then ensures that they have the right inventory on the right shelves at the right stores.” 

[Read more: Giant Eagle transforms category, space management]

7-Eleven Mexico is part of 7-Eleven International and has 1 million daily customers and 14,000 employees, with a presence in 13 states in Mexico.