Regional grocer automates back end to support growth plans

Gelson’s Markets, which operates 18 full-service specialty grocery stores in Southern California, is supporting ambitious growth plans with a back-end technology upgrade. Gelson’s will implement JDA space and category management solutions to increase the efficiency and automation of its planning activities.



Beginning later this year, Gelson’s will implement JDA space planning, floor planning, Category Knowledge Base, and assortment optimization solutions. These solutions will help Gelson’s create targeted assortments that maximize the profitability of available shelf space, while also maximizing the efficiency of planning personnel. The retailer will upgrade from manual, spreadsheet-based planning processes



In 2014, Gelson’s was acquired by TPG, a global private investment firm. Under TPG’s management, the grocer is embarking on a plan to add new stores throughout the region.



“In order to grow in today’s hypercompetitive grocery environment, we need to offer the same high levels of service, as well as the targeted product assortments, that Gelson’s has built its reputation on,” said Doug Freund, VP of MIS for Gelson’s Markets. “This means significantly increasing our space and category management productivity, without adding new resources. JDA’s best-of-breed space and category management solutions will significantly increase the automation and efficiency of plan generation, while also enhancing the accuracy of our assortments, because we will be relying on statistical shopper data.”