Owning the Snacks Shelf for Gulf Food — Shelf Discipline Across 2000+ Outlets

The snacks category moves at shelf speed. Small packs, rapid depletion, and frequent shelf resets mean that distribution alone cannot guarantee visibility. Even short gaps in shelf refilling or planogram compliance can lead to lost facings and competitor adjacency.

In GCC hypermarkets carrying 40,000+ SKUs, shelves evolve faster than traditional reporting cycles. With over 60% of purchase decisions driven by shelf visibility, inconsistent in-store execution can quickly lead to uneven performance and delayed corrective action.

Gulf Food needed a tech-enabled merchandising and auditing program that could bring execution discipline and real-time visibility to a high-velocity snacks category — across 2,000+ outlets within approximately 25 days, supported by a team of 20+ field professionals.

The Channelplay Solution

Channelplay deployed a Channel-Led Merchandising Execution model designed specifically for Gulf Food's snacks category. The program covered the complete merchandising lifecycle across the retail network.

Outlet universe and shelf mapping

Each outlet and its shelf configuration were mapped to establish a clear execution baseline and ensure consistency across stores.

SKU-wise shelf presence audits

Merchandisers tracked the presence and placement of every SKU, ensuring Gulf Food products maintained their planned shelf visibility.

Competitive shelf and adjacency monitoring

Competitor placements and adjacency were monitored to protect Gulf Food's share-of-shelf and prevent visibility loss.

Merchandising permissions verification

All activities were aligned with retailer guidelines to ensure smooth execution within store policies.

Soft POSM deployment

Promotional materials were strategically placed to enhance in-store visibility and strengthen brand recall.

FIFO/LIFO-led shelf and stock arrangement

Stock rotation practices were implemented to reduce expiry risk and maintain product freshness on shelf.

Technology Backbone

Technology acted as the system of record, enabling consistent execution across all store visits.

GPS-verified store identification

Merchandisers verified their presence at the correct outlet before initiating activities.

Audit and execution compliance tracking

Each task was tracked against a predefined checklist to ensure consistent execution.

AI-based image checks

Captured shelf images were analyzed to validate compliance with shelf placement and POSM deployment.

Store-level availability mapping

Data on product availability and competitor activity was captured during each visit.

Client-specific dashboards

Custom dashboards gave Gulf Food clear visibility into execution health across their store network.

ShelfMaster — Intelligent Shelf Analysis

Channelplay also deployed ShelfMaster, an AI-powered shelf intelligence tool that turned every store visit into actionable insights.

The system enabled:

• Structured image capture for accurate shelf audits
• Complete shelf scanning beyond just Gulf Food products
• Detection of missing or misplaced SKUs
• On-shelf availability validation
• Planogram and promotion compliance checks
• Share-of-shelf tracking against competitors

These insights allowed Gulf Food teams to identify execution gaps quickly and act before they affected sales performance.

Execution Impact

The combined deployment of trained merchandising teams and technology delivered measurable outcomes:

• 2,000+ outlets covered within the planned timeline
• Complete store-level visibility across shelf presence, availability, assets, and competition
• A structured execution baseline established for scaling the merchandising program further

By bringing together disciplined field execution and AI-enabled shelf intelligence, Channelplay helped Gulf Food strengthen shelf control in one of the fastest-moving FMCG categories.