Project Initiator:

Malcolm Scrymgeour, Retail Consultant, Farmlands Cooperative Society Limited

Assignment Period:

2016 – current

Farmlands business need:

Farmlands is undertaking a strategic sales branch network business review. We commissioned The Next Level to objectively examine current roles and processes to identify potential areas for improvements in effectiveness and efficiency, and to make structural and process recommendations based on that assessment.

The Next Level Business Solution:

The Next Level utilised a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to undertake this work, relating to four tranches of data:

  1. Onsite observation data, assessing workflow and customer engagement vs disengagement
  2. Time allocation survey outputs, identifying the breakdown of time for each key retail sales role
  3. Productivity measures sourced from both head office and retail sales branches, relating to key tasks completed by each role as identified in the time allocation survey
  4. Additional data relating to shareholder movements and revenue trends

The Results So Far:

Upon completion of logistics project and associated IT changes, The Next Level recommendations relating to centralisation, increased capability and improved processes identified significant cost reduction and margin growth opportunities both in the short and medium term across the sales branch network.

Most importantly, these recommendations have heavily influenced our decision making in terms of our new IT system in regard to:

–          Consolidated logistics

–          Consolidated ordering

–          New demand planning function

–          Reduced number of IC’s

–          New training plan

These things will take 3 years to fully realise, with an anticipated $5m saving annually once completed.

Looking Ahead:

The Next Level’s systematic, robust methodology gave us a roadmap for improvement that was clear and achievable.

As a result, we have extended our relationship with The Next Level, and have engaged them to undertake a significant sales team optimisation project with our sales team.