A Multi-Category Grocery Retailer Drives Efficiency and Prepares for Future Growth with Centric PLM

The company was using spreadsheets, shared drives and email to develop and manage products.”

The project manager at Centric Software describes the situation at a leading multi-category retailer prior to implementing Centric PLM™. The move from manual, disparate systems to a modern, flexible and configurable PLM solution resulted in efficient product management and a solid foundation for future growth. What was the journey to this state?

The company

A thriving multi-category retailer, the company was looking to drive efficiency into its product development and product management workflows. The retailer needed a central solution—one source of truth—for all product data to develop and manage thousands of private label products.

The challenging road to PLM

The company went through a formal RFP starting with eight PLM vendors in the running, including an incumbent that was involved in a different sector of the business. Scorecards determined who moved onto the shortlist. After a couple of demos and numerous rounds of conversations, Centric PLM emerged as the winner due to the Centric team’s extensive knowledge in the food & beverage and fast-moving consumer goods space.

Having experienced a failed PLM implementation, the retailer was understandably skittish about trying again, leaving potential users with a healthy dose of skepticism and hesitation. The Centric Software team understood this and developed a plan to alleviate the company’s fears. By taking a phased approach to ensure confidence and buy-in from the various departments, a ‘crawl, walk, run’ methodology provided the reassurance needed. “We worked closely with the retail team, with both sides initiating the tough conversations, pushing us outside our comfort zones,” says the project manager. “It drove us to be agile, daring and creative with our overall plan and workstream sessions.”

Phased implementation with a focused approach

In the initial phase, 20,000 products were placed into Centric PLM, spanning numerous brands and segments, managed by a dedicated, cross-functional team. Says the project manager, “This was a critical milestone for the company, considering the history of PLM at this organization. We were all thrilled when the go-live went as expected.” It was achieved through careful planning around data configuration, hierarchy management and performance considerations to ensure a smooth transition from traditional tools like spreadsheets and shared drives.

Benefits over doubts

To overcome some of the trepidation from the previous attempt at PLM implementation, there was continuous stakeholder involvement, detailed testing and incremental training to foster trust and encourage broader adoption among users. The team introduced key functionalities progressively, such as ingredient validation, packaging synchronization and project management.

The company has a list of ingredients it doesn’t want in its products. Centric PLM flags those prohibited ingredients in samples sent for consideration to land on the shelf. This ensures compliance with the retailer’s standards for quality. Packaging materials are synchronized with the material library to manage attributes and ensure consistency system-wide. Project management is now tighter. All of these features not only streamline complex workflows but also demonstrate Centric PLM’s robustness and reliability.

Future opportunities and growth

With the PLM foundation firmly established, the retailer is ready to bring in other departments, to add artwork file management and enhance supplier collaboration through a dedicated portal. The project’s success underscores the power of strategic patience and a phased approach in overcoming organizational qualms.

“By embracing a cautious yet confident strategy, the company transformed its product management operations, laying the groundwork for future growth,” says the project manager. “The project’s success serves as an inspiring example for organizations seeking to modernize their systems while respecting past experiences and ensuring stakeholder confidence.”