Retail & Wholesale

Crafting a resilient pricing strategy is pivotal in today's dynamic market, where challenges like changing shopper behavior and market volatility abound. Recognizing the pivotal role pricing plays in influencing purchasing decisions and overall profitability is the cornerstone of strategic resilience.

We understand the limitations of one-size-fits-all pricing models. Our data-driven approach to retail consulting empowers businesses to optimize strategies, leveraging cutting-edge analytics and market intelligence. We delve into consumer insights, competitive landscapes, and economic trends to craft personalized pricing models that resonate with your audience and maximize your top line. From value-based to dynamic pricing, our tailored solutions will align with your brand and market dynamics. Our consultants collaborate closely with clients to implement approaches that navigate complexities and gain a competitive edge. Transform your pricing paradigm with Roland Berger, where innovation meets profitability in a concise, results-driven approach.

In the dynamic realm of retail, effective category management stands as a pillar for success. Yet it presents challenges. These include grappling with overwhelming volumes of data, a lack of structured insights, and a reliance on manual tasks like listing/delisting, supplier interaction, and sales planning. In response, companies strive to address key questions, including identifying optimal categories for specific consumers and efficiently executing category strategies. To unlock the full potential of this approach, we offer a transformative solution tailored to both global and regional players. By defining categories and leveraging cutting-edge AI, we obtain ongoing performance monitoring and data-driven insights for effective listing and delisting. Our simulation environment empowers proactive decision-making, ensuring businesses thrive. With a focus on automation and advanced algorithms, our expertise can pave the way for your sustainable growth.

Understanding demand in retail poses significant challenges given the ever-shifting, individual nature of buyer preferences. In today's market, customer-centricity is imperative to fully understand demand and offer personalized products and services. At the core of this approach lies superior customer segmentation, with a focus on identifying needs and buying behaviors. Each identified segment is analyzed, generating detailed descriptions and KPIs. By examining cross-departmental buying behavior, we can help refine store layout suggestions and optimize merchandising within categories. Customer-centric decisions regarding listing and delisting can then be made, while store clustering enables adjustments to product offerings based on local conditions and consumer profiles. Drawing on our extensive consulting experience, we specialize in implementing customer-centric retailing, resulting in significant improvements in promotion efficiency, turnover, and gross profit. Through superior insights, we facilitate win-win situations for both retailers and FMCG players, ensuring long-term growth and success.

The retail and wholesale markets are facing unprecedented disruption. Consumers are more demanding and less predictable than ever before, while success means engaging your customers across every channel and at each touchpoint. Consumers want to be recognized as individuals and enjoy a convenient multi-channel shopping and communication experience.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution. While it may be tempting to chase new marketing trends to keep up with the times, the answer is often far less complex than it might appear.

From gaining consumer insights through detailed market research to identifying and expanding the most attractive possibilities, our consulting team can advise you on a tailored approach to cross-channel integration. Unlocking the profitability of multi-platform commerce, our experts quieten the noise and help you focus on new streams that feel like an organic step for your business model.

In the grocery sector, achieving excellence in freshness is the cornerstone of customer satisfaction as well as a powerful lever to improve the bottom line. With consumer preferences continuously evolving, providing the freshest produce and products requires a strategic and nuanced approach. Grocery retailers face a variety of challenges, from supply chain complexities to effective shelf-life management, emphasizing the need for a tailored solution.

At Roland Berger, we understand the critical role freshness plays in the success of the grocery business. Our end-to-end consulting approach includes streamlined supply chain management, efficient inventory turnover, and cutting-edge technologies to ensure optimal freshness. Utilizing advanced analytics, we deliver real-time insights into demand patterns, enabling precise inventory planning and reducing wastage.

From farm to shelf, our customized solutions elevate freshness across the entire supply chain. We collaborate closely with grocery companies to implement systems that prioritize quality and sustainability, meeting the expectations of today's discerning consumers.

Navigating the challenges of an ever-evolving market requires a proactive approach to performance improvement. Businesses often grapple with hurdles such as process bottlenecks, outdated systems, and shifting consumer expectations.

We understand that unlocking peak performance is a continuous journey. Our holistic methodology involves a meticulous analysis of existing processes, identification of inefficiencies, and the implementation of tailored solutions.

By leveraging advanced tools and insights derived from data analysis, we empower businesses to streamline operations, reduce costs, and optimize resource allocation.

Our experts collaborate closely with your team to drive meaningful performance improvements, offering tailored training programs. We prioritize aligning your business processes with industry best practices, ensuring not just short-term gains but sustainable growth and profitability.

AI has vast potential for retail, from enhancing shopper experience to revolutionizing supply chains. However, as revealed in our study, c-suites have a dual perspective: while 90% view AI as a disruptor, 60% identify it as a top challenge. This stems from complexities in implementation, data privacy concerns, and the necessity for upskilling the workforce.

Companies are continuously integrating AI to enhance processes. Examples include smart mirrors for personalized styling, AI clerks for improved customer service, and checkout desks using computer vision for dynamic pricing. Positioned at the forefront of this innovative shift, our global team can support your AI journey by:

• Utilizing local AI-based optimization of managing categories and inventories;
• Leveraging machine learning-based approaches to boost sales;
• Implementing personalization based on price preferences and customer profitability;
• Integrating social media data for tailored recommendations.

The retail industry is evolving rapidly, driven by new digital business models. Companies are grappling with issues such as optimizing branch strategy and applying predictive analytics. New challenges emerge as technologies like "just-walk-out" and delivery services reshape shopping experiences. With almost every retailer offering an app and new entrants improving their digital offerings, the future lies in digital transformation, with data-driven, automated, and customer-centric branches. Branches along the value chain deliver a lot of relevant data - companies need to collect it efficiently and process it effectively. Forecasting, optimization, and predictive models can help realize significant monetization potential.

We specialize in analytics, focusing on product, strategy, and customers. As strategic partners, we assist in business transformation and digital model development, catering to leading retailers and FMCG manufacturers worldwide. Let's discuss your data, products, pricing, and store strategies for a successful future in your industry.

Roland Berger pioneers a spectrum of sustainability and climate-action services, empowering businesses to fortify their competitive edge and fast-track their journey to net zero.

Our sustainability consultants specialize in crafting ESG and SDG strategies including waste management, circular economy, and sustainable business transformation plans. Their expertise helps integrate sustainability into every facet of a firm's operations, ensuring a comprehensive long-term transformation. Roland Berger also provides holistic adaptation strategies to address the inevitable impacts of climate change and supports the development of biodiversity strategies and conservation initiatives.

From decarbonization plans targeting Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions to carbon capture (utilization) and storage solutions, we help retail organizations navigate the complexities of environmental responsibility.