Faced with rapidly changing consumer behaviour, supply chain disruptions, and inflationary pressures, retailers must make swift decisions to meet customer demand. That’s why the Coop Group, a leading retailer in Switzerland and a current Blue Yonder customer, has expanded its deployment of Blue Yonder Category Management to also include Jumbo, Coop’s chain of Do It Yourself (DIY) superstores. This initiative builds upon the company’s existing use of Blue Yonder Category Management within the Coop supermarkets network, which dates back to 2018. The expansion was implemented by Strategix, a Blue Yonder partner.
Coop has a history spanning over 160 years. The retailer began as a small consumer cooperative and is now an international retail and wholesale business. In 2024, Coop recorded revenue of 34.9 billion Swiss Franc (approximately $40 billion USD). With around 97,000 associates, Coop operates through a network of retail formats that include more than 2,400 points of sale, as well as online sales channels.
“Coop acts with a deep sense of responsibility towards its people, regions, and ecosystems, and we are committed to delivering both quality and a diverse range of brands and products we can be proud of,” said Alexander Senft, head of IT Merchandise Management Masterdata, Coop. “Category management excellence is vital for providing value to our customers, which is why we were excited to extend our collaboration with Blue Yonder and Strategix. Expanding the deployment of Blue Yonder Category Management to include Jumbo’s 125 points of sale underscores our dedication to innovation and focus on our demand-driven strategy, ensuring we continue to effectively meet the evolving needs of our customers.”
With Blue Yonder Category Management, Coop has achieved a significant milestone in optimising space planning for its supermarket network, particularly for meat products and fresh bread where the Blue Yonder solution generates approximately 5,700 planograms automatically each year. This innovative space planning solution enables planograms to be tailored to the specific needs of each store while adhering to the requirements of each category. Coop plans to further expand automated planograms into other product groups to further increase efficiency.
Some of the other benefits Coop has seen thanks to Blue Yonder Category Management include:
- Optimised operations: Coop can quickly optimise available inventory with fully automated processes, allowing category managers to focus on more strategic tasks.
- Informed decision-making: Coop can make informed choices on product assortment and placement using valuable data-driven insights based on shopper behaviour and demand.
- Enhanced customer experience: Coop can tailor assortments to meet store-specific customer requirements at every point of sale, boosting satisfaction and loyalty through more targeted experiences.
- Increased profitability and sustainability: Coop can optimise assortments through automated planograms to better align product offerings with consumer preferences to drive sales, reduce waste, and support sustainable practices.
“Thanks to Blue Yonder Category Management, a key advantage of automated planogram creation is the efficient integration of new products into store shelf planning. This capability allows us to plan exactly where new items will be placed and determine the appropriate stock levels for each store. As a result, we can now establish the initial quantities needed for orders, streamlining the introduction of new products across the supply chain. In addition, the solution leverages sales data to optimise product placement and quantity on shelves, enhancing the overall efficiency and value of the stocking process,” said Senft.
“We take pride in our long-term collaboration with the Coop Group and are excited they chose to extend their category management footprint for their DIY division with us,” said Fredrik Prada, vice president, retail – EMEA, Blue Yonder. “Our Category Management solution provides Coop with the necessary speed and agility to keep up with customer demand and constant industry changes so they can stay ahead of their competition and meet business goals.”
