Core-Mark Partners With IRI to Help C-store Operators Optimize Product Mix & Shelf Placement

WESTLAKE, Texas — A new partnership between Core-Mark International and IRI, a provider of big data, predictive analytics and forward-looking insights, will help convenience store operators make the best product mix decisions possible.

Westlake-based Core-Mark — one of the largest marketers of food, fresh and broad-line supply solutions to the convenience retail industry in North America — will use IRI's point-of-sale (POS), UPC-scanned c-store data to analyze consumer preferences, sales, pricing and other metrics that directly impact traffic, income, profits and loyalty.

Coupled with Core-Mark's existing and extensive data analytics capabilities, the IRI data will arm its category management teams and Center of Excellence (COE) analysts with relevant information to further customize planogram models for product assortment and shelf placement — all in an effort to maximize sales for the stores it serves, the organizations said.

"Our marketing and Center of Excellence experts exist to better serve our customers and having access to IRI data ensures we’re providing them with key metrics and insights for better decision-making," said Amanda Sulc, director, Center of Excellence, Core-Mark International. "By integrating IRI data with customers' sales data, we will have access to the best insights for making decisions that spur consumer satisfaction and sales growth."

Core-Mark uses a wide variety of data sources, trends, brand analysis and shopper insights to determine the best assortment and space utilization to optimize each customer’s product mix to maximize sales. The IRI data enhances Core-Mark's ability to construct customized SmartSet planograms, which are built using state-of-the-art computer software and industry knowledge of product movement and consumer trends to determine the products to stock and how to display them.

Additionally, Core-Mark's newly-opened COE — a state-of-the-art facility enabling convenience retailers to immerse themselves in the retailing experience and drive new ideas, products and solutions to grow their businesses — will make use of the IRI data as part of its Insights and Data Center hub.

"We are pleased to partner with Core-Mark as their data provider and support the COE to better enable their customers and retailer partners," said Rob Porod, executive vice president of Mid-Market National for IRI. "Understanding and leveraging POS metrics will help support initiatives with fact-based reporting to drive better assortment and key category growth."

Founded in 1888, Core-Mark offers a full range of products, marketing programs and technology solutions to 40,000-plus customers in the United States and Canada through 32 distribution centers. It services convenience retailers, grocers, drug, liquor and specialty stores, and other stores that carry convenience products.