Operations / Display Max
How to control an outsourced merchandising team
Outsourcing fieldwork should make responsibilities clearer. A useful control model connects the brief, the route, the visit record, the supervisor, and the client report.
Make responsibilities explicit
Agree who assigns tasks, approves store lists, reviews evidence, and follows up on commercial issues. Separate field execution from decisions that remain with the brand or distributor, including stock replenishment.
Review store-level evidence
Combine visit records with task results and the photographs required by the project. Check exceptions as well as completed work, and clarify what a satisfactory visit looks like before the team starts.
Plan for absence
Ask how urgent coverage is redistributed and how permanent replacement is managed. Display Max redistributes routes when an employee is absent and targets permanent replacements within five business days.
Give supervision enough context
Supervisors need the brand standards, priority stores, open issues, and reporting expectations. Display Max’s supervisors manage approximately 10–15 field employees; productivity depends on store format and geography.