Leadership Perspectives

Alejandro Pliego is the Managing Director of StayinFront LATAM with over 25 years of experience driving growth and leading high-performing teams in two of the world’s top FMCG companies. He has over 20 years of experience with Nestlé in various leadership capacities and over five years with Kimberly-Clark de México. He has a proven track record in exceeding sales targets and building sustainable business strategies across Modern Trade, Traditional Trade, and E-commerce.

Pablo Rivera Rio

Alejandro: StayinFront Remote Supervision is revolutionary. What began as a successful pilot in the Mexican market is ready to be leveraged for retail growth by consumer goods companies worldwide.

When we began implementing Remote Supervision in Mexico, our clients faced a problem: it simply cost too much valuable time and money to send a supervisor to guide their merchandising teams on site. This was especially true when dealing with more remote locations. From this need came the idea: how can a supervisor be there, without actually being there? This solution helps CG teams drive in-store growth while supervisors are not physically present in the store. This new way of working empowers merchandisers to maximize their time in-store, boosting sales and leveraging new opportunities for growth. That is the heart and soul of Remote Supervision.

Our clients faced instances where a supervisor would need to travel three or more hours by bus to assist their merchandising team in-store. StayinFront Remote Supervision alleviates this friction, reducing costs and wasted time. It immediately provides an opportunity for that supervisor to monitor and provide assistance for their teams from anywhere.

Pablo: A supervisor must facilitate everything so that their team of merchandisers can accurately execute the brand’s success story at the point-of-sale.

There are several activities involved, but above all, they must train their team of merchandisers and coach them to identify precisely where they need to focus their efforts.

So, when considering the supervisor’s role, what I also see as Remote Supervision is how a supervisor – without needing to go to the store, without needing to be with their team – can manage from a remote location.

For that, well, digital is key. In other words, digital capabilities will enable all the elements to operate remotely for Remote Supervision.

Alejandro: Of course, because today, assuming we send this supervisor to these locations, there are costs, there is distance, and in the end, in these locations, there is very limited time.

And the supervisor won’t be seeing those stores often. So, they will not be familiar with the stores.

Not only would it eliminate distance times, it would provide you with all the information, allowing you to leverage informed business decisions, beyond just the store’s visual appearance. That is very important! Not only for Remote Supervision. Increasingly, we must make informed business decisions that extend beyond simply judging the store’s appearance.

Pablo: I like to imagine a scenario where you have a pilot and a control tower. The airplane is your point-of-sale; the pilot is your merchandiser. They are operating all those buttons within the cockpit, which include the displays, as well as the entire airplane, or inside the store. Then, you have the control tower, which is your supervisory team. Your supervisory team must provide everything necessary for that aircraft – for that merchandiser –  to operate correctly. The digital component is very important. In that control tower, you need all the views, all the elements to be able to operate that aircraft.

StayinFront’s Retail Optimization Platform, or ROP, a point-of-sale optimization platform, provides that.

ROP provides you with the elements you need to have that view, those indicators, and a complete 360-degree view of everything the merchandisers are doing at the point-of-sale, and –  above all – the opportunities or problems they must execute without errors to achieve a perfect store.

Alejandro: If you finally look at the real role of this supervisor, it is to correct, guide, and above all, acquire what was requested by the company, such as promotions, which must be executed.

So, it’s very complex. It’s a large paradigm that will have to be broken. It’s how the person who isn’t physically there can fill that role.

That’s the fundamental challenge facing the remote supervisor. Without a doubt, the digital aspect and all the information we can provide to this “control tower” will be fundamental because, without it, Remote Supervision cannot exist.

Pablo: We can also refer to Remote Supervision as digital supervision. Imagine all the elements and technology we already have. The StayinFront Digital platform will also work together with Remote Supervision efforts.

For example, image recognition. It’s not the same as having all the elements captured by the merchandiser who arrives with a photograph or a video of all the shelves, all the displays, and tells you exactly what products you have there. Image recognition, assisted by AI-powered solutions like StayinFront’s On-Device AI, enables reps to collect shelf data more efficiently with fewer errors. Reps can see results in seconds – cutting time at the shelf to focus on maximizing sales. Plus, the flexibility of offline functionality is key for certain regions that may not be as connected as major cities.

What do you have in stock? How is your competition? Is your shelf share adequate according to your market share? You need to know if your displays are winning over the competition, and if the competition is ahead of you.

Then you combine this with AI, and it’s a boon! Not only does it give you the complete x-ray of the store, but it also gives you a predictive analysis that merchandisers can use to say, “Hey, this season is coming. We have this promotion. What do I have to do in the store to make the most of it?”

Alejandro: If you look at it from the start, this isn’t just a matter of one, two, or three companies. These well-identified markets are not easily accessible to any supplier or manufacturer. Imagine the potential to start in these markets!

What’s more, Walmart retailers, as well as other retailers, are asking us to go there because they know there’s a huge opportunity. The simple fact is that they’re already there, and that we’re monitoring it. We’re going to win.

As we grow in our use of technology, it’s undoubtedly an automatic win. That part is incredible!

Alejandro: I believe that the use of all that technology requires not only training for people, but also a cultural change that they must undergo. As I mentioned before, we have to break the paradigm of not being physically present.

We have to talk to grocery store managers. We also need to speak with the manager and the supplier directly. However, if the conversation becomes more about business than telling the grocery manager, “This is what you’re going to earn if you put up this display,” or “If you correct the ghost inventory,” the conversation is different.

Without a doubt, we become more like businesspeople – more like salespeople – than just people who have a nice point of sales.

Pablo: If you ask me about the question of Remote Supervision, digital supervision isn’t something companies will think about in terms of whether to do it or not, but rather how quickly they can get started. Everyone will be there in a few years.

The winner will be the one who does it first!

Alejandro: The important thing is that today, when we don’t have a script to follow, or because at some point they decided that we should do it this way, we’re doing it with very good foundations. I understand the reasons and, above all, working together with people who are also at the point-of-sale level, as well as the merchandisers, or grocery store managers. Now that Remote Supervision is being carried out, we are undoubtedly going to gain a large part of that.

Pablo: You know, what I think is essential for companies to do this is to have the right commercial partner – a company like StayinFront. With point-of-sale experts who help you develop that model, but who also provide you with a digital platform that’s already built, and you don’t have to reinvent it. It’s already developed. It’s just a matter of connecting it to the business and getting it up and running. Not just any company can give you that.

Remote supervision, in some cases, requires a change in thinking. It often requires a cultural change, as well as how reps and managers execute in the field and in stores. We’ve both had experience in this regard, and the business case is solid. Leveraging new tools and technology is the way of the future and will provide early adopters with a significant advantage.

Alex: If you want to scale your merchandising coverage, but supervisors’ time and costs are holding you back, leverage Remote Supervision to drive growth.

Sending supervisors to certain locations is not profitable — it means more headcount, increased travel expenses, and higher costs.

With Remote Supervision, you can monitor a wider range of locations, validate execution, and measure productivity without increasing your structure or being on-site.

You’ll get:

• Coverage levels that once seemed impossible
• Greater consistency at the point of sale
• Instant responses to deviations
• Lower operating costs

Supervision is no longer a bottleneck – it’s an accelerator. If you need to expand into hard-to-reach cities, Remote Supervision is the ultimate solution.

If you’re ready to take your operation to the next level, we’re here to help. Contact me to get started at apliego-maqueo@stayinfront.com.

Alejandro: Thank you very much!

Pablo: Thank you as well!