2 Procter & Gamble’s major laundry brand in the US is Tide. This is marketed in some 60 pack presentations, some of which have less than 0.1 per cent share. The proliferation of these pack presentations is considered to have been instrumental in increasing Tide’s market share from 20 to 40 per cent of the US market in the last five years. Clearly, this is a major issue within P&G. What are the logistics pros and cons of sku proliferation? Dutchman Paul Polman did a stint as General Manager of Procter & Gamble UK and Eire from 1995 to 1999. While admiring the UK’s advanced retailing systems, he saw opportunities for all four of the ‘pillars of ECR’ – range, new items, promotions and replenishment. The following is extracted from the text of a speech he made to the Institute of Grocery Distribution.

Range The average store now holds 35 per cent more than five years ago, yet a typical consumer buys just 18 on a trip. A quarter of these skus sell less than six units a week! The number of skus offered by manufacturers and stores has become too large and complex.

My company is equally guilty in this area. No question, we make too many skus.

I can assure you we are working on it. Actually, our overall sku count in laundry is already down 20 per cent compared to this time last year.