Chudo Market

A regional retail chain operating in both retail and wholesale formats. The company runs stores, distribution centres and a separate wholesale base, ChudoBaza. The assortment covers both food and non-food groups, including own production and fresh products: vegetables, fruit and chilled goods.

stores

distribution centres

12 000

SKUs

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Background

Manual processes and a lack of automation. Matrix work was done mostly by hand in 1C, which made scaling difficult and put a load on the team.

High labour costs. Before ABM Assortment, more than 20 employees worked on the matrices. The process involved both managers and assistants, and was slow and resource-heavy.

No flexibility. Limitations of the ERP made it impossible to account for individual store characteristics — shelf width or layout specifics, for example.

Difficult decision-making. Analytical tools were used only to a limited extent, mostly pivot tables. The data was not always up to date or convenient for daily analysis.

Slow status updates. A matrix change required many actions in the system — up to 5 clicks per SKU. This slowed down shelf updates and increased the operational load.

Problems with out-of-matrix products. Once an item was delisted it stayed in the planogram and physically in the store, taking the place of a new one. This complicated rotation and shelf renewal.

Project Goals

Optimising labour resources. Reducing the load on category managers and their assistants.

Simplifying management processes. Moving to a more transparent, controllable and faster process of building and updating assortment matrices.

Improving shelf execution. Synchronisation with planograms through the ABM Shelf integration, and control over out-of-matrix products.

Reducing the number of out-of-matrix products.

Introducing flexible solutions for store clustering.

Implementation Approach

The ABM Assortment rollout at Chudo Market ran from March 2024 to May 2025 and was structured so that the chain kept operating as usual throughout the transition.

Setting up data exchange (March – July 2024)

The project started on 25 March 2024 with the configuration of data exchange between the systems. This work was completed on 16 July 2024.

System training (August 2024 – January 2025)

Training on working with the system was carried out, with a separate track for key users.

Pilot in a single store (February 2025)

The system was launched in pilot mode in one store.

Flexible clustering (February – May 2025)

ABM Assortment allows managing both entire clusters and individual stores inside a cluster. This is especially important for locations with non-standard layouts or wider shelves, where an individual assortment decision is needed without changing the whole cluster logic.

Reconnecting all stores (March – May 2025)

After the pilot, all stores in the chain were connected to the system.

Integration with ABM Shelf (April 2025)

SKU statuses set in ABM Assortment are passed automatically to the ABM Shelf merchandising system. This synchronized the matrix with planograms: active products stay on the shelves, passive ones are removed from the layout. The approach eliminated the confusion around out-of-matrix products, improved shelf control and made planogram updates more transparent and prompt.

Results

Measured across the chain after the rollout was complete.

20–25 %

fewer out-of-matrix products thanks to an improved rotation process

≈50 %

reduction in labour costs: more than 20 people used to work on the matrices, now only 10–11

2.5×

faster matrix updates: instead of up to 5 clicks per SKU, only 1–2

Inventory turnover increased — thanks to the ability to set an SKU delisting date in advance and a systematic approach to rotation.

QUALITATIVE CHANGES

Managers freed up time for analysis. Instead of mechanical work they can devote more attention to management decisions.
Shelf control improved. Out-of-matrix products no longer end up in planograms by accident.
Flexibility in clustering appeared. Individual stores can now be managed without creating additional clusters.
SKU delisting dates can be set in advance. This is especially convenient for seasonal and promotional items.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this work if matrices are currently kept in 1C or in spreadsheets?

Yes — that is exactly where the Chudo Market project started: matrices were maintained manually in 1C and analytics lived in pivot tables. The first stage was setting up data exchange between the systems, and it ran from March to July 2024.

How many people are needed to work with matrices after the rollout?

At Chudo Market more than 20 employees handled the matrices before the project — category managers and their assistants. After the switch the same workload is covered by 10–11 people.

Can a single store's assortment be changed without changing the whole cluster?

Yes. The system allows managing both an entire cluster and an individual store inside it — which matters for locations with non-standard layouts or wider shelves.

Is a separate product needed for the matrix to sync with shelf layouts?

Yes, shelf execution is handled by ABM Shelf. SKU statuses set in ABM Assortment are passed to it automatically: active products stay on the shelves, passive ones are removed from planograms.

Feedback

“This is far more convenient than building matrices on the fly or in a notebook.”

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