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Visit happenedWhether the outlet was actually visited on the scheduled dayService
Merchandiser Audit
Independent verification that the merchandising you pay for actually happened, at the outlet, on the day it was scheduled.
In short
What is a merchandiser audit, and does QGM run one in Oman?
A merchandiser audit is an independent check on whether your merchandising team did the work it reported. An auditor visits the outlet, records the state of the fixture against the plan, and compares that with what the merchandiser submitted for the same visit. Quantum Gulf Marketing runs merchandiser audits across Oman for brands and distributors who fund a field team and want assurance separate from the team reporting on itself. The point is not to catch people out. It is to give you a number you can use in a supplier conversation, and to show where a route plan is unrealistic rather than ignored.
- Checks
- Visit compliance, planogram execution, stock rotation, POS placement
- Independence
- Auditors are separate from your merchandising supplier
- Evidence
- Dated photographic record per fixture
- Coverage
- All 11 governorates of Oman
What we verify
The gap between the report and the fixture.
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Planogram executedThe fixture as built, against the layout supplied03
Stock rotationWhether older stock was brought forward or buried04
POS in placeMaterial present, correct, current and undamaged05
Out of stock actionWhether gaps were reported and refilled or ignored06
Report accuracyThe merchandiser's own submission against the auditQuestions
Common questions
Why not just trust the merchandiser reports?
Because a team reporting on its own performance has an obvious incentive, and because an honest merchandiser working an impossible route will still show gaps. An audit tells you which of the two you have.
Do you audit our own team or a third party?
Either. The audit is the same whether the field team is yours, a distributor's or an outsourced agency's.
How much of the route should be audited?
Enough to be statistically meaningful and unpredictable. A fixed sample that never changes gets learned. We rotate coverage across the cycle.
Is photographic evidence included?
Yes. Every audited fixture carries a dated image, which is what makes the finding usable in a conversation with a supplier.
Can this run alongside a retail audit?
Yes, and it is usually cheaper to combine them, because the auditor is already standing in front of the fixture.
What if the audit shows the plan is wrong?
Then that is the finding, and we report it. A route that cannot be completed in the time allowed is a planning problem, not a compliance problem.
Start here
Tell us the question.
We will tell you how to measure it.
Send us the business decision you are stuck on. You will get a straight answer on whether research can settle it, what it would take, and what it would cost.
