Building Your Route to Shopper® Capability Roadmap: Where to Start and How to Scale

Implementing the Route to Shopper® Framework represents a significant opportunity for consumer goods organisations. With 75 core capabilities plus bonus modules, however, the framework’s comprehensiveness can create questions about where to begin and how to sequence development. This guide provides a structured approach to building your capability roadmap based on the framework’s inherent architecture and principles of strategic prioritisation.

Understanding the Framework Architecture

The Route to Shopper® Framework is designed with internal logic that guides implementation:

For Brand Owners (GUIDE Framework):

• G: Grow the Shopper Base provides foundational understanding
• U: Unlock Bigger Baskets focuses on transaction value enhancement
• I: Increase Purchase Cycles addresses frequency and loyalty
• D: Drive Sustainable Profits ensures economic sustainability
• E: Enable Cross-functional Excellence creates organisational enablement

For Retailers (PATHS Framework):

• P: Presentation Excellence optimizes physical and digital environments
• A: Assortment Optimisation ensures the right product offerings
• T: Team Engagement develops frontline capabilities
• H: Holistic Supplier Integration creates collaborative advantage
• S: Shopper Insight Application leverages shopper understanding

This structure suggests natural development sequences that build upon foundational capabilities.

The Capability Assessment Foundation

Effective roadmap development begins with honest assessment of current capabilities:

• Capability Maturity Evaluation – Assessing current development across all framework capabilities
• Gap Analysis – Identifying the most significant capability deficits
• Impact Assessment – Evaluating the potential business impact of addressing each gap
• Feasibility Analysis – Determining the resources and time required for development
• Interdependency Mapping – Understanding which capabilities require others as prerequisites

This systematic assessment creates the foundation for intelligent prioritisation.

The Prioritisation Framework

The Route to Shopper® methodology establishes a structured approach to capability prioritisation through five key dimensions:

1. Strategic Alignment Prioritising capabilities that directly support corporate strategic objectives through systematic alignment with growth drivers, competitive positioning, channel strategies, portfolio priorities, and organizational focus areas.
2. Commercial Impact Emphasising capabilities with highest potential business outcomes through structured evaluation of volume impact, value contribution, time to benefit, sustainability of advantage, and resource efficiency.
3. Implementation Feasibility Considering practical development factors through systematic assessment of required investment, organizational readiness, technical complexity, partner dependencies, and change management requirements.
4. Capability Foundations Recognizing essential prerequisites through structured mapping of capability dependencies, development sequences, knowledge requirements, system foundations, and organizational enablers.
5. Competitive Differentiation Prioritising capabilities that create meaningful advantage through systematic analysis of competitor capabilities, market expectations, differentiation potential, sustainability of advantage, and defensive requirements.

The Implementation Roadmap Development

Beyond prioritization frameworks, the Route to Shopper® approach establishes systematic roadmap methodologies:

• Horizon Planning – Creating phased implementation across multiple time horizons
• Resource Alignment – Ensuring adequate resources for priority development
• Organizational Enablement – Building supporting structures and processes
• Technology Integration – Aligning systems and tools with capability requirements
• Change Management – Creating approaches for successful implementation

This disciplined approach transforms capability development from aspiration to actionable plan.

Common Roadmap Patterns

While each organization’s roadmap should reflect its unique situation, certain implementation patterns have proven effective:

For Brand Owners:

• Begin with G2: Customer, Shopper and Consumer Insights to establish foundational understanding
• Develop U1: Category Management to create systematic category approaches
• Implement I3: Trade Promotions Management to optimize major investments
• Build D3: Revenue Growth Management to drive profitable growth
• Establish E4: People Management/Psychology to enable sustainable development

For Retailers:

• Start with S-HO1: Shopper Research Program Management to develop insight foundation
• Implement A-HO1: Category Role & Strategy Development to establish strategic framework
• Develop P-HO2: Planogram Development & Standards to optimize product presentation
• Build H-HO2: Joint Business Planning Frameworks to enhance supplier collaboration
• Establish T-HO1: Service Philosophy & Standards to differentiate the shopping experience

These patterns create natural development sequences from foundational to advanced capabilities.

Creating Your Tailored Roadmap

For commercial leaders seeking to develop a structured implementation plan, the Route to Shopper® Framework provides a systematic approach:

• Conduct a comprehensive capability assessment using the framework’s maturity model
• Identify critical capability gaps based on strategic and commercial priorities
• Map capability interdependencies to establish logical development sequences
• Create phased implementation plans with clear milestones and ownership
• Establish metrics that track both capability development and business impact

By developing a structured roadmap rather than pursuing isolated capability initiatives, organizations create the conditions for sustained commercial excellence.

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