Michael Wiltgen

New Position created to oversee and manage the Field Merchandising Team across the U.S. for our retail partners in Grocery, Drug, and Independents representing Cosmetics. The Field Team consists of 3 Regional Managers, 40 District Managers, and 700 Reps who execute orders and merchandising excellence at store level. Tasked with updating and implementing new systems, tools, and putting new processes in place to drive executional excellence for our retail partners. Drove record results in 2022 with increases in Order $ over 50%, reduced cost KPI by 15%, and increased service compliance by 15%. These results were achieved in what is considered to be one of the most difficult job markets we have seen in this industry.

New position created to hire a team of 10 Regional Execution Specialists to proactively plan in-store labor, while effectively and efficiently driving execution at store level for multiple large retailers and CPG partners with over 13K merchandising reps.

Managed the planning and execution with a Third-Party Retail Service provider in over 140,000 unique Chain & Independent stores across the U.S. (Walmart, Walgreens, 7 Eleven, Murphy’s, Speedway, Circle K, and more) to drive in-store execution, audits, and merchandising functions. Leveraged the breadth of over 300 third-party reps to increase distribution in current accounts & prospective accounts while driving incremental sales. Designed an executive reporting dashboard to track audit results, create leads for JUUL sales team, drive compliance at retail, and leverage data to hold Third Party accountable within the contracted scope of work. Built out new processes and tools with internal business groups to drive efficient & effective plans to drive execution, brand awareness, and a cohesive customer experience at store level.

Oversaw the development and execution of new and groundbreaking merchandising and marketing solutions for 3K+ stores in partnership with Category Directors. Saved an average of 25% on replenishment orders and first quote costs by leveraging RFP process to source superior display solutions at economical price points. Drove optimal item assortment within micro and macro spaces by expertly guiding the Space Planning team based on product category strategy and objectives. Produced positive in-store customer experiences and exceptional value by personally directing the monthly promotion display process to bring together off-shelf merchandise, company strategy, and marketing initiatives. Crafted an engaging and customer-centric shopping experience by collaborating with fixture manufacturers on new concepts for displays. Managed the sourcing, negotiating, purchasing, and procurement of fixtures. Ensured execution excellence by partnering with fellow leaders from Marketing, Store Operations, Real Estate, and E-Commerce to create awareness and organizational alignment of all merchandising solutions. Transformed project and process management lifecycle by creating stronger accountability for all stakeholders, implementing process improvements, and cultivating an environment of collaboration and communication. Acted as key change management leader, joining multiple project teams that managed significant corporate changes. Heavily involved in planning of store tests, new prototypes, and flagship designs all requiring new store layouts and planogram designs within JDA.

Guided end-to-end process of all in-store promotional display planning for entire Walgreens chain. Contributed $24M to bottom-line growth by working directly with 3rd-party companies to negotiate inexpensive rates on in-store labor, corrugated displays, and in-store marketing programs/signage. Successfully integrated all functions within the highly matrixed organization by facilitating between buying, supply chain, marketing, store operations, and execution. Indirectly managed 2,500 field reps to execute planned projects. Established a cohesive Walgreens atmosphere throughout all stores by joining forces with consumer-packaged goods (CPG) companies to ensure all semi-permanent fixtures met defined standards and branding requirements. Supervised team of analysts that supported all Merchandising team display initiatives, including C-suite presentations. Joined committee focused on sourcing optimal design solutions by reviewing use cases for new tools, developing new processes for store layout planning, and crafting new visual merchandising planning procedures. Heavily involved in planning of store tests, new prototypes, and flagship designs all requiring new store layouts and planogram designs.

Controlled all micro and macro space decisions within the Consumables/Convenience categories for entire chain. Inclusive of DSD & DC distributed categories. Managed process for all resets and revisions for store planograms resulting in 7K+ unique planograms with 17K+ annual publishes. This is inclusive of 1,200 planograms specific to Adult Beverages. Partnered with Category Managers and Divisional Merchandise Managers to devise strategies for every category and micro space across chain. Leveraged and managed vendor partnerships within Beauty and Adult Beverages to build planograms utilizing an interactive and collaborative process. Led “Mass Localization” initiative for entire Visual Merchandising group focused on driving local assortments and targeted marketing by region. Teamed up with internal Loyalty group to drive merchandising changes within planograms based on customer solution sets. Handled “Vendor Collaboration” initiative across Visual Merchandising group designed to fully leverage additional resources and create beneficial partnerships with outside business partners.

Developed the merchandise & marketing process with merchants, marketing, creative, UX, and supply chain to develop weekly promoted spots, targeted email blasts, and website layout/landing pages. Helped drive profitable top-line sales and increased conversion rates by focusing efforts on merchandising emails and website with a particular attention to balance of sale (promotion vs. base and category margins) and targeted marketing. Built and executed new planning process that tied all promotional vehicles together for a comprehensive multichannel marketing plan to improve the overall customer experience. Leveraged brick & mortar experience to bridge promotional plans to give our customers a true Omni-channel shopping experience and drive top-line sales. Leveraged data analytics to build out targeted emails by category to drive incremental sales and increase click rates and overall conversion rates. Data used to plan forward against actual results.

Managed all financials of the weekly ad between Advertising and Merchandising in accordance with company strategy. Consistently improved and balanced sales, profit, and effectiveness of ads by making creative recommendations based on analytics. Improved the effectiveness of weekly ad and overall ad strategy by integrating project management group with external consultants to drive alignment and productivity.

Responsible for the design, workflow, reporting, and training of a new Business Planning Tool for the Walgreen Company. This was the first tool built to create Category Manager accountability, as well as a top down and bottoms up approach to fiscal financial business planning. Built a team to support Divisional category teams to create plans and report actuals to drive company results and manage Executives expectations. Leveraged insights of CPG partners to create category level strategies and tactics to support fiscal financial plans.

Managed and developed a team of analysts that support Purchasing with basic dept. reviews with intentions to create category goals and strategies. Made store layout recommendations to Store Merchandise team based on sales performance and category roles at department level. Leveraged internal assortment planning tools to create multiple clusters of store level merchandising. Assisted Category Management teams with item selection upon completion of department resets.

Performed item selection and merchandising on a yearly basis to support a national program. Developed a national promotional strategy while leveraging external vendor programs and distribution. Maintained 34 ice cream distributors to ensure quality service, good inventory position on all items in our planograms, and compliance to our national promotional programs. Responsible for the distribution, creation of planograms, and vendor programs for over 400 stores. Effectively communicated with Store Operations and external vendors to solve store level problems with direct store distribution. Consistently worked with Operations to increase sales, reduce cost, and ensure quality service and products within the local marketplace.

Managed all store staff to provide leadership for store responsibilities and functions. Passionate about creating an excellent customer shopping experience. Completed corporately driven resets and revisions to maintain compliance.