Keith Clark Creates Shelf Management System for OfficeMax

A shelf management system that merchandises each of 84 SKUs in separate, orderly sections is the key to a new prepack display designed for Keith Clark of Sidney, N.Y., the country's largest producer of time management products and personal and professional organizers. In partnership with OfficeMax, Keith Clark's intent was to maintain all the SKUs in orderly fashion, a goal obtained using a wire gate divider system that provides flexible shelf management.The corrugated display is supported by a wooden interior and base. It incorporates wire fabrication, plastic extrusions, injection-molded plastic and crimped bent steel rods to reinforce the shelves. The divider system pushes six pieces of each product into a forward position on each shelf, which is especially important on lower and deeper shelves. Remaining stock is stored inside the display. The prepack system comprises three pallets measuring a total of 128 inches wide by 56 inches high by 40 inches deep, weighing 1,592 pounds and accommodating 2,400 units. The system is adjustable left-to-right and front-to-back. The gates are locked into the double channel extrusion on the lip of each shelf. As the display sells down, it may be reshaped by condensing the pallets and reconfiguring the wire divider system to maintain separate sections for the remaining SKUs.The display replaces an inline section that was "a nightmare for stores to continually re-planogram as the dated goods sold," according to Mark Seeley, national accounts planning manager for Keith Clark. "Just placing the original inline display took about seven hours. Our new approach puts all dated goods in one prepacked display that downsizes easily and takes minutes to set up, making program execution much more effective."Both Keith Clark and OfficeMax had recognized the limitations of the inline unit and worked together on the new merchandising effort. Of the 520 units produced, 470 went into OfficeMax stores nationwide, with the remaining 50 placed in The Business Depot of Toronto, Canada, primarily in its Ontario locations.The display is intended to last from August's back-to-school retail rush through March. Depending on its success, the program may be reintroduced next year with additional locations added.Retailers obtain the display free of charge. No assembly is required, except for placing the riser cards, peg hooks and five peg-hooked products. The standalone unit costs Keith Clark about $1,200 to produce and is the first of its kind for the company.

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