Lightning-fast Recall Response Highlights NaturalInsight’s Powerful Capabilities

How can a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company expedite compliance with an FDA recall notice when the health of consumers may be on the line?

One of the nation’s leading organizations in the CPG business, faced exactly this challenge. Thanks to the fast response of Retail Marketing Xpress (RMX), the CPG company succeeded not only in complying with the FDA’s direction, but also in protecting its brand. One of the keys to RMX’s success in organizing and deploying its solution was the use of NaturalInsight, an advanced workforce management tool.

The Business Issue: A Product Recall that Kept Growing

When the FDA determined the presence of a dangerous bacteria in certain of the CPG giant’s food products, the agency ordered that the products be pulled from store shelves immediately. The company turned to its trusted partner, RMX, to get the job done right—and fast.

When RMX received the urgent assignment late on a Friday evening, the company went to work quickly, using NaturalInsight, a specialized solution for assembling, instructing, and communicating with workforces. By Sunday, RMX staff were deployed at sites across the country and, within 10 days, shelves at more than 18,000 retail sites had been cleared.

RMX was originally tasked with removing certain of the company’s products from thousands of retail sites across the country. Within days, however, FDA expanded the scope of its original recall guidance to eventually include a total of almost 100 product lines. As a result, the list of stores that had to be visited grew from a few select locations, to 12,000, and then to more than 18,000.

Business Summary:

• Based on a variety of factors, FDA required that almost 100 individual products be removed
• More than 18,000 stores were identified for shelf clearance
• Workers were scheduled, mobilized and organized in a matter of days
• FDA could easily monitor reports and updates
• Job was completed within 10 days
• The CPG company succeeded at protecting both its consumers and its brand image

How NaturalInsight Helped RMX Succeed

Because of its urgency and rapidly developing scope, the recall project would have been impossible to manage with phone calls and faxes. By connecting with its workforce through the web-based NaturalInsight system, RMX enabled its workers to accept specific store assignments, log in with activity reports and respond to real-time planning changes as needed. At the same time, NaturalInsight’s powerful reporting function allowed the FDA to easily monitor the situation.

"A critical factor is that the FDA needs to know a company is taking a recall seriously, and the auditing and reporting feature of NaturalInsight does an outstanding job of making sure they get what they need,” explained Terri Stover, business development manager at RMX. “If the FDA is getting daily reports showing that you called on thousands of stores that day, they know you have taken it seriously."

RMX: Solving Problems in Real Time

Some jobs literally can’t wait. A product recall, especially when it involves a potentially dangerous food item, requires swift workforce mobilization, in as close to real time as possible. From the moment the CPG company engaged RMX on the project, the company moved quickly to mobilize and manage a vast workforce of individuals in locations across the country.

The list of stores that required visits was quickly posted on the NaturalInsight system, and within hours the majority of the stores were scheduled. However, by mid-week, a highly dynamic situation had evolved, with a significant number of stores being added and audited—all at the same time. Formatted reports were created and made available immediately, providing both the CPG company and the FDA with the ability to read specified data on any given store at any given time, searchable by store chain, date of the RMX worker’s visit, and other factors.

NaturalInsight: Efficiency On Demand

This kind of rapid response and precision would have been impossible without an on-demand system such as NaturalInsight. The web-based solution succeeded by simultaneously: empowering the workforce to accept and complete jobs; allowing the job administrator to make and communicate necessary changes; and delivering up-to-the-minute reports that were easy to read and access. Here’s how it worked:

1. Scheduling: RMX representatives appreciate the web-based NaturalInsight system because it puts job selection at their fingertips. Since they check the system multiple times daily for updates, when the recall assignments showed up on their dashboards, RMX workers could immediately sign up based on a first-come, first-served basis. The system also pulled from a hierarchal list of stores, based on industry coding, to ensure timely and prioritized scheduling. This capability is particularly significant in such product recall, where the store list grew from a few select locations to more than 18,000 within a matter of days.

2. Surveys: RMX worked with their client and the FDA to construct detailed, specific directives for the fastest and safest response possible. In addition, faxed back-up copies of the workers’ handwritten sheets were recorded via a special bar code on each sheet—which the system recognized, organized and stored automatically.

3. Alerts: RMX pushed out alerts for scheduling, instructional and other changes, which occurred frequently as locations were added and FDA mandates evolved. For example, if RMX determined that too many stores were slated for one given day, they were able to push out staff request changes to prevent overload.

4. Reporting: Accuracy and timeliness are always important—but especially so in recall situations. In many other recall cases, the FDA had not been able to easily monitor progress. However, RMX was able to provide the FDA with real-time information that demonstrated a record level of compliance.

In addition, both the CPG company and the FDA had the ability to format recall data based on their specific requirements. Because everything was handled electronically, reports were also easy to transfer and store.

Results: Audited Success

RMX’s superior response and pinpoint accuracy impressed and even amazed the CPG company’s officials. The company not only complied fully with the FDA’s recall directives, but also gave the administration the unprecedented ability to monitor progress immediately.

“At the end of the project, RMX delivered two disks that had the electronic version of every single work verification form,” explained Terri Stover. “It was nice, neat and clean—not 18,561 pieces of paper. This recall project is a great example of how powerful NaturalInsight is.”

Unprecedented Results within 10 Days:

• Over 1,200 RMX staff members were scheduled and managed
• Almost 800,000 products were pulled off shelves
• More than 18,500 stores were cleared nationwide
• Easy-to-use, comprehensive electronic reports

The project’s success was a remarkable example of the impact that appropriate technology can have for a company facing one of its most trying management challenges. “The responsiveness of both RMX and their client in this recall represent a textbook case of corporate responsibility,” observes Stefan Midford, president and CEO of South49 Solutions, NaturalInsight’s holding company. “We’re proud that NaturalInsight played a key role in the success.”

Despite a rapidly-evolving situation and considerable logistical challenges, RMX managed to instruct and deploy a virtual army of workers across the country. They also provided an outstanding level of accountability, delivering ongoing project reports and updates throughout the effort. As a result, RMX helped its client succeed in meeting the FDA’s demands—and more importantly, in protecting its consumers.