--- url: "https://www.skedulo.com/industries/retail/retail-merchandising-audits-store-services/" type: "page" title: "Retail Merchandising Route and Audit Scheduling | Skedulo" description: "Plan merchandising and audit routes by territory and store access, capture photo proof and findings on mobile, and report completion by store and program." --- # Plan merchandising visits and store audits. Optimize routes for merchandising, audits, and service work while capturing forms, photos, and follow-up from every location. [Book a Demo](https://www.skedulo.com/book-a-demo/) ![Merchandiser reading grid planogram sheet against shelf bay](https://assets.skedulo.com/uploads/hub-heroes/retail-merchandising-audits-store-services-hero-photo-v1.webp) ## Trusted by teams coordinating frontline work. - Achieve3000 - American Red Cross - Connexin - ECL Group - Mainmark - Rocket Fiber _Who it's for_ ## Photos and findings make the store visit reviewable. Campaign managers review the photos, form results and unresolved items from each store visit. Route planners and reps each add to that record. _Runs the operation_ ### Campaign manager Review submitted photos and form results against each visit's completion requirements. [Explore operations leadership](https://www.skedulo.com/solutions/operations/) ![Office worker at a computer in an office](https://assets.skedulo.com/uploads/photo-library/stock/persona-rt-rma-runs-20261009a.webp) _Plans the work_ ### Route planner Sequence stores by territory, priority, access windows and travel time. [Explore scheduling and dispatch](https://www.skedulo.com/solutions/schedulers/) ![Office worker at a desk with a map on screen](https://assets.skedulo.com/uploads/photo-library/stock/persona-rt-rma-plans-20261009a.webp) _Does the work_ ### Merchandising rep Work through task lists, forms and photos in Skedulo Mobile, recording issues as you find them. [Explore frontline work](https://www.skedulo.com/solutions/frontline-workers/) ![Worker photographing a stocked shelf with a phone, product boxes at their feet](https://assets.skedulo.com/uploads/photo-library/stock/persona-rt-rma-does-20261009a.webp) _How it runs_ ## From campaign plan to reviewed visit. _[ 01 ]_ ### Campaign and audit requirements A merchandising reset, brand program, audit, or service task creates store work. _Illustration: Skedulo panel on a hatched ground following one store visit from the client's system: Salesforce work order 00012345, New, created Mon 11 Aug at 9:12 AM - subject Quarterly store audit, account Northgate Shopping Centre, 1160 Pioneer Way, Denver, work type Store audit, priority Medium, start 2026-08-13T22:00:00Z, 2 hours, territory Denver Metro, contact Helen Pryor. A real-time event carries it from Salesforce to Skedulo: waiting for changes, sending, then received by Skedulo._ _[ 02 ]_ ### Territories and routes Skedulo matches reps by territory, route, skill, availability, and store windows. _Illustration: Skedulo scheduling objectives card, marked Active: three objectives in rank order - service level, keep every promised window; travel time, the shortest drive between jobs; resource use, fill each team member's day before adding one - and the rules a match must pass, licensed for the job type and within 25 miles of home base checked, overtime to close a gap left off._ _[ 03 ]_ ### In-store work on Mobile Reps complete task lists, forms, photos, notes, and issue capture in the mobile app. _Illustration: Skedulo mobile app on an iPhone on a hatched ground, the merchandiser's quarterly store audit for Northgate Shopping Centre, JOB-4803: status In progress, work started 4:09pm; time on site 1h 11m since 4:05pm; evidence - a shelf photo at 4:14pm and the chiller display, AST-1152, photographed at 4:15pm; the store audit's outcome, Pass with Actions, one failed check on AST-1152; then Submit, and a green notice: store audit submitted 5:16pm._ _[ 04 ]_ ### Photo and form review Review submitted photos and form results against the visit's completion requirements. _Illustration: Skedulo Form Builder, Settings tab, completion for the Site checklist job form: Required to complete the job switches on and an amber note lands under it - JOB-4803 cannot be completed until the Site checklist is submitted. Submissions moves from Multiple submissions to One submission, where teams review and update the same one, and the line under it becomes: on JOB-4803, reopening the checklist updates its one submission._ _[ 05 ]_ ### Assigned store follow-up Configure follow-up workflows so store issues reach an owner as a task, update, or next visit. _Illustration: Small Skedulo workflow card, Failed check follow-up on JOB-4803: three steps run in turn, each card taking a blue edge then a green check - Set the asset status to Awaiting follow-up; Request approval from Wade Brennan, which waits until it reads Approved by Wade Brennan; and Create a follow-up job, which reads Created JOB-4871._ _[ 06 ]_ ### Campaign results Leaders see completion, exceptions, photo proof, open issues, and campaign performance. _Illustration: The Skedulo web app on the Job activity dashboard, on a hatched ground: Set alert opens a dialog on Cancellations - alert when above 5% in a week, checked daily, emailed to Dana Pruitt - and Save alert puts a bell on the Cancellations KPI. The next morning's email from Skedulo Analytics lands: Cancellations above 5% this week - 5.4% of jobs were cancelled in the last 7 days, above your 5% threshold._ _Tempo_ ## Review store coverage with Tempo. Compare visit assignments and prepare store follow-up with Tempo, using your enabled records and actions. Mastermind supports route optimization. [Meet Tempo](https://www.skedulo.com/product/tempo/) _Illustration: Skedulo Tempo catching an incomplete store visit from its issue: Gloria Benitez submits the aisle 7 planogram reset at Harbourside Store without the store manager's sign-off and with 2 of 3 after photos. The issue lands in amber and becomes the task's header; Tempo reads the visit form, her check-in and the client's rules, and the context panel opens on Gloria still in the store and the reset's record. Tempo reopens the form and asks Gloria to get Dana Whitfield's sign-off before she leaves at 4:00 PM; the reset closes complete at 3:41 PM, with no second trip._ _Retail execution from route to proof_ ## Merchandising routes with the campaign detail attached. Give reps the visit instructions, collect forms and photos, and assign follow-up from recorded findings. ### Store routing Sequence stores by territory, priority, access, and travel time. _Illustration: Skedulo Analytics tile: the North region's travel per job, a blue line over twelve weeks from 25 June to 10 September - steady near 37 minutes, rising to 46 up to a new route plan marked on 13 August, then back to 37. Dashed averages read 43 minutes for the four weeks before the plan and 38 for the four after, and the headline turns from 43 minutes, up 15%, to 38 minutes, down 12%._ ### Mobile visit instructions Reps can access task lists, forms and store details in Mobile during the visit. _Illustration: A small Skedulo mobile form card for a display check on a store visit: Display built to plan and Price tags in place pass, then Matches planogram is marked Fail; the issue field opens under it, Top shelf two facings short is typed in, and the display photo turns required to submit._ ### Required evidence Configure mandatory forms and validation rules to collect the evidence your visit requires. _Illustration: Analytics tile: 97% clean closeouts of 312 completed jobs, up 1 point, with a bar each for forms complete 99%, photos attached 95% and sign-off captured 96% - the photos bar filling from 94%._ ### Follow-up workflows Turn recorded issues into assigned tasks through the workflows you configure. _Illustration: Analytics tile: 14 follow-up actions open across 6 owners, down 3 on last week, the oldest open 11 days - a donut by how long each has been open, the median 4 days in the middle: 7 opened in the last two days in green, 5 open three to seven days in amber, 2 open eight days or more in rose - as a new action opens and one of the oldest closes._ ### Campaign reporting Review completed visits and exceptions by store, region and program. _Illustration: Analytics tile: 313 jobs completed of 338 scheduled this week, up 6%, with a pair of columns per weekday - scheduled in grey, completed in blue - Friday's completed column still short of its schedule as one more job lands on it._ ## Scale a retail field program without losing staffing visibility. - **Before** - Manual scheduling for field reps across store locations. - No visibility into who was staffed at which store. - **With Skedulo** - Skedulo makes it easier to schedule solar advisors across retail locations. - Real-time visibility into staffing and check-in status. - **Outcome** - Better understanding of the right rep, right store. - Stronger retail partnerships through kept commitments. > We're in hundreds of stores across the US, so we needed a tool so that we could see where our solar advisors were and whether they were checked in. Attendance is very important to maintaining those retail partnerships. > > — Ellen Jokerst, Retail Scheduling Coordinator, Sunrun - **Hundreds** — of retail locations staffed with live attendance visibility [Read Story](https://www.skedulo.com/customers/sunrun/) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is merchandising route planning? Merchandising route planning decides which stores each rep visits, in what order and on which day, based on territory, visit priority, visit length, store access windows and drive time. A good route plan fits more completed visits into each day and leaves room to move visits when a launch date or store window changes. ### Can Skedulo schedule retail merchandisers by route and territory? Yes. Plan by territory, recorded skills, availability, store windows, and travel. Mastermind supports route optimization. Review affected appointments when store access or rep availability changes. ### Can merchandisers keep recording store visits on mobile when the signal is weak? Yes, for the actions documented to work offline. The Skedulo app saves a supported change made in a back stockroom with no signal on the phone, marks it pending and syncs it when the connection returns. During each visit reps complete task lists and forms, capture photos and record issues, and required forms and validation rules can stop a visit being closed without the evidence the program asks for. ### Can store issues trigger follow-up tasks? Yes. Set up workflows that turn recorded issues into tasks, updates, or return visits, with an owner and due date. Tempo can help prepare the follow-up using records and actions available in your setup. ### Can Skedulo verify store visits and report time on site by store? Mobile can record travel, arrival, check-in, departure, and time entries. Review timestamps and any captured location data under your configuration and privacy policies. These records support visit review; status changes alone are not independently verified attendance or approved paid time. ### What is the difference between retail execution software and field service management? Skedulo coordinates store shifts, field visits, and mobile work. Our Pulse Platform supports additional campaign, store, and service records and workflows. Confirm specialist requirements such as planogram analysis or order capture during solution design. _Related Products_ ## Explore tools for store and field teams. ### Products - [Field Scheduling](https://www.skedulo.com/product/field-scheduling/) - [Shift Scheduling](https://www.skedulo.com/product/shift-scheduling/) - [Frontline Mobile App](https://www.skedulo.com/product/mobile/) - [Forms & Checklists](https://www.skedulo.com/product/forms-checklists/) - [Messaging](https://www.skedulo.com/product/messaging/) ### Retail Operations - [Big Box & General Merchandise](https://www.skedulo.com/industries/retail/big-box-general-merchandise/) - [Grocery & Convenience Operations](https://www.skedulo.com/industries/retail/grocery-convenience-operations/) - [Specialty Retail Field Operations](https://www.skedulo.com/industries/retail/specialty-retail-field-operations/) ### Use cases - [Task Management](https://www.skedulo.com/use-cases/task-management/) - [Inspections & Forms](https://www.skedulo.com/use-cases/inspections-forms/) - [Asset Management](https://www.skedulo.com/use-cases/asset-management/) - [Communication & Messaging](https://www.skedulo.com/use-cases/communication-messaging/) ## See Skedulo for merchandising and store audits. We'll explore route planning, mobile visit records and campaign follow-up with your field team. [Book a Demo](https://www.skedulo.com/book-a-demo/) [Explore Retail](https://www.skedulo.com/industries/retail/)