Buyers and category managers
Supplier offers summarised, the terms of the annual agreement found in the contract, meetings with key account managers in the diary. Listing requests arrive already sorted by category.
How can I use WhatsApp for my work in grocery retail?
In grocery retail everyone already uses WhatsApp: store managers, department managers, area managers, buyers and suppliers. Ugo turns it into a work tool: you type or send a voice note, and it finds planograms and promotional material, writes up store visits, summarises supplier emails, keeps track of the promotional calendar and updates the CRM. It asks you to confirm before every action.
In a supermarket chain information travels on WhatsApp. The area manager sends photos of a gondola end set up wrong, the store manager asks when the new promotion lands, the department manager reports that the promoted line is out of stock, the supplier’s key account manager asks when the next meeting with the buyer is. The answers, though, are in the marketing folders, in emails from head office and in the spreadsheets of whoever does the store visits.
Ugo is a contact on WhatsApp connected to the tools the company already uses: Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, email, the diary, folders on Drive or OneDrive with planograms and promotional material, monday.com for store openings and refits, a CRM such as HubSpot or Odoo for those who sell to the retailers. Everyone uses it from their own phone, with their own accounts: the area manager on a visit, the buyer between meetings, the key account manager on the motorway.
Ugo doesn’t connect to tills, EDI or automatic replenishment, and it doesn’t change shelf prices. It finds, summarises, prepares and reminds. Every email, message or document goes out only after your “Confirm”.
Who uses it in the company
Who uses WhatsApp with Ugo in grocery retail
From head office to the shop floor, everyone has their own questions. Ugo answers each one with their own tools.
Store managers and department managers
The latest planogram for the department, promotion dates, head office instructions for setting up displays, looked up on the phone in the aisle. Issues raised in store become clear emails to head office.
Area managers and store auditors
The round of stores with live traffic, the history of previous visits and the visit report dictated in the car park, which ends up in the visits spreadsheet and in the email to the store manager.
Logistics and distribution centres
Haulier emails about late deliveries, delivery booking slots in the diary, routes to the stores and Street View of the goods-in entrance.
Marketing and promotions
The promotional calendar read out in the chat, draft leaflets found in the right folder, items on the promotions board updated with status and deadlines.
Suppliers and key account managers
For those who sell to the retailers: the customer history before meeting the buyer, visit notes in the CRM, product sheets and promotional proposals sent to head office once you give the OK.
Examples of using WhatsApp in grocery retail
Real conversations, typed in a hurry the way people type on WhatsApp.
The store visit, written up by voice
Leaving the store, the area manager dictates what they saw. Ugo adds a row to the visits spreadsheet, prepares the email to the store manager with the actions to take and schedules the follow-up.
Skills used
🎤 Voice message (0:52)
Here’s what I’ll do: • Row in “Store visits 2026.xlsx”: store 214 Harrogate, 14 October, score 7, produce fine, out of stock on semi-skimmed milk, biscuit promo gondola end not set up • Email to Sarah Fletcher, store manager: set up the gondola end by Thursday and check the milk order • Reminder for you: follow-up visit to store 214 on Tuesday 21st Shall I go ahead?
The right planogram, in the aisle
The department manager needs to reset the shelf. Ugo finds the planogram in the head office folder, gives the version and the date it applies from and sends it in the chat.
Skills used
I need the new dried pasta planogram, 5 metre bay
📎 PLN Dried pasta 5m rev04.pdf It’s in the folder “Category/Planograms/Ambient”, version dated 6 October, to be in place by Monday 20th. Compared with rev03: 2 more wholewheat lines on the second shelf, and the own-label 1 kg packs have been removed.
The promotional calendar, without opening the file
The store manager asks what starts next week. Ugo reads the shared promotional calendar and replies with dates, mechanics and the departments involved.
Skills used
What promos start on Monday?
In “Promo calendar Q4.xlsx”, from 20 October to 2 November: • “Autumn Flavours” leaflet: 64 lines, fixed price • Pasta and sauces: 3 for 2 on 12 lines • Laundry and cleaning: 30% off with the loyalty card The point-of-sale material arrives on Friday, as per yesterday’s email from head office.
The buyer meeting, prepared in the car
A supplier’s key account manager heads to the retailer’s head office. Ugo summarises the customer history in the CRM and the latest emails, then after the meeting adds the note and moves the deal on.
Skills used
Seeing the buyer at Northfield Supermarkets in half an hour, what do I need to know?
Northfield Supermarkets: buyer Andrew Collins, chilled. Deal “Greek yoghurt listing 2027” at the Proposal stage, £85,000 a year, 120 stores. In his last email, on 9 October, he asks for funding for two promotions and the delivery date for the new pack sizes. Last note: “Wants the price held until March”.
Done: listing agreed from January with one funded promotion. Update it and move to Negotiation
1. Add the note “Listing agreed from January, one funded promotion” to the deal 2. Move “Greek yoghurt listing 2027” to Negotiation Shall I go ahead?
Automations on your number
Shoppers message the supermarket’s number, Ugo replies
Shoppers message the store’s WhatsApp Business. An automation replies with three buttons: Opening hours, Offers, Other. For opening hours and offers Ugo looks up the information on the retailer’s website; for anything else it sends the store a notification.
The blue bubbles are the customer, the white ones are the replies sent from the company’s WhatsApp Business number.
Discover WhatsApp automationsHi, are you open on Sunday?
Hello! I’m the assistant for Northfield Supermarkets Harrogate. How can I help?
Opening hours
On Sunday we’re open from 10:00 to 16:00. Monday to Saturday we’re open from 7:00 to 22:00.
And when do the new offers start?
Our “Autumn Flavours” offers run from 20 October to 2 November: you’ll find them on our website, in the Offers section. Anything else I can help with?
Ideas for using Ugo’s skills in grocery retail
Each skill is a connected tool. Here’s how to get the most out of it in this sector.
OneDrive, Word and ExcelThe visits spreadsheet, updated from the car park
Ugo adds a row for every store visit, with score, out-of-stocks and actions, and updates the cells when the store manager confirms the issues are sorted.
Discover OneDrive, Word and Excel
Google DrivePlanograms, leaflets and head office briefings
Ugo searches the head office folders by name or content, reads PDFs and fills in templates, such as the store visit report or the listing request for a new supplier.
Discover Google Drive
MapsThe round of stores
The quickest order to visit the stores in your area, with traffic at that moment, Street View of the goods-in entrance and the competitors near a new store.
Discover Maps
monday.comOpenings, refits and promotions
Project boards, from opening a store to signing off a promotion: Ugo creates items, changes statuses and dates and posts updates, for example “drafts approved by category”.
Discover monday.com
HubSpotThe retailers in the supplier’s CRM
For those who sell to supermarkets: the deal history with each retailer before meeting the buyer, and afterwards notes, tasks and deals moved to the next stage, once you give the OK.
Discover HubSpot
Your WhatsApp BusinessReplies to the store’s shoppers
Opening hours, offers, services such as click and collect: Automations reply to people who message the store’s number and send the store a notification for anything out of the ordinary.
Discover Your WhatsApp BusinessWhat Ugo does not do
Ugo organises messages, calendars, emails and documents. Everything else stays with your systems and your people.
- It doesn’t connect to tills, EDI or automatic replenishment: it reads the spreadsheets and documents you put in the connected folders.
- It doesn’t manage or change shelf or till prices, and it doesn’t approve planograms: it finds them and sends them, in the version chosen by head office.
- It doesn’t enter orders or trading terms in your management system: it drafts the email or note for whoever enters them, and in the CRM it creates contacts, deals, notes and tasks.
- It doesn’t send mass campaigns on WhatsApp: automations reply to people who message you, within WhatsApp’s 24-hour window.
The skills to switch on
The most useful Ugo features in this sector, starting with the first one to turn on. Each person switches them on from the portal in a few minutes.
Ugo for people working in the sector
The pages for the jobs in this sector, with more specific examples.
Food sales agents
For reps selling food to foodservice, supermarkets, independent shops and wholesalers: principals’ price lists, call cycles, orders and CRM handled from WhatsApp, even by voice.
Discover Ugo for food sales agentsCosmetics and personal care sales reps
For reps selling cosmetics, toiletries, fragrance and pharmacy lines to perfumeries, pharmacies and salons: calls, principals’ promotions and client notes in one WhatsApp chat.
Discover Ugo for cosmetics and personal care sales repsWine and drinks agents
For reps selling wine, beer, spirits, soft drinks and water to wine shops, restaurants, bars and on-trade wholesalers: spec sheets, wine lists, tastings and allocations from WhatsApp.
Discover Ugo for wine and drinks agentsFresh food agents
For reps selling cooked meats, meat, fresh produce and deli lines to butchers, delis, restaurants and supermarket counters: order cut-offs, short shelf lives, cold chain and complaints handled fast.
Discover Ugo for fresh food agents
Questions about WhatsApp and Ugo in grocery retail
How do you use WhatsApp for work in grocery retail?
To coordinate stores and head office, send photos of shelves, report out-of-stocks and talk to suppliers. With Ugo everyone can also ask for planograms, promotions and appointments in the chat and write up visits by voice, and the store’s WhatsApp Business number answers shoppers’ most common questions by itself.
Can Ugo write up store visit reports?
Yes. The area manager dictates a voice note or types a couple of lines, and Ugo adds the row to the visits spreadsheet on OneDrive or creates the report from a template on Google Drive, then prepares the email to the store manager. Everything goes out after your “Confirm”.
Does Ugo connect to the chain’s tills, EDI or management system?
No. It connects to Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, to Odoo, HubSpot, Zoho CRM and Agile CRM, to monday.com and Zendesk, and to any app with an MCP server. With other systems it works through emails and files: for example, it reads a sales extract saved in a connected folder.
Does it work for suppliers who sell to supermarkets too?
Yes, it’s one of the most common uses: key account managers and reps prepare meetings with buyers, find product sheets and price lists, update the CRM after every visit and plan their round of stores with live traffic.
How much does it cost to use Ugo across the company?
Ugo costs €50 a month or €550 a year per person, excluding VAT, with every skill included. You only switch it on for the people who use it: for example area managers, buyers and marketing, not necessarily every store. Data stays on servers in Frankfurt.
Useful references
Associations, bodies and official sources for the sector: external websites, independent of Ugo.
- British Retail ConsortiumThe trade association for UK retail, with sector data, policy and guidance for retailers of every size.brc.org.uk
- IGDThe research and training charity for the food and grocery industry, with market insight on retailers and shoppers.igd.com
- GS1 UKThe barcode and data standards that suppliers and retailers use to identify products and exchange information.gs1uk.org
- Office for National Statistics – Retail salesThe official monthly retail sales figures for Great Britain, from supermarkets to small shops.ons.gov.uk
Stores on the move, answers on WhatsApp
Connect head office folders, email, the diary and the stores’ WhatsApp Business in a few minutes. Head office, stores and suppliers find their answers in the chat.
