Consumer Goods
Inventory Exception Reporting Leads to 116% Increase in Incremental Sales
Situation
A consumer packaged goods manufacturer had a large mass market retailer partner whose stores had variable inventory levels. Some retail stores carried only two weeks of supply (WOS) while other stores were overstocked with as much as 15 WOS.
Solution
Using VELOCITY® WOS exception reports and reviewing daily item- and store-level data, the supplier effectively collaborated with the retailer to accurately identify items at specific stores that were out-of-stock or had low WOS.
Results
With granular inventory data and timely reporting, the CPG was able to fulfill store-specific orders the same day to improve in-stock levels. Utilizing only one standard VELOCITY dashboard, the supplier realized a 116% increase in incremental sales for that week.
Shifting from Shipment-Based to Store-Level-Based Forecasting and Planning
Situation
For many years, one consumer goods manufacturer based its sales forecasts and plans solely on shipments, with adjustments “here and there” based on “gut instinct and guesstimates.” No one in the company was surprised that the results lacked accuracy and effectiveness.
Solution
VELOCITY® helped change that—for the better. With the ability to see retail sales activity for every product at the store level, the supplier gained valuable insight into where products are sitting, what products were selling, and how both of those impacted order patterns. With this improved perspective, the company was able to improve strategic decision-making.
Results
With more accurate and dependable sales forecasts and plans, actual shipment and inventory data, and granular POS data in one shared database, the supplier has a continuous, overall picture of product movement, from “start to cart.” This has been a real eye opener for the company—particularly in how it has impacted the efficiency of manufacturing and demand planning. The company also has greater control over what product gets shipped to each retailer. Using high-quality VELOCITY data to increase or decrease the flow of goods to each store, the supplier has been able to drastically reduce end-of-season markdowns and returns while maintaining or even improving their rate of sale.
Retail Execution Optimization Fuels 40% Sales Increase
Situation
Before partnering with Retail Velocity, a sporting goods supplier found that direct point-of-sale (POS) data was extremely difficult to not only collect but also cleanse and harmonize in a timely manner to improve on-shelf availability (OSA) and reduce out-of-stocks (OOS), returns, and costly markdowns.
Solution
VELOCITY® provided the supplier with the automated data collection and integration tools it needed to better manage their POS data and perform immediate inventory and supply chain troubleshooting. VELOCITY enabled the company to pull inventory exception-based reports for OOS and OSA at the store level and share and leverage that information with service companies, retail buyers, and store managers to identify phantom inventory, resolve those issues quickly, and ensure optimal retail execution to maintain sales and meet consumer demand.
Results
In less than three months, the supplier noticed an increase in sales due primarily to increased effectiveness in inventory management through VELOCITY. For the first time, the company was able to capture and track historical item-level sales and inventory at individual stores and identify which stores were maximizing their sales and which were not. This allowed the company to reroute its territories to service high-performing and high-maintenance stores more efficiently.
The supplier could now accurately document and measure sales increases and compare product performance levels with stores where there was a lower level of service. Employing more accurate inventory data management, the company proved a day-to-day retail sales improvement of up to 40% in the stores they serviced and a significant ROI improvement in their category.
The supplier’s vice president of sales stated, "Retail Velocity and its VELOCITY platform have been a real strategic asset for us. In addition to bringing on additional revenues, we also credit VELOCITY with our ability to give our customers tangible proof of our impact on their bottom line and prove our value to them over time. Our customers want to know how we can do all the things we do—how we provide the timely and accurate reporting no one else can. That's a huge competitive advantage, and we credit VELOCITY."
Sweetened Sales at Sam’s Club
A summer candy promotion at Sam's Club might have gone sour if it were not for quick thinking and a bit of detective work using VELOCITY®. A candy supplier shipped hundreds of pallets of assorted candy to a distributor's warehouse—that was the easy part. Getting the candy to the Sam's Club locations across the country on time proved to be a sticky problem.
The shipment data the supplier received from the distributor indicated all the candy had been shipped, but a VELOCITY report told a different story: Nearly $200,000 of candy was still sitting on the warehouse floor. Armed with accurate data, the supplier’s personnel worked with the Sam’s Club buyer and used VELOCITY data as a comparison against what the distributor thought was on-hand. By providing the buyer with specific inventory data in a timely manner, the supplier developed a plan of action to get its candy shipped to the appropriate stores before it could be marked down or written off.
Increased Speed to Actionable Insights Leads to More Efficient Reorders
Situation
A large consumer goods manufacturer was mostly in the dark when it came to identifying low stock levels and phantom inventory at its retailer locations; thus, it was quite difficult for them to effectively manage inventories and fulfill product reorders, especially with using numerous spreadsheets.
Solution
Using in-depth reporting within VELOCITY®, the manufacturer was able to analyze and leverage store-level data to identify exceptions at individual retailer store locations and dig further into the data to determine specifically which SKUs and stores were problematic, and then develop an appropriate strategic solution to optimize inventory and ensure on-shelf availability to meet consumer demand.
Results
The supplier was now able to complete store-specific orders in about one quarter of the time they once spent using their old spreadsheet process. It believes that the largest single improvement provided by VELOCITY is the ability to better manage their inventories and complete reorders faster.
Their account manager explained, "VELOCITY allows us to spot exceptions 10 times faster than our old system. It lets us take a 'snapshot' of every retail facility we serve across the country—at the store level—so we can instantly identify a low on-hand number or a high 'phantom' number. For example, if there is a negative or erroneously high inventory count in the system, that product will not reorder. Because VELOCITY's exception-based reporting highlights these products for us, we can dig right into the data quickly and attack those numbers directly to determine specifically which SKUs and stores are problematic and then go in and provide a solution. And even though we have not added any new field sales staff, our service levels are much higher.
"We are effectively correcting and adjusting retailers' inventories every day and that has a huge impact on reorders and increased sales. With thousands of stores and responsibility for more than 1,500 SKUs, there is just no way we could provide this level of service without the timely, store-level data and analysis tools that VELOCITY provides."
Using Velocity to Cash in on Christmas Stocking
When it comes to seasonal trends in the retail industry, sales and service associates believe that history can teach them plenty. One consumer goods manufacturer's sales representative and its in-store service company repped artwork from multiple manufacturers to a megaretailer in the Midwest. To maximize sales for its customers, they ran a specific VELOCITY® report containing eight weeks of sales and inventory data from the previous Christmas selling season. They noted that several items had been impossible to keep on store shelves while others remained overstocked even after the peak selling season had passed. The company used this valuable data to create a special Christmas back-up order to enable them to increase or decrease inventory levels based on hard facts—not on guesses. As a result, the manufacturer enjoyed its highest sales levels ever in those categories.
A second VELOCITY report was generated showing the previous year's sales by product category and by store. To the company's surprise, they discovered the best-performing stores overall were not necessarily the best-selling stores during the peak holiday season. The company quickly adjusted their orders to take advantage of this new information. Using the percentage of Christmas sales that each store had generated, they provided replenishment point recommendations by SKU and store to the retail planner. The better-performing stores received more product; the slower stores received less. Their manufacturer clients ended up selling more and the retailer ended the holiday season with maximized sales and a minimum of clearance merchandise ... at every store.
Improved Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment Leads to 8% Sales Increase
Situation
During a complex CPFR Project with Walmart, a global CPG client was experiencing a bogged down internal tracking system. Very large amounts of demand and supply data needed to be managed at the store level for more than 3,000 products.
Solution
On a daily basis the client was able to download product pricing, sales, replenishment, and forecasting information into VELOCITY®, which then identified the causes of forecast, replenishment, inventory, and sales issues. Alerts were generated each day, informing both the client and Walmart of critical issues that needed to be fixed immediately.
Results
After implementing and optimizing VELOCITY, the client achieved an 8% increase in sales at Walmart.
Improved Replenishment and On-shelf Availability Processes Result in 8% Increase in Incremental Sales
Situation
A global consumer goods manufacturer was experiencing significant out-of-stocks at several stores with their largest retailer. The challenge was made more difficult as they tried to manage large volumes of store-level data on 3,000+ items, while applying variables including POS information, sales forecasts, and in-stock performance metrics. They needed to drastically improve in-stock positions and optimize the amount of inventory held by this retailer, as well as other leading retailers.
Solution
Retail Velocity helped the client manage this data deluge through exception-based reporting tailored to each brand and business users' specific needs, providing alerts and warnings on daily inventory at the store level. VELOCITY enabled the client to set their own criteria for reports to take appropriate corrective action.
The client’s product supply director stated, “Now, for a particular item, a user can say 'Show me the top 200 stores for in-stock performance or the stores with underperforming inventory,' so we know which stores to address. The VELOCITY application allows us to manage huge amounts of information and efficiently target our improvement efforts."
Results
The client dramatically reduced out-of-stocks and achieved top-line sales growth of 8% within one year of implementation, resulting in billions of dollars of revenue for the consumer goods giant.
The product supply director said, “The use of VELOCITY combined with some improved standard work processes has enabled us to run this continuing data, reporting, and analytics challenge almost like a production facility. It's given us standard processes and practices, standard exception reports, and has allowed us to take corrective actions on a regular basis. To be a preferred supplier to our leading retail partners, we must continually improve their cash flow, sales, and profits. Retail Velocity has helped us achieve those goals."
HOME & PERSONAL CARE
Smarter Selling: Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Selling
Situation
A home fashions supplier had long employed a more reactive sales process with little insights into store-level sell-through data and an inability to identify and respond appropriately to shifts in consumer trends or market conditions. Account teams relied on their retail buyers to provide point-of-sale (POS) data, which didn’t help strengthen the supplier’s authority and relationships with their retailers.
Solution
VELOCITY® empowered the supplier’s sales and marketing teams with full access to store-level and territory data to improve sales forecasting, identify each store’s high-turn and slow-moving items, and recommend necessary changes to product mix and inventory levels to ensure sales growth and retailer satisfaction and loyalty.
Salespeople now had the ability to generate numerous valuable reports within VELOCITY which detailed POS activity and in-stock and out-of-stock conditions—making them the go-to source for in-depth sell-through data and opening new windows of opportunity for launching new products and selling additional products. They also now had actionable reasons to regularly stay in touch with retail buyers and planners, helping strengthen customer relationships and trust.
Results
The supplier’s customers were impressed with the richness of the POS and inventory data, the quality and timeliness of analyses, and the accuracy of sales forecasting. Many of the buyers considered the supplier’s VELOCITY reports and analytics to be "better than their own," and, in at least one buyer's opinion, the supplier’s POS reporting, monitoring, and sales forecasting and planning capabilities are "light years ahead of the competition."
With the advantages of using VELOCITY, along with greater insights into consumer demand, the company shifted to a proactive sales approach to help their customers better manage their rate of sell, inventory levels, and product turns—and help build sales and profitability for both parties. As a result, the supplier was able to build stronger, more loyal customer relationships, which is an invaluable strategic advantage in a highly competitive retail market.
Improved Seasonal Forecasting and Labor Savings by Extrapolating Store-level Data
Situation
Our client utilized homegrown systems that lacked high-level insights, and they employed traditional desktop applications that couldn’t effectively manage the high volume of retailer data.
Solution
Using VELOCITY® for 20 of its largest retailer accounts, key divisions of the client brought order to the array of data it received, and they could now take multiple views of the data, including rank toys by sales, tier stores by performance within a chain, and stores across chains.
Results
The client improved seasonal forecasting by extrapolating store-level data, obtained greater ROI on promotions, and gained faster store reads that helped the company determine its endgame for the holiday season. The client achieved a labor savings of 10 full-time employees in sales and one in IT during year one.
Complete View of Global Retail Sales and Inventory Data Helps Manage 656,000 SKUs
Situation
A multi-national home and personal care corporation was experiencing complexity in managing 656,000 SKUs. Inaccurate retail sales data was feeding their demand planning, and account teams were wasting valuable time pulling POS data.
Solution
Using VELOCITY®, the client built a Center of Excellence where they were able to combine accurate, detailed retailer data with internal and external data to have centralized, unified data.
Results
Data was now accepted as accurate by all departments to feed Machine Learning models. C-level executives obtained a complete view of global retail sales and inventory. Account executives have access to clean, harmonized data and big data tools without having to mine it themselves.
Trustworthy Retail Sales Data and Deeper Insights Drive 5% Increase in Overall Sales
Situation
A global home essentials company relying on retailer-supplied data rapidly discovered that all data is NOT created equal—formats, delivery methods, depth, and timeliness of data varied drastically from retailer to retailer. They needed to solve this data variability challenge so that sales, marketing, category management, and supply chain teams could have access to accurate, harmonized data when they needed it.
Solution
Retail Velocity built a packaged Demand Signal Repository and deployed a first implementation of VELOCITY to focus on Walmart sales data, providing the client with near real-time retail sales and inventory data with a range of POS analysis reports and dashboards.
With the success of the initial implementation and the ease-of-use and user-friendliness of VELOCITY, the company expanded the reach of the solution to a number of other major retail accounts, with more to be added in a few months. VELOCITY dramatically changed the company’s decision-making processes and its relationship with its customers.
Results
The client’s senior national account manager stated, “It’s all about greater visibility. The VELOCITY platform lets us share information internally and with retailers more quickly, which lets people make better decisions and react more quickly to sales opportunities or critical issues. For example, we’re able to easily identify a retailer’s top 200 stores and if there’s a sale next month, I can tell them that we should send these stores extra product because they ran out the last time. I can even identify a list of stores that don’t have any of our products on their shelves, and that’s really free money we don’t want to lose.
“As a result of these deeper insights and trustworthy recommendations, we have been able to achieve a 5% increase in sales. The value of VELOCITY is being able to have a concrete example, show it to the retailer and have them address it.”
APPAREL & FASHION
Fact-Based Selling Increases Promotional Item Sales 47%
Situation
A major global apparel brand needed to test the effectiveness of a new product launch for a short-term clip-strip promotion at one of their key retailers to determine if they should roll out the promotion to additional top retailers.
Solution
Using VELOCITY®, the client accurately tracked daily performance of promotional items, as well as new products and merchandising changes where it mattered most—at the store level—for 14 weeks across 150 stores. They were also able to “slice and dice” POS data at any level: store, distribution center, chain, or across all customers.
Results
The manufacturer was able to easily keep an eye on store-level sales and inventory activity, and at the end of the test period, they achieved a 47% increase in sales. The program was then quickly rolled out to 85% of their top retail customers. Also, for analysis and reporting going forward, they could now look at actual retail sales data based on numerous attributes such as region, state, household type, race, market, and more. In addition, the attributes could also be grouped based on any defined criteria, such as brand, category, style, color, and size.
10% Reduction in Global Inventory Carrying Costs
Situation
A global apparel manufacturer had no shortage of retailer data—billions of rows in its database. But they didn’t have the right data or tools needed for accurate demand sensing and analysis. The data they did have, often arrived and was processed much too late to be useful to the company.
Solution
Using VELOCITY®, the client reduced the time from data ingestion to generating actionable insights from four weeks to mere minutes, and they obtained richer, more accurate POS and inventory information to identify exactly where they needed inventory and where they didn’t—and when.
Results
The client increased sales by improving their forecasting and keeping retail shelves adequately stocked, and they reduced the carrying cost of inventory by 10% globally. Here’s what the client’s senior manager, consumer shopper insights had to say about VELOCITY and its benefits:
“With VELOCITY, we’ve created a much more efficient process that drastically reduces the time we spend getting and analyzing retail data. Because the process used to consume so much personnel time, sales and marketing teams sometimes went without having all the data they’d have liked to have. That doesn’t happen anymore.
“Having a ‘single version of the truth’ and making that truth easily accessible is a huge benefit for us. It eliminates conversations over what’s the right data and puts us immediately in a position to make use of the data. With VELOCITY and Microsoft’s Power BI platform, we can use advanced analytics for more in-depth and insightful analyses.”
Global Coverage for All Products and Improved VMI Ordering
Situation
A large apparel brand was utilizing multiple legacy POS data warehouses, which was not efficient or optimal. They needed a nightly processing cycle to feed all downstream applications, including daily VMI order generation, and they did not have global coverage for all products.
Solution
Retail Velocity replaced the client's legacy Demand Signal Repository in only three months with "one version of the truth." 40 key retailer data feeds were set up, and the data feeds were connected to SAP, Manugistics, Teradata, and Marketmax to improve actionable insights.
Results
Global coverage was obtained for all products, and the client was able to feed all downstream applications, including daily VMI order generation.
Increased Channel and Customer Insights Leads to Reduce Out-of-Stocks
Situation
With a lack of complete data and reliable analytics for accurate demand sensing, an apparel supplier had difficulty managing 100,000 SKUs in 70,000 stores. Using static, disconnected spreadsheets resulted in inaccurate forecasts that caused excess inventories and a gap between shipments and consumer purchases.
Solution
With VELOCITY, the client gained greater channel and customer insights by performing store clustering analysis—grouping stores selling products with similar attributes and customer demographics. They used a weighted score of product attributes within respective clusters.
Results
With greater channel and customer insights, the client was able to increase sales by lowering out-of-stocks.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Add a question here
Situation
A major global apparel brand needed to test the effectiveness of a new product launch for a short-term clip-strip promotion at one of their key retailers to determine if they should roll out the promotion to additional top retailers.
Solution
Using VELOCITY®, the client accurately tracked daily performance of promotional items, as well as new products and merchandising changes where it mattered most—at the store level—for 14 weeks across 150 stores.
Results
The manufacturer was able to easily keep an eye on store-level sales and inventory activity, and at the end of the test period, they achieved a 47% increase in sales. The program was then quickly rolled out to 85% of their top retail customers.
Add a question here
Situation
A major global apparel brand needed to test the effectiveness of a new product launch for a short-term clip-strip promotion at one of their key retailers to determine if they should roll out the promotion to additional top retailers.
Solution
Using VELOCITY®, the client accurately tracked daily performance of promotional items, as well as new products and merchandising changes where it mattered most—at the store level—for 14 weeks across 150 stores.
Results
The manufacturer was able to easily keep an eye on store-level sales and inventory activity, and at the end of the test period, they achieved a 47% increase in sales. The program was then quickly rolled out to 85% of their top retail customers.
Add a question here
Situation
A major global apparel brand needed to test the effectiveness of a new product launch for a short-term clip-strip promotion at one of their key retailers to determine if they should roll out the promotion to additional top retailers.
Solution
Using VELOCITY®, the client accurately tracked daily performance of promotional items, as well as new products and merchandising changes where it mattered most—at the store level—for 14 weeks across 150 stores.
Results
The manufacturer was able to easily keep an eye on store-level sales and inventory activity, and at the end of the test period, they achieved a 47% increase in sales. The program was then quickly rolled out to 85% of their top retail customers.
Add a question here
Situation
A major global apparel brand needed to test the effectiveness of a new product launch for a short-term clip-strip promotion at one of their key retailers to determine if they should roll out the promotion to additional top retailers.
Solution
Using VELOCITY®, the client accurately tracked daily performance of promotional items, as well as new products and merchandising changes where it mattered most—at the store level—for 14 weeks across 150 stores.
Results
The manufacturer was able to easily keep an eye on store-level sales and inventory activity, and at the end of the test period, they achieved a 47% increase in sales. The program was then quickly rolled out to 85% of their top retail customers.
Add a question here
Situation
A major global apparel brand needed to test the effectiveness of a new product launch for a short-term clip-strip promotion at one of their key retailers to determine if they should roll out the promotion to additional top retailers.
Solution
Using VELOCITY®, the client accurately tracked daily performance of promotional items, as well as new products and merchandising changes where it mattered most—at the store level—for 14 weeks across 150 stores.
Results
The manufacturer was able to easily keep an eye on store-level sales and inventory activity, and at the end of the test period, they achieved a 47% increase in sales. The program was then quickly rolled out to 85% of their top retail customers.
Add a question here
Situation
A major global apparel brand needed to test the effectiveness of a new product launch for a short-term clip-strip promotion at one of their key retailers to determine if they should roll out the promotion to additional top retailers.
Solution
Using VELOCITY®, the client accurately tracked daily performance of promotional items, as well as new products and merchandising changes where it mattered most—at the store level—for 14 weeks across 150 stores.
Results
The manufacturer was able to easily keep an eye on store-level sales and inventory activity, and at the end of the test period, they achieved a 47% increase in sales. The program was then quickly rolled out to 85% of their top retail customers.
Want to know how YOU CAN:
Track daily performance of promotional items and
new products at the store level.
Increase speed-to-insights from weeks to minutes.
Reduce out-of-stocks with improved forecasts and greater insights into consumer behavior.
Achieve one version of the truth—the most timely, accurate, and reliable data.
Gain a complete view of global sales and inventory to make informed decisions to increase sales.