Better insights from EPOS sales data hold the key to improved retailer relationships for FMCG suppliers, says customer, category and shopper management specialist Bridgethorne.
Commercial teams within FMCG suppliers are facing an increasing challenge from retailers to make better use of EPOS sales data in order to make more informed, insight-driven business decisions.
According to Bridgethorne, the challenge is not made easier for many due to issues and obstacles that range from time-poor teams and a resource intensive challenge to there being simply too much data and not enough insight being drawn from it. Suppliers with between four and five account managers could be committing more than a week per month simply crunching numbers from different sources, when that data could provided more efficiently.
The company says retailers are craving insight-driven suppliers capable of making informed business decisions and offering added value thinking. Suppliers need to access EPOS data on all their own products in visual-led insight reports that will help their teams ask the right questions of themselves and of retailers.
Through its new Retail Analytics EPOS service, Bridgethorne can provide suppliers with the means to their turn data into actionable insight.
“Retailers want access to suppliers that really understand mutual business performance and this new approach to EPOS data focuses on creating insight by interpreting data visually and highlighting performance trends,” explained John Nevens, joint managing director of Bridgethorne.
“This will help suppliers optimise their resources and allow commercial teams time to focus on building sales opportunties. As teams will not need to spend time downloading disparate spreadsheets and trying to knit together data and draw insights from it, this will be a much more effective use of time.”
Suppliers that turn data into insight can “identify new range and distribution opportunities, evaluate promotions and sales trends, track price impacts, inform new product development, and improve forecasting and availability”.
“This delivers a better relationship between the supplier and the retailer, helps suppliers better understand their own and the retailer’s business, make better business decisions, strengthen sales, improve business relationships and increase productivity.”
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news.
