In todays’ highly competitive consumer space, Manufacturers are often disadvantaged to succeed in a “do more with less” environment. The margins are often so narrow that staying within them is a feat for only the worthiest of financial contortionists.
So what is the key to staying alive in this dynamically competitive game of cat and mouse?
The simple answer is data analytics, but when in life is the simple answer ever just simple? We’ve all heard the expression “numbers don’t lie” and in a marketplace where numbers equate to revenue, being able to review the numbers from multiple perspectives and against varying criteria can mean the difference between celebrating a win and suffering a detrimental loss. This is where simple veers off into slightly muddier waters as we are inundated with data these days. It comes from multiple sources and in a variety of formats. Everyone wants to provide us a report, pair up columns of metrics to reflect why one course of action is preferred over another. For recipients of all this data, the mountain of information poses a new kind of challenge every business person today understands:
How to make sense of the data quickly to efficiently drive effective business decisions.
At AFS, we understand data in all its raw and unstructured forms, and it is our business to partner with consumer packaged goods companies to help them do the same, dynamically and with ease. We work to help our partners determine new opportunities to penetrate their preferred marketspace by making sense of the data collected through normal day to day transactions and allow them to answer some key business questions that allow them to:
- Drive incremental sales
- Improve organizational efficiency
- Grow the bottom line
Identifying these opportunities in the foodservice channel creates an even bigger challenge based on a redistribution model that leaves manufacturers with no line of sight into their end-consumer sales. Gaining access to location- and item-level reporting allows foodservice organizations to:
- Drive compliance
- Analyze operator trends
- Identify whitespace opportunities
Our primary goal is to equip our partners to succeed by providing the actionable insights they need to perform in a highly competitive business landscape. To do this, we have designed a robust analytical tool that can bring varying data sources together to give your organization a 360° perspective for the more in-depth and actionable analysis your teams require. We ensure all aspects of your business are equipped with access to the insights needed to:
- DESIGN, implement, and track targeted sales plans – Sales Leadership
- PERFORM SKU analysis for innovation and rationalization efforts – Marketing
- ANALYZE trade effectiveness to maximize performance – Finance
- SUPPORT demand planning initiatives and strengthen CFR – Supply Chain
- MANAGE accruals by M/Q/YTD – Sales Planning & Operations
Having a single source of truth that represents all the data you receive will help your team make the kind of cent$ that will allow you to maximize all opportunities and drive your bottom line.