FERO OPINION PIECE - DATA AND TECHNOLOGY

Is it time to finally ditch the spreadsheets and paperwork and use technology to manage process and data driven decision making?

It seems obvious to use data and technology to make informed decisions that feed into a streamlined and easy to manage process. However, many brands and retailers retain unwieldy spreadsheets to manage their POS campaigns. Lack of resource and the resulting time pressures also lead to quickly moving onto the next project, without taking the time to review how to improve overall process and outputs.

As POS specialists, we should not feel alone in struggling to use data in a meaningful way. According to a global KPMG survey of 1,300 finance and operations leaders, just 46% of finance leaders and 38% of operations leaders are very satisfied with their ability to make informed decisions based on data. 

We strive to make it simple to understand the data we collect and utilise the technology we deploy.

We believe you cannot improve what you don’t measure and therefore, we record the in-depth data from every process point and production output, capturing timings and feedback loops to better understand the patterns and drivers that emerge. In turn we help our clients see how they can improve their processes to increase speed to market whilst eliminating waste and double handling. Ultimately, with the shift in focus from administrating to analysis, ROI can be interpreted and improved. We track every detail of the POS process; analysing materials usage, POS type and frequency, and average lead times for everything from quoting, through artworking, to production and distribution. The data from these trends provide cost and time saving initiatives.

Recent data driven projects include:

·        Identifying the highest volume recurring product line and re-designing a tray to reduce assembly time from 74 to 36 seconds thereby minimising labour, and reducing the client’s annual co-packing cost by in excess of £140,000 per annum

·        Understanding the client’s need for flexibility in repeating FSDU formats, incorporating moveable shelf heights to remove the need for new cutting tools

·        Analysing post-campaign store call-offs to recommend a reduction, and therefore annual print spend, in overs allowance by 5%

·        Overlaying POS spend with client supplied EPOS data to establish performance benchmarks and identify best performing stores POS in terms of ROI

We are POS experts who understand the nuances of effective POS campaign management within the constraints all businesses are subject to. We continually develop our technology on this experience to tailor solutions to automate all elements of POS POS management, ultimately providing your teams with more time.

To drive informed decision making at a glance, easy to use dashboards can be personalised to automatically provide relevant and important top line data to each individual.

During these difficult and uncertain times especially, to better maximise opportunities and performance, it is imperative we spend more time on understanding rather than administration.  We have tools at our disposal to make this a reality for you.