Retail layer
For retailers, add store profitability, allocation, sell-through, markdowns, shrinkage, promotions, returns, customer data, POS integration and omnichannel processes. Retail needs its own location-and-customer economics.
FMCG, Distribution & Retail
More sales do not always mean more profit.
FMCG, distribution and retail businesses coordinate purchasing, inventory, warehouses, sales, customers, delivery, pricing, collections and finance. Small weaknesses can quickly become excess stock, stockouts, weak margin, cash tied up in inventory or unreliable management information.
Representative operating flow
- Supplier
- Warehouse
- Route
- Customer
- Collection
What we do
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Excess inventory & stockouts
High total inventory can coexist with stockouts when the wrong SKUs are held in the wrong quantities or locations. Examine forecasting, segmentation, reorder rules, supplier lead times, purchasing behavior, accuracy, location planning and master data. The objective is better availability with less unnecessary working capital.
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Inventory accuracy
Trace inventory through receipt, storage, movement, picking, dispatch, return and adjustment. Determine where the physical transaction differs from the digital transaction and why employees have developed workarounds.
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Working capital
Inventory, receivables, supplier commitments and operating cycles can consume cash even when the business is profitable. Connect inventory days, ageing, purchase quantities, credit terms, returns and collections to the operating decisions driving cash pressure.
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SKU, customer & channel profitability
Revenue and gross margin may not reveal economic contribution. Add discounts, delivery effort, returns, credit terms, inventory investment and service requirements to understand what is worth selling, to whom and through which channel.
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Cost-to-serve & route economics
Compare order size, delivery frequency, distance, returns, collection behavior, salesperson effort and vehicle utilization. A busy route or high-revenue customer is not automatically economically attractive.
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Purchasing & replenishment
Assess supplier structure, lead times, reorder logic, demand signals, stock position, buying cycles and price/term changes. Experienced judgment remains important, but it needs scalable rules and visibility as complexity grows.
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Warehouse operations
Review receiving, put-away, locations, picking, packing, staging, dispatch, returns, damaged stock and cycle counting. The physical flow and the system flow must work together.
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Sales–operations alignment
Follow information from customer demand to sales, inventory, warehouse, purchasing, delivery and finance. Identify where teams start operating from different versions of reality.
Technology & AI
Potential responses include ERP, CRM, WMS, field-sales tools, data, integration, automation and AI for forecasting, replenishment, exceptions or customer prioritization. Forecasting cannot compensate for unreliable stock or master data.
