Using Accelerated Analytics® with EDI 852 Data

Electronic data interchange (EDI), specifically EDI 852 sales data, is a valuable resource for vendors. Unfortunately, without the proper tools, the data can be difficult to work with and analyze. That is why we created the Accelerated Analytics® POS and EDI 852 data analysis service. We remove all the manual data work and provide you with item and store level reports. Our pre-configured reports provide on-hand, sales and sell-thru for each of your retail partners.

EDI 852 product activity data, based on point of sale (POS) transactions and transmitted via EDI 852, is the backbone of a successful vendor managed inventory program. Unfortunately, the vendors we've spoken to are frustrated by what they perceive as an overwhelming amount of point of sale data, because they don't have the tools to analyze and report. Sending data via EDI 852 to suppliers simply does not translate into an optimized supply chain. Retailers are frustrated with suppliers because they cannot actively participate in vendor managed inventory and sales promotion without the data. It’s a no-win for both sides and a huge lost opportunity.

Case Study A vendor customer of Accelerated Analytics® who supplies to a large retailer,  was faced with the difficulty of analyzing EDI 852 on their items from over 1,800 stores. The data would arrive on Sunday night, which they would translate into a spreadsheet, and then begin to identify slow selling stores and stores in a stock-out situation. The analysis was complex and took about 20 hours of administrative time each week. Worst of all, they have a dozen retail customers that were also offering to send EDI 852 data, but they didn't have the time to analyze that much data. They knew they were missing valuable sales, but they did not have any way to identify the problem stores and communicate with their buyers. They then engaged the Accelerated Analytics® service. Our team set up a custom database in our hosted data center and began translating the EDI 852 data and loading it into our reporting tools. Within two weeks, the vendor had customized reports by item and store showing units sales and on-hand position. From these reports, they were able to quickly determine which stores were causing the lost sales. Using our simple reports, they scheduled a meeting with their buyer. It was a totally new experience for both the buyer and the vendor because they had quantitative reports isolating the problems stores. Together, they determined that a 1,200 store blanket order was the solution. It was the vendors largest order to date, and without Accelerated Analytics®, they would have never been able to show the buyer where the problems were. The vendor estimates our reports increased their sales by over $5 million dollars in less than one month.

Accelerated Analytics® is a comprehensive,  outsourced service. No matter how large or small your IT department is, our service will eliminate the headache of EDI 852 data analysis and provide the reports you need to increase sell-thru and in-stock. Our on boarding process is simple and we already cover over 50 retailers.