Demand Driven Planning in 2013

The availability of retail point of sale data over the past several years has created the opportunity for vendors to gain a detailed understanding of consumer demand at the retail point of sale.  Actual consumer demand at the retail point of sale presents a more accurate and timely picture of how your SKU’s are selling than retailer forecast advice or even retail purchase orders.  So why don’t all vendors collect EDI 852 or retail POS data from their customers and use it for creating forecasts and managing sales?  There seem to be several myths holding vendors back….

Myth #1: Collecting and analyzing EDI 852 / retail POS data is expensive and complex.  In a few limited cases like Home Depot and Menards it is true that the simple process of collecting the data has some expense.  Home Depot EDI 852 for example must be collected using a VAN so there are data transmission charges.  Menards charges a vendor to purchase a RSA SecurID.   But most retailers make EDI 852 or retail POS data available for free and even when there is a fee the benefits exceed the expenses.   Extracting the data, matching to item catalog details and store details does require some expertise but there are many SaaS applications now like Accelerated Analytics which will outsource the technical requirements for an affordable monthly fee.  By monitoring the consumer demand and inventory on hand at a SKU / store level of detail a vendor can proactively work with the retail replenishment manager to avoid out of stocks.  Every sale you get that would have been lost due to an empty shelf is returning value and paying for the expense of collecting and using the EDI 852 data.  How many lost sales do you need to recover a monthly data management fee that is typically less than $2,000?   At a chain like Home Depot with roughly 1900 stores in the USA the answer is not very many.

Myth #2:  My buyer won’t accept replenishment recommendations.  We hear this all the time – “I realize I could probably increase my in stock rate using EDI 852 / POS data but my retail customer uses automated replenishment or has a fixed open to buy plan so my recommendations fall on deaf ears”.  Several things are at work with this myth.  First, most vendors are operating on an assumption that if they talked to their buyer, they would discover is inaccurate.  I’ve talked to buyers at many retailers and I get a consistent answer – if the vendor can quantify the problem and provide an accurate order recommendation I will take it into consideration.  Second, the vendor has to demonstrate a competency in using the data for basic tasks like sales monitoring before they try to recommend orders.  I’ve seen countless examples of a vendor providing sales reporting and value to a buyer who then gains confidence the vendor can get the demand forecast right.  Finally, you have to start off slow.  Start with your highest turn products at your A volume stores and calculate the lost dollars sold for an 8 week period.  Then go to your buyer with a summary of your findings and actions to improve in stock and quantify the sales opportunity for both of you.  Make conservative recommendations to increase the WOS by one week so you gain back some sales but avoid loading the store with inventory and dropping your GMROI.  They have the same goal as you – to sell more product!

Every vendor that sells a product through a retail store should invest into analyzing retail point of sale data and using it for creating detailed action plans.  The data acquisition and reporting costs are very low when you consider them as a percentage of your retail sales and the upside benefits of increased sales, better assortment planning, and optimal inventory on hand are huge by comparison.  Let’s make 2013 the year that all vendors make the investment.  

Dollar General Profits Up 33%

Dollar General reported quarterly profits were up 33% to a record $299 million for the quarter.  Total sales and same store sales were also up significantly.  

The value Dollar General offers to cost aware consumers is clearly paying off for them.  Our teams provide reporting and analytics on Dollar General EDI 852 and we have noticed strong sales as well.   When you are a vendor to a retailer like Dollar General with 9,800+ stores, using EDI 852 to closely monitor sales and inventory is critical.  Imagine if you have just 5 SKU's at every Dollar General store - you would have about 50,000 SKU/store combinations to manage and keep an eye on.   Dollar General offers both a daily and weekly EDI 852 feed so you can get visibility into store sales performance and help partner to grow the business.

Improving EDI 852 On Hand Data for Useful Inventory Reporting

Nearly all EDI 852 files report activity of SKUs or UPC's.  While this probably seems like an obvious statement, it does create some work to create a data set which is suitable for good inventory on hand reporting.  EDI 852 activity based reporting means that a SKU which is on hand, but which did not have a sale or return in a given week, will not be reported in the EDI 852 file because there is no 'activity' to report.  Without some work on the data this creates null on hand records which impact the ability to do good out of stock and inventory exception reporting.  For example, a SKU might have 100 units on hand but not sell for a two week period and so the current week on hand will be null.  To improve upon the data one must carry forward the last known on hand value that was reported in the EDI 852 so that each SKU has an on hand. 

The downside to this approach is that your database will grow in volume over time, and so it is also necessary to put one or more rules in place to decide when on hand for an item will no longer be carried forward.  This can be accomplished using the SKU status - for example do not carry forward the on hand for an item when it changes from 'active' to 'inactive'; or you can create a rule to discontinue the on hand carry forward automatically after some number of weeks with no activity reported in the EDI 852.

Our team has implemented these types of rules to improve upon the EDI 852 for Home Depot, Macy's and a number of other retailers and it has greatly improved our ability to produce accurate and useful inventory out of stock and exceptions reports.

Vendor Questions on EDI 852

Vendors are working hard to understand how to best use retail POS and inventory data, which is made available via EDI 852 or a web portal. Here are five very common questions vendors ask as they work with our team to put a data analysis solution in place.

What is the difference between EDI 852 and data available on my retail customers web site? The most obvious difference is the format of the data. EDI 852 is a standard document template but it is encoded using line identifiers and other language necessary for computers to make sense of the data. EDI 852 must be parsed and translated to be of any use to a business user. Data available in a retail portal is typically either presented on screen or saved into a text or spreadsheet format. These files do not require translation and can be opened in a variety of Windows programs. A second difference is the level of detail available. An EDI 852 document always includes units sold by UPC, but it may not include on-hand data. And receiving store level EDI 852 data is often an additional selection and cost. Most retail portals will provide detailed store level data files, or presentation of detailed data on the screen. Finally, and most importantly, EDI 852 values for each UPC can be different than the values reported in a file available on the portal. This can be due to different reporting periods, different source and/or additional source system data, or a different method of handling of returns.

If I can choose between EDI 852 and a file from my retailers' portal which one should I choose? This decision comes down to a few factors. First, does the retailer charge a fee for sending data via EDI as opposed to accessing the data on the portal. Second, does the EDI 852 data provide less information than the portal. For example, as noted above, some EDI 852 files do not include on-hand or store level data.  Finally, research the data accuracy of the two sources and choose the one which will best support your decision making process.

What types of reports should I be using? There are three reports that form the backbone of retail POS data analysis: item sell-thru by store, inventory on-hand by item and store, and top selling items. From these three reports you can create a library of very useful decision support tools segmented by geographic region, product category, and by retail partner.

Why should I consider an outsourced service for POS data analysis? For most vendors, working with POS data falls outside their IT organization's typical scope of expertise and tools. Simply put, there is a fairly large volume of data which requires translation, scrubbing, and organization into a sophisticated data warehouse. The data does not fit into most organization's ERP, forecasting, or accounting system, so the IT department is faced with building a custom application. Then, end users need a simple and quick tool to access the data for analysis and decision making. An outsourced service can deliver the necessary engineering and software tools in a very short period of time without an expensive investment. And outsourcing provides a cost effective monthly expenditure which aligns with your cash flow instead of a large capital expense.

Why can't I just use a spreadsheet for analyzing POS data? Spreadsheets have many limitations when it comes to analyzing POS data, not the least of which is simple row and column limitations. But more importantly, there is a significant amount of work required each day or week to accept, transform, format, and analyze data in an Excel spreadsheet. Time which your staff can avoid all together by using more sophisticated tools and/or an outsourced service. In addition, spreadsheets are generally not well suited for team based collaboration on data. Each time a spreadsheet is opened, the user has the opportunity to change/edit data which can rapidly deteriorate the quality of the data and cause significant duplication of effort.

Understanding EDI 852 Data

EDI 852 files are typically provided on a weekly basis. These files are usually referred to as "product activity data." The challenge is that each retailer uses a slightly different format, data descriptions, and code identifiers. EDI 852 files routinely contain the following information.

For each item
- Item description
- Item UPC

Data can be summarized by:
- Store
- Distribution center

Key product activity measures
- Quantity sold ($)
- Quantity sold (units)
- Quantity on hand ($)
- Quantity on hand (units)
- Quantity on order ($)
- Quantity on order (units)
- Quantity received ($)
- Quantity received (units)

Key forecast measures
- Quantity ($)
- Quantity (units)

Key metrics which can be calculated to evaluate performance against goal
- Days supply
- Weeks supply
- Sell-thru percentage (%)
- Sales to forecast variance
- Month to date (MTD)sales
- Quarter to date (QTD) sales
- Year to date (YTD) sales
- This month vs. last month
- This quarter vs. last quarter
- This year vs. last year

Work efficiently with EDI 852 data requires a good analysis tool like Accelerated Analytics®. Otherwise, the merchandise planner is left to sort through line after line of data to find problems and opportunities. By using Accelerated Analytics®, the routine tasks of formatting and consolidating data are eliminated, and exception logic can be used to save time.

The Accelerated Analytics® team understands how to work with EDI 852 data. We eliminate all the headaches and give you the preformatted reports you need to run your business.

 

Lowe's Integrating Planning and Execution (IPE)

Lowe’s announced poor 2Q11 financial results with anemic growth and flat same store sales recently.   To improve performance, CEO Robert Niblock and EVP merchandising Bob Gfeller are implementing Integrating Planning and Execution (IPE), which places an emphasis on putting the right product in the right store at the right quantity.  This new focus got our attention since we provide EDI 852 data analysis and reporting to Lowe’s vendors.  Putting the right product in the right store at the right quantity is exactly what vendors use EDI 852 to accomplish.  Localized merchandising is the right strategy for Lowe’s, but they may run into some challenges executing the strategy with vendor’s assistance.  

Many vendors we work with have Lowe’s as a customer, as well as other ‘big box’ retailers.  Across the board, these vendors get EDI 852 from their big box retail customers and we help them analyze the data at a SKU/store level.  But many of these vendors choose not to use Lowe’s EDI 852.  Instead,  they opt to pull reports from LowesLink®.  LowesLink® is a fine system for pulling reports.  The problem is the reports offer a snapshot of performance, not an analysis system.  If the vendor does not have a database to store weekly SKU/store data, it is nearly impossible for them to analyze weekly sales effectively and efficiently enough to participate in localized merchandising strategies.  Lowe’s does have Vendor DART which offers analysis tools, but the most powerful tools are reserved for large vendors.  

Weekly analysis of EDI 852 at a SKU/store level is the foundation of a successful program like Lowe’s IPE.  Vendors know their products best and there are simply too many products for Lowe’s staff to conduct weekly SKU/store level analysis.  For Lowe's Integrating Planning and Execution (IPE) to be successful long term, they must get vendors actively using the EDI 852.

LowesLink® is a registered trademark of LF, LLC.

Using Retail data for Forecasting Demand and Merchandising Planning

Many vendors have started to using EDI 852 data or retailer portal data for sales and retail merchandising, but so far, only a few are using EDI 852 data for forecasting of demand.  But the reality is, vendor inventory at stores is often too low to meet demand and the rates of out of stocks have been increasing. It’s not a big surprise that retailers are maintaining less inventory in stores in this retail environment; the cost of excess inventory is simply too high and open to buy dollars are at an all time low. But with proper forecasting of demand, a vendor can help the retailer to better manage inventory and avoid out of stocks. The great benefit of EDI 852 for merchandising planning is that it is store/SKU level data. Since a typical retailer is forecasting demand at a category and market level, the variability in the rate of sales among stores in a market can be large.

A more accurate model for forecasting of demand is to start at the store/SKU level, calculating an average rate of sale for the store/SKU and then based on the inventory on hand at that store, a weeks of supply. When the weeks of supply for a store/SKU has been calculated, the vendor can compare against the lead time to replenish the store and work to put a true demand driven supply chain in place. This model, while more intensive for the vendor to manage, usually creates a far different picture of inventory needs than simply market level min/max replenishment.

Home Depot EDI 852

Home Depot vendors gain a critical advantage using Accelerated Analytics for point of sale data analysis. Home Depot vendors have the opportunity to use EDI 852 data to analyze their business and be very proactive in working with their merchants. A standard Home Depot EDI 852 document contains units sold, units on hand and dollars sold for each SKU and store. By storing this data each week and cross referencing the Home Depot store list, a vendor has the opportunity to understand store and SKU level selling trends and inventory consumption. The Home Depot EDI 852 data provides all the necessary ingredients to calculate key metrics like: inventory weeks of supply on hand, average rate of sale by store and SKU, and if you add your cost information you can arrive at GMROI as well. It has been our experience that Home Depot merchants expect a high degree of data analysis from their vendors, and it has also been our experience that they are very supportive of vendors who use the data to make recommendations on how to improve the business. The key to success is selecting a service provider like Accelerated Analytics that can help you store the data each week, calculate key metrics, and make the analysis and reports available to your sales teams in a timely fashion. Accelerated Analytics also provides advanced analysis like GMROI by plan-o-gram, which is critically important in working with your merchant. Armed with this data, we have seen vendors dramatically increase sales and optimize inventory levels.

Frequently Asked Questions about Accelerated Analytics

What is EDI 852?   EDI 852 is a standard data format used to transmit product activity data. Files are typically sent daily or weekly and will include sales activity by product, and for some retailers, inventory on-hand.  Activity is typically summarized at a distribution center level, unless store level data is deliberately selected. Some EDI 852 forms will also include pricing information, inventory on-hand but unavailable for sale, order point, order quantity, and order status. EDI 852 is provided as a text data file using special character sets to describe the coded data to the decoding software. 

My organization is a manufacturer and our retail customers are offering to send us point of sale data.  Can we use Accelerated Analytics® to analyze POS data? 

Absolutely! Accelerated Analytics® was designed to provide business users with a simple and effective means to analyze POS data from both a buyer and manufacturer/supplier perspective. Our engineers can work with your team as well as the retailer to load the data into Accelerated Analytics® and format your custom reports.  

 

Can we use Accelerated Analytics® to analyze EDI 852 data?

Yes.  As a part of our service we accept EDI 852 data and provide the translation into a useable format for reporting and analysis.    

 

What's the difference between point of sale data and EDI 852?

First, the format of the data is very different.  EDI 852 is provided as a text data file using special character sets to describe the coded data to the decoding software.  If you open an un-translated EDI 852 file, you will have a very hard time understanding what you are looking at.  POS data, on the other hand, is typically provided in a text file with descriptive column headers, which can be easily opened and used in Excel.  Second, EDI 852 contains a basic set of product activity data, while a POS file is usually much more rich.  POS often will include cost and price information, and more detail inventory.

 

What retailers are you working with today?

A list of our currently covered retailers can be found here.

 

What industries do your vendor customers work in? 

Our customers include apparel, footwear, consumer products, specialty hardlines, health and beauty, pharmaceuticals, and grocery.

 

Do we have to setup our own reports?

Not unless you want to.  Our service includes many pre-configure template reports that we customize during the on-boarding process to meet our customers precise needs.  Templates are included for sell-thru, stock-out exposure, inventory on-hand, period over period sale and inventory comparisons, top selling items, and much more.  All reports can be viewed by product, product category, store, geography, time, etc.  The reports are saved and available to end users with one click of the mouse. 

 

What is collaborative forecasting, planning and replenishment (CPFR)?

(CPFR) Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment is a business practices that combines the intelligence of multiple trading partners in the demand planning and fulfillment of customer demand. CPFR was pioneered by Wal-Mart as a next step to efficient consumer response (ECR) and vendor managed inventory (VMI) and is now promoted by the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards Association (VICS). CPR is a proven retail supply chain improvement process.  

What is the bullwhip effect and why is it important?  

The bullwhip effect among supply chain partners is a situation in which the supplier has a clearer view of demand than the retailer, but a less accurate forecast. Traditional supply chains are extremely prone to this bullwhip effect; typical order fluctuations of +/-5% on the customer end can easily balloon to +/-40% on the manufacturer end, thus showing an increasing demand variation of 2:1 at each level of the supply chain. Accurate forecasting can help to eliminate the bullwhip effect and increase overall profitability by 5%. The most effective way of smoothing out bullwhip effect oscillations is for suppliers to understand what drives demand and supply patterns. Understanding demand and supply patterns is best accomplished through a detailed look at POS data.   

 

What makes Accelerated Analytics® unique?   

Accelerated Analytics® connects buyers and suppliers in a collaborative environment, where point-of-sale data is used to improve forecast accuracy, demand planning, and decrease stock-outs. The Accelerated Analytics® environment is a hosted service including pre-configured reports, world-class analysis tools, and color coded exception dashboards. These tools quickly turn data into actionable information and promote data based decision making.  With Accelerated Analytics®, there is no software to buy or install and Rainmaker Group does all the data processing. Read our full list of benefits. 

 

Who are some companies that have implemented collaborative planning forecasting and replenishment (CPFR)?   

Over 150 companies have implemented collaborative planning forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) including: Sara Lee, Wal-Mart, Schering-Plough, Walgreens, Kmart, Target, Eckerd, Safeway, Ace Hardware, Manco, Canadian Tire, Johnson & Johnson, Carrefour, Henkel, Kimberly-Clark, Marks & Spencer, Metro, Proctor & Gamble, Sainsbury's, Nestle, Best Buy, Scan Disk, and Federated. In all likelihood, there are many more unpublished implementations as well.  

 

How is my retail supply chain improved by demand planning using EDI, DDSN, or CPFR?   

Studies of retailers by Harvard Business, Grocery Manufacturers Association, National Retail Federation, and AMR Research show results of 15% less inventory, 17% better perfect order performance, and 35% shorter cash-to-cash cycles. The close collaboration between buyers and suppliers makes these improvements possible. Accelerated Analytics® provides the technology in a hosted service so there is no hardware or software to purchase.  

 

If our suppliers are not asking for POS data, why should I consider Accelerated Analytics®?  

It's not a surprise your suppliers are not asking for data. Most suppliers are intimidated by the prospect of asking for POS data and they do not have the tools to manage and analyze that volume of data. Successful business transformation does not begin as a reaction, but rather because business leaders have the vision to proactively invest in tools which drive their business forward faster than their competition. Research shows that when retailers proactively engage suppliers to collaborate on demand forecasting, 57% report improved relationships. Demand planning in the retail supply chain and collaboration between buyers and sellers, leads to more accurate forecasts and higher sales.  

  

Why can't we just use our electronic data interchange (EDI) system to send suppliers demand planning data?   

Many retailers have tried using EDI 852 to take advantage of collaboration and demand planning opportunities with suppliers. This is a natural first step; the infrastructure for EDI 852 is already in place, serving as the communication medium between retailers and suppliers. But most retailers are finding that sending out an EDI 852 document with summarized POS and inventory replenishment does not provide much benefit. Why? EDI does not add any new information; EDI is summarized at such a high level, it provides about the same detail as the purchase orders already in the system. The best a supplier can do with EDI 852 is load it into excel, because they do not have an analysis tool. In addition, parsing out a separate EDI 852 file every week for each supplier is time intensive. Most importantly, the supplier rarely has the tools necessary to accept the data and conduct effective analysis.

Heading in the right direction

Retail sales consultant Retail Metrics Inc. predicts that the 30 national retailers it tracks will this week post a 3.4% gain in sales for December at stores open for at least a year. That is atop a 3% gain for December 2009.

Overall, the National Retail Federation trade group forecasts that retail sales in November and December increased by 3.3% this year to $451 billion.

The positive gains made this holiday season appear to be sustainable. In December 2010 and already in the New Year our customers are engaging us to help with detailed custom data analysis for line review preparation. This is always a good sign of an improving economy. It means business leaders are ready to compete. They are looking for opportunities and making sure any weaknesses are explained, along with a plan for improvement. Underlying all of this is very careful point of sale data analysis, so that plans and recommendations are fact based. We have been carefully analyzing products across retailers, identifying trends in product sales, geographic trends, pricing variances, etc.  It's amazing what EDI 852 can tell you if you have a good database with several years of history. Dig into your EDI 852 and get ahead of your competition.

Von Maur EDI 852 Reporting

If you are a vendor supplying to Von Maur, you are eligible to receive product sales activity and inventory data via EDI 852. Preparing to setup and receive the EDI 852 files can be confusing, and creating usable reports for your team can be very time consuming. Fortunately, Accelerated Analytics® provides a simple, outsourced service for all your Von Maur EDI 852 reporting needs.

Using Accelerated Analytics® makes all your reporting headaches go away. With Accelerated Analytics®, we handle all the data conversion, database hosting, and reporting. We even provide training and the end user reporting tools.

Accelerated Analytics® benefits:

• We do the EDI 852 translation
• Eliminate manual data entry and manipulation
• Consolidate all Von Maur store data on all your SKU's into one reporting database
• Pre-built exception reports with color coded dashboards
• No software or hardware to purchase
• Sophisticated charts and graphs

Available reports:

• This weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Last weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• This months sales and inventory by store and SKU
• 6 week rolling sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Stove level stock-out exposure
• Stove level overstock
• Fast/slow selling items
• Sell-thru
• Inventory turns
• Days supply on hand 

Ulta EDI 852 Reporting

If you are a vendor supplying to Ulta, you are eligible to receive product sales activity and inventory data via EDI 852. Preparing to setup and receive the EDI 852 files can be confusing, and creating usable reports for your team can be very time consuming. Fortunately, Accelerated Analytics® provides a simple, outsourced service for all your Ulta EDI 852 reporting needs.

Using Accelerated Analytics® makes all your reporting headaches go away. With Accelerated Analytics®, we handle all the data conversion, database hosting, and reporting. We even provide training and the end user reporting tools. 

Accelerated Analytics® benefits:

• Eliminate manual data entry and manipulation
• Consolidate all Ulta store data on all your SKU's into one reporting database
• Pre-built exception reports with color coded dashboards
• No software or hardware to purchase
• Sophisticated charts and graphs

Available reports:

• This weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Last weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• This months sales and inventory by store and SKU
• 6 week rolling sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Sell-thru
• Inventory turns
• Days supply on hand

Accelerated Analytics® will give you the ability to anticipate changes in sales and inventory so you can make adjustments before a costly mistake occurs. Our EDI 852 reporting is the best on the market.

Target EDI 852 Reporting

If you are a vendor supplying to Target, you are eligible to receive product sales activity and inventory data via EDI 852. Preparing to setup and receive the EDI 852 files can be confusing, and creating usable reports for your team can be very time consuming. Fortunately, Accelerated Analytics® provides a simple, outsourced service for all your Target EDI 852 reporting needs.

Using Accelerated Analytics® makes all your reporting headaches go away. With Accelerated Analytics®, we handle all the data conversion, database hosting, and reporting. We even provide training and the end user reporting tools. 

Accelerated Analytics® benefits:

• Eliminate manual data entry and manipulation
• Consolidate all Target store data on all your SKU's into one reporting database
• Pre-built exception reports with color coded dashboards
• No software or hardware to purchase
• Sophisticated charts and graphs

Available reports:

• This weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Last weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• This months sales and inventory by store and SKU
• 6 week rolling sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Sell-thru
• Inventory turns
• Days supply on hand 

Macy's EDI 852 Reporting

If you are a vendor supplying to Macy's, you are eligible to receive product sales activity and inventory data via EDI 852. Preparing to setup and receive the EDI 852 files can be confusing, and creating usable reports for your team can be very time consuming. Fortunately, Accelerated Analytics® provides a simple, outsourced service for all your Macy's EDI 852 reporting needs.

Using Accelerated Analytics® makes all your reporting headaches go away. With Accelerated Analytics®, we handle all the data conversion, database hosting, and reporting. We even provide training and the end user reporting tools. 

Accelerated Analytics® benefits:

• We do the EDI 852 translation
• Eliminate manual data entry and manipulation
• Consolidate all Macy's store data on all your SKU's into one reporting database
• Pre-built exception reports with color coded dashboards
• No software or hardware to purchase
• Sophisticated charts and graphs

Available reports:

• This weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Last weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• This months sales and inventory by store and SKU
• 6 week rolling sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Stove level stock-out exposure
• Stove level overstock
• Fast/slow selling items
• Sell-thru
• Inventory turns
• Days supply on hand 

Walgreens EDI 852 Reporting

If you are a vendor supplying to Walgreens, you are eligible to receive product sales activity and inventory data via EDI 852. Preparing to setup and receive the EDI 852 files can be confusing, and creating usable reports for your team can be very time consuming. Fortunately, Accelerated Analytics® provides a simple, outsourced service for all your Walgreens EDI 852 reporting needs.

Using Accelerated Analytics® makes all your reporting headaches go away. With Accelerated Analytics®, we handle all the data conversion, database hosting and reporting. We even provide training and the end user reporting tools. 

Accelerated Analytics® benefits:

• Eliminate manual data entry and manipulation
• Consolidate all Walgreens store data on all your SKU's into one reporting database
• Pre-built exception reports with color coded dashboards
• No software or hardware to purchase
• Sophisticated charts and graphs

Available reports:

• This weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Last weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• This months sales and inventory by store and SKU
• 6 week rolling sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Sell-thru
• Inventory turns
• Days supply on hand 

Accelerated Analytics® will give you the ability to anticipate changes in sales and inventory, so you can make adjustments before a costly mistake occurs. Our EDI 852 reporting is the best on the market. 

Belk EDI 852 Reporting

If you are a vendor supplying to Belk, you are eligible to receive product sales activity and inventory data via EDI 852. Preparing to setup and receive the EDI 852 files can be confusing, and creating usable reports for your team can be very time consuming. Fortunately, Accelerated Analytics® provides a simple, outsourced service for all your Belk EDI 852 reporting needs.

Using Accelerated Analytics® makes all your reporting headaches go away. With Accelerated Analytics®, we handle all the data conversion, database hosting and reporting. We even provide training and the end user reporting tools.

Accelerated Analytics® benefits:

• We do the EDI 852 translation
• Eliminate manual data entry and manipulation
• Consolidate all Belk store data on all your SKU's into one reporting database
• Pre-built exception reports with color coded dashboards
• No software or hardware to purchase
• Sophisticated charts and graphs

Available reports:

• This weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Last weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• This months sales and inventory by store and SKU
• 6 week rolling sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Stove level stock-out exposure
• Stove level overstock
• Fast/slow selling items
• Sell-thru
• Inventory turns
• Days supply on hand 

Accelerated Analytics® will give you the ability to anticipate changes in sales and inventory, so you can make adjustments before a costly mistake occurs. Our EDI 852 reporting is the best on the market. 

Lowe's EDI 852 Standards

Lowe's provides vendors with the opportunity to receive product activity data via EDI 852. The EDI 852 data is used to report actual unit sales, on-hand, on-order and order receipts. Vendors are expected to use the data to identify items deserving increased service levels and fill rates as well as those targeted for inventory reduction. Lowe's requires vendors to document how the data will be used and how it will benefit both parties.

Item activity can be received for all items by location. This detailed data can be very useful if the vendor has the tools to process the data and quickly analyze activity. The key is to have the tool do the work, so your administrative team is not stuck with hours of data manipulation in Excel, or worse yet, on printed reports. 

Lowe's provides the following fields on their EDI 852 files: quantity sold units, quantity sold dollars, quantity on-hand units, quantity on-hand dollars, quantity on order units, quantity on order dollars, quantity on requisition from RDC units, quantity on requisition from RDC dollars, quantity received units, quantity received dollars, requisition quantity received units, requisition quantity received dollars. Not all fields are always populated in all files.

Sales units and sales dollars will match between EDI 852 and Lowe's Vendor DART. But inventory on hand units may be different due to damaged inventory. Vendor part numbers are not transmitted in EDI 852. Only the Lowe's SKU number is sent. Canadian EDI 852 is transmitted in Canadian Dollars and US sales are transmitted in US dollars. Note that Vendor DART is not available for Canada.

ShopKo EDI 852 Reporting

If you are a vendor supplying to ShopKo, you are eligible to receive product sales activity and inventory data via EDI 852. Preparing to setup and receive the EDI 852 files can be confusing, and creating usable reports for your team can be very time consuming. Fortunately, Accelerated Analytics® provides a simple, outsourced service for all your ShopKo EDI 852 reporting needs.

Using Accelerated Analytics® makes all your reporting headaches go away. With Accelerated Analytics®, we handle all the data conversion, database hosting and reporting. We even provide training and the end user reporting tools. 

Accelerated Analytics® benefits:

• We do the EDI 852 translation
• Eliminate manual data entry and manipulation
• Consolidate all ShopKo store data on all your SKU's into one reporting database
• Pre-built exception reports with color coded dashboards
• No software or hardware to purchase
• Sophisticated charts and graphs

Available reports:

• This weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Last weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• This months sales and inventory by store and SKU
• 6 week rolling sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Stove level stock-out exposure
• Stove level overstock
• Fast/slow selling items
• Sell-thru
• Inventory turns
• Days supply on hand 

Accelerated Analytics® will give you the ability to anticipate changes in sales and inventory, so you can make adjustments before a costly mistake occurs. Our EDI 852 reporting is the best on the market. 

Sears EDI 852 Reporting

If you are a vendor supplying to Sears, you are eligible to receive product sales activity and inventory data via EDI 852. Preparing to setup and receive the EDI 852 files can be confusing, and creating usable reports for your team can be very time consuming. Fortunately, Accelerated Analytics® provides a simple, outsourced service for all your Sears EDI 852 reporting needs.

Using Accelerated Analytics® makes all your reporting headaches go away. With Accelerated Analytics®, we handle all the data conversion, database hosting and reporting. We even provide training and the end user reporting tools. 

Accelerated Analytics® benefits:

• Eliminate manual data entry and manipulation
• Consolidate all Sears store data on all your SKU's into one reporting database
• Pre-built exception reports with color coded dashboards
• No software or hardware to purchase
• Sophisticated charts and graphs

Available reports:

• This weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Last weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• This months sales and inventory by store and SKU
• 6 week rolling sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Sell-thru
• Inventory turns
• Days supply on hand 

Accelerated Analytics® will give you the ability to anticipate changes in sales and inventory, so you can make adjustments before a costly mistake occurs. Our EDI 852 reporting is the best on the market. 

Lowe's EDI 852 Reporting

If you are a vendor supplying to Lowe's, you are eligible to receive product sales activity and inventory data via EDI 852. Preparing to setup and receive the EDI 852 files can be confusing, and creating usable reports for your team can be very time consuming. Fortunately, Accelerated Analytics® provides a simple, outsourced service for all your Lowe's EDI 852 reporting needs.

Using Accelerated Analytics® makes all your reporting headaches go away. With Accelerated Analytics®, we handle all the data conversion, database hosting and reporting. We even provide training and the end user reporting tools. 

Accelerated Analytics® benefits:

• Eliminate manual data entry and manipulation
• Consolidate all Lowe's store data on all your SKU's into one reporting database
• Pre-built exception reports with color coded dashboards
• No software or hardware to purchase
• Sophisticated charts and graphs

Available reports:

• This weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Last weeks sales and inventory by store and SKU
• This months sales and inventory by store and SKU
• 6 week rolling sales and inventory by store and SKU
• Sell-thru
• Inventory turns
• Days supply on hand 

Accelerated Analytics® will give you the ability to anticipate changes in sales and inventory, so you can make adjustments before a costly mistake occurs. Our EDI 852 reporting is the best on the market.