Industry Insights
Win Where it Matters: Making Better Data Driven Decisions
July 2, 2018
Making better decisions, or more specifically, making better data driven decisions is the key. Grant Barrett and Matt Dahlstrom, co founders of In:Trench Consulting Group are long time thought leaders and managers in the beverage industry.
Barrett and Dahlstrom seek the ultimate balance between using your gut, and using data to make important decisions within your company, because even the small ones can be big. Decisions like:
Where to focus
Placing items on shelf/put on display
Where and what to Invest in
Make an MBO
Allocating marketing effort
Which customer to invest more time in
More and more people are involved and more and more data is available, why not use those resources the best you can?
Decision Making
It starts with time and money: the two most important things to any company, besides serving your customers. With time and money, someone has to make decisions based on what they feel is the most important thing to do. Whether that is from their gut, data or other influences, quality cannot be abandoned.
Companies make decisions in two ways:
Use your gut and will to service your suppliers, then figure out expectations.
Use data and insight to set reasonable expectations for the future.
Everyone, or most companies, have access to lots of collected data, but not everyone uses it correctly. The ultimate goal is the second type of decision making: using data and insight to set reasonable expectations for the future.
Balancing qualitative (gut) and quantitative (data) decisions is the smartest way. Take a step back and look at the big picture, then execute at the perfect moment.
Reallocation
Making decisions for your company doesn’t always have to be huge internal and external changes. In fact, it is mostly about several small changes that can add up to make a big difference.
Small changes, bigger profit.
Think about how you invest selling time, delivery frequency, merchandising frequency, allocation of promotional and POS tools, and which customers to amaze. These small changes impact big, and save a lot of time and money, without having to jeopardize quality.
Data
In the past, distributors had access to limited insightful account data such as location/brand territory, sales ownership, industry volume grade, chain/independent assignment, license/payment terms, delivery information and ethnicity.
But, this isn’t enough information to develop into a valuable tool to make decisions. This data can be turned into analyzing personal trends/styles and lifestyle/drinking preferences–the really important stuff.
Encompass RAS has an intelligence of its own. When utilized to its highest potential, distributors can build better plans, saving time and money.
Real time updates
Gross profits
Number of unique deliveries
Number of sales calls
Completely customizable
Evaluate at macro and micro levels
The idea is to win where it matters. There are hundreds of different parts of a single company, but only some are worth the extra effort to improve to new measures and increase profit. Work smarter for growth, and use the data to be more profitable.
In:Trench Consulting Group
In:Trench Consulting Group works with beverage wholesalers suppliers, leadership teams and selling organizations to produce results through strategic consulting and training. In:Trench gives their clients the consult needed to improve several vital areas of a wholesale or supplier operations, including: resource allocation, sales cultivation, marketing strategy, operational effectiveness, leadership development, and employee engagement and retention.