A poll conducted by ECR Ireland in conjunction with PWC has found that while the proportion of sales from promotional activity remains high in-store, the level of sales forecast accuracy for said promotions is poor.
The poll, which was presented at last week's ECR Ireland Supply Chain Summit, found that more than half (56%) of respondents reported that the proportion of sales from promotional activity was above 40% of volume, with 17% reporting that promotional activity accounted for more than 60% of volume.
However, it also found that 39% of businesses have less than 65% promotional forecast accuracy, with just 28% reporting promotional forecast accuracy of more than 80%.
When asked to outline the factors that could most improve promotional forecast accuracy, 38% cited 'Reduction in the incidence of late interventions', while 33% cited 'Better input from external stakeholders'. 19% cited 'Better handling of campaings/promotions'.
According to authors PWC, "There is a correlation between forecast accuracy and business performance. Those companies performing strong on forecast accuracy tend to be growing."
At the Supply Chain Summit, Declan Carolan, general manager at ECR Ireland, said that the findings indicate that "supply chain collaboration between trading partners is poor. There is an opportunity for retailers and suppliers to gain competitive advantage through superior supply chain performance - ensuring that you have a mission and your supply side is collaborating with your demand side."
The event also saw the presentation of the ECR Ireland Supply Chain Award, which this year was presented to BWG Foods, for their work on delivering centralised warehouse solutions, and new ordering and tracking facilities. Peter Donohoe, HR & Operations Director, BWG Foods accepted the award at the event.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
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