Retail & FMCG
Forecasting demand and optimizing strategy with economic motion signals
Navigating volatility in retail & FMCG:
The biggest challenges
Demand forecasting lag
Traditional models are based on lagging historical sales data, missing early warning signs of category acceleration or contraction.
Supply chain fragility
Lack of visibility into real-time logistics activity and trade flows, making supply chain planning difficult and vulnerable to shocks.
Category strategy uncertainty
Difficulty validating which categories are genuinely growing, leading to misallocation of investment and marketing spend.
Retail site selection risk
New store/franchise openings are based on static demographic data rather than real-time operational or consumer activity signals.
Competitive blind spots
Competitors’ expansion or contraction moves are often discovered too late to inform strategic response.
End-to-end retail & FMCG solutions:
Addressing key challenges with signals
Signals-driven momentum
Implement the Sector Momentum Engine to identify high-growth categories based on investment and procurement signals, ensuring resources are allocated to markets with validated growth potential.
Real-time trade flow visibility
Monitor import/export dynamics by product category and partner country. Significant trade fluctuation is a critical signal for changing supply-chain intensity and potential bottlenecks or opportunities.
Validate location strategy
Use the Company Trajectory Engine and Demand Signals to identify regions showing high momentum and competitor commitment (branch registrations, high-frequency hiring), de-risking new site selection.
Lead with motion signals
Utilize the Demand Signals module, combining logistics activity, Retail Expansion Proxies, and Category Trade Flows to forecast demand shifts weeks before they register in sales data.
Track rival expansion
Use the Company Trajectory Engine to monitor key rivals’ operational changes, such as new branch registrations or sudden shifts in regional focus, to inform your own market defense or offense.
