It’s Time to Ditch the Spreadsheet for Planning in Retail
By Dane Cohen - Director of Sales, Management One
In retail, numbers are your secret weapon. While it may often feel like your sales are dictated by changing consumer trends and your buying is done from instinct - your data is the record of truth; it never lies.
Or does it… ?
According to a study conducted by Salesforce and Forbes, 88% of all spreadsheets contain “significant” errors. Programs like Excel are greatly impacted by human errors and even the most advanced user is susceptible to serious miscalculations. A misentered formula, a copy and paste snafu, or keying in the wrong number won’t just lead to misinformation; it could result in real dollar losses. The most egregious example: JP Morgan Chase lost more than $6 billion due to an Excel spreadsheet error in the infamous “London Whale” incident.
That’s why when it comes to Open To Buy planning, data accuracy is mission-critical. Inventory is the single largest cash investment in your business and protecting your purchases is crucial to your success. Consistent and reliable metrics in planning are vital to a retailer's growth.
““If you put garbage data into Excel, you get garbage. We provide a high bar of quality control.””
Through direct integration with your POS system, Management One’s OTB plans are founded on reliable data to power our advanced algorithms, AI, and experience-based retail insight. By combining accurate sales forecasting, carefully calibrated inventory targets, and a fact-based approach to risk, we help you focus on your strategy and reach your financial goals. That’s why all sales and inventory data is triple verified by a team of highly trained planners, a retail expert coach, and the retailer.
If you're still planning in Excel, it may be time to ditch the spreadsheet. Forecasting your business using accurate metrics and reporting will not only save you time and unforced errors, it’s also the future-focused roadmap to achieving real bottom-line growth in your business.