One data challenge we’ve seen is people manually reviewing too much data anecdotally.
Examining sales volumes for the last time you ran a specific promotion is valuable. However, a single person can only consider a few data points at a time, and that data is often open to interpretation (which is often biased).
At one retailer, team members in three functional areas, were each reviewing historical anecdotes, estimating the impact of the same up-coming promotions, and arriving at different conclusions.
Analyzing anecdotes uses valuable time, and bias can lead you in the wrong direction.
Strong analytics will curb reliance on anecdotes.
Teams will always want to see the sales history. By incorporating strong analytics, you bring a lot of value! To deliver even more value, we suggest providing demand insights based on proven modeling techniques. These will steer teams to better informed, less biased decisions. This investment in data analysis, paired with an explanation of insights will also curb reliance on so much historical data.
