Retail New Year’s Resolutions
- maria30479
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
January has a certain energy in retail. Trading teams come back with fresh ideas. Forecasts get revisited. Range and promo plans are refined. And, like every year, we set resolutions - individually and as businesses - about what we want to improve.
The problem is not ambition. The problem is execution.
In FMCG retail, “We’ll improve availability” or “We’ll grow sales” sounds good in a planning meeting, but it collapses under real operational pressure: late deliveries, short-dated stock risk, pricing changes, competitor activity, constrained budgets, and the day-to-day reality that retail doesn’t pause while we “get organised”.
That’s why goal setting in January should not be a once-off box to tick. It should be the starting point of a practical system: measurable goals, real-time performance tracking, consistent accountability, and data-driven adjustments that keep you moving in the right direction—even when the market shifts.
Below is a simple approach to help FMCG suppliers and retail teams set goals that are clear, trackable, and achievable—and then actually stick to them.
Why retail resolutions fail (even when the strategy is sound)
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The goal is vague. “Improve distribution” or “grow market share” isn’t a plan. It’s a direction. | The goal is not connected to a decision. If a metric doesn’t lead to a specific action, teams stop looking at it. | The review cycle is too slow. Monthly or quarterly reviews can be too late—especially with short-dated stock or fast-moving competitors. | There’s no owner and no cadence. A goal without a single accountable owner becomes “everyone’s job”, which usually means “no one’s job”. | The data is overwhelming. Teams drown in dashboards and reports but struggle to pinpoint what to do next. |
The fix is not “more reporting”. The fix is a clearer system: set fewer goals, define them properly, track them frequently, and adjust early.
Step 1: Turn resolutions into measurable goals
A measurable retail goal has six parts:
Metric: What exactly are we measuring?
Baseline: Where are we now?
Target: Where do we need to be?
Timeframe: By when?
Scope: Which retailers, DCs, regions, or SKUs?
Owner: Who is accountable for the outcome?
Step 2: Choose KPIs that can be assessed in real time, not after the damage is done
The key question is: How do you measure performance in real time against your goals?
In FMCG, traditional monthly reviews often fall short. If a store is out of stock today, waiting for month-end means you’ve already lost sales, shopper trust, and shelf momentum. If short-dated stock is building up this week, you need to act before it turns into waste.
Use a mix of lagging and leading indicators
Lagging indicators tell you what happened (useful, but often too late): sales value/volume, market share, month-end OOS averages.
Leading indicators help you act early (where the value is): store-level OOS signals, days cover, sell-through trends, delivery performance, ranging compliance, promo strike rate.
If your resolution is “grow sales,” the practical question becomes: Which leading indicators, if improved weekly, will reliably drive the sales outcome?
For many suppliers, it comes down to the basics executed consistently:
Availability (and resolving OOS fast)
Correct ranging and distribution
Balanced stock (avoid stockouts and overstocks)
Strong promo execution and strike rate
Clean master data and accurate product/store mapping
Step 3: Build accountability into your operating rhythm
Once goals are established, adherence becomes the real challenge. January optimism is easy. February pressure is real.
Accountability in retail is not about micromanagement. It’s about creating a routine where progress is visible, reviewed, and owned.
What accountability looks like in practice
A weekly check-in that’s short, consistent, and action-focused
A single “goal scorecard” with your small set of KPIs.
Clear triggers for action (e.g., OOS above threshold, days cover above X, ROS drop week-on-week).
Assigned actions with owners and due dates.
The meeting structure that keeps teams aligned
What changed since last week? (availability, ROS, stock cover, distribution, top risks)
Where are we off target? (top 10 issues only—do not boil the ocean)
What are we doing about it this week? (actions, owners, timelines)
What do we need from others? (retailer engagement, replenishment changes, master data fixes)
Step 4: Stay flexible with data-driven adjustments
With the best intentions and the best plans, conditions change:
demand shifts,
competitor activity intensifies,
supply constraints show up,
the promo calendar changes,
shopper behaviour reacts to pricing and availability.
A static strategy is rarely adequate.
To stay aligned with set goals, you need a dynamic approach:
monitor performance continuously,
spot deviations early,
adjust decisions quickly,
What “data-driven adjustment” means
It means you can answer questions like:
Which SKUs are losing sales because of store-level OOS right now?
Where is stock building up with low ROS and rising expiry risk?
Which regions/stores are not ranged correctly, despite being planned?
Which promos underperformed on strike rate—and why?
What changed week-on-week, and what action will correct it?
This is where retail data becomes a decision tool rather than a reporting exercise.
Step 5: Simplify to amplify
Retail data is complex. But goal management should not be. The principle is simple: simplify to amplify.
Instead of collecting more data, focus on converting the right data into actions:
Choose a small set of KPIs tied to outcomes.
Define thresholds that trigger action.
Make insights easy to interpret.
Keep the scorecard consistent, so trends are visible.
How BD-Nav helps
At BD-Nav, we help FMCG suppliers simplify the complex—turning retail data into focused insights that support faster decisions, stronger execution, and measurable progress against your goals.
If you want your 2026 retail resolutions to hold beyond January, let’s talk about setting up a practical KPI scorecard and performance cadence for your team.
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