The Cost of Missed Opportunities – Why Execution Matters More Than You Think

In promotional planning, the execution phase often gets overshadowed by pre-launch activities. Yet, a well-designed promotion can underperform purely due to poor execution. In a retail environment governed by measurable outcomes, suppliers must be proactive about identifying and removing the operational barriers that affect sales conversion during the promotional window.

Connecting OOS, Strike Rate and OTIF to Promotional Success

Three performance indicators stand at the heart of execution: Ranging (distribution),On-Shelf Availability (OOS), and Fill Rate. Being listed (Ranged) in the correct market segment stores. OOS highlights whether the product was available when the shopper was ready to buy. Fill Rate measures the efficiency and consistency of order fulfilment across stores.

Poor performance in any of these areas impacts promotional return. The first priority to ensure a product is listed/ranged enabling a “selling opportunity”. Stock that isn’t delivered on time or in full limits sell-through. Collectively, these factors dilute the effectiveness of your campaign—even if shopper demand is present.

Planning Beyond Shipment: Ensuring Shelf Readiness

Retail is about presence at the point of sale. Execution means more than shipping product—it includes ensuring availability, visibility, and pricing accuracy at the shelf. Ranging discrepancies and pricing errors are two common pitfalls that drive up claims and reduce ROI. This is especially important when promotional pricing doesn’t reflect in-store or on-system pricing due to misalignment between supplier and retailer systems.

Setting Internal Teams Up for Success

Execution requires cross-functional alignment. Manufacturing needs accurate forecasts based on the “real demand”. Sales needs access to real-time data to manage store-level performance. Merchandising must maintain displays. Failure in any area leads to lost sales opportunities that can't be recaptured once the promotional period ends.

Promotional success is only as strong as its weakest execution link. Without system-wide accountability and real-time visibility into performance indicators, reactive fixes come too late to correct the course.