SmartView Convenience: frequently asked questions

• How do I access the data?
  SmartView Convenience data is accessed via our popular and easy-to-use SmartView reporting platform, which has been designed for the busy sales colleague ‘on the go’ – it works on any device, it’s very visual and easy to use. ‘NAM Dash’ comprises pre-formatted reports which answer commonly used views of the data, whilst ‘Query Builder’ is a free-form query tool to allow you to analyse data in any way you choose. The latter includes ‘query history’ which lists previous analyses you have run, so that you can easily refresh them. There is also a function to update reports and have them emailed direct to your inbox each month.
• Which measures are available?
  In addition to retail units and value sales, SmartView Convenience includes the following measures: average selling price; weighted average weekly rate of sale; units and value per store per week; actual and weighted distribution count.
• Can the data be organised in line with the way that my organisation defines the market?
  Yes – we will work with every client to make sure their Smartview Convenience subscription mirrors their own internal reporting structures. We will make sure the right SKUs are in the right categories/sub categories – this is all part of the onboarding process when you sign up.
• Has the data been cleaned and organised into a hierarchy?
  Yes! We have a whole team of cleansers dedicated to SmartView Convenience – they have been working hard for the last few months on cleansing the initial data and will continue to classify new products and any anomalies as they come through.
• How many colleagues can have licences?
  Access to the data is unlimited across your organisation once you subscribe to SmartView Convenience.
• Will TWC train our team on the platform / how to access the data they need?
  Yes, unlimited training is provided – and is free of charge.
• Will we be able to look at the data by region?
  Yes, this is already built into the reporting function.  The data can be reported by the following regions: London, South East, Eastern, East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire & Humber, North East, North West, Wales and Scotland (see below).

• How about reporting by postcode?
  YES this is possible too.  In fact, we are already talking to a number of suppliers about custom reporting based on specific postcodes (first 4 digits) so they can identify ROI on local activities.
• How about by retail fascia?
  Yes, in phase 2 (in a couple of months) you will be able to see results by certain fascias (more details to follow)
• Which time periods are available?
  Data can be analysed by 4 weeks / 13 weeks / 52 weeks / year to date (YTD) and MAT (moving annual totals). Data is refreshed weekly but in order to preserve the integrity of the data we will not be splitting out sales on a time period of less than 4 weeks. Currently the data is updated at a lag of 2-3 weeks but we are working hard to reduce this.
• Should SmartView Convenience replace buying shipments data from wholesalers?
  No, SmartView Convenience is complementary to your existing shipments data provision. SmartView convenience is designed to give you a helicopter view of key trends in the independent convenience store sector. Shipments data provides the detailed data to develop wholesaler-specific plans and strategies based on the opportunities identified from it. You can see the difference in the two data sources by clicking on the link below:

• Is there analytical support available?
  Yes – TWC Consulting offers analytical support to help you with any of your route to market data sources. If you don’t have the time or resource to mine the data, speak to us about how we can help extract the insight for you.
• Are you able to identify price marked packs in the data?
  Yes, PMPs are coded as the ‘child’ SKU of a ‘parent’ plain pack, allowing you to see total sales and/or analyse the two lines separately.
• Can I export the data from the dashboard?
  Yes, you can export any report into excel, CSV, PDF, screen shot etc
• Can I integrate other third party data, e.g. weather data?
  Yes, we can custom build/integrate third party data, including free weather data from Mateo.com
• Can I conduct additional research to help to understand what is driving performance?
  Yes, absolutely – TWC Trends is our research proposition and we can conduct consumer, retailer, or wholesaler research on your behalf to help you understand the WHY behind what you are seeing in the market read data from SmartView Convenience.