Modern Retail Trade Execution
Driven by AI-native sFA for mT

General trade SFA is built around booking an order at the retailer counter, so it centres on route plans, order capture and outlet credit. Modern trade SFA is built around proving execution, because the order is already placed centrally. Its core workflow is shelf stock capture, planogram and picture of success compliance, facings and share of shelf, promotion verification and photographic evidence.

Share of shelf is the percentage of a category's total shelf space occupied by one brand, usually calculated from facings rather than linear space. It is measured by counting facings per SKU against the agreed planogram, either manually at the shelf or through image recognition applied to a shelf photograph. It is read alongside availability, since a share gain built on a competitor stock-out is temporary.

Planogram compliance is the degree to which actual shelf placement matches the agreed layout, expressed as the percentage of stores executing it correctly. It decays continuously because restocking, substitutions during stock-outs, deliveries and range changes all alter the shelf between audits. Periodic auditing catches the drift after it has already cost sales, which is why compliance is increasingly verified at every visit.

Productivity in modern trade is measured on execution rather than orders, since the field team does not book sales. Standard measures are geo-tagged attendance, store check-in and check-out, time spent in store, coverage against the planned store list, tasks completed with photographic proof, and achievement against share of shelf, availability and focus product targets.