It’s the question many supplier brands ask: How can we extract truly actionable insights from our ecommerce and distribution operations to make faster, smarter decisions across the business?
The challenge lies in transforming scattered retail and channel data into strategic intelligence that drives results – from inventory optimization and promotion planning to demand forecasting and omnichannel execution. This remains a persistent blind spot.
Fragmented systems, siloed data, and rapidly changing consumer behavior across multiple sales channels often make it difficult for supply chain and commercial teams to operate with clarity and speed. In the battle to stay competitive, what’s often missing is not data – but the ability to turn it into insight.
To help bridge this gap requires the ability to seamlessly integrate retail sales data and advanced supply chain analytics within a planning environment. For example, our partnership with SPS Commerce empowers businesses with the kind of end-to-end visibility modern organizations need to make smarter, faster decisions that are key to driving omnichannel success.
Data Is Everywhere, But Insights Are Not
Retail and distribution operations generate significant volumes of data every day, from sales figures and customer demographics to inventory levels and competitive shelf presence. However, this data often lives in disconnected systems and lacks the context necessary for actionable insights.
Even large, tech-savvy supplier companies can find themselves stuck in reactive planning cycles, struggling to align internal teams or respond quickly to emerging trends. Companies struggle to bridge the gap between market demand and supply chain execution due to:
- Lack of visibility into retailer and distributor sales and inventory
- Time lags in translating performance data insights into shipment forecasts and planning strategy
- Inability to replenish retailers and distributors due to missing inventory visibility
- Disconnected data sources limiting true demand insights
- Unforeseen disruptions, from supplier shortages to logistics congestion
Relying solely on internal data for demand forecasting is no longer enough. To remain competitive, businesses need an outside-in approach that integrates critical consumer demand signals and inventory positions with planning processes.
A Strategic Alliance: John Galt Solutions + SPS Commerce
Recognizing this critical industry need, John Galt Solutions and SPS Commerce have partnered to create a powerful solution: sales channel intelligence delivered directly within the Atlas Planning Platform. This means teams can access store-level retail data from over 1,000 retailers including Walmart, Amazon, Target, Kroger, Sephora and Dick’s Sporting Goods, combined with advanced analytics and AI-powered supply chain planning.
With a single, unified source of truth, companies can see what’s happening on the shelf, in the warehouse, and across the supply chain in real time. This allows faster decision-making, reduced stockouts, optimized inventory, and stronger collaboration between supply chain, sales, and finance teams.
Key capabilities include:
- Unified View of Store-Level Operations: Gain visibility into retailer and distributor data across more than 1,000 connections, including Walmart, Amazon, Target, Kroger, Sephora and Dick’s Sporting Goods—all from within the Atlas Planning Platform.
- Real-Time Demand Signals: Leverage SPS Commerce’s granular, store-level insights, available on daily or weekly sales, share of shelf, and competitive dynamics—empowering you to respond proactively to fast-changing market demand.
- Comprehensive Analytics: Atlas connects market data with advanced planning tools and what-if scenario modeling, bringing outside-in signals directly into your planning environment for better-informed decisions.
- Proactive Supply Chain Planning: Dynamically adapt to shifting demand, supply constraints, and logistics disruptions with early warning signals and scenario-driven agility.
- Plan Your End-to-End Omnichannel Supply Chain: Whether you’re managing VMI, DSD, retail, or distributor models, the platform supports collaboration and planning across every link in the supply chain.
The Value-Add: Actionable Insights for Business Success
By combining SPS Commerce’s retail intelligence in the Atlas Planning Platform, you can unlock powerful advantages across the supply chain:
1. Get Closer to Your Customers
With reduced lag in receiving access to retailer sales and inventory data, businesses can understand what’s happening in the market as it unfolds. This accelerates demand sensing and helps align planning efforts with actual consumer behavior, enabling more responsive and accurate forecasting.
2. Drive Profitability
Improved visibility into daily sales and inventory positions allows companies to increase fill rates and ensure product availability where and when it's needed. By capturing replenishment opportunities in real time, organizations can reduce lost sales and maximize revenue potential across channels.
3. Achieve Inventory Efficiency
Improved visibility into timely sales and inventory positions allows companies to improve fill rates and ensure optimal product production and placement based on current consumer behavior. This results in leaner inventory levels, fewer stockouts and overstocks, and more precise replenishment- for fully optimized product placement.
4. Gain Insights for Business Success
Cross-account, channel, regional, and product-level analytics provide a holistic view of business performance. These insights support better assortment planning, category management, and strategic alignment across teams, ensuring that every part of the organization is working from a shared, accurate source of truth.
Ready to Move Beyond Fragmented Planning?
Let’s explore how your team can unlock the full potential of retail and channel data to drive smarter, faster, and more profitable decisions.
With these powerful insights at your fingertips in the Atlas Planning Platform, your team can seamlessly integrate retail demand insights into the decision-making process, optimize your supply chain, and foster mutual growth with retailers and major players in the industry.
Get in touch and we’ll show you how organizations like yours are leveraging retail data to drive strategic outcomes!
