Who this article is for
This article is for Confido users who set up or maintain Planning Groups in Settings → Planning Groups, usually during onboarding or when adding new retailers. For the setup steps themselves, see "How to Create Planning Groups."
What is a Planning Group?
A Planning Group is the retailer-level unit that Confido's Sales Forecast is built on. Each Planning Group is forecast from either consumption data (POS, or point-of-sale, data from the retailer) or depletion data (distributor sell-through data), and Confido converts each Planning Group's forecast into ship-to volume through its RTM (Route-to-Market) allocation.
How should I structure my Planning Groups?
Most brands using Confido structure Planning Groups in two tiers:
Core consumption Planning Groups: one Planning Group for each major retailer where you have consumption data, such as Kroger or Albertsons. These retailers carry most of your volume, so these Planning Groups get the most detailed forecasting, promotion planning, and review.
"All Other" depletion Planning Groups: one Planning Group per distributor for the long tail of smaller retailers. For DSD (direct store delivery) and other distributor-served accounts, an "All Other" Planning Group forecasts the distributor's remaining volume from depletion data instead of giving each small retailer its own Planning Group.
How do I decide which retailers get their own Planning Group? (the 80/20 rule)
To decide which retailers get their own Planning Group, rank your retailers by volume and give a dedicated Planning Group to the top retailers that together make up 80% or more of your volume. For many brands, that's about the top 20 retailers. Put everyone else into the "All Other" depletion Planning Group for the distributor that serves them.
Example: A beverage brand sells through 3 national grocery chains, 1 club retailer, and 2 DSD distributors that serve 150 independent stores. The 4 retailers with POS data make up 82% of volume, so each gets its own consumption Planning Group. The 150 independent stores are covered by 2 "All Other" depletion Planning Groups, 1 per DSD distributor. That's 6 Planning Groups in total instead of 154.
How many Planning Groups is too many?
Creating one Planning Group for every small account quickly becomes unmanageable. A setup with 180 or more Planning Groups is too many for most teams to forecast and review each cycle. If your Planning Group count keeps growing, consolidate small retailers into "All Other" depletion Planning Groups by distributor and keep dedicated Planning Groups only for the retailers that make up most of your volume. To combine an existing Planning Group into another, see "Merging a Planning Group Into Another" in "How to Create Planning Groups."
What if I don't have consumption data for a retailer?
A retailer without consumption (POS) data can't be forecast from consumption. Forecast that retailer's volume through its distributor's depletion data in an "All Other" Planning Group. If the retailer orders from you directly, forecast it as a direct order customer. You can create a dedicated consumption Planning Group later if POS data for that retailer becomes available.
If that retailer isn't serviced through a distributor either, you will need to set that retailer up as a Direct Order Forecaster instead.