Starting from today: the category you care about right now

• Tell me about the category you want to improve this quarter, including the merchandise area and typical store footprint
• How many stores would you include in an initial test, and why do those stores make sense? Options: 1-10 stores, 11-25 stores, 26-75 stores, 76-200 stores
• Who on your operations team is most often the first to flag out-of-stocks or rising shrink in that category? Options: Store managers, District managers, Category manager, Supply chain planner, Other
• Walk me through a recent week when shrink exceeded budget, starting with the first sign you noticed and the first action taken
• On average, how many ordering adjustments do store managers make per week for this category? Options: 0-1, 2-4, 5-10, 10+
• Is there an existing contractual obligation with a current vendor or distributor that would prevent running a trial in the next 12 weeks? Options: Yes, contract prevents trial, No contractual barrier, Unsure, need to check

Where the current system fails to protect your shelf and margin

• If you could fix one recurring ordering or forecasting failure tomorrow, which gap would you choose and why?
• Which internal report or dashboard do you rely on most to decide a delist or expansion, and when did it last mislead you? Options: Daily sales feed, Per-store shrink report, Promotion reconciliation, Manual store count, Other
• Describe the manual reconciliation steps your team runs weekly to align store on-hand with central forecasts
• When a replenishment miss occurs, how long does it typically take from detection to corrective action at store level? Options: Same day, 1-3 days, 4-7 days, More than a week
• Point to the forecasting or ordering gap that would make you decline a trial if we could not address it in the pilot

How the problems show up in profit and operations

• Estimate the weekly revenue or margin lost when this category underperforms across a typical region Options: Under $5k, $5k–$20k, $20k–$75k, Over $75k
• How much of your observed shrink do you currently attribute to ordering error, spoilage, and theft respectively? Options: Ordering error, Spoilage, Theft, Unknown
• Who in your finance or operations organization owns the margin tracking for fresh categories today? Options: VP Operations, Category Director, Finance Business Partner, Regional Ops Lead, Other
• Give an example of a promotion that underdelivered because of availability issues and explain the most likely cause
• Provide the internal obstacle that would still prevent approval even if a pilot delivered a 15% reduction in waste

Obstacles and risks that stop pilots cold

• Which single operational failure, such as missed shipments or POS errors, would make you stop a trial immediately?
• List the supply chain disruptions you experienced in the last 12 months that affected multiple stores in this category Options: Carrier delays, Supplier outages, Pack size changes, Cold chain failures, None of the above
• How long can your distribution network absorb a missed shipment before a high-volume store runs out of the promoted SKU? Options: Less than 24 hours, 24–72 hours, 3–7 days, More than 7 days
• Name the role that approves contingency inventory moves when a promotion runs hotter than forecast Options: Regional Ops Lead, Logistics Manager, Category Director, Buyer, Other
• When a store manager resists a new ordering tool, what usually convinces them to try it? Options: Reduced shrink, Less daily work, Higher sales, District manager mandate, Peer example

Who else you are weighing and why they might win

• Tell me which alternatives you are still actively considering, including staying with the incumbent, other vendors, or an internal build Options: Incumbent vendor, Other third-party vendor, Internal build, Distributor program, No alternative
• What would have to be true about your current approach for you to keep it rather than switch to a new pilot partner? Options: Meets velocity targets, Costs less, Simpler onboarding, Better reporting, Other
• Has anyone on operations or IT proposed solving this entirely in-house instead of partnering with a vendor? Options: Yes, active build, Discussed but not started, No internal proposal
• Select the top criteria that would make you stay with the current approach rather than run a new trial Options: Lower total cost, Faster time to value, No change to store workflow, Stronger guarantees on availability, Other
• Estimate the timeline for an internal solution from kickoff to a small pilot in months Options: Under 2 months, 2–4 months, 5–8 months, 9+ months, Not applicable

Operational readiness and technical constraints

• Identify the single integration gap that would block a pilot this month, for example missing POS feeds or no API access to the WMS
• List the core systems that must be connected for automated ordering and accurate inventory reconciliation Options: POS, WMS, ERP/finance, Store ordering system, Promotion planning system, Other
• Name the team or role that owns the APIs and can authorize data access for those systems Options: IT integrations team, Platform owner, Third-party integrator, Vendor IT, Other
• How clean and accessible is your historical daily sales and shrink data, for example percent of SKUs with at least 90 days of records? Options: Over 90% clean, 70%–90% clean, 50%–70% clean, Under 50% or unknown
• Do you have a dedicated technical lead and at least one analyst committed to a pilot project? Options: Yes, both committed, Technical lead only, Analyst only, No dedicated resources
• Identify any approvals or compliance reviews that commonly add weeks to vendor onboarding, for example security review or supplier approval Options: Security review, Legal contract, Supplier qualification, Privacy review, None

Decision triggers and how quickly you can move

• Assuming a pilot can demonstrate the target velocity and waste improvements, what would stop you from signing within one week after results are validated?
• Select the primary success metrics that would trigger expansion from trial to a wider rollout Options: Unit velocity per store, On-shelf availability %, Shrink reduction %, Promotion ROI, Store-level profit
• How soon would you expect to see measurable velocity improvements after the first replenishment adjustments are applied in pilot stores? Options: Within 1 week, 2–4 weeks, 1–3 months, Longer than 3 months
• Provide the roles that must sign off to authorize the pilot and the roles that approve commercial terms if the pilot succeeds
• Realistically, what is your target window to ship the first pilot inventory after approvals are in place? Options: 0–2 weeks, 3–6 weeks, 7–12 weeks, Over 12 weeks
• Point to the one approval, technical gap, or contract term that, if unresolved, would kill the proposed timeline

• Product Sampling & Category Case

• Confirm the current state and what it is costing you
• You confirm the restated current state and accept the quantified cost impacts as accurate.
• Run a sample forecast for the proposed trial store set and deliver a velocity projection with confidence bands before the follow-up session.
• You confirm that the reviewed sales data and forecast indicate the product can meet the trial velocity targets that preserve margin.
• Review category sales data and demand signals
• Deliver a consolidated sampling feedback template and analysis checklist to capture shopper scores and qualitative notes from the in-store samples.
• Provide the last 12 weeks of category sales, distribution, and promotion history for the proposed trial geography.
• You confirm that sampling feedback, as reviewed, supports shopper preference and merchandising assumptions necessary for the proposed trial.
• Inspect sampling feedback tied to category objectives
• Provide the proposed trial store list and available promotional windows for the next 60 days.
• You agree the remaining evidence required and the go/no-go thresholds to proceed to listing authorization or to stop the trial plan.
• Validate the velocity forecast and trial assumptions
• Forced validation, confirm alignment
• Document and confirm the go/no-go thresholds for velocity, shrink, and availability that will authorize expansion after the trial.
• Agree remaining evidence and next decision steps

• Product Sampling & Category Case — Solution Experience
• Product Sampling & Category Case Deck
• Solution Brief — Product Sampling & Category Case

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Provision Perpetual Inventory System
• Deploy Fresh-Department Demand Forecasting
• Activate Automated Replenishment and Ordering
• Integrate POS Sales and Inventory Feeds
• Migrate Opening Inventory Balances and SKUs
• Implement Shrink Tracking and Waste Capture
• Configure Planogram Compliance Monitoring
• Enable Department-Level Profitability Analytics
• Set Supplier Lead-Time and Case-Pack Profiles
• Provision Mobile Receiving and Scanning
• Configure Promotion and Price Forecast Sync
• Enable Shelf-Availability Dashboards and Alerts
• Train Store and Department Managers on System

Provision Perpetual Inventory System

• How many stores will be included in the initial perpetual-inventory provisioning pilot? Options: 1-5, 6-20, 21-50, 51-200
• Which fresh departments are in scope for the perpetual inventory (produce, meat, deli, bakery)? Options: Produce, Meat, Deli, Bakery, Center store, Multiple - specify below
• Do you have a current SKU master and unique barcode (GTIN or internal SKU) list for the scoped departments? Options: Yes - single master file, Yes - separate files per region, No
• Specify the target inventory accuracy rate that will validate go-live for the perpetual system (measured as on-hand vs POS-adjusted units). Options: >= 90%, >= 95%, >= 98%, Custom
• Describe your current physical cycle-count cadence for fresh SKUs (e.g., weekly backroom counts, daily shelf counts) and any differences by store size.
• What acceptance criteria will confirm the perpetual inventory system is provisioned and usable (examples: inventory accuracy threshold, successful cycle-count reconciliation, POS adjustment reconciliation)? Options: Inventory accuracy met, Cycle-count reconciliation completed, POS vs inventory variance within threshold

Deploy Fresh-Department Demand Forecasting

• Which forecast horizons do you require for fresh departments (e.g., 7-day refresh, 28-day planning)? Options: 7-day, 14-day, 28-day, Custom
• How granular should forecasts be: by store-SKU-day, store-category-week, or regional-aggregate? Options: Store-SKU-day, Store-category-week, Regional-aggregate-week, Other
• Do you have historical POS and receiving data readily available for the past 26 weeks for the scoped SKUs? Options: Yes - full 26 weeks, Partial history available, No historical POS
• Specify any meal-, event-, or promotion-driven demand lifts we must model (e.g., holiday pies, Memorial Day bulk meats) and typical uplift percent. Options: None, Seasonal promotions, Holiday-specific events, Custom - describe
• Provide your acceptable forecast error threshold for fresh SKUs (mean absolute percentage error or units), by department if different. Options: MAPE <=10%, MAPE 10-20%, MAPE >20%, Custom
• List any local assortment variants or region-specific SKUs that require separate forecasting rules (e.g., store clusters with ethnic assortment differences).

Activate Automated Replenishment and Ordering

• How do you currently set reorder points for perishable SKUs (manual manager ordering, rules-based, time-and-temperature constrained)? Options: Manual manager ordering, Rules-based thresholds, ERP/legacy replenishment, Other
• Which reorder cadence do you prefer for the pilot (daily suggested orders, twice-weekly, weekly)? Options: Daily, Twice-weekly, Weekly, Custom cadence
• Do you require case-pack and fractional-case ordering support for departments that sell by unit rather than full case? Options: Yes - fractional allowed, No - full-case only, Mixed by SKU
• Who will approve automated orders at store level and at regional level (role names or job titles)?
• Estimate the acceptable fill-rate target from automated replenishment during the trial (percent of demand met without stockout). Options: >= 95%, >= 97%, >= 99%, Custom
• Do you need configurable order constraints for perishables (e.g., max shelf-life at delivery, minimum remaining shelf-life on receipt)? Options: Yes, No

Integrate POS Sales and Inventory Feeds

• Which POS vendor(s) or store-system categories provide sales feeds for scoped stores (provide system type or 'file export' if unknown)? Options: Proprietary POS file export, Modern POS with API, Hybrid - multiple vendors, Unknown
• Do you plan to stream real-time sales transactions or batch POS uploads for the pilot (streaming vs daily batch)? Options: Real-time / streaming, Near-real-time (15-60 min), Daily batch
• Specify the expected data fields available from POS per sale (SKU, quantity, timestamp, price, promotion flag) and note any missing fields.
• Are sales returns and voids included in your POS feed today or sent separately from a returns log? Options: Included in feed, Separate returns feed, Not currently captured
• Which integration endpoint will we use for receiving POS/inventory feeds (SFTP export, REST API endpoint, EDI extract)? Options: SFTP export, REST API, EDI extract, Other
• Do you require data transformation rules during integration (e.g., mapping store IDs, normalizing SKU codes, timezone alignment)? Options: Yes - mapping required, No - feeds normalized, Partial - some mapping

Migrate Opening Inventory Balances and SKUs

• How many unique SKUs require opening balance migration for the pilot store set? Options: < 500, 500-2,500, 2,500-10,000, 10,000+
• Which file format will you provide for opening balances (CSV export from POS, WMS snapshot, spreadsheet template)? Options: CSV export, WMS snapshot, Spreadsheet template, Other
• Do opening balances need lot-level or expiry-date mapping for perishables at receipt? Options: Yes - expiry/lot required, No - SKU-level only, Partial for specific SKUs
• Specify the target migration completeness threshold we must meet to start the trial (percent of SKUs with validated opening balance). Options: >= 90%, >= 95%, 100%
• Who will sign off on the migration validation at the store/region level and what role/title are they?
• What acceptance criteria will validate that opening inventory and SKU migration is complete (examples: sample reconciliation, SKU-level variance below threshold, expiry mapping verified)? Options: Sample reconciliation passed, SKU variance below threshold, Expiry mapping verified

Implement Shrink Tracking and Waste Capture

• Which shrink categories must be captured during the pilot (damage, spoilage, theft, manager adjustments)? Options: Damage, Spoilage, Theft, Manager adjustments, Other
• How is waste currently recorded at store level (paper log, POS adjustments, handheld app)? Options: Paper log, POS adjustments, Handheld app, No consistent method
• Do you require cold-chain temperature event tagging tied to shrink events for produce and meat? Options: Yes, No
• Specify the reporting cadence for shrink analytics during trial (daily exceptions, weekly summary, monthly detailed review). Options: Daily exceptions, Weekly summary, Monthly detailed review, Custom
• Who will be the store-level owner for recording waste events and who reviews them regionally (job titles)?
• Describe any regulatory or audit requirements for waste records we must preserve (weight measurements, disposal logs, third-party pickup records).

Configure Planogram Compliance Monitoring

• Which planogram artifacts can you provide for the pilot (planogram files, shelf facings spreadsheet, bay-level photos)? Options: Planogram files (xml/csv), Shelf facings spreadsheet, Bay-level photos, None
• How many SKUs per bay and target facings should the planogram monitoring enforce for the trial? Options: 1-5 facings, 6-10 facings, 11+ facings, Varies by SKU
• Do you want automated compliance alerts to store managers when facings deviate by X percent from planogram? Options: Yes - alert at >=10% deviation, Yes - alert at >=20% deviation, No alerts
• Which image-capture method will stores use for planogram verification (mobile photo upload, scheduled shelf scans, third-party vendor images)? Options: Mobile photo upload, Scheduled shelf scans, Third-party images, None
• Specify required planogram compliance metrics for the trial (percent compliant bays, time-to-correct, compliance trend over 4 weeks). Options: % compliant bays, Time-to-correct, Compliance trend
• Who will own remediation when planogram non-compliance is detected (store manager, merchandiser, regional operations)?

Enable Department-Level Profitability Analytics

• Which cost inputs are available for department P&L (invoice landed cost, promotional allowance, shrink expense allocation)? Options: Invoice landed cost, Promotional allowance, Shrink allocation, Other
• Do you require margin analytics at SKU-level, subcategory, or department aggregate for the pilot? Options: SKU-level, Subcategory, Department aggregate, Multiple levels
• Specify how gross-to-net adjustments should be applied for trade promotion allowances in profitability calculations. Options: Allocate evenly across units, Allocate by promotional lift, Custom rule - describe
• Who will provide supplier cost files and promotional rebate files for margin calculation (role/title and frequency)?
• List the KPIs that must appear on department dashboards during the trial (e.g., gross margin, shrink %, sell-through rate). Options: Gross margin, Shrink %, Sell-through rate, Inventory days
• Describe any allocation rules you use today for shared costs (e.g., labor allocation across deli/produce) that affect department profitability.

Set Supplier Lead-Time and Case-Pack Profiles

• How many suppliers will participate in the pilot and can each supplier provide lead-time and case-pack data? Options: 1-5 suppliers, 6-15 suppliers, 16+ suppliers
• Specify standard lead-time definitions you require (order-to-delivery in days, DC transit days, vendor processing days). Options: Order-to-delivery days, DC transit days, Vendor processing days, Other
• Do any suppliers require Minimum Order Quantities or fixed-case-pack configurations that will constrain replenishment? Options: Yes - MOQ/case-pack enforced, No - flexible ordering
• Which suppliers require cold-chain handling that affects lead-time and delivery windows (list departments/products)?
• Provide acceptable lead-time variance thresholds for automated ordering rules (e.g., +/- 1 day, +/- 2 days). Options: +/- 1 day, +/- 2 days, Custom
• Identify the primary contact role at supplier side for order exceptions and lead-time confirmations.

Provision Mobile Receiving and Scanning

• Which mobile devices are available in stores for scanning (handheld scanners, mobile POS tablets, BYOD smartphones)? Options: Handheld scanners, Store tablets, BYOD smartphones, None
• Do you require barcode scanning of individual units, case barcodes, or both at receiving? Options: Unit-level scanning, Case-level scanning, Both
• Specify the receiving-window constraints for perishable deliveries (earliest/latest acceptable delivery times by department).
• Will receiving staff perform expiry-date capture during scanning and is expiry format consistent across suppliers? Options: Yes - capture expiry, No - expiry not captured, Some suppliers only
• Estimate the average number of receiving lines per store per day for the pilot to size scanning throughput. Options: < 20 lines/day, 20-50 lines/day, 50-150 lines/day, 150+ lines/day
• Who will handle device provisioning and user accounts for store receivers (role/title)?

• Listing Authorization
• Order Confirmation (Trial Purchase)
• Supply & Fulfillment Agreement
• Trade Promotion & Marketing Agreement
• Performance Targets & Listing Conditions
• Data Sharing & Reporting Addendum
• Food Safety & Recall Addendum
• Termination & Remedies Agreement

• Go-live Health Check
• First Measurement Review
• Acceptance Gate, Trial Decision
• Remediation Progress Review
• Quarterly Success Review

• Decide whether the trial can be closed as accepted or requires a defined extension with measurable checkpoints.
• Restate acceptance criteria and numeric targets
• Produce a documented pass/fail outcome for each acceptance criterion with supporting evidence.
• Capture the named signatory for the buyer's acceptance decision and publish the official acceptance record.
• For any failed or conditional items, agree a remediation plan with concrete deadlines and a follow-up review date.
• Publish the acceptance decision record with pass/fail status for each criterion and the named signatory.
• If applicable, publish the remediation plan with deliverables, deadlines, and required evidence for closure.
• Schedule the remediation progress review or transition meeting according to the agreed timelines.
• Status update on each remediation item
• Confirm remediation items are resolved or have committed closure dates that will enable meeting the targets recorded in Launch Scope and Listing Authorization & Terms.
• Re-confirm success criteria and owners
• Publish a remediation closure report with evidence for each completed item and dates for any outstanding work.
• If extension is required, publish the extension plan with checkpoints and metric targets for each checkpoint.
• Trend review for velocity, availability, and shrink
• Confirm whether availability and shrink remain within the performance envelope recorded in Listing Authorization & Terms or identify required operational changes.
• Maintain a prioritized action backlog with dates to address persistent operational blockers and outliers.
• Publish the quarterly performance summary with trend charts for velocity, availability, and shrink against the Listing Authorization & Terms targets.
• Update the operational improvement backlog with target completion dates for the coming quarter.
• Confirm the deployment is functionally complete and that store-level onboarding is in place.
• Document and prioritize any production blockers with agreed short-term remediation steps and target resolution dates.
• Publish the live issue list with target resolution dates and evidence required for closure.
• Circulate an updated store readiness checklist and record any stores out of scope for the next shipment.
• Present first 4-8 week performance vs targets
• Determine whether velocity and on-shelf availability are trending toward the numeric targets recorded in Launch Scope and Listing Authorization & Terms.
• Document a concrete remediation plan for each gap with resolution dates sufficient to reach the acceptance gate.
• Publish a data packet showing per-store velocity and availability vs the Launch Scope and Listing Authorization & Terms targets.
• List corrective actions, required resources, and target completion dates for each identified root cause.
• Schedule the Acceptance Gate meeting and circulate required evidence checklist ahead of the meeting.
• Present outcome data against each criterion
• Deployment and shipment validation
• Diagnose root causes for any performance gaps
• Present updated metric snapshots
• Operational issues and recurring blockers
• Action backlog and prioritization
• User and store onboarding status
• Document pass/fail per criterion
• Agree corrective actions and owners
• Resolve remaining blockers
• Confirm timeline to Acceptance Gate
• Capture formal acceptance decision and signatory
• Agreement on next quarter monitoring
• Agree final decision path
• Early operational signals
• Blockers and immediate remediation actions
• Agree remediation plan for any failed or conditional criteria