Direct To Store

Direct To Store (DTS) is a cloud-based, automated sales analytics and replenishment platform offered by Advanced Grower Solutions. According to the vendor, DTS/Merch is designed to cater to the needs of growers and suppliers selling to retailers, providing a suite of tools for managing retail sales data flows, reporting, analytics, store inventory management, merchandising, and replenishment. The platform is tailored to meet the needs of both large and small growers and suppliers in the horticulture industry. Additionally, DTS/Merch is utilized by retailers, merchandisers, and professionals in the horticulture industry to streamline their operations and optimize sales performance.

Key Features

Sales Reporting Tools: According to the vendor, DTS offers a comprehensive set of tools for sales reporting, allowing growers and suppliers to analyze granular SKU/Store performance and generate highly configurable reports. The platform provides over 30 store inventory and sell-through reports to minimize missed sales. Ad-hoc date ranges, transaction reporting, current on-hand reports, and yearly comparison reports are available.

Sell Through Performance: DTS supports sell-through performance analysis, enabling growers to track and analyze store and SKU performance on a daily basis. Users can view overall sell-through based on store, SKU, or year-to-date with custom date fields. The vendor claims that users can configure item details by retailer and access real-time delivery data for in-store inventory.

Data Notification Service: DTS offers a notification service that automatically builds and sends key sales metrics to designated email lists. According to the vendor, users can customize daily reports to track important sales metrics quickly and easily. The service provides sales totals, comps, margins, SKU group sales, top/bottom stores and SKUs, and more. The vendor states that all key metrics are formatted for easy viewing on mobile devices.

In-Store Data Collection: DTS enables real-time inventory adjustments through in-store data collection. The platform allows users to send shipment notifications to the merchandising team and scan inventory in real-time for efficiency. The vendor claims that DTS automatically calculates shrink and credits. Multiple summary reports are available to help manage in-store activity.

Replenishment Support Tools: DTS/Merch provides multiple replenishment reporting options and integrates availability data to make informed decisions. According to the vendor, the system aggregates data from multiple sources and displays key store statistics alongside availability information. Users can leverage configurable suggested order quantities (SOQ) for automated replenishment suggestions. Replenishment worksheets allow independent work on specific stores/SKUs, and orders can be exported for sales order fulfillment systems.

Merchandising Tools: DTS offers tools to track merchandising budget, time spent, and reporting for the merchandising team. The platform integrates Amazon Polly for phone IVR system, providing natural and human-like text-to-speech voices. Real-time reports display clocked-in staff, time logs, time summaries, labor-to-sales tracking, and project tracking. Additional features include rack tracking, text-to-voice messaging, and expense reporting.