Merchandising & Shelf Analytics for Retail: 2-Week Assessment
MAQ Software
The Challenge
Retail merchandising teams are making markdown, replenishment, and planogram decisions on reports that are days old — built from data spread across disconnected POS, inventory, and supplier systems. The data exists. The problem is it doesn't talk to itself.
Merchandising Managers lack real-time shelf visibility. Category Managers can't tie planogram placement to sell-through. Supply Chain heads are reacting to stockouts instead of anticipating them. MAQ Software helps retail organisations get started with or extend their use of Microsoft Azure — building a unified data platform, layering a reliable reporting foundation on top, and enabling intelligent agents that surface the right insight at the right time.
Key Questions
- Are replenishment and markdown decisions being made on data that is days or weeks old?
- Can your teams correlate shelf placement with SKU-level sell-through rates?
- How many hours per week are spent manually pulling and stitching together merchandising reports?
- Do your merchandising, inventory, and category teams work from the same numbers — or does every team have a different version of the truth?
Our Approach
Week 1: Discovery & Data Landscape Audit
- Interview merchandising, supply chain, category, and IT teams to map current reporting workflows and where decisions break down
- Audit existing data sources for completeness, quality, and joinability across systems
- Document KPI definitions across teams and flag inconsistencies that undermine reporting trust
- Identify quick wins and high-impact gaps to prioritise in the roadmap
Week 2: Data Platform Design, Prototype & Readout
- Design a unified data model bringing together POS, inventory, and supplier data into a single source of truth on Microsoft Azure
- Build and validate a prototype reporting dashboard with real-time shelf performance KPIs on your actual data
- Identify opportunities to layer intelligent alerting and AI-driven insights on top of the reporting foundation
- Synthesise findings into a prioritised implementation roadmap and deliver a full stakeholder readout
Deliverables
- Data readiness report with gap analysis
- Microsoft Azure-based data platform architecture and design
- Prototype reporting dashboard built on your data
- Prioritised implementation roadmap on Microsoft Azure
- Executive readout deck
Key Benefits
- Understand exactly where your merchandising data is broken before committing to a full build
- Walk away with a working reporting prototype on your own data — not a slide deck
- Give merchandising, supply chain, and category teams a single version of the truth
- Get a sequenced roadmap your team can act on immediately
Who is this for
Business Stakeholders
- VP of Merchandising & Category Management
- Head of Supply Chain / Inventory Planning
- Category Managers & Buyers
- Head of Retail Operations
Technical Stakeholders
- Data and Analytics Engineers
- BI Developers and Reporting Leads
- IT Directors / Heads of Data Platform
Why MAQ Software
- Retail domain depth — we understand the merchandising data chain from shelf to supplier, not just the technology layer
- Pre-built retail accelerators — reusable data models, KPI libraries, and reporting templates that compress delivery time
- Assessment-to-delivery continuity — the same team that runs your assessment designs and delivers your implementation
Get Started
Contact CustomerSuccess@MAQSoftware.com to schedule your Assessment and take the first step toward unified, real-time merchandising intelligence.