Grades are in! Do you ever wish you could tell your vendors EXACTLY what you need and don’t need, and why? Well this blog is for you. Much like the Vendor Scorecard from our friends at Retail Smart Guys, RetailEdge can recreate these “report cards” for each of your vendors in a matter of minutes.

There is a lot of data in these reports, so that is why we advocate for organized and accurate categories, departments, and vendors. This is so you get the most information our of your data to make better skilled buying decisions to grow your business.

First and foremost, the RetailEdge Compound Reports are one of our most underutilized sections in our reports, but it should be one of your best friends. Let’s dive into some.

INVENTORY COMPOUND REPORT

In RetailEdge, click Reports > Inventory > Items > Compound > Compound by Category.

Choose “Vendor & Department” on the right hand side for include/sort order. (Can also choose Vendor & Class if you use classes)

Choose a date range for which you would like to filter results (last quarter, last season, last 6 months, etc)

This will show you quantities received, sold, on hand, and on order for each department within a vendor. If you have a certain department from a vendor underperforming with a lot on hand still, you wouldn’t necessarily want to buy more in that department. Or if you have some on order still, you don’t need to buy more.  See Fig. A

Fig. A

RECEIVING HISTORY REPORT BY VENDOR

In RetailEdge, choose Reports > Inventory > Receiving > History > Receiving by Category

Choose “Vendor & Department” on the right hand side for include/sort order. (Can also choose Vendor & Class if you use classes)

Filter by one particular vendor at a time and a date range (again, quarterly, last season, etc) You can also select more than one vendor if you want to compare them.

This will show you quantity, cost, retail, margin, and % of total sales for each department relating to that vendor. See Fig. B

Fig. B

SALES REPORT BY CATEGORY

Like in the Vendor Scorecard video, it’s important to look at not only quantity of items, but also the sales margins for each sale. This gives you a more well rounded view of your sales. Even though you received 5 and sold 5 of an item, you’ll be able to say “well 3 of those 5 were sold at a hefty discount, lowering my actual margin.”

Reports > Sales > Sales > Sales by Category

Choose “Vendor & Department” on the right hand side for include/sort order. (Can also choose Vendor & Class if you use classes)

Filter by vendor (one at a time to produce the “report card” or multiple vendors for comparisons) and date range

This gives you a more well rounded view of your sales. Ex. Even though you received 5 and sold 5 of an item, you’ll be able to say “well 3 of those 5 were sold at a hefty discount, lowering my actual margin.” See Fig. C

Fig. C