Glossary
Definitions of key terms in FMCG trade, retail, and commercial operations.
62 terms
Terms by topic
Listing & distribution 11
Delisting
When a retailer removes a product from its range, so stores no longer order or sell it.
Distributor
A company that buys products from brands, stores them and sells them on to retailers, often with its own sales team and logistics.
GTIN (EAN barcode)
The Global Trade Item Number is the unique number that identifies a product worldwide.
Listing fee
A one-off payment a supplier makes to a retailer to get a new product listed in its range.
New product introduction (NPI)
The process of bringing a new product to a retailer, from the first pitch and listing to its first months on the shelf.
Numeric distribution
The share of stores in a market that sell your product.
Product master data
The basic facts about a product that a retailer needs to list it: GTIN, name, dimensions, weights, pack structure, ingredients, allergens, nutrition values and images.
Route to market
The way a product gets from the brand to the shopper: direct to retailers, through a distributor or wholesaler, through cash & carry, or online.
SKU (stock keeping unit)
One specific product variant that is stocked and sold, such as one flavour in one pack size.
Weighted distribution
The share of the category's total sales made by the stores that sell your product.
Wholesaler and cash & carry
A wholesaler buys from brands and resells to businesses such as restaurants, kiosks and independent shops.
Category & range 6
Assortment (range)
The full set of products a retailer offers in a category or a store.
Category captain
A supplier that a retailer chooses to advise on a whole category, including competitors' products: range, placement, promotions and sometimes prices.
Category Management
A retail and brand management process in which product categories are managed as strategic business units.
Private label
Products sold under the retailer's own brand rather than a manufacturer's brand.
Range review
A regular review in which a retailer decides which products stay, which are added and which are delisted in a category.
Shopper marketing
Marketing aimed at people at the moment they shop, in store or online, to influence what they put in the basket.
Store execution 13
Compliance Rate
The percentage of stores or activations that are executed in line with the agreed brief, within the specified time window.
Facings
The number of units of a product visible at the front of the shelf.
Field Sales
The team of sales representatives who visit retail stores to verify in-store execution, build relationships with store managers, take orders, and implement point-of-sale materials.
Merchandising
The work of placing, filling and presenting products on the shelf and on displays so they sell, often done by the brand's own merchandisers or an agency.
On-shelf availability (OSA)
The share of time, or of store checks, in which a product is actually on the shelf and available to buy.
Out-of-stock (OOS)
When a listed product is missing from the shelf, so shoppers cannot buy it.
Perfect store
A brand's definition of how its products should look in each type of store, turned into a checklist and a score: range, placement, facings, price, promotion and POS material.
Planogram
A visual schematic that defines exactly where each product should be placed on a retail shelf, SKU by SKU and facing by facing.
POS material
Point-of-sale material: shelf strips, wobblers, posters, displays and other signs that draw attention to a product in the store.
Secondary placement
An extra place to sell a product outside its normal shelf, such as a display, a gondola end, a pallet or a checkout stand.
Share of shelf
The part of a category's shelf space that a brand occupies, measured in facings or shelf length.
Store check
A visit to a store to check how a brand's products are executed: listed products present, facings, prices, promotions, displays and POS material.
Store Execution
The process of implementing agreed in-store plans, including product placements, promotional displays, price labels, and POS materials, at the shop floor level.
Promotions & trade spend 12
Cannibalisation
When a promotion or new product takes sales from the brand's own other products rather than from competitors.
Forward buying
When a retailer orders more than it needs at a promotional price and sells the extra stock later at the normal price.
Marketing contribution (WKZ)
A payment or benefit a supplier gives a retailer to fund extra visibility for its products: flyer ads, checkout placements, displays or price promotions.
Promotional baseline
The sales a product would have made in a period without a promotion.
Promotional Calendar
A planning document that maps out all promotional activations, product launches, and in-store events across the year, organised by retailer, category, and mechanic.
Promotional pressure
The share of a category's or a market's sales made on promotion.
Promotional Uplift
The incremental volume or revenue generated by a promotion above the expected baseline.
Trade Marketing
The set of activities and investments a FMCG brand uses to influence purchase decisions at or near the point of sale.
Trade promotion management (TPM)
The process, and the software, a brand uses to plan, budget, run and settle promotions with retailers, from planning to evaluation.
Trade promotion optimisation (TPO)
Using data and predictive analytics, often AI, to choose the promotions most likely to reach a goal, such as volume or profit.
Trade ROI
The return a trade marketing activation earns: incremental margin minus trade investment, divided by trade investment and multiplied by 100.
Trade spend
All the money a brand invests with retailers to sell its products: discounts, promotion funding, listing fees, marketing contributions and rebates.
Pricing & terms 6
Gross-to-net
The difference between a brand's gross sales at list price and its net sales after all discounts, rebates and promotion funding given to retailers.
Off-invoice discount
A discount deducted directly on the invoice, so the retailer pays less at the time of purchase.
Price elasticity
How strongly the quantity sold changes when the price changes.
Recommended retail price (RRP)
The shelf price a brand suggests to retailers.
Trade terms (conditions)
The full set of commercial conditions agreed between a brand and a retailer: list prices, discounts, rebates, payment terms, marketing contributions and service levels.
Year-end rebate
A discount paid to the retailer after the end of the year, usually linked to reaching agreed sales targets.
Data & measurement 5
Market share
A brand's sales as a share of total sales in its category and market, in value (money) or in volume (units, kilos, litres).
Rate of sale (ROS)
How many units a product sells per store per week, counting only stores that sell it.
Retail panel data
Sales data collected from retailers' checkouts by research firms such as NielsenIQ and Circana, and sold to brands to track sales, prices, distribution and market share.
Sell-In
The volume of product shipped from a brand or distributor to a retailer's distribution centre or stores.
Sell-Out
The quantity of product sold from the retailer's shelves to the end consumer, as measured by point-of-sale (POS) data.
Retailer relationship 5
Annual negotiations
The yearly talks in which a brand and a retailer agree prices, trade terms, promotions and listings for the coming year.
Joint Business Planning (JBP)
An annual collaborative process in which a FMCG brand and a retail partner build a commercial plan together, covering shared revenue targets, activation calendars, trade investment budgets, and governance rhythms.
KAM Workspace
A dedicated digital environment in which Key Account Managers plan, execute, and review their account activities.
Key Account Management (KAM)
A strategic approach to managing relationships with a brand's most important retail or distribution partners.
Quarterly Business Review (QBR)
A structured meeting between a brand's KAM team and a retail buyer held every three months to review performance against the joint business plan, discuss market trends, and agree on adjustments to the activation calendar or commercial terms.
Market structure 2
Supply chain 2
No term matches your search.