VP / Director · Merchandising
Your category managers are drowning in spreadsheets.
Your merchandising team has the data. What they don’t have is the bandwidth to find what’s buried in it. Ward delivers the findings — with root causes attached.
Retailers lose an estimated $300B+ annually to suboptimal assortment and promotional decisions.— McKinsey & Company
Grocery
Fashion
Home
01
The problemWhat merchandising finds out
too late.
- Promo planning relies on last year's playbook, not this week's data
- Assortment reviews happen quarterly when they should happen daily
- Price changes are reactive, not predictive
- No visibility into true cannibalization across categories
- Vendor negotiations lack real-time sell-through evidence
02
How Ward helpsInsight cards for
vp merchandising.
Before Ward
Problems surface in the quarterly review. By then, the damage is done.
- ×Promo planning relies on last year's playbook, not this week's data
- ×Assortment reviews happen quarterly when they should happen daily
- ×Price changes are reactive, not predictive
- ×No visibility into true cannibalization across categories
With Ward
Problems surface at 6:47 AM with root causes and recommended actions.
- ✓Insight cards flag promo cannibalization the day it happens
- ✓Assortment gaps and whitespace opportunities surface automatically
- ✓Price elasticity shifts detected before margin erosion compounds
- ✓Category-level performance cards replace manual spreadsheet reviews
03
Sample insightThis is what Ward
delivers to you.
Evidence trail
Every finding lists its evidence. Forecast blockers, confidence scores, goal relevance — all inspectable. Nothing is a black box.
Composable chart cards
Charts built on the fly from natural language. Revenue vs. margin, category breakdowns, store comparisons — pinnable to any dashboard.
Ward · for VP Merchandising06:47 AM
BOGO on Brand X crackers lifted units 34% but cannibalized Brand Y by 28%. Net category lift: only +6%. Ward recommends a targeted coupon instead.
✓ Action recommendedMerchandising context
Ward delivering insight cards for merchandising leaders.
04
Value driversThe blind spots that cost
vp merchandising the most.
KPIs that erode quietly when nobody’s watching. Flip to see what Ward does about each one.
Grocery
Shrinkage
Cause-level attribution
Loss prevention shifts from guesswork to targeted intervention.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Loss prevention shifts from guesswork to targeted intervention.
Cause-level attribution
↻ Flip back
Grocery
Fill Rate
24–72hr head start
Stockout prediction cards arrive before customers notice gaps.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Stockout prediction cards arrive before customers notice gaps.
24–72hr head start
↻ Flip back
Grocery
Fresh Waste
Flagged before spoilage
Perishable turn rates monitored by store.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Perishable turn rates monitored by store.
Flagged before spoilage
↻ Flip back
Grocery
Promo ROI
Net lift, not gross
True lift net of cannibalization and pull-forward.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
True lift net of cannibalization and pull-forward.
Net lift, not gross
↻ Flip back
Fashion
Markdown Rate
Shallower, earlier
Slow movers detected before deep clearance is the only option.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Slow movers detected before deep clearance is the only option.
Shallower, earlier
↻ Flip back
Fashion
Sell-Through
More at full price
Style velocity cards flag underperformers early enough to reallocate.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Style velocity cards flag underperformers early enough to reallocate.
More at full price
↻ Flip back
Fashion
Size Accuracy
Fewer size gaps
Size curves recalibrated by store cluster and season.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Size curves recalibrated by store cluster and season.
Fewer size gaps
↻ Flip back
Fashion
Return Rate
Better matching
Right size, right store means fewer returns.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Right size, right store means fewer returns.
Better matching
↻ Flip back
Home
Seasonal Accuracy
Weather + event driven
Pre-positioning adjusted for peak season signals.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Pre-positioning adjusted for peak season signals.
Weather + event driven
↻ Flip back
Home
Long-Tail Turn
Dead weight separated
Which tail SKUs serve project needs vs sit idle.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Which tail SKUs serve project needs vs sit idle.
Dead weight separated
↻ Flip back
Home
Project Basket Value
Cross-sell surfaced
Project purchasing patterns drive attachment.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Project purchasing patterns drive attachment.
Cross-sell surfaced
↻ Flip back
Home
Inventory Carrying Cost
Capital freed
Demand forecasting reduces slow-moving overstock.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Demand forecasting reduces slow-moving overstock.
Capital freed
↻ Flip back
Specialty
CLV
Churn risk surfaced
At-risk customers identified before they leave.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
At-risk customers identified before they leave.
Churn risk surfaced
↻ Flip back
Specialty
Conversion Rate
Assortment + staffing
Cards that help convert high-intent browsers.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Cards that help convert high-intent browsers.
Assortment + staffing
↻ Flip back
Specialty
Revenue per SKU
Whitespace found
Underperformers identified, gaps in curated assortment.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Underperformers identified, gaps in curated assortment.
Whitespace found
↻ Flip back
Specialty
Overstock
Less capital locked
Demand matching reduces slow-moving inventory.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Demand matching reduces slow-moving inventory.
Less capital locked
↻ Flip back
Pharmacy
Expiry Waste
Flagged before close
Shelf-life velocity tracked per store.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Shelf-life velocity tracked per store.
Flagged before close
↻ Flip back
Pharmacy
Front-of-Store Margin
Highest-margin area
OTC adjacency and illness prep cards for the front end.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
OTC adjacency and illness prep cards for the front end.
Highest-margin area
↻ Flip back
Pharmacy
OTC Attach Rate
Rx-to-OTC conversion
Seasonal wellness bundling patterns identified.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Seasonal wellness bundling patterns identified.
Rx-to-OTC conversion
↻ Flip back
Pharmacy
Fill Rate
48–72hr lead time
Illness demand modeled before seasonal spikes hit.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Illness demand modeled before seasonal spikes hit.
48–72hr lead time
↻ Flip back
Furniture
Inventory Carrying Cost
Aged stock flagged
Slow-moving SKUs identified before carrying costs compound.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Slow-moving SKUs identified before carrying costs compound.
Aged stock flagged
↻ Flip back
Furniture
Order-to-Delivery Cycle
Bottleneck visibility
Cycle time tracked by production stage against baselines.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Cycle time tracked by production stage against baselines.
Bottleneck visibility
↻ Flip back
Furniture
Gross Margin
Real-time by channel
Material cost drift detected as it happens, not at P&L close.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
Material cost drift detected as it happens, not at P&L close.
Real-time by channel
↻ Flip back
Furniture
Stockout Frequency
Advance warning
POS and e-commerce signals feed back into production.
↻ Flip to see the action
Recommended Action
POS and e-commerce signals feed back into production.
Advance warning
↻ Flip back
05
VerticalsVP Merchandising
across retail verticals.
30,000+ SKUs
Grocery & Supermarket
Ward for grocery merchandising
15,000+ SKUs
Fashion & Apparel
Ward for fashion merchandising
50,000+ SKUs
Home Improvement
Ward for home merchandising
5,000+ SKUs
Specialty Retail
Ward for specialty merchandising
20,000+ SKUs
Pharmacy & Health
Ward for pharmacy merchandising
10,000+ SKUs
Furniture Manufacturing & Retail
Ward for furniture merchandising
06
Insight cardsInsight cards for
vp merchandising.
Every insight type, tailored for merchandising decision-making.
Stockout
Stockout Prediction
for vp merchandising
Shrinkage
Shrinkage Detection
for vp merchandising
Pricing
Price Optimization
for vp merchandising
Demand
Demand Forecasting
for vp merchandising
Assortment
Assortment Planning
for vp merchandising
Promos
Promo Effectiveness
for vp merchandising
Customer
Customer Behavior
for vp merchandising
Fill Rate
Fill Rate Monitoring
for vp merchandising
07
IntegrationsIntegrations for
merchandising.
S
SAP
ERP · for vp merchandising
O
Oracle
ERP · for vp merchandising
S
Shopify
Commerce · for vp merchandising
N
NetSuite
ERP · for vp merchandising
S
Snowflake
Data Platform · for vp merchandising
B
BigQuery
Data Platform · for vp merchandising
B
Blue Yonder
Supply Chain · for vp merchandising
R
RELEX
Supply Chain · for vp merchandising
L
Looker
BI · for vp merchandising
P
Power BI
BI · for vp merchandising
T
Tableau
BI · for vp merchandising
N
NCR
POS · for vp merchandising
B
BigCommerce
Commerce · for vp merchandising
L
Lightspeed
POS · for vp merchandising
E
Epicor
ERP · for vp merchandising
Ward
Insight
Dispatch
Feedback
Evaluate
Learn
The Closed Loop
01
Insights surface
Ward’s agents detect what changed, why it matters, and what to do about it. Every insight includes a recommended action—not just a chart to interpret.
Real-time detection
Root cause + recommendation
02
Insights become actions
Any insight card can be turned into a tracked ticket or task. Dispatched to the right person, on the right channel—mobile push, text, or email. Not every insight needs a ticket. But when one does, it has an owner.
Tickets created automatically
Dispatched to the right person
03
Your team responds
Insights get voted up or down with reasoning. Tickets get completed or rejected. Every response is a signal—Ward learns what worked, what missed, and why.
Vote up / down
Ticket completed
Reasoning attached
04
Outcomes measured
Ward evaluates real results: revenue, margin, fill rate, labor cost. Did the action actually improve the number it targeted? Measured outcomes, not assumptions.
KPI impact tracked
Results vs. prediction scored
05
Agents get sharper
Every vote, every completed ticket, every measured outcome feeds back in. Ward learns from your team’s judgment and real-world results. Each cycle sharpens the next. Then it starts again.
Cycle repeats, sharper each time
$1.8T
Projected global AI market by 2030
0
×
Customer acquisition lift for data‑driven orgs
0
+
Foundation models shipped since 2022
0
Guarantees any single model stays on top
Your category managers are drowning in spreadsheets.
See what Ward finds for Merchandising leaders — with root causes and recommended actions.
Find out what your data has been hiding.
Tell us about your operation. We’ll show you the problems Ward catches — and the ones your current tools miss.