Sales analysis

The analysis of sales allows you to understand the trends that characterize the activity of the enterprise at a certain stage, determine the level of sales (their growth or decline). The analysis is necessary to identify groups of goods that should be given additional attention for their promotion in the sales market, or vice versa, to identify the most promising products. Such work is necessary for making the right decisions in terms of the management of the enterprise as a whole.

To conduct a comprehensive analysis of sales, you must collect an exhaustive database for this. The best way to do this is to conduct an audit of the retail trade, collect data from the internal (enterprise) and official (state) statistics, determine the expert evaluation of all players involved in this area of the market.

The data analysis is necessary for the adoption of strategic and tactical management decisions. The study of the sales volume allows us to competently segment the clients of the company, and the dynamics - to develop the right marketing policy.

As a rule, the analysis of sales is carried out in four stages.

At the first stage, the dynamics and structure of sales of the enterprise's goods are determined. Tendency of growth / decline in sales, its stability; The share of sales on credit is determined. The main indicators determined at this stage of the analysis are the following.

The revenue growth rate (TrH = H1 / N0, where H1 is the revenue of the reporting period, H0 is the previous (base) period) and for sales made on credit (Uwcr = Нкр / Н, here Нкр is the share of sales on credit).

The second stage is the determination of the measure of uniformity of sales. For this, the coefficient of variation is determined, then conclusions are drawn about the causes of the unevenness (internal, external).

The coefficient of variation is calculated as kV = {√ Σ (x1 - хср) 2 / n} / хср, with х1 - the percentage of sales for the 1st period versus the total, 1-number of the period, хср - average sales value (in percentage ), N is the number of periods. The higher the coefficient, the more unstable (uneven) the sale.

In the third stage, the critical sales volume is determined (NB = Zpost / Umd, here Zstost - costs constant for production and sales of goods, UDM - marginal revenue) and safety margin (ZP = N-HE).

At the fourth stage, the profitability of sales is revealed (profitability).

Profitability is defined as: kPrp = PP / H, while PP - the profit from sales, and H - the revenue from them. Calculated in percent.

The analysis of the volume of sales requires conducting studies not only of the dynamics of all processes, but also of comparing all the analyzed indicators with industry-average competitors. This allows you to determine the effectiveness and business activity of certain activities of the enterprise, to understand the degree of its competitiveness.

If the negative dynamics of revenue is revealed, further work is required to determine the reasons that caused the sales volumes to fall. These often are the approximation of the product's life cycle to a decline, increased competition or a glut of the market.

A complete analysis of sales is impossible without an assessment of their uniformity. If the rhythm is reduced or low, it is necessary to work to neutralize the reasons that have influenced this situation. If you see a decline in profitability of sales, then you should review the pricing policy of the enterprise and the distribution of costs.

The analysis of sales of goods is necessary to identify the conformity of the results of the enterprise's activities to the desired goals. Therefore, based on it, it is easier to plan sales in the present and future periods. Today, not all managers accept planning, believing that in the face of the changing realities of the market this is inefficient. Nevertheless, planning helps to more clearly follow the goal (sales volumes) and minimizes the non-targeted loss of resources.