Guides
The calculations behind grocery chain reports and the work done in the branch. Each guide answers a single question: it gives the formula, shows the worked example and says where it misleads.
44 guides
With AI
Camera analytics and demand forecasting
Store cameras turn footfall, queues and till events into numbers; demand forecasting tells each branch how much stock to receive. Guides on how it works and where it misleads.
What do you want to fix?
The five problems grocery chains ask about most. Under each are the most-read guides and the product that does that job every day.
Inventory Management
Shrinkage and count variance won't close?
- How to calculate shrinkage rate and what an acceptable level is
- You have a stock count variance: how to find the cause and close it
- How to set up expiry date, lot and shelf life tracking
In this areaMind Stock
Ordering, Replenishment and Delivery
Empty shelves, full warehouse?
- How do you forecast demand with AI? Methods and accuracy in a grocery chain
- How to measure the out-of-stock rate and calculate the sales it costs
- How to build a warehouse-to-store delivery plan: delivery days, vehicle fill and store capacity
In this areaMind Send
Cost and Profitability
What is your margin, really?
- How to calculate cost of goods sold (COGS)
- What percentage of a grocery store's sales is profit? Gross, EBITDA and net margin at Turkish chains
- How weighted average cost works and how it differs from last purchase cost
In this areaMind Cost
Store Operations and Performance
Which branch is falling behind, and why?
Shelf, Space and Category
Is your shelf space given to the right products?
- What is a planogram, and how do you set up shelf layout in a supermarket
- What is category management: category roles and the eight steps in grocery retail
- What a private label product is, and how its share and profitability are measured in grocery chains
In this areaMind Space
Browse templates
Free Excel templates
Shrinkage log, stock count, expiry tracking and a branch scorecard: templates built on the formulas in these guides. Leave your details and download.
Looking for software?
Grocery POS software or chain retail software? Choosing by number of branches
What you need for your number of branches, what to ask in a demo and how total cost is worked out — in one guide.
Most read
- How to calculate cost of goods sold (COGS)
- The KPIs in grocery and retail reports: which formula measures what
- How to calculate stock loss in a supermarket and set a loss target
- How to calculate shrinkage rate and what an acceptable level is
- How to find till variance and reconcile POS takings
- How to run a stock count: a step-by-step procedure for stores and warehouses
All guides
Inventory Management
Inventory turnover and GMROI, counting and count variance, expiry dates, dead stock and shrinkage: how much stock you hold, what it earns and where the gap comes from.
In this areaMind Stock
How to calculate inventory turnover, what it should be and how to read it
How to run a stock count: a step-by-step procedure for stores and warehouses
How to do an ABC analysis
Days on hand and days of inventory: how many days of stock do you have
How to calculate inventory carrying cost
How to calculate shrinkage rate and what an acceptable level is
You have a stock count variance: how to find the cause and close it
How to identify dead stock and read an inventory ageing report
The questions to ask when choosing inventory management software
How to calculate GMROI and what a good GMROI is
How to set up expiry date, lot and shelf life tracking
How to calculate stock loss in a supermarket and set a loss target
How to measure and reduce fresh produce shrink in grocery retail
How do you set up barcodes: GTIN-13, the check digit, PLU and weight-embedded barcodes
Ordering, Replenishment and Delivery
Safety stock and order quantity, fresh food ordering, warehouse-to-store delivery and shelf gaps: which product goes to which branch, when and in what quantity.
In this areaMind Send
How do you forecast demand with AI? Methods and accuracy in a grocery chain
What does AI do in store replenishment? Automatic dispatch proposals, constraints and explainable decisions
How to calculate safety stock and the reorder point
How to calculate economic order quantity (EOQ)
Fresh food demand forecasting: how to place daily orders for produce, bakery and butchery
How to build a warehouse-to-store delivery plan: delivery days, vehicle fill and store capacity
How do you run inter-store transfers, and when do they pay off?
How to measure the out-of-stock rate and calculate the sales it costs
How to calculate fill rate and service level
Cost and Profitability
Margin and gross profit, cost of goods sold, weighted average cost, replacement cost and the grocery store's net profit: where profit is actually made.
In this areaMind Cost
How to calculate gross profit and gross margin
How to calculate cost of goods sold (COGS)
How weighted average cost works and how it differs from last purchase cost
What replacement cost is, how to calculate it and how to price with it
Off-invoice discounts, volume rebates and net-net cost: how to find a product's true purchase cost
What percentage of a grocery store's sales is profit? Gross, EBITDA and net margin at Turkish chains
Grocery POS software or chain retail software? Choosing by number of branches
What is store camera analytics? Footfall counting, conversion rate and checkout queues
How does AI camera analytics work? Computer vision in grocery stores and its limits
The KPIs in grocery and retail reports: which formula measures what
How do you build a store profit and loss statement? Branch P&L, allocation keys and a worked example for grocery chains
How to calculate basket size, conversion and sales per square metre
Store camera recording and data protection: retention, notice and camera analytics
How to find till variance and reconcile POS takings
How to track cashier voids and internal theft: exception reporting, thresholds and fair investigation
How to run a store audit: checklist, scoring and action tracking
What happens if the shelf price and the till price differ? Turkey's price label rules and a store compliance checklist
Where do grocery chains lose margin, and how is it closed
Shelf, Space and Category
Planogram, category management and space productivity: what the shelf and the floor area are given over to.
In this areaMind Space
See these calculations on your own data
The formulas in these guides run inside Mindpera out of the box. Our team does the installation; we build the demo on your data structure, not on sample data.