The
challenge
Thomas, Large & Singer (TLS) supports consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands with sales and supply-chain services
Reports brand partners rely on
Brand partners rely on sales reports to see how products sell across the Canadian market and the results of their partnership with TLS.
A recurring manual process
TLS staff had to extract sales data, format and check each report, and send it to the relevant seller on the reporting schedule.
Growing volume and handling risk
As brands and sellers grew, so did the reports to prepare, and manual handling risked sending one seller another's information.
Solution
design
Sales reporting APIs that let sellers request their data directly
Define the data contract and security model
Enable on-demand sales data for sellers
Control seller access and monitor usage
Define the data contract and security model
The data contract and security model were defined before implementation so that different sellers could use one consistent, governed access pattern. A documented API replaces seller-specific file variations.
Enable on-demand sales data for sellers
Sellers request the period and view they need, when they need it, using responses drawn from current data. Reporting changed from a file TLS prepared and pushed out to an on-demand service each seller could call.
Control seller access and monitor usage
Each seller uses its own credentials and is restricted to its own data, and every API call is logged. TLS can see API usage, errors and response times, giving the team visibility into the reporting service.
Reporting
benefits
Current sales data on demand, and a clearer capability for TLS's broader CPG sales and value-chain offering
Sales Visibility
On Demand
Controlled
Data Access
Less Routine
Reporting Work
Stronger Service
Capability
Results
delivered
From manually prepared sales-report files to self-service reporting through a single governed API channel
Self-service reporting
Near-real-time reporting through a single governed API channel.
Sales data on demand
Supports decisions on promotions, replenishment and pricing.
A foundation to extend
Can be extended to inventory, orders, shipments and promotion results.
Capabilities
used
The capabilities and delivery expertise that supported the work
