“TDP stands for Total Distribution Points. Many people incorrectly assume that TDPs equal stores selling a product; this is not true. Total Distribution Points measure the breadth and depth of a brand’s distribution by taking the sum of all a brand’s Max % ACVs for each item and adding them up. To wit:
• Your brand has three ice creams (Vanilla, Chocolate, Cookie Dough) selling in a retailer.
• Vanilla and Chocolate are carried in all of the stores. The Maximum % ACV for Vanilla is 100 and the Max % ACV for Chocolate is 100.
• Cookie dough is sold in about half the stores; the Maximum % ACV for Cookie dough is 50.
• Adding up the Maximum % ACVs equals 250; therefore, Your Brand has 250 Total Distribution Points.
TDPs are useful because they can measure distribution gains and losses for a brand. Introducing new items will increase your TDP, and discontinuations will decrease your TDP. Unlike Maximum % ACV and Average % ACV, TDP is not a 100-point scale; there is no upper limit to TDP. On its own, TDP is meaningless – is 1,000 TDP good? Not if everyone else has 5,000 or more. TDP at its core is a comparative measure. “