In the highly competitive world of consumer packaged goods (CPG), finance teams play a critical role in ensuring profitability, managing budgets, and supporting strategic growth. This is where syndicated data comes in. SPINS often works with Directors, Vice Presidents or CFOs on finance teams to help make sound decisions.

For example, SPINS recently worked with a VP of Finance on optimizing the brand’s price/pack architecture in conventional retailers. The brand had seen years of triple digit success in the Natural Expanded channel, but after crossing over to the conventional world, sales velocity was trending downward. SPINS was able to advise the business on ways to turn their velocity numbers around by using a combination of smart promotions, smaller sizes, and better highlighting the value of a premium product versus the more conventional competition.

Let’s explore how finance teams can use syndicated data to make better financial decisions, improve forecasting, and support growth strategies in their CPG business.

Improving Financial Forecasting and Planning

Accurate financial forecasting is one of the most important responsibilities of any finance team. Forecasting revenue, expenses, and cash flow requires a deep understanding of both the current market landscape and future trends. Syndicated data provides critical insights into consumer behavior, category performance, and sales trends, making it an invaluable resource for improving forecasting accuracy.

For example, syndicated data provides historical sales data for specific product categories, brands, and geographic regions, giving finance teams a clear view of how different categories are trending. By analyzing past performance data, finance teams can identify seasonality patterns, forecast demand fluctuations, and better anticipate future revenue. This helps them create more accurate financial models and budget allocations that align with market realities.

Moreover, syndicated data can provide visibility into regional or geographic performance. Finance teams can use this data to identify areas where their company is performing well and regions where there may be untapped potential. If certain markets are seeing stronger sales, finance teams can allocate more budget to expanding distribution in those regions.

Syndicated data can also reveal insights into channel performance, helping finance teams determine which sales channels (e.g., in-store, online, direct-to-consumer) are most profitable. By understanding where growth is happening across different channels, finance teams can make more informed decisions about where to focus investment, whether that’s enhancing e-commerce capabilities or increasing in-store presence.

In addition, data can highlight emerging trends or shifts in consumer preferences, which allows finance teams to adjust their forecasts accordingly. If a category is growing rapidly, finance teams can allocate more resources toward that category to capitalize on the opportunity. Conversely, if a category is declining, they can reduce exposure and avoid overestimating future growth.

Supporting Pricing and Profitability Decisions

Pricing is one of the most impactful factors affecting a CPG company’s profitability. Too high, and a brand risks losing consumers to cheaper alternatives; too low, and it might leave money on the table. Syndicated data offers critical pricing insights that finance teams can use to strike the right balance.

By analyzing pricing data within syndicated reports, finance teams can benchmark their product pricing against competitors. Syndicated data provides a comprehensive view of how competitors are pricing similar products, and whether price fluctuations are impacting sales. This enables finance teams to evaluate whether their products are priced competitively or if adjustments are needed.

Additionally, syndicated data can reveal trends in consumer purchasing behavior that are driven by pricing changes. For instance, if a price increase results in lower sales volumes, finance teams can use this information to model different price points and assess the impact on profitability. By understanding pricing elasticity, finance teams can optimize pricing strategies to maximize margins while maintaining consumer demand.

Risk Management and Scenario Planning

The CPG industry is constantly evolving, and financial risk is an inherent part of doing business. Syndicated data allows finance teams to conduct better scenario planning and assess the potential risks associated with different market conditions.

By leveraging syndicated data, finance teams can simulate different scenarios—such as a market downturn, a price war, or a sudden shift in consumer behavior—and assess their potential impact on revenue and profitability. For example, if syndicated data shows a decline in consumer spending or a shift in buying behavior, finance teams can model how these changes could affect sales and adjust financial forecasts accordingly.

Syndicated data also provides insights into macroeconomic trends, such as changes in inflation, COGS, labor costs, or supply chain disruptions, that could affect business performance. By using this data to conduct risk assessments, finance teams can develop contingency plans and ensure the company is well-prepared for unexpected challenges.

Conclusion

In the CPG industry, finance teams are tasked with managing budgets, improving profitability, and making strategic decisions that support business growth. Syndicated data provides the insights and market intelligence necessary to make more informed, data-driven decisions.

By using syndicated data to improve financial forecasting, optimize pricing strategies, allocate resources effectively, monitor market share, and manage risk, finance teams can help drive better business outcomes. Leveraging these data-driven insights not only strengthens financial decision-making but also aligns financial strategies with market realities, leading to increased profitability and sustained growth in the competitive CPG landscape.