CPG Team Management, CPG KPIs & Reporting

What's MAAR and How Will It Help You Prevent OOS?

What's MAAR and How Will It Help You Prevent OOS?

Victoria Vessella

3 Min Read

It’s no secret that stockouts hurt sales. A sizeable 37% of shoppers report buying from a competitor if their first-choice brand is out of stock, whereas 9% will buy nothing at all. To remedy this problem, sales managers can use the MAAR method.

Let’s get something straight - MAAR (without an “S” at the end) is neither a planet, nor a candy bar. It’s something we drew up to help brands make sure their food and beverage products are where they need to be at every retailer.

Consistency is key when it comes to process, especially for brands with reps that work across multiple accounts. Having your entire field team flag stockouts the same way lets you rest assured that no facing gets overlooked

Minimizing Out-of-Stocks with MAAR

Measure

Collect data that lends itself to predicting when a SKU will sell out, rather than how many holes are present on the shelf. Audit inventory levels, planogram compliance, and the number of units ordered over time.
Also collect data on promotions, seasonality, and the economic climate, as these all have an effect on OOS rates.

Analyze

Take a deep dive into the data you’ve gathered to improve your demand forecasting. You’ll probably notice patterns related to time of year, geography, retailer compliance, distributor capacity, or pricing.

Adjust

Brands should aim to eliminate OOS for the 20% of SKUs that account for 80% of total sales to make the greatest impact. Identify which SKUs are in high demand on a temporary or permanent basis so that manufacturers can keep up with demand. Alter delivery schedules based on seasonal trends to ensure products are always on the shelf.

Repeat

The insights you find the first time around unfortunately aren’t evergreen. As the market ebbs and flows and you continue to add retail accounts to your repertoire, you’ll need to repeat this process regularly.

Conclusion

Besides sales, brand image and retailer relationships can also be devastated by repeated stockouts. For more tips on how to make the most of your shelf presence, check out what Socrates has to say.

Download the 2025 Outlook Report

Ready to stand out on the shelves in 2025? Learn how industry leaders are gearing up to dominate the retail space. Don’t get left behind—download your copy of the report now!

Victoria Vessella

Victoria is a Marketing Associate at Repsly, where she leads the company's P.R. and social media efforts. You can also catch her prepping for slew of exciting industry events. A New England native, Victoria has spent time living in Italy and traveling throughout Europe before settling back in Boston. When she's not planning her next trip, V is probably tasting wine or brushing up on her Italian.

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