Analysis of the product range

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

High level of sales is one of the main goals of any enterprise that is engaged in production. But in order to feel confident in the conditions of the modern market, it is necessary to offer customers not only quality, but also a wide selection of relevant positions. This goal will help to achieve a constant analysis of the range and structure of products. Moreover, such a technique will be relevant not only for large manufacturers, but also for small businesses.

What is assortment

So, the fulfillment of the assortment plan is one of the key conditions for the full satisfaction of the needs of customers. This term itself is used to determine the list of product names that a particular enterprise produces. At the same time, the volume of goods is indicated with a distinction by type.

The assortment can be group, intragroup and complete. The essence of the analysis in this case is reduced mainly to determining the degree of obsolescence of products and their uniformity parameters.

Within the framework of this topic, it is worth remembering the nomenclature, which is a list of the names of goods manufactured by the company, as well as their codes. The latter are set for eacha specific type of product according to OKPP (All-Russian classifier of industrial products).

Why it is necessary to evaluate the assortment

Analytics in the field of production is needed to obtain the average number of types of goods produced. Analysis of the range and structure of products allows you to competently organize the process of expanding the list of products, which ultimately determines brand loy alty on the part of buyers with different preferences.

One of the results of the analysis mentioned above is the differentiation (separation) of one type of product in accordance with the different tastes of the target audience. We are talking about the production of goods that are similar in their consumer qualities and can replace each other, but still have certain differences. This approach allows you to gain an advantage in the market in a highly competitive environment.

Thus, in order for the differentiation process to be effective, a competent analysis of the product range is necessary.

Commodity nomenclature

To better understand the essence of working with the nomenclature, it makes sense to pay attention to the features of the product line. This term is used to define the product range. In fact, we are talking about a group of products that are closely related due to close areas of use and, as a result, are intended for the same target audience. Trade enterprises used for their implementation (shops, chain stores) are also of the same type. One range is used for the rangeprice.

It is from the various product lines that the product range consists. Accordingly, without understanding what the assortment is formed from and how it is characterized, it will be extremely difficult to analyze it.

Characteristics of the commodity nomenclature

If you try to study any group of different product lines, you will find that it has certain characteristics: saturation, breadth, harmony and depth.

The saturation of a product range is nothing more than the total number of individual products that it consists of.

Breadth is the next characteristic, without which it will be difficult to analyze the product range, and it means the total number of product groups that a particular enterprise produces. An example is a store that sells, say, food products, but at the same time offers customers different types of goods: bakery products, meat products, etc.

Under the harmony of the product range, one should understand the proximity of the form of end use of products belonging to different assortment groups. Distribution channels, requirements for the organization of production and other indicators may also be similar. Here again, the example of a grocery store is appropriate, where you can buy all the necessary ingredients for cooking, say, a first course.

Considering the analysis of the assortment, one cannot ignore the depth of the product group. In this case, there are differentoffer options for individual products that are in the same group.

Cost

When analyzing the range of goods, the price must always be taken into account, because the level of sales of a particular product largely depends on it. At the same time, within the framework of production, the cost of finished products can be displayed in two forms: marketable output and gross.

If we consider the gross, then it should include finished goods produced by all divisions of a particular enterprise for use within the company itself (own non-industrial divisions, capital construction, etc.).

As an example, we can cite semi-finished products of our own production, which are subsequently released to the side for their capital construction or given to divisions of a non-industrial company.

Commercial output, unlike gross, includes only unfinished product. The cost of such products is taken into account at those enterprises where the production cycle does not exceed 12 months. This condition is important, because in cases where the release of finished products lasts more than a year, the still unreleased product may be subject to significant price fluctuations.

Product structure

Analysis of the company's assortment will not be complete without taking into account this factor. The structure of goods should be understood as the ratio of different types of finished products against the background of the total volume of their production.

Fulfillment of the plan for the structure of products means that the originally plannedthe ratio of its species in the finished product was preserved. If the plan is implemented unevenly, this will lead to a noticeable deviation from the planned assortment structure, which, in turn, will violate the conditions that are taken into account when comparing the economic indicators of the enterprise.

To eliminate structural shifts, they must be able to calculate and calculate. The most suitable method for achieving this goal is the method of direct counting for all goods, as well as the method of average prices. Using this approach, it is possible to avoid the impact of undesirable changes in the assortment structure on economic indicators.

Analysis of the range of goods

The analysis process itself begins with a study of the fact how the dynamics of commodity and gross output changes, while growth is fixed and the index is calculated.

Also, operational analytics is performed, for which data for a week, ten days, a month and, accordingly, a quarter are used. Along with this, the process of working with product lines includes an analysis of the implementation of the plan for the assortment and nomenclature itself.

It is worth recalling that under the nomenclature you need to understand the list of names of various products, as well as their codes, which are set according to the classifier of industrial products.

Studying the analysis of the assortment of goods, you need to remember the following: when assessing the degree of implementation of the plan, the planned volume of output of various goods is compared with the actual result. Thus, the plan can be considered fulfilled only when all the componentsassortment were produced in the required volume.

If the desired indicators were not achieved, the factors that caused such a result are identified. By the way, they can be both internal and external.

The first group includes shortcomings in the organization and subsequent management of the production process, the condition of equipment, etc. The second group of reasons is reduced to a change in demand for certain types of goods, market conditions and a belated launch of production facilities.

Analysis method

The analysis of the assortment and its structure begins with an assessment of how the plan for the release of various product lines has been fulfilled. As mentioned above, this indicator is determined by comparing the actual release of goods (the main types are taken into account) and the one that was planned.

To complete this task - a competent assessment - several proven methods help:

- calculation of the coefficient of implementation of the plan for the release of the desired types of products;

- way of the lowest percentage;

- determination of the share in the general list of goods, on the basis of which the production plan was carried out.

These methods will allow you to conduct a competent analysis of the assortment and, accordingly, make production "sharpened" for current positions.

Formation of product lines

Essentially, analytics has a direct impact on the fact that the assortment will be. It is for the competent formation of product lines that the degree ofthe relevance of various types of products, as well as the need for their diversification.

The relevance of such processes is determined by the need for the manufacturer to provide the set of goods that consumers need, and in a timely manner, otherwise competitors will receive a tangible advantage.

Against such goals, the analysis of the assortment structure should include the distribution of products into categories such as old and new. It is also important to take into account other characteristics that are directly related to finished products: mass and single production, license, know-how, ordinary goods and high technology.

Before forming the range, the company, as a rule, develops a concept that will optimize the production of a particular product line. The fact that the concept is necessary is obvious, since it is designed to identify products that best suit the diversity and structure of customer demand. The enterprise will subsequently focus on the production of these particular products.

How the concept is formed

In order to develop an actual concept, several indicators are analyzed:

- price level for a specific assortment group;

- the ratio of the cost of goods;

- update frequency and assortment level.

In most cases, the forecast is focused only on determining the development trend of various product lines. A trend should be understood as a change in the assortment structure of demand and, as a result, product supply.

Against the background of this information, it should be noted that the analysis of the assortment, its planning, formation and management is a complex of processes that never stop. That is, work with the assortment is always carried out and can only stop if a specific product group is withdrawn from production.

Formation principles

If we consider the analysis of the range and structure of products on the example of an enterprise belonging to large manufacturers, then it is worth paying attention to the common algorithm of actions used by such companies. Its essence boils down to several key stages of analytics.

First of all, the existing demand for manufactured products is assessed. This is followed by the organization of the most efficient use of the company's resources (technological, financial, raw materials, labor and technical).

Next comes the stage of assortment formation, which includes the completion of four tasks:

- identification of prospective and current needs of buyers;

- determining how competitive the manufactured goods and planned production are;

- studying the life cycle of goods on the market and taking measures such as the introduction of new more relevant positions, as well as the elimination of obsolete product lines;

- at the end, an assessment of the possible consequences of the changes made (the level of risk and economic efficiency is assessed).

Analysis of the assortment of the store is madeaccording to a more simplified algorithm (issues related to the production process are not taken into account).

Quality

In order for products to meet the needs of customers, it is necessary not only to have a variety of goods, but also a decent level of quality.

To check this indicator, the individual qualities of various product lines are evaluated. Attention in this case is drawn to the following characteristics of the product:

- reliability (maintainability, durability, reliability);

- aesthetics (design, appearance, ergonomics);

- usefulness (iron content in ore, fat content of milk, etc.);

- manufacturability (energy intensity and labor intensity).

Assessing the quality of the assortment, by evaluating these characteristics, allows you to get an idea of how the assortment meets market expectations. Without such analytics, production may end up being inefficient.

Results

Analysis of the range and structure of products on the example of large and small enterprises allows us to conclude that this stage of work with production is obviously relevant. Without a good assessment of the various indicators associated with product lines, it will not be easy to take a strong position in a particular market segment.