Case Study
With Crisp, data-driven decisions are SunButter’s bread and butter.
With the help of Crisp’s void detection feature, SunButter can reduce out-of-stocks and continue to grow amidst supply chain challenges.
Situation
A crash course in supply chain
SunButter is a popular seed spread that’s free of common allergens while also boasting more vitamins and minerals than traditional nut butters. It started in the early 2000’s as a USDA project to develop a peanut butter alternative, but has grown into a successful brand in over 26,000 retail locations and schools nationwide.
With distribution everywhere the sun shines, SunButter’s sales team focuses on growth through same-store sales and adding additional SKUs. But as a small-to-medium sized business working through distributors, the last few years have been an advanced course in supply chain management amidst labor shortages, supply chain bottlenecks, and the rising cost of carrying inventory and logistics.
To meet the challenge, SunButter’s sales team needed greater visibility into their supply chain. But that left Managing Director Justin LaGosh spending hours poring through spreadsheets from multiple retailer and distributor portals. That just wouldn’t work for back-to-school season, where SunButter sees 40% or more of their annual sales. After SunButter attempted to build their own data lake and void detection model with lackluster results, Justin turned to Crisp.
Solution
A seamless supply chain, from seed to school
Now, SunButter’s sales team uses Crisp daily to keep distributors and retailers in full supply. The first step is anticipating demand, so Justin’s team analyzes sell-in and sell-through data to project sales, making a data-driven case for higher order volumes where needed. They also track sales by geography to identify successful strategies at higher-volume stores that can be applied to other locations. For instance, Justin saw that one of his top five retailers increased sales since buying SunButter’s newest chocolate SKU. He offered this insight in his next buyer conversation to drive adoption of the new flavor. Justin also monitors sales velocity across regions and chains to make sure marketing dollars and promotions are driving meaningful lift.
Justin’s other strategy is to detect and resolve out-of-stocks and voids as quickly as possible. Using Crisp to improve distributor fill rates and communicate early about inventory lags, Justin estimates that SunButter has saved $250K in avoided stock-outs in the past year alone. Crisp’s dashboards have also saved Justin 10 hours per month, condensing 2-3 hours of problem-solving into less than 30 minutes whenever issues arise. This enables more timely communication with buyers, which leads to real wins. For instance, Justin met with one retailer who thought that their stores’ out-of-stocks were due to a supplier short. Using Crisp, Justin was able to quickly track orders and shipments through his distributor, call his facility, and show that the order was in fact filled, but hadn’t actually been picked up by the buyer. Ultimately, this level of transparency leads to better in-stock rates and a stronger partnership with retailers.
Sunny Results:
• Saved $250k in avoided stock-outs and voids
• Saved 10-15 hours per month on raw data manipulation
• Built a data-driven case to expand product distribution and increase order volume
• Measured lift from marketing and promotional spend
Favorite Insight:
Voids Dashboard:
Crisp’s proprietary model detects locations where a product should be selling, but isn’t.
“When we tell a buyer they’re not ordering enough, it’s easy to sound like we’re just salespeople trying to sell more. But when you can say that register sales are growing at 15% and you’ve only ordered 8% more than a year ago, and you’re going to miss sales, that’s much more believable.”
Justin LaGosh
Managing Director
Always be Data Ready with Crisp
Crisp allows food brands and retailers to stay ahead of rapidly evolving consumer behavior, identify potential supply chain disruptions, track inventory and product performance. It’s easy and quick to get started so you can be Data Ready.