FMCG/CPG metric
What is strike rate and how it is measured
Strike rate is a field team indicator: the share of visits to retail outlets that ended in a placed order, out of all visits in the period. It is computed by employee, outlet, territory or sales channel and shows how productive a visit was, not how much was sold.
- SFA: field sales automation
- Analytics & BI for Distribution
In detail
For a sales manager, strike rate answers this question: what share of completed visits resulted in a placed order? This article counts visits, not orders or unique outlets. The percentage formula is: strike rate = visits with a placed order / all completed visits in the same period × 100.
A visit with several orders counts once in the numerator. A small and a large order both make a visit productive, so read the rate alongside order value, line count and assortment compliance. Strike rate alone does not measure revenue, profit or visit quality.
Missed visits are outside completed-visit conversion; track them through route-plan completion. A separate measure divides planned visits with an order by all visits in the same plan version. Unplanned visits do not enter that numerator. Fix the plan version before comparison and record rescheduling separately. Otherwise, removing missed visits improves the percentage without improving the outcome.
Distinguish an empty base from incomplete data. Once all records have arrived, no completed visits means strike rate is undefined: show “no visits”. If visits took place but none produced an order, the share is zero. If visits or orders are still syncing, the result is preliminary. A missing record does not yet prove that no visit or order occurred.
Compare equivalent completed periods and comparable routes. Do not directly compare part of the current period with a full-period result. Show visit counts: with a small base, an individual visit can move the percentage substantially. Changes in the mix of channels or outlet formats also affect the overall result. Set targets and inclusion rules for merchandising-only or collection-only visits separately; there is no universal benchmark here.
How it is measured
- Prepare a register with visit ID, employee, outlet, visit time, completion status and plan version. Specify the period, time zone and report update time. A visit date can differ from the date its record arrives; use a consistent rule for assigning visits to periods.
- Link orders to visits and remove duplicates. A qualifying order is enough for a visit to enter the numerator. An order still waiting to sync is not evidence of a refusal to buy. A phone or Marketplace order unrelated to a visit does not add a productive field visit.
- Fix the order status and the cutoff for late records. This article counts placed orders. Give conversion to confirmed or shipped orders a separate name. Agree rules for cancellations, late orders and revisions to closed periods. Recount visits with a qualifying order rather than subtracting cancelled orders from a count of visits.
- Show the share, both underlying counts and data completeness. Do not divide by zero with an empty base. For a team total, add productive visits and all completed visits separately, then divide the totals. A simple average of employee percentages can distort the result when their bases differ.
- Check record completeness first, then investigate the difference by employee, outlet, route or channel. For a category view, define which visits offered that category. Check stock availability, purchase terms and refusal reasons before attributing the result to employee performance.
- Choose an action for the identified cause and repeat the comparison under the same rules. Before discussing configuration, prepare an anonymised visit-and-order sample, the plan version and the disputed calculation. Explore visits and reporting in the SFA and analytics sections; first agree the KPI definition with your team.