Practical guide
What is MML (Must-Stock List)
MML (Must-Stock List) defines the SKUs required in a retail outlet of a given segment or channel. It is not one minimum list for the entire customer base: the assortment, version and effective dates follow company rules and the outlet format.
- SFA: field sales automation
- Analytics & BI for Distribution
In detail
An assortment matrix is useful when the product portfolio exceeds what an outlet can carry. Without an assigned list, a representative may offer the same catalogue to every customer or choose items subjectively. MML turns assortment strategy into a rule that can be checked for each segment.
No single criterion defines an MML. Category role, outlet potential, service format, shelf space, commercial strategy and supply constraints are considered together. Margin can inform the decision, but does not replace segmentation or automatically make an item required.
Assign MML by segment and channel with a version and effective dates. Optional and unassigned items stay outside the calculation base. Keep the assignment that applied to each observation, including agreed exceptions. A different pack or similar product does not automatically replace a required SKU: approve the substitution and its validity in advance. Do not retrospectively remove a missing item or apply a new matrix to an earlier visit to improve the score.
MML Compliance measures a chosen condition: inclusion in an order, shipment during a period or shelf availability at a visit. An order does not prove shipment, and shipment does not prove shelf availability. For a complete check of a nonempty matrix, divide the distinct required SKUs meeting the condition by all active required SKUs assigned to the outlet and express the share as a percentage. This measures assortment coverage; sufficient quantity and stock until the next delivery require separate checks.
Keep unchecked SKUs and outdated evidence marked unknown; show coverage separately and do not present an incomplete check as final. An empty matrix has no compliance percentage. To measure overall fulfilment across required items, sum comparable numerators and denominators. Outlets with larger matrices carry more weight in that result. An average outlet score answers a different question and needs a separate label. When comparing periods, check the outlet mix, matrices and repeat-visit rules: a changed base can improve the percentage without resolving earlier gaps.
An assortment gap is a required item confirmed not to meet the chosen condition. Missing from an order, absent from the outlet and absent from the shelf call for different actions. Establish the cause: backroom stock, a pending delivery, unavailable supply or an assignment error. Assign an action and an owner, then recheck the original condition. Keep the original gap and the new result. If the matrix changed instead of stock being replenished, report that rule change separately; closing a task does not prove MML compliance.
How it is applied
- Prepare an anonymised outlet and segment example, required SKUs with variants and packs, matrix versions and effective dates. If the list changed, include the earlier assignment and approved substitutions or exceptions. The full customer database is not needed for an initial discussion.
- Choose the check: an order, shipments during a period or the shelf at a visit. Record the source, update time, document statuses and cancellation and return rules. If the matrix changed during the period, separate observations by its effective dates rather than reassessing earlier visits against the new list.
- Agree the MML Compliance formula, distinct SKU counting, check scope and rule owner. Show unknown items and coverage separately. Retain the numerator, denominator and outlet scope behind the overall percentage; an empty base is not a performance score.
- Verify the assignment and data in the working process. Establish who approves a substitute SKU and when it becomes valid. Prompts, tasks and data exchange depend on configured modules and workflows; check applicability against the company’s current process.
- Work through a specific gap: its cause, a permitted action, an owner and a time to recheck. A replenishment suggestion considers stock, demand, selling terms and supply; it is not an automatic order.
- Compare the original and follow-up check under the same conditions. Identify matrix changes, SKU substitutions and segment changes separately. Bring this example and the current report to a discussion of SFA or analytics to distinguish an execution issue from an assignment issue. The scope of work and connection terms are agreed separately.