Practical guide
What is an MML matrix (Minimum Must List)
MML (Minimum Must List) is the minimum list of product items that have to be present in a retail outlet. The list is built separately for each outlet format and is selected by margin rather than by sales volume, which is why it is noticeably shorter than the full portfolio.
- SFA: field sales automation
- Analytics & BI for Distribution Decisions
In detail
An assortment matrix appears wherever the portfolio is wider than the shelf. Carrying the whole catalogue in every outlet is impossible and unnecessary, and without a defined list the choice is left to the employee and to the shop’s buyer - and drifts towards whatever is easiest to sell.
Selection into the matrix goes by margin, not by turnover. Low-margin items move in large volumes and get into the order by themselves; the point of the list is that every order also holds the items that bring profit but do not get there without a reminder.
The matrix depends on the outlet format: a kiosk and a hypermarket need different lists, because they differ in shelf space and in the way they trade - self-service or across the counter. So the formats are described first, off the customer base, and a list is developed for each format separately.
A matrix that is not met, or built wrongly, shows up in profit rather than in sales volume: the company sells a lot and does not earn more, while the highest-margin items are in fact absent from the shops. Ownership of the matrix usually sits with whoever answers for profit - a supervisor, a commercial director, a brand owner.
Checking after the fact does not work. If compliance is verified from a sales report for a period that has passed, there is no longer anything to intervene in: the list has to be checked at the moment the order is taken, while the contents of the order can still be changed.
How it is applied
- The customer base is split into retail outlet formats, by shelf space and by the way the outlet trades.
- A list of items is selected for each format; the main selection criterion is the margin of the item, which is why the cheapest goods rarely make the list.
- The list is attached to the outlets of its own format and becomes the basis compliance is measured against.
- Compliance is checked at the moment the order is taken in the outlet, and not only in a report for a period that has passed.
- Incentives for the field team and for the outlet’s staff are tied to meeting the list rather than to total shipment volume.
- Item presence by customer, region and category is visible in SKU reporting and in product presence analytics.