Examining business obstacles 

Trouw Nutrition lacked insight into the behavioural patterns of their customer base, as well as profitability at a customer level. The business was unable to understand ultimate profitability for each client as wider operational expenditure (OPEX) costs were not accounted for on a per-customer level. Similarly, despite having strong relationships with their customers, Trouw Nutrition lacked insight into which customers were likely to churn and why.

Leveraging data and analytics to overcome churn 

Leveraging data and analytics, ADAPTFY deployed a commercial analytics toolkit for Trouw Nutrition in Western Canada with a customer profitability and churn dashboard.

To calculate customer profitability, we needed to agree on an approach for allocating OPEX at a customer account level. During stakeholder interviews with Trouw Nutrition, we agreed to use the volume purchased as a proxy for the effort required to service customers. This meant that to calculate customer profitability, OPEX costs were distributed to customers based on the size of their purchases relative to the broader client base.

To accurately predict customer churn, we analysed sales data to understand historical behavioural trends across different customer types. These behaviours were validated with Trouw Nutrition during stakeholder interviews, and the client base was split into two segments based on purchasing behaviours. We then employed two machine learning models (one for each segment) to predict future behaviours and determine the likelihood of clients leaving.

 
Converting data results into actionable strategies  

Once the models were successfully developed, we displayed outputs in a Microsoft Power BI dashboard, which the sales team across Canada will routinely use. The team can now review profitability at a customer level and, as a result, protect margins. Trouw Nutrition is also able to understand what drives customer behaviour and value, moving from a position of reactive to proactive engagements.

The development of the dashboards revealed an opportunity to improve Trouw Nutrition’s profitability by 39%. By reviewing unprofitable accounts, harmonising discount frameworks, and taking preventative churn actions, the company can proactively protect its revenues and improve profitability at scale.

Now, ADAPTFY is focused on converting insights into actions for the sales teams, tracking the effectiveness of their actions, and exploring more revenue management opportunities with the client. The commercial analytics toolkit Adaptfy developed has also come on the radar of the wider SHV network, leading to discussions to expand the rollouts into more regions for Trouw Nutrition and other SHV businesses, such as SHV Energy.

About Adaptfy

Adaptfy is a strategic partnership between SHV Holdings and Metyis to establish global Data & Analytics (D&A) capabilities for SHV. We use data, advanced analytics & technology to create value by optimizing business practices and processes throughout the value chain. Using analytical insights is not only about understanding the drivers of performance but is equally about understanding what response mechanisms (actions) deliver what kind of results at a more granular level.