Explore Prerequisites, Data Models, and Implementation

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Identify the prerequisites to set up activity management.
• Explain the data model for activity planning.
• Explain the data model for activity execution.
• Explain the features required to implement activity management.

Prerequisites to Set Up Activity Management

Before setting up activity management for Gustavo and his sales reps, Fatima learns about the prerequisite tasks required to set up the feature.

POS and Account Relationship

POS audit is an important activity for sales reps to evaluate the effectiveness of the placement. POSs are added and maintained in the account record’s POS related list.

NTO has installed new POSs at its store #201. In the org, Fatima selects the store’s account record, navigates to its related list POS, and sees the following POSs.

• Fridge
• Beverage Freezer
• Beverages Shelf
• Snacks Shelf

Fatima notes that the POSs can also be assigned to the account from the mobile device.

Customer Manager and Account Relationship

Customers are maintained in the account record with the correct management type. If an activity is automatically initiated, the process considers the users based on the management type. For more information on customer master data setup, see Customer Data Management with Consumer Goods Cloud Enhanced Model.

In the org, Fatima checks out NTO Store #201’s Customer Managers related list and notices the sales management type assigned to relevant users. 

Product Assortments

CG Cloud uses authorization lists to determine the products for the product survey. Target values are maintained for the products against different listing modules or store formats. Different prices are set for the same product for different stores. The price varies based on the store sizes. Admins like Fatima can create a single product assortment with different product price facings for different stores. This feature helps to improve the efficiency of the admins.

The Product Assortment page NTO Atlanta Listing shows Fatima all the products listed for the NTO Atlanta store. 

Listing Classification for Account

Listing classifications are maintained in the account for the following reasons.

• They map product categories to the listing modules.
• Based on the listing module, target values are determined for product survey questions.

Listing classifications can be adjusted in both CG Cloud desktop interface and the mobile device.

Fatima views the related list Listing Classifications for NTO Store #201. She notices that product categories such as Beverages and Snacks are mapped to listing modules Big, Medium, and Small.

Advanced Promotions

Activities are planned against promotions to audit promotional products or displays. The promoted products are added to the activity.

Activity Planning Data Model

It’s time for Fatima to review the data model for activity planning and learn about each individual object that makes up the data model. These objects contain information about the various components needed to plan store-level activities. Let’s check them out.

• Job Template: A job template defines the type of activity in CG Cloud. Templates also define whether an activity is a question or a product survey. Questions don’t have a product reference, but surveys are product-specific.

A few examples of questions are the following. 

• Are advertising materials placed in the store?
• What is the total number of shelves available in the store?

A few examples of surveys are the following.

• Are the products properly placed in shelves?
• Is the product offered at a promotional price?

A job template object in a data model stores whether an activity is to be considered as a task, question, product-related survey, or any other object-related job like capturing orders.

• Job Definition Template: A job definition template defines the question or KPI that a sales rep or merchandiser evaluates when executing a visit. Depending on the job template used, the question defined in a job definition template can be a question or a survey. Each job definition template has a predefined answer format. For example:
  • Question: Is the promotion display set up?
  • Survey: What is the consumer price of Alpine Cola Energy drink?

A job definition template object in a data model stores the definition of questions or product surveys that are available in the system.

• Activity Template: An activity template is a blueprint for new activities. Multiple job definition templates can be grouped to create an activity template. In activity templates, you can indicate whether the activities created using the templates are standard or event-driven. You can also define if those activities are applicable to specific customers, customer sets, or products.
• Activity: Activities are lists of questions or KPIs for a specific time frame, customers, and products. There are two types of activities: standard and event-driven. Each activity has a specific validity period, visit template, and management type.

An activity object in a data model stores the list of questions or surveys to be answered during the visit.

• Data Type: Stores the flexible data type.
• Template Question: Stores the questions or surveys that are used in the job definition list.
• Promotion: Stores the details of the activity of a sales rep that includes the definition of prices for a time segment.
• POS Template: Stores the details of the POS template object to be used for POS.
• Question: Stores the details of the questions to be answered during the visit.
• Visit Template: Stores the details of the template that describes the basic visit behavior.
• Field Sales Activity: Stores the details of the field sales activity (FSA) object. FSA covers a set of job definition lists.
• Product: Stores the details of the product master data.
• Customer: Stores the details of the customer master data.
• Customer Set: Stores the details of the customer set.
• Activity Product: Stores the details of the products assigned to the activity.
• Activity Customer: Stores the details of the customers assigned to the activity.
• Activity Customer Set: Stores the details of the customer sets assigned to the activity.

For more information on the objects and fields, see Retail Execution Custom Objects.

After exploring the objects, Fatima checks out how these objects are connected to each other and the layout of the data model. 

After the activity planning data model is set up, sales managers like Gustavo can create activity records and assign them to relevant sales reps.

Activity Execution Data Model

Next, Fatima explores the data model for activity execution. She checks out the objects that Alpine Group can use to execute the activities in the NTO stores. Objects like Activity, Customer, Job Definition Template, and Product are part of the activity execution data model. Fatima has already learned about them while studying the activity planning data model. She now explores the other objects.

• Visit: Sales reps or merchandisers conduct grocery or sales visits to a store to execute the activities during the visit.
• Job List: A job list is a system-generated explicit task list for event-driven activities. A job list object stores the list of jobs generated from event-driven activities.
• User: Stores the details of the sales rep who visits the store and executes the activity
• Question: Stores the question assigned to the activity that is answered during the visit execution
• Visit Job: Stores the responses to questions or surveys captured during the visit
• Data Type Option: Stores the option available for the question or survey
• POS: Stores the details of the POS or secondary placement
• Promotion: Stores the details of the advanced promotion

For more information, see Consumer Goods Standard Objects.

You can set up the data model for activity execution by connecting these individual objects. The activity execution data model helps to record the store visits by sales reps.

Activity Management Implementation

Fatima notes down the features essential for implementing activity management at a store. She already learned about these features in detail while studying the data models. 

Fatima must set up the following features in the org to set up activity management at an NTO store.

• Job Template
• Job Definition Template
• Activity Template
• Activities
• Job List
• Grocery or Sales Visit to a Store

Keep Going

In this unit, Fatima explored the prerequisites, data models, and the features to implement activity management. Follow along as she learns about job definition templates and activity templates in the next unit.