In retail, commercial organizations are often well structured on paper. Sales leadership defines priorities, monitors performance and reports to senior management. Key Account Managers negotiate with retailers, manage commercial agreements and track account development. Field teams focus on store execution, availability, shelf visibility and local opportunities. Everyone is working toward the same objective: grow the business. But in practice, each team often sees performance

For many retail brands, sell-in has long been the default way to measure commercial performance. It is easy to understand why. Sell-in data tells you what has been shipped or sold to retailers. It helps teams track volumes, monitor revenue, follow retailer orders, and measure whether commercial targets are being reached. On paper, everything can look healthy: volumes are growing, retailers are ordering, and distribution agreements are in place. But retail performance does not

Category Managers have a complex mission. They need to grow categories, optimize assortments, support retailer relationships, measure promotional impact, track innovation performance, and identify where future growth will come from. To do this properly, they need more than sell-in data. Sell-in shows what has been shipped or sold to retailers. It helps track commercial activity, volumes and account performance. But category management is not only about what has been shipped.

Promotions are one of the most powerful levers in retail. They help brands increase visibility, support product launches, defend market share, accelerate sell-through, and strengthen retailer relationships. But they are also expensive. Between trade investment, retailer negotiations, temporary price reductions, in-store visibility, media support and field execution, promotional campaigns can represent a significant share of commercial budgets. That is why one question matters