Solutions
See the trade. Plan your next move.
Build an outlet register across supermarkets and neighbourhood shops, find where distribution could grow, or run a field programme across markets.
Research and insights teams
Trade census
Build a current register of outlets by market, work area and outlet type. Collect location and field evidence, verify records and flag areas that need another visit.
- Outlet locations and classifications
- Photo evidence for review
- Approved records ready to export
Commercial and distribution teams
Route-to-market planning
See where outlets are concentrated and how the mix changes by work area. Use verified records to set territory boundaries and decide where to look for new distribution.
- Outlet mix by geography
- Coverage gaps worth investigating
- Consistent records for commercial planning
Programme leads and supervisors
Field operations
Brief field teams on the local outlet mix, assign work across countries and use the review queue to coordinate follow-up. Keep a common process even when markets differ.
- Country and work area assignments
- Capture, sync and review status
- Revisits for records that need more evidence
Project delivery
How a census runs.
Agree the scope
Share the markets, outlet types, any starting outlet lists and the decisions you need to make. We agree work areas, evidence requirements and the handover format.
Brief and pilot
Brief the teams on the outlet definitions and questionnaires. Test a small work area to check how the questions, route assignments and offline capture work on the ground.
Capture and review
Field teams collect outlet details and evidence. Supervisors review submissions, resolve potential duplicates and assign revisits when evidence is missing.
Hand over the results
Receive the approved outlet register and a summary of coverage and outstanding work. Use the outputs to plan distribution or brief the next field team.
East Africa
Where we can plan fieldwork.
Plan across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. We confirm the work areas, outlet mix and field team availability during scoping.
Kenya
Example project scope
Compare supermarket branch visits with neighbourhood shop coverage across an urban and peri-urban territory.
Uganda
Example project scope
Map independent shops and supermarkets along a distribution corridor, then check where the existing outlet list has gaps.
Tanzania
Example project scope
Plan separate work areas for town centres and surrounding routes, and review which outlets need another visit.
Illustrative field project
Where should the next route go?
- The question
- A distributor wants to know which shops its current routes miss.
- The fieldwork
- Teams visit supermarkets and neighbourhood shops across three work areas. Supervisors compare the evidence with the distributor’s outlet list.
- The decision
- Shortlist 5 verified outlets for a route assessment and send the field team back to 3 outlets that still need evidence.
Plan your census