A business case for foodservice data built from your own numbers
A business case for foodservice data puts a value on five things your sales team already measures: wasted visits, accounts missing from the CRM, new-door strike rate, time spent on research and delivery listing gaps. Dashmote covers 20M+ venues in 60+ countries, but the case that convinces your finance team rests on your inputs, not on a vendor's, so this template uses only yours.
The trusted intelligence layer for teams selling to Hospitality & Retail
What the business case has to answer
The Head of Sales or Commercial Director who signs for outlet data has to answer one question for finance: what does the team do differently with it, and what is that worth? Coverage numbers do not answer it. A business case does, if it is built from the team's own activity.
The template below has five value lines and one cost block. Fill in what you know, mark what you estimate, and test the estimates on one territory before you sign. Leave out any line that does not apply: a brand with no delivery business skips line five.
The five value lines and the inputs you need
| Value line | Your inputs | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wasted visits | Visits per rep per year; share of visits to outlets that cannot buy or do not fit; cost per visit | Visits × wasted share × cost per visit |
| 2. Accounts missing from the CRM | Fitting outlets in the territory; outlets already in the CRM; new-door visits you can make; new-door strike rate; margin per new account per year | (New-door visits × strike rate) × margin per account |
| 3. New-door strike rate | Current strike rate on first visits; the change you assume when reps arrive prepared; new-door visits | (Assumed rate minus current rate) × new-door visits × margin per account |
| 4. Time on research | Hours per rep per week spent finding and checking outlets; reps; working weeks; cost per hour | Hours × reps × weeks × cost per hour |
| 5. Delivery listing gaps | Delivery storefronts in your territory that list your category but not your brand; share you expect to win; margin per listing per year | Gaps × win share × margin per listing |
Three rules keep the case honest. Count each new account once: if it sits in line 2, do not count it again in line 3. Value research time only if the hours go back into selling, not into admin. And use strike rate and call frequency as your team defines them today, so finance can check them against your CRM.
Worked example: a beer brand, ten reps
Take a beer brand with ten reps. Every input below is an assumption, amounts are in price units, and none of it is a Dashmote result.
| Value line | Assumed inputs | Value per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wasted visits | 10 reps, 1,800 visits each; 10% to outlets that cannot buy; 30 per visit | 54,000 |
| 2. Accounts missing from the CRM | 3,000 fitting outlets, 1,800 in the CRM; 300 new-door visits; 20% strike rate; 800 margin per account | 48,000 |
| 3. New-door strike rate | 20% assumed to become 22% on the same 300 visits | 4,800 |
| 4. Time on research | 2 hours per rep per week; 10 reps; 46 weeks; 40 per hour | 36,800 |
| 5. Delivery listing gaps | 400 storefronts list a rival, not the brand; 5% won; 300 margin per listing | 6,000 |
| Total value | 149,600 |
Set the total against the cost block below. Then halve the two lines you trust least and check that the case still stands: a case that only works with every assumption at its best is not a case yet.
The cost side: more than the licence
Finance will ask for the full cost, so give it:
- The data itself. Priced by scope: countries and territories, channels, which layers (outlet data, menus and brands, photos, delivery apps) and seats. See how pricing works.
- Getting it into your tools. Data arrives as a file (CSV) or through the API into the CRM or field-sales app you already use, such as Salesforce Consumer Goods Cloud, Repsly or Pepperi. Budget your CRM team's time to load it and keep current accounts matched.
- Team time. Time for each rep to learn the list and the fit score, and the planner's time to assign territories and plan the week's visits.
Dashmote works alongside your CRM or field-sales app by file or API; a light mobile workspace for reps (visit lists) is available as an optional add-on. If your reps take the workspace, budget it as a line of its own.
Inputs Dashmote can supply: the inputs
These describe the data behind lines 2 and 5; they are not outcome figures.
The full set of facts on coverage, menus, freshness and delivery into your CRM is on the foodservice sales intelligence page.
How to test the case on one territory
The two inputs most cases guess are the fitting outlets not in your CRM (line 2) and the delivery gaps (line 5). Both can be counted before you buy.
- Pick one territory your team knows well.
- Count the fitting outlets in it and match them to your CRM. The outlets left over are your white space: replace the estimate in line 2 with the real count.
- Ask two reps to judge 50 outlets from the list: would they visit, and why. Their answer tests the fit, not the vendor's word.
- Count the delivery gaps in the same area, if delivery matters to you. See digital shelf analytics for food delivery.
- Re-run the template with the counted inputs and keep the estimated ones marked.
A case built this way carries one territory's evidence, which is what a sceptical finance team wants to see.
Frequently asked questions
How do I build a business case for buying outlet data?
Build it from five value lines your team already measures: wasted visits, accounts missing from the CRM, new-door strike rate, time on research and delivery listing gaps. Put your own inputs into each formula, add the full cost, and test the two biggest estimates on one territory before you sign.
What inputs do I need from my own team?
You need visits per rep, the share of visits that go to outlets that cannot buy, cost per visit, your new-door strike rate, margin per new account, hours per rep spent on research, and your CRM account list. Most of these sit in your CRM or your sales reports already.
How do I value the accounts missing from my CRM?
Value them as new-door visits you can make, multiplied by your strike rate on new doors and the margin a new account earns per year. Count the fitting outlets not in your CRM on one territory first, so the number rests on a count, not a guess.
Should I use a vendor's ROI figures in the case?
No: use your own inputs. A vendor's figures come from other teams, other ranges and other territories, and finance will discount them. Your own visit data and strike rate are the numbers your finance team can check.
What goes on the cost side?
The cost side holds the data itself, priced by scope such as territories, channels, layers and seats, plus the time to load it into your CRM and the time your team spends learning to use it.
How do I check the numbers before signing?
Check them on one territory: count the fitting outlets and match them to your CRM, have two reps judge 50 outlets from the list, count delivery gaps if they matter, and re-run the template with the counted inputs.
Related reading
For the person signing off: the business case in brief
Put three lines at the top of the case you send to finance.
- Value from your own numbers. Five value lines, each with an input your CRM or your team can confirm, and no vendor outcome figures.
- The full cost. The data, the time to load it into your CRM, and the team's time to use it, set against the value.
- Tested before signing. One territory counted, 50 outlets judged by your own reps, and the case re-run with real inputs.