Retail Data & AI Academy

Welcome to the complete Retail Data & AI Academy

This programme teaches learners to move from operational routines to commercial leadership. One fictional retail business runs through the whole course, so every decision affects the next stage.

AnalyseInvestigateVisualiseDecideActMeasure

LEVEL 1

Team Leader

Understand routines, gaps, waste, stock accuracy and customer execution.

LEVEL 2

Store Manager

Own KPIs, labour, profit, root cause and weekly action plans.

LEVEL 3

Area Manager

Prioritise multiple stores, challenge performance and allocate intervention.

Module 1: Retail KPI Fundamentals

Objective: read a balanced scorecard and identify commercial signals.

Sales£191,250Budget £198k

Waste3.8%Target 2.2%

Payroll12.4%Target 10.8%

Availability91.2%Target 97%

Loss2.1%Target 1.5%

Customer78%Target 85%

Margin27.6%Target 28%

Profit£8,420Weekly case

Your first management read

Module 2: Excel Analysis Lab

Store	Sales	Budget	Waste	Payroll
101	214,500	210,000	2.1%	10.5%
214	191,250	198,000	3.8%	12.4%
308	228,400	220,000	1.9%	10.2%
412	203,100	205,000	2.6%	11.1%

Formula challenge

Actual is B2, Budget C2. Sales variance?

XLOOKUPSUMIFSIF/IFSPivotTables

Module 3: Power BI Multi-Store Dashboard

101

214

308

412

527

619

704

Drill: Region → Store → Week → Department → KPI

Build flow

Import data
Power Query
Relationships
DAX measures
KPI visuals
Slicers
Management story

Module 4: Sales & Availability

Store 214 is £6,750 below weekly sales budget. Availability is 91.2%.

Evidence	Finding
Fresh availability 16:00–19:00	86%
Delivery completion	3.1 hrs after receipt
Top 50 lines	12 recurring gaps
Book stock	47 negative stock lines

Investigation

Module 5: Waste & Markdown Control

Category	Waste £	Issue
Produce	£1,840	Over-ordering / late reductions to test
Meat	£1,220	Forecast vs demand
Bakery	£760	Production profile
Dairy	£490	Date rotation

Late reductions: 38%

Module 6: Stock Loss & Gap Scan

Practise the investigation logic behind a gap scan.

Product	Shelf	Book SOH	Last delivery	Till movement
Premium Coffee	Gap	6	Yesterday	2 sold today
Olive Oil	Gap	0	3 days ago	Sold today → negative risk
Rice 5kg	Gap	12	Today	0
Shampoo	Gap	4	2 days ago	1

Your decision

Module 7: Payroll & Productivity

Payroll is 12.4% vs 10.8% target. Do not simply cut hours. First determine whether hours are being deployed where sales and workload need them.

Period	Sales mix	Labour mix
06–10	12%	19%
10–16	38%	39%
16–20	35%	27%
20–close	15%	15%

Module 8: Customer Performance

Overall78%

Availability71%

Queue84%

Service86%

Voice of customer

“Too many gaps after work.” “Staff helpful, but I couldn't get everything I needed.” “Fresh range looked empty in the evening.”

Module 9: P&L & Profit Simulator

Line	Current
Sales	£191,250
Gross margin	27.6%
Waste pressure	3.8%
Payroll	12.4%
Operating profit	£8,420

Choose interventions

Waste +£920
Payroll +£640
Availability +£500*
Loss +£280

*Simplified fictional training contribution.

Module 10: AI Commercial Analyst

Use AI to improve questions, not outsource accountability.

AI Coach

Your prompt feedback appears here.

Example

Analyse Store 214 against target. Identify three commercial risks. Do not assume root cause. Give five investigation questions, required evidence and a concise management output.

Module 11: Leadership & SMART Action Planning

Priority	Action	Owner	Deadline	Measure

Simulation Centre: Gap Scan & Stock Control

Scenario: It is 16:30. Evening trade is building and five high-volume lines are off sale. Investigate before changing stock.

Product	Shelf	Book SOH	Backstock	Last delivery	Till today
Whole Milk 4pt	Gap	18	?	Today 11:10	31
Olive Oil 1L	Gap	-2	0	3 days ago	3
Basmati Rice 5kg	Gap	12	8	Today 09:20	0
Premium Coffee	Gap	6	0	Yesterday	2

Manager investigation note

Simulation Centre: Waste & Reductions

Choose actions that protect availability while reducing avoidable waste.

Category	Waste	Late reductions	Sell-through
Produce	£1,840	46%	71%
Meat	£1,220	41%	76%
Bakery	£760	33%	81%
Dairy	£490	22%	89%

Select interventions

Earlier reduction review +£520
Correct produce order profile +£430
Bakery production by hour +£310
Cut all fresh orders 20% -£250

Simulation Centre: Area Manager Multi-Store Challenge

You have 90 minutes of intervention time today. Use the balanced scorecard to decide where to investigate and what coaching questions to ask.

Store	Sales vs budget	Waste	Payroll	Avail.	Customer
101	+2.1%	2.1%	10.5%	97.4%	88
214	-3.4%	3.8%	12.4%	91.2%	78
308	+3.8%	1.9%	10.2%	98.1%	90
412	-0.9%	2.6%	11.1%	95.8%	84
619	-5.7%	3.1%	13.0%	89.8%	72
704	+1.4%	2.0%	10.6%	97.0%	87

Allocate your 90 minutes

Store 214 minutesStore 619 minutes

Regional coaching brief

Compliance & Risk: Challenge 25

Scenario training: practise age-verification decisions in a fictional England & Wales retail setting. Challenge 25 is a retailer policy approach, so learners must always follow their employer's current policy and accepted-ID rules.

2026 update: digital proof of age can now be adopted for alcohol sales in England and Wales where the business uses an appropriate certified solution. Do not assume every digital ID is acceptable.

Customer scenarios

1. Customer looks about 22 and wants an age-restricted product.

2. Customer cannot provide acceptable proof of age after being challenged.

3. Adult appears to be buying alcohol for a young person who was previously refused.

Manager reflection

Compliance Audit Simulator

You are opening Store 214. Review each control and decide whether it is compliant, needs immediate action, or needs investigation.

Control	Evidence	Your audit decision
Fire exit route	Two roll cages partly obstruct rear route
Chilled food	Temperature exception recorded, no manager follow-up documented
Cleaning chemicals	Unlabelled spray bottle in colleague area
Refusals record	Required entries completed under fictional store policy

Health & Safety Virtual Store Audit

Identify hazards and choose proportionate controls. HSE highlights slips/trips, manual handling, violence and workplace transport among common retail risks.

Area	Observation	Best first response
Produce	Liquid spill across customer walkway
Warehouse	Heavy case stored above shoulder height
Back door	Roll cage left in pedestrian route
Shop floor	Damaged floor edge creates trip hazard

Food Safety Challenge

Use evidence, isolate uncertainty and follow the business food-safety system. Core FSA themes include cleaning, chilling, personal hygiene and avoiding cross-contamination.

1. A chilled-food temperature check is outside the business limit.

2. Cleaning equipment used in a high-risk area is then taken to another food area.

3. A colleague is unsure about an allergen query.

Fire Safety Audit

Fire safety duties include risk assessment, appropriate precautions, emergency planning and staff information/training. The exact legal Responsible Person depends on the premises and organisation.

Finding	Decision
Emergency exit partly blocked by stock
Fire-risk assessment has not been reviewed after a significant layout change
New colleague does not know evacuation procedure

Manual Handling Risk Challenge

HSE's approach is to avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable, then assess and reduce remaining risk. Consider the task, individual, load and environment.

A colleague must move repeated heavy cases from floor level to a high shelf.

A roll cage is difficult to move because a wheel is damaged.

Accident & Incident Investigation

Scenario: A customer slips near chilled produce. The floor is wet, cleaning took place recently, and no barrier was in place.

Immediate response

Root-cause investigation

Corrective action

Store Manager Final Compliance Challenge

You have 20 minutes before opening. Eight findings have been reported. Prioritise them by immediate risk, contain urgent issues, allocate owners and create a verification plan.

Finding	Risk signal
Rear fire route obstructed	Immediate life-safety concern
Wet entrance floor during rain	Customer/colleague slip risk
Unlabelled chemical bottle	Unknown substance/control failure
Chilled exception awaiting review	Food-safety investigation required
One overdue routine training record	Investigate competence/record
Damaged roll-cage wheel	Handling/equipment risk
Age-verification refusal log incomplete	Policy/compliance control gap
Office filing untidy	Lower immediate safety priority

Training note: This is a fictional learning simulation, not a substitute for your employer's procedures, competent safety advice or legal guidance. Requirements and retailer policies can change.

Module 12: Area Manager Final Challenge

You now manage 10 stores. You have one hour before the regional performance meeting. Store 214 has several red KPIs, while Store 619 has the lowest overall dashboard performance. Decide where to intervene first and justify your allocation of time using evidence, risk and potential commercial impact.

Executive submission

Certificate of Completion

This confirms that

________________

has completed the