Tableau plus Ward: assortment for a VP Supply Chain
You find out about stockouts after customers do. Ward detects assortment movement in your Tableau data and explains what caused it.
How a VP Supply Chain runs assortment off Tableau
You find out about stockouts after customers do. Ward hands you insight cards scoped to supply chain decision-making.
Assortment Planning is a card type Ward runs continuously. Ward analyzes sell-through by store cluster to recommend which SKUs to add, drop, or reallocate.
Under the hood. Ward clusters stores by demographic, traffic, and sales patterns, then measures SKU performance against cluster benchmarks.
How the connection works. Ward connects to the same databases Tableau uses. Or reads Tableau Server metadata via REST API for context.
What it does
- Planogram optimization inputs
- Store cluster segmentation
- SKU rationalization recommendations
- Whitespace opportunity detection
Chat
Ask anything. Ward routes to the right agent and returns cited answers.
I pulled Store 37’s last 28 days against the chain baseline. Two root causes, both compounding.
| Signal | Finding |
|---|---|
labor_efficiency | Rev/labor-hour −22% vs. cluster, staffing mismatch at 11a–1p peak |
inventory.fresh | Fresh fill 83%, backroom replenishment lag at 2–4p |
promo.lift | BOGO crackers cannibalized Brand Y by 28%, net category +6% |
Recommend: re-baseline Store 37 schedule against true peak, raise replen window to 1p, and review the BOGO before next cycle.
labor_scheduling…
Reporting
Pinned views built from saved data-lake queries. Every number re-derivable from its SQL.
| Model | Horizon | MAPE |
|---|---|---|
holt_winters | 4wk | 4.1% |
arima_sarimax | 13wk | 8.9% |
gbm_demand | 1wk | 2.1% |
bayes_hier | new store | 11.4% |
Sources
Connect external systems to the data lake.
| Name | Type | Last sync |
|---|---|---|
sap_pos_transactions | import | 2m ago |
sap_inventory_shrinkage | import | 2m ago |
sap_labor_scheduling | import | 14m ago |
retail_inventory_weekly | import | 1h ago |
retail_google_ads_daily | import | 1h ago |
retail_meta_ads_daily | import | 1h ago |
retail_ga4_website_daily | import | 1h ago |
Policies
Browse and manage Cedar access policies for your tenant.
| Policy ID | Effect | Resources |
|---|---|---|
merch-read-default | permit | Model::* |
finance-read-shrinkage | permit | Model::"inventory_shrinkage" |
vendor-blocked | forbid | Model::"labor_*" |
region-west-only | permit | Tenant::"acme" |
What Ward has eyes on.
Ward reads straight from Tableau rather than replacing it. Tableau Hyper extracts, underlying database (direct), published data source metadata come across on a read-only connection, get enriched with contextual data, and come back as cards. Your BI is untouched.
Stock what sells. Cut what doesn't. Ward runs the model continuously rather than on a reporting cycle, which is why a finding lands the morning the pattern starts instead of at the end of the period.
Why this combination
is its own problem.
A VP Supply Chain does not need the assortment model explained. They need to know which stores moved, why, and what to do by end of day. Ward writes the finding at that altitude.
What the first 90 days
actually look like.
-
01
Week 1: connect
Read-only credentials to Tableau. Ward reads tableau Hyper extracts, underlying database (direct), published data source metadata and starts building baselines. First daily cards land inside 48 hours, before baselines are stable, so you can see the shape of the output early.
-
02
Weeks 2 to 3: baselines
Ward needs roughly two weeks of history per store to separate a real deviation from normal variance. During this window the insight cards are directionally right and the thresholds are still moving.
-
03
Weeks 4 to 12: operating rhythm
Insight cards arrive each day and get triaged like any other queue. Most teams find the volume settles into something one person clears in ten minutes. What matters is the action rate, not the alert count.
How Ward connects to Tableau
Ward does not replace Tableau. Ward adds the proactive layer Tableau lacks. When a metric moves, Ward explains why and recommends action.
Setup: Ward connects to the same databases Tableau uses. Or reads Tableau Server metadata via REST API for context.
Data Ward reads from Tableau
Impact metrics with Tableau
Data lake enrichment
Ward enriches Tableau data with: Tableau data sources, Underlying database, Weather & events, Competitor pricing, Customer data
You find out about stockouts after customers do.
- ×Demand forecasts are off by 15-25% and nobody catches it until the shelf is empty
- ×Supplier fill rate problems announce themselves at the receiving dock
- ×Safety stock levels get set once a year and left alone
- ×No early warning system for supply chain disruptions
- ×Replenishment exceptions require manual triage every morning
- ✓Stockout prediction cards arrive 24-72 hours before empty shelves
- ✓Supplier fill rate tracking with automatic escalation
- ✓Dynamic safety stock recommendations based on current demand signals
- ✓Weather, event, and macro-driven demand adjustments
- ✓Replenishment exceptions auto-prioritized by revenue impact
Stockouts cost retailers $1.14 trillion in missed sales globally each year. Source: IHL Group
Frequently asked questions
Ward connects to the same databases Tableau uses. Or reads Tableau Server metadata via REST API for context. Data points include: Tableau Hyper extracts, Underlying database (direct), Published data source metadata.
You find out about stockouts after customers do. Ward solves this with automated insight cards: Stockout prediction cards arrive 24-72 hours before empty shelves. Supplier fill rate tracking with automatic escalation. Dynamic safety stock recommendations based on current demand signals.
First insight cards arrive within 48 hours of data connection. Ward needs approximately 2 weeks to establish stable baselines for your specific operation.
No. Ward sits on top of your existing stack. It is the proactive intelligence layer that watches your data continuously and delivers insight cards, so your team acts on findings instead of hunting for them.
Related solutions
See what assortment problems Ward catches.
Root causes, not just alerts. See it on your data.
Read-only to start · your LLM keys · SOC 2 Type II underway · or book a call directly
Find out what your data has been hiding.
Tell us about your operation. We’ll show you the problems Ward catches, and the ones your current tools miss.