The case for automation
Mainstream sources across vendor reports, industry surveys, Salesforce ecosystem reviews, and CPG analyst coverage. The numbers all point the same direction.
The numbers
Five data points that show up consistently across surveys and vendor analyses. The conclusion: spreadsheet-based trade promotion management is a structural cost that hits every CPG company that hasn't moved off it yet.
of a sales rep's or brand manager's time is consumed by manually managing trade promotions — primarily data entry, approval shepherding, and budget tracking.
Source: Harvard Business Review, cited in Corrao Group · MyFirst TPM analysis
of TPM teams waste 10+ hours every week on admin tasks: manual data entry, approval workflows, and budget tracking.
Source: Vistex Trade Promotion Survey · 2024
of trade promotions generate no positive ROI. Manual data quality and slow visibility into actual performance are part of why.
Source: industry consensus, cited across vendor reports including Corrao Group
of CPG brands still run trade promotion management on spreadsheets — limiting their ability to adapt dynamically to market changes.
Source: CPGvision · Why do CPG companies cling to spreadsheets?
of gross sales is what trade funds typically represent — making it the second-largest line item after COGS for most CPG manufacturers.
Every percentage point of efficiency on trade promotion data work compounds against a 10-20% of gross sales line item. The work is mechanical, the volume is high, and the operators are the most expensive people doing the lowest judgment work in the operation. That's the textbook automation target.
Why this matters as a market
A handful of well-funded SaaS companies position their entire product around "escape from Excel." That alone tells you the addressable problem is real and unresolved — vendors don't pour marketing budget into pain that doesn't exist.
Marketing tagline is literally "Escape from Excel." Cloud-based TPM aimed at high-growth CPG.
govividly.com →AI-driven TPM & RGM platform; explicit positioning against fragmented spreadsheet workflows.
visualfabriq.com →Salesforce-native consumer goods cloud; strong reviews for offline-mobile and AI ("Ava"). The platform this project automates.
aforza.com →Cloud-based TPM with extensive content marketing on the spreadsheet pitfalls problem.
cpgvision.com →CPG-specialist TPM; emphasises automation of approval workflows and budget control.
trewup.com →Salesforce-built TPM; the published guide names the exact pain we're solving.
corraogroup.com →Aforza specifically
Aforza is a Salesforce-native consumer goods platform. Public reviews praise its mobile UX and AI ("Ava"); the same reviews surface a consistent gap: the bridge from supplier files into Aforza is still manual at most installations, even after the platform is live.
Sources: Gartner Peer Insights, Capterra UK
Sources: Anvisol Aforza implementation case, Gartner reviews
Aforza is a niche enough platform that being a recognised "Aforza automation specialist" has real differentiation in the Salesforce CPG ecosystem. Customers love the platform but consistently struggle with the data-side glue. That's exactly the gap this project closes.
References
Every link cited above, grouped by topic. All open in the same tab — copy and paste freely.