Total Distribution Points (TDP) Versus Percent ACV: When To Use Each Metric

Total Distribution Points (TDP) is a distribution measure calculated by summing the percent ACV distribution of individual products in a brand or assortment. Comparing TDP with percent ACV (and numeric distribution) clarifies what each metric reveals about market presence and which to use for sales, merchandising, and supply planning decisions.

What Each Metric Shows

Percent ACV tells you the percent of total market sales (All-Commodity Volume) that is available in stores carrying at least one SKU of your brand. Numeric distribution shows the percent of outlets that list a product, unweighted by store sales. TDP sums SKU-level percent ACV values, emphasizing assortment depth and the contribution of multiple SKUs across stores.

Why The Difference Matters

TDP’s additivity makes it useful for measuring assortment depth and the combined value of multi-SKU strategies. Percent ACV is better when you want to understand unique-market exposure — how much of the market’s sales potential can be reached by at least one of your items. Using the wrong metric can lead to misallocated sales effort: chasing TDP growth in low-ACV accounts might look productive but deliver little incremental market reach.

How To Choose Between TDP And Percent ACV

Choose based on the question you need to answer:

• Label:Do you want to measure assortment depth? Use TDP to quantify the combined ACV presence of multiple SKUs.
• Label:Do you want to know market reach? Use percent ACV (unique-store ACV) to see how much of the market you can reach at least once.
• Label:Are you comparing store importance? Both metrics use ACV weighting; pair with numeric distribution to see whether listings are concentrated in a few big accounts or spread thinly across many small accounts.

Operational Scenarios And Recommended Metrics

Sales planning: If your field team won several new product listings, compute the TDP lift to estimate combined incremental ACV exposure and compare that to percent ACV to determine whether you actually expanded unique-market reach or simply deepened presence in existing retailers.

Assortment rationalization: For SKU pruning decisions, compare each SKU’s contribution to TDP against its sales velocity and margin. A SKU adding low TDP but high velocity in key accounts may be retained, while a SKU adding many TDP points but cannibalizing others may be a candidate for consolidation.

Examples To Illustrate The Difference

Example A — High TDP, Low Unique ACV: A brand with three SKUs listed primarily in the same national accounts with very high ACV might show TDP = 240 (80 + 80 + 80) but percent ACV (unique-store basis) = 80%. That means the assortment is deep in large outlets but not reaching additional accounts.

Example B — Lower TDP, Higher Unique ACV: A brand with two SKUs each at 45% ACV in different sets of stores could have TDP = 90, but its percent ACV (unique) could be 80% if the SKUs’ store footprints complement each other. That signals broader unique reach across the market.

Practical Tips For Using Both Metrics

• Label:Report Both: Present TDP and percent ACV together so commercial teams understand both depth and breadth.
• Label:Disaggregate By Channel: Compute channel-specific TDP to see whether assortment depth is e‑commerce, mass, or grocery driven.
• Label:Combine With Velocity: Use velocity per TDP point (sales/point) to measure the effectiveness of distribution; this reveals whether extra TDP translates to proportional sales.
• Label:Align Targets: When setting targets, translate a desired percent-ACV gain into a required TDP lift (or vice versa) so field sales and account teams have actionable goals.

In short, the Total Distribution Points (TDP) metric explains how much combined ACV a brand’s SKUs cover, while percent ACV explains unique market access. Use them together — TDP for assortment and depth decisions, percent ACV for reach — to form a complete, actionable view of distribution performance.