Alchemy Services
Demo · synthetic data
Retail · Problem → build → solution

From Monday-morning spreadsheet to live trading screen.

A walkthrough of how a trading dashboard gets built: the problem as the retailer described it, the build replayed step by step, and the working result underneath. "Vanbrugh Retail Group" and every figure here are fictional — the workflow is the real one.

Stage 1 · Dissolve

The problem

As the owner described it
  • Trading numbers arrive Wednesday, for last week.A manager exports till data store by store, pastes it into a master spreadsheet, and reconciles it by hand. Half a day, every week.
  • Online and stores live in different systems.Nobody sees channel mix or blended margin without building it manually — so mostly, nobody sees it.
  • Stock decisions are made from memory.Fast sellers run out before anyone reorders; seasonal stock gets marked down late, after the season.
Before: "MASTER_SALES_v14_FINAL(2).xlsx"
StoreWk salesvs LYMarginUpdated
Main Street£38,412+6%?#REF!Wed 14:20
Marina£22,904#VALUE!40%Wed 15:47
Onlineawaiting exportlast Fri
Trade£4,180-12%33%Tue
Stages 2–3 · Separate & recombine

Watch the build

Recreated build sequence · real workflow, synthetic data
01 · Dissolve
Map the systems
Find what the tills and site already expose
02 · Separate
Extract clean data
One daily feed, all channels
03 · Recombine
Build the logic
Targets, margin, exception rules
04 · Perfect
Ship & hand over
Deployed, documented, theirs
claude-code — vanbrugh-dashboard replay
Stage 4 · Perfect

The result — live every morning at 06:00

Synthetic figures
Revenue YTD
£0m
▲ 9% vs last year
Avg basket
£0
▲ £2.40 vs last year
Gross margin
0%
▼ 1.2pts — promo mix
Online share
0%
— steady 3 months
Main Street storeFlagship
£1,672,000of £3.8m target · 44%
Marina storeSeasonal footfall
£988,000of £2.6m target · 38%
OnlineOwn site + marketplaces
£1,081,000of £2.3m target · 47%
Trade counterB2B accounts
£129,000of £420k target · 31%
This morning's exceptionsSignalWhereStatusAt stake
Cotton knit rangeSelling 3× forecast — 11 days of stock leftMain StreetReorder now£24,600
Outdoor furniture92 days of cover, season ends in 40MarinaMarkdown?£18,200
Own-brand candlesOnline margin 12pts below storeOnlineReprice£6,900