Merchandising, assortment, POS, storefronts, returns and loyalty. This is its own schema, version 2.
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Free to map your own company · Members $300 a yearSource: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (national file), employees as of mid-March 2023, payroll for the year; published 2025-06-26. Coded on NAICS 2017. Withheld cells read as not published.
Focused research on the organizations with the fewest mapped parts in retail & e-commerce; what it finds is public for everyone.
Counts of what public research has found and sourced, each part with its source on the organization’s profile. They say what is known, not how much of the industry exists.
How automatable each primitive is, estimated from the 150 organizations mapped in public on the Retail & e-commerce schema: the share of those with the primitive that run it on software. Estimate from public data: the share of mapped organizations that run this on software. Not a recommendation.
| Primitive | Layer | Automation | Peers on software | Software parts named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Brand and customer Demand: winning customers | Decisions | LowLayer only | 1 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Traffic and acquisition Demand: winning customers | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Store teams and conversion Demand: winning customers | People | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Pricing and promotions Demand: winning customers | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Trade and bulk quotes Demand: winning customers | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Vendor and channel terms Demand: winning customers | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Online storefront Demand: winning customers | Software | HighLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Marketplaces Demand: winning customers | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Product development and own brand Supply: making or delivering the offer | Process | LowEstimate | 1 of 147 on software | Facial Recognition (1) |
Buying and open-to-buy Supply: making or delivering the offer | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Purchase orders Supply: making or delivering the offer | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Vendors and brands Supply: making or delivering the offer | People | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Selling Supply: making or delivering the offer | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Product quality Supply: making or delivering the offer | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Stock Supply: making or delivering the offer | Data | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Order fulfilment Supply: making or delivering the offer | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Merchandising Supply: making or delivering the offer | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Assortment Supply: making or delivering the offer | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Shrink and loss prevention Supply: making or delivering the offer | Data | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Store and omnichannel fulfilment Supply: making or delivering the offer | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
First purchase Customers: keeping them | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Customer care Customers: keeping them | People | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Account management Customers: keeping them | People | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Customer profiles Customers: keeping them | Data | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Repeat purchase Customers: keeping them | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Returns Customers: keeping them | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Loyalty Customers: keeping them | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Payments at checkout Money: getting paid and paying | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Collections and receivables Money: getting paid and paying | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Vendor payments Money: getting paid and paying | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Payroll Money: getting paid and paying | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Accounting and close Money: getting paid and paying | Software | HighLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Budgeting and forecasting Money: getting paid and paying | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Cash and treasury Money: getting paid and paying | Data | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Org structure People: who does the work | People | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Hiring People: who does the work | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Onboarding and training People: who does the work | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Performance and pay People: who does the work | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Store staffing People: who does the work | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Policies and culture People: who does the work | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Core system of record Systems: tools and data | Software | HighLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Communication tools Systems: tools and data | Software | HighLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Integrations Systems: tools and data | Software | HighLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Sales and margin reporting Systems: tools and data | Data | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Data management Systems: tools and data | Data | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Security and access Systems: tools and data | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Point of sale Systems: tools and data | Software | HighLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Licences and registrations Control: rules the company runs under | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Regulatory compliance Control: rules the company runs under | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Insurance and risk Control: rules the company runs under | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Legal and contracts administration Control: rules the company runs under | Data | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Store safety Control: rules the company runs under | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Strategy and goals Direction: deciding where it goes | Decisions | LowLayer only | 3 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Governance and decision rights Direction: deciding where it goes | Decisions | LowLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Management cadence Direction: deciding where it goes | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
Learning and improvement Direction: deciding where it goes | Process | MediumLayer only | 0 of 150 mapped; too few to read | — |
The rule, the same for every industry: with 5 or more organizations having the primitive, 50% or more of them on software is high, 20% or more medium, below that low. With fewer, the level rests on the primitive's layer alone and says "Layer only". Software parts are counted once per organization; a detected technology is named by its product. See the blueprint for which organizations run each.