Order Guide Comparison Report
A side-by-side comparison of order guide data across two dates to identify changes in stocked items, pricing, and product assortment.
What Is the Order Guide Comparison Report?
The Order Guide Comparison Report is a three-panel analytical tool that places two snapshots of order guide data next to each other and then surfaces the differences between them in a third panel called the Delta. By selecting a base date and a comparison date, you can see exactly what changed in a distributor's order guide over any period of time — making it useful for distributor review meetings, compliance monitoring, and assortment planning.
How to Use It
To run the report:
Use the Distributor, Operator, and DC filters to scope the data to the specific relationship you want to analyze.
Select a base date from the "Pick a date for base" dropdown — this is the starting snapshot.
Select a comparison date from the "Pick a date for comparison" dropdown — this is the point in time you are comparing against.
Set a Threshold to control how sensitive the delta detection is. The default is "Any Difference," which surfaces all changes regardless of size. You can narrow this to only surface changes that exceed a specific threshold.
The three panels will populate with data based on your selections.
The Three Panels
Order Guides Base — The order guide snapshot from the base date. Columns include Distributor, Operator, DC, Manufacturer, MFG #, DC Item #, NDA #, and Operator POD #. This represents the state of the order guide at the earlier point in time.
Order Guides Comparison — The order guide snapshot from the comparison date, showing the same columns. This represents the state of the order guide at the later point in time.
Order Guides Delta — The most actionable panel. It highlights only the rows where a difference exists between the two snapshots, including the following columns:
Distributor / Operator / DC — Identifies where the change occurred.
Manufacturer / MFG # / DC Item # / NDA # — Identifies the specific product affected.
Operator POD # — The operator's purchase order number.
Product Description — The name of the product that changed.
Unit of Measure — The unit the product is sold in.
Price Base — The price at the base date.
Price Comparison — The price at the comparison date, making pricing shifts immediately visible.
How to Use the Delta
The Delta panel is the primary output of this report. Use it to:
Identify price changes — Compare Price Base vs. Price Comparison to find products where pricing has shifted between the two dates.
Find added or removed items — Items that appear in one snapshot but not the other indicate assortment changes in the order guide.
Improve order guide compliance — If certain products should be on an order guide but aren't showing up in the comparison, this surfaces that gap.
Support distributor conversations — Bring Delta data into distributor review meetings to discuss assortment changes, price discrepancies, or items that need to be added or re-activated.
Filters
Distributor — Filter to a specific distribution partner.
Operator — Focus on a specific operator's order guide data.
DC — Narrow to a specific distribution center.
Pick a date for base — The earlier snapshot date.
Pick a date for comparison — The later snapshot date.
Threshold — Controls the minimum level of difference required to appear in the Delta panel.
1. Export the Base Order Guide
Use this to export the raw, original order guide data.
Steps:
Navigate to Order Guide at the bottom menu ribbon.
Choose Export Base.
The file downloads immediately.
This provides the baseline dataset with no comparison applied.
2. Pick for Comparison
This option allows you to export a version of the order guide to use as a reference for future comparisons.
Steps:
Open Order Guide Comparison Report.
Select Pick for Comparison.
Save the file locally.
You can upload or reference this file later to compare pricing, item changes, or distribution changes over time.
3. Export the Order Guide Delta Table
The Delta export shows differences between two order guide versions.
Includes changes such as:
Added/removed items
Price changes
Pack/size changes
Manufacturer item changes
To export:
Navigate to Order Guide Comparison Report.
Choose Delta Export.
The file downloads to your machine.
This export is ideal for tracking category shifts or updating purchasing systems.
Last Updated
Friday, April 10, 2026