Overview

Once iVendNext AI Gateway is connected to your AI assistant, you can begin asking questions about your business in plain English. There is no query language to learn, no report template to configure, and no filter to set. You ask the way you would ask a knowledgeable colleague — and the AI responds with answers drawn from your live iVendNext data.

This article explains what you can ask, how to frame questions effectively, and provides worked examples across the key areas of your business.

How the AI Interprets Your Questions

When you ask a question through your AI assistant, the Gateway translates your natural language query into a structured request to iVendNext. It identifies what data is being asked for, which module holds that data, what filters apply (such as date ranges, locations, or item categories), and how to present the result.

You do not need to think about any of this. The AI handles the translation automatically. What you need to focus on is asking your question clearly — the more specific you are, the more precise the answer will be.

For example:

• "How did we do last month?" will return a general revenue summary.

• "What was my total revenue and gross margin in April 2026 across all stores?" will return a more specific and actionable answer.

Both are valid questions. The second will give you a more targeted result.

Retail Performance

Retail performance is one of the most common areas where iVendNext AI Gateway delivers immediate value. Business leaders and store managers can get answers to the questions they ask most frequently — without waiting for a report or navigating the analytics module.

Revenue and sales performance

"What was my total revenue in April 2026?" "Which were my top five stores by revenue last quarter?" "How did my sales this month compare to the same month last year?"

Transaction metrics

"What has been my Average Transaction Value and Units Per Transaction in the last 30 days?" "Which store has the highest UPT this month?"

Product performance

"What were my top 20 selling items by units in Q1 2026?" "Which items in my summer range are underperforming against last year?" "Which of my top 20 revenue items are showing a sales decline this quarter?"

Promotion effectiveness

"Were my promotions effective last month? Did we see a revenue uptick and did we move more units?" "Compare revenue and units sold in the two weeks before and after the Easter promotion."

Inventory and Stock

Stock questions are particularly well-suited to the Gateway because they often require data from multiple warehouses or locations — information that is time-consuming to assemble manually.

Stock availability

"How much stock do I have of SKU-1234 across all warehouses?" "Which of my top 50 items are below reorder level right now?" "How many days of stock do I have left for my top 50 items at current rate of sale?"

Stock health

"What are my slow-moving items — nothing sold in the last 90 days?" "Which items have the highest shrinkage across all my stores this year?" "What is the total value of stock currently in my central warehouse?"

Stock movements

"What stock was transferred between stores last week?" "Show me goods received in the last 14 days across all locations."

Purchasing and Supplier Management

The buying team can use iVendNext AI Gateway to monitor supplier performance and purchasing activity without running procurement reports.

Supplier performance

"Which suppliers have the best and worst on-time delivery performance over the last six months?" "Which suppliers have the most overdue purchase orders right now?" "What is the average lead time for my top ten suppliers?"

Purchase orders and receipts

"How many open purchase orders do I have and what is their total value?" "Which purchase orders are due for delivery this week?" "Show me all purchase orders raised in the last 30 days for supplier X."

Spend analysis

"What has been my total purchasing spend by category this quarter?" "Which items have I reordered most frequently in the last six months?"

Customers and Accounts

Customer data queries help sales teams, account managers, and operations leaders understand buying patterns and identify opportunities.

Customer activity

"Which customers haven't placed an order in the last 60 days?" "Who are my top ten customers by revenue this year?" "Show me all orders placed by customer X in the last three months."

Receivables

"Which customer accounts have overdue balances right now?" "What is my total outstanding receivables and how much is more than 30 days overdue?"

Dashboards and Summaries

One of the most powerful uses of iVendNext AI Gateway is asking it to create or summarise a multi-metric view of the business — effectively replacing the need to manually assemble a management report.

"Create a dashboard with all important KPIs for my business from 1st January 2026 to date." "Give me an executive summary of how the business performed last month — revenue, margins, stock position, and any overdue payables." "Build a dashboard showing store-by-store performance for Q1 2026."

The Gateway will pull the relevant data from across iVendNext and return it in a structured, readable format — or create a live iVendNext dashboard that the user can return to.

Workflow and Document Actions

Beyond answering questions, the Gateway can take actions in iVendNext on your behalf through natural language instructions.

"Approve the pending purchase order from supplier X." "Update the status of lead Y to Qualified and set the next action date to next Monday." "Show me all documents waiting for my approval."

These actions are carried out within your existing iVendNext permissions. The Gateway cannot approve documents you are not authorised to approve, or access records outside your permitted scope.

Tips for Better Queries

A few habits that consistently produce more useful answers:

Be specific about time periods. Saying "last month" works, but "April 2026" is unambiguous and produces more reliable results — especially when asking comparative questions.

Name the scope when it matters. If you want data for a specific store, warehouse, supplier, or category, include it in your question. The AI will scope the result accordingly.

Ask follow-up questions. The AI assistant maintains context within a conversation. If the first answer raises another question, ask it directly — the AI will build on what it already retrieved.

Request formats when useful. You can ask the AI to present results as a table, a ranked list, or a plain summary. For example: "Show me this as a ranked list by revenue" or "Give me a brief summary in three bullet points."