4 Ways J.C. Penney Delivers a Compelling Shopping Experience

2. Optimize inventory. The company takes advantage of like-item historical data to drive current-day inventory forecasts. This includes optimizing sizes down to the individual store level based on how many units that store is expected to sell.

Kelley cited the example of two stores, one in Davenport, Iowa, the other in El Paso, Texas. The data shows that the store in Davenport sells more size large than the El Paso location; therefore, it'll receive a prepack shipment with an increased percentage of large sizes. Then the company uses “open stock” inventory to supplement the gaps in the prepacks.