Inventory Management

The ability to collect and harness data is a key opportunity for retailers that want to truly enable a consumer-centric supply chain. According to a recent Boston Retail Partners study, 62 percent of retailers named customer identification and personalization of customer experience among their top three customer engagement priorities, more than any other initiative. However,…

It’s no surprise to learn that retailers are in a rapid investment period in terms of IT systems. Historically slow to invest in technology, retailers are now playing catchup in an arena that punishes slow-movers. A retail CIO is faced with the daunting challenge of solving a myriad of complex issues fast, including: delivering the…

We’ve all been there — going online to see if a specific piece of merchandise is currently available at a particular retail store, before taking the time to drive to said store or calling the store directly. If the online site shows that a product isn't currently available at that store (or the store location…

Retailers that manage their inventory using spreadsheets or other antiquated systems are costing themselves a lot of time, which is ultimately money lost. Not having systems in place that automate inventory management is costing retailers money. From the redundancies and productivity losses incurred from paying employees to perform manual tasks that could be automated, to…

Out-of-stock inventory continues to be a huge problem for retailers and suppliers alike. There’s nothing more frustrating for consumers than an empty shelf, and even just one instance of an out-of-stock item can have lasting consequences in terms of customer loyalty and lifetime value. Consider some recent findings from the Trading Partner Alliance consisting of…

Creating a retail assortment is like telling a story. "Every character, location and event in a story needs to be introduced and explained to an audience. Every relevant detail has to be explained, and that explanation is the element of a story which enchants a reader more than any other. It's the essence of storytelling." The…

Target offered a sneak peek of its upcoming Marimekko swimwear and home décor line, which features the iconic Finnish brand’s untouched, archival prints. And like last year’s wildly successful Lilly Pulitzer launch and the website-crashing Missoni collection before it, the 200-plus item Marimekko for Target collection might also sell out in a New York minute and…

We've all heard the retail cliche, "we need to do it differently." Yet year after year, organizations plan to do the exact same thing as before. Slight hyperbole, I know, but using last year (LY) actuals as your baseline for creating this year (TY) plans is doing just that. Most organizations are creating financial plans…

The battle between online retailers and traditional brick-and-mortar stores is entering a new and exciting phase. Less than a decade ago, experts predicted the demise of the big-box store because e-commerce enabled people to shop for larger inventories from the comfort of their homes and get items delivered in a relatively short time. These experts…

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus — stung by its first holiday sales decline since the Great Recession — is spreading the pain. Drowning in designer duds and accessories that it didn’t sell during the crucial shopping season, the department store chain, which also owns Bergdorf Goodman, has asked its vendors to take back merchandise or risk not…