Inventory Management

In e-commerce, speed and order accuracy are the key drivers of customer satisfaction. A customer who expects diapers to be delivered in half an hour may abandon a retailer forever after one messy delay or mistake. Brick-and-mortar retailers that are building out their e-commerce operations are feeling pressure on many fronts. Q-commerce companies, which promise 15-…

Now is the time for brands to gear up for Amazon Prime Day 2022. While the dates have yet to be announced, preparations are well under way for the massive online shopping event. In 2021, consumers purchased $11.2 billion worth of goods on Amazon.com during Prime Day, up 7.7 percent from $10.4 billion in 2020.…

Managing inventory well is one of the most important ways to ensure the success of your business. With supply chain disruptions happening across every industry due to the pandemic, effective inventory management is more important than ever. Purchase orders are among the most powerful tools for mastering inventory management, tracking inventory, and maintaining strong retailer-vendor relationships. A purchase order is a legally binding document that outlines…

Target warned investors Tuesday that its profits will take a short-term hit as it marks down unwanted items, cancels orders, and takes aggressive steps to get rid of extra inventory, reports CNBC. The retailer slashed its profit margin expectations for the fiscal second quarter from around 5 percent to around 2 percent to account for a…

While only a few months ago U.S. retailers were scrambling to fill their shelves due to supply chain delays, many are now facing inventory surpluses and having to discount unsold goods, according to a Reuters report. Average retail inventories have been rising quickly, too. The Reuters article cited research from Citi that found 11 of…

Apparel organizations that fail to plan might as well plan to fail, particularly in the TikTok and Instagram era. The power of social media has never been more apparent to fashion brands, which, because of influencers, sell out of much-wanted items faster than they can make them — inadvertently sending shoppers elsewhere. For instance, after…

In episode 341 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Michael Maher, CEO and co-founder of Taylor Stitch, a men's lifestyle company crafting responsibly built staples that are made to last. Listen in as Maher discusses his inspiration for launching Taylor Stitch, the premium products the company creates, and how pandemic-driven consumer behavior shifts…

The pandemic was a shock for retailers. Panic-buying of disinfectants, hand sanitizers and countless other goods resulted in historic demand and out-of-stocks for many products, leading to lower customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, not to mention loss of sales. As upstream suppliers dealt with their own supply chain disruptions, retailers were left with empty shelves…

In episode 334 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Mike Relich, co-CEO of PacSun, the California lifestyle clothing, shoes and accessories brand for teens and young adults. Relich discusses his recent presentation at the 2022 National Retail Federation Big Show, outlining the business challenges that developed during the COVID-19 pandemic as omnichannel shopping…

As COVID-19 continues on and both the Delta and Omicron variants bring more uncertainty, companies are turning to a buffer stock strategy to mitigate the potential downsides of variability. By keeping excess inventory on hand, organizations hope to maintain steady operations amidst unforeseen demand surges. While buffer stock can certainly accomplish this goal, there are…