Inventory

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…

Increased consumer interest in outdoor lifestyles during the pandemic contributed to double-digit revenue growth for L.L.Bean in its 2021 fiscal year, according to company press release published on March 18. Sales for the outdoor retailer totaled $1.8 billion, a 14 percent increase over 2020, and making it one of L.L.Bean’s most successful years in company history. In…

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…

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…

The biggest risk for third-party Amazon.com sellers in the fourth quarter is likely to be inventory storage limits. Amazon’s Inventory Performance Index (IPI), which measures things like sell-through rate and age of inventory to determine what it costs Amazon to warehouse your inventory, is the primary factor the company uses to calculate sellers’ inventory storage…

In June, the Department of Homeland Security projected nearly $1 billion worth of counterfeit luxury goods to be seized between the 2020-2021 fiscal years leading up to the end of September. Shortly after, over $12 million in counterfeit goods were seized at the Los Angeles-Long Beach ports area. While these challenges have plagued the industry for…

Costco is renting its own container ships to prevent delays and keep costs down as the global shipping crisis continues, according to Business Insider. In a call with analysts Thursday, Costco CFO Richard Galanti said the retailer has chartered three ships to import products from Asia to the U.S. and Canada to help Costco avoid spending six times the normal price…

What a difference a year makes. At this time last year, consumers were hesitant to spend on much besides essentials and products that would make their life at home more comfortable. They were fearful about going into stores, many of which were temporarily closed due to the pandemic anyway, worried about how COVID-19 would affect…

2020 was an unprecedented year that has changed the retail industry forever, turning omnichannel operations on its head. With many stores closed and customers staying at home, retailers had to rethink their overall strategy, many converting in-store inventory to fulfill online orders and turning stores into temporary distribution centers. Buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS)…

Brick-and-mortar stores were already evolving before the global pandemic accelerated the shift to e-commerce. More than ever, customers know what they need and are going directly to a store that has it, either to buy it or pick it up having ordered online. This consumer behavior makes inventory visibility more important than ever for retailers.…