Merchandising

Selecting and Implementing the Right System
April 15, 2008

During a session I led at last weekโ€™s National Conference on Operations & Fulfillment in Orlando, Fla., I identified several critical mistakes businesses make in their systems selection processes, regardless of the type of system. These include distributed control systems, order management systems (OMS), warehouse management systems (WMS), e-commerce or similar ones. Among the mistakes I noted were the following: * not having the right project team in place; * failing to develop detailed business requirements; and * limiting the search to a preselected number of vendors, based on the premise that โ€œsomeone that somebody knowsโ€ said โ€œthis is the system you should get.โ€

See the Future, Then Stock the Future
April 1, 2008

Itโ€™s a problem as fundamental as supply and demand: When supply fails to meet demand, you have to back-order. When supply exceeds demand, you have overstock. When it all works according to plan, pinch yourself; you may be dreaming. Or, you may be one of the smart multichannel marketers who bucks business as usual to adopt a more realistic approach to the planning and purchasing of product. An approach called โ€œcontinuous inventoryโ€ yields several benefits: โ€ข more predictable demand streams; โ€ข more accurate inventory levels; โ€ข special vendor pricing; โ€ข optimized shipping; and โ€ข improved customer experiences. The best part about continuous inventory

SPECIAL REPORT: OPERATIONS & FULFILLMENT
April 1, 2008

We hope you get the most out of this special report on operations and fulfillment. We chose a balanced array of three topics that should give you plenty of money-making and cost-saving ideas. Specifically, the articles focus on the top operations benchmarking strategies, the most useful and usable warehouse metrics, and an assortment of ways to keep your call-center reps happy and interested in their jobs. โ€”Paul miller, editor-in-chief 7 Steps to Self Assessment: How better benchmarking can maximize performance in your fulfillment center by Kate Vitasek 5 Most Useful Fulfillment Metrics: Ponder your goals, gauge your progress and line up areas

Guest View: Search Expert, Blogger Extraordinaire Posts 9 Prognostications About Your Future
March 28, 2008

As per my headline, for this issue of Catalog Success: The Corner View, I hand my pen โ€” um, keyboard โ€” over to Catalog Success E-Commerce Insights columnist Alan Rimm-Kaufman. Alan heads the Rimm-Kaufman Group, an online agency providing large-scale paid search bid management and Web site testing services, and was formerly a marketing executive with the Crutchfield catalog of consumer electronics. I leave the stage to Alan, who starts with a potential scenario followed by nine predictions for the future of the catalog/multichannel business as it affects you. Scene: A bar at a conference hotel during a marketing trade show. Bill:

Merchandise, Talent, Inventory, Brand Extension, PR and More Highlight NEMOA Session
March 18, 2008

Merchandise is still king. That was only one of a handful of themes taken from a wide-ranging and spirited session at last weekโ€™s NEMOA Spring 2008 Conference in Cambridge, Mass. This particular session included Derrick Egbert, president of New Perspectives; Allen Abbott, EVP/COO of Paul Frederick MenStyle; Jonathan Fleischmann, president/ CEO of the Potpourri Group; and Dana Pappas, COO/CFO of Plow & Hearth. It focused on the pressures of managing a catalog business in todayโ€™s uncertain economic times. Below are some of the tips/observations taken from the panelists and audience members. * Merchandise: โ€œItโ€™s the starting point,โ€ Fleischmann said. The need for collaboration

Cost Effective? Part 3 of 3
March 11, 2008

In the final part of this three-part series on how catalogersโ€™ pricing strategies are evolving in response to the Webโ€™s effect on branded products, this week Iโ€™ll look at the economic factors that can affect promotional pricing strategies. (For part 1, click here; for part 2, click here.) While using a promotional pricing strategy can prove effective, there are a number of economic issues you should concern yourself with. Pricing below existing market prices has a number of pitfalls, including the following issues. 1. Can the incremental sales produce enough incremental profit to offset the loss in margin from lower prices? The increase

Cost Effective? Part 2 of 3
March 4, 2008

In the second installment of this three-part series on how catalogersโ€™ pricing strategies are evolving in response to the Webโ€™s effect on branded products, this week Iโ€™ll provide options on how to increase sales without cutting prices across all merchandise. (For part 1, click here.) Catalogers often mistakenly assume that cutting prices will increase sales enough to deliver additional profit. Sales can go up, but profits can go down. Even worse, sometimes cutting prices yields no increase in sales; then profits really decline. To successfully achieve a 10 percent-plus sales increase based on cutting prices, you must first test the price sensitivity of

Get a Little Bounce From Bouncebacks
March 1, 2008

Bounceback programs are often limited to inserting a copy of your most recent catalog โ€” preferably with a different cover โ€” into the fulfillment box. But as shipping rates, fuel surcharges and paper costs all increase, more catalogers are opting against this approach. Theyโ€™ve run the numbers, and their incremental sales from those catalogs no longer justify the expense. If youโ€™re in this position, or are wondering how to leverage shipping expenses, try a strategically planned and formally managed bounceback program. A bounceback program can help build your brand, improve customer retention and develop a new revenue stream, regardless of whether youโ€™re in B-to-C

Cost Effective?
February 26, 2008

In the first installment of this three-part series on how catalogersโ€™ pricing strategies are evolving in response to the Webโ€™s effect on branded products, letโ€™s examine how catalogers have been put in this precarious situation and what they need to do to remain profitable. As the price-comparison engines turn more branded products into commodities, whatโ€™s your catalogโ€™s best pricing strategy? Most catalogersโ€™ current pricing strategy is to have the lowest market price available โ€” either matching or beating any competitorโ€™s best price. This policy is typically supported with a lowest price guarantee. Itโ€™s becoming common for most catalogers and Web merchants to offer

Scrutinize Your Multichannel Software Contracts
February 19, 2008

Itโ€™s amazing how many companies donโ€™t look very closely at software license agreements. These are legal documents, and without close review of payment terms, deliverables, schedules, termination options and other key details, you could be putting your company at risk of losing thousands of dollars. To protect yourself and your companyโ€™s interests, donโ€™t rush into signing an agreement just because the vendor is giving you a soon-to-expire discount. Getting to a fair agreement for both parties takes time, negotiation and a careful review of any contract. (A quick disclaimer: The focus of this article is to alert you of some of the items youโ€™ll