Retail executives are struggling in a changing world, with consumers that want their goods faster than ever before. It’s possible to fulfill delivery promises if you get your strategy right.
Automation and new recruitment/retention strategies can help address the supply chain labor crunch.
The cost of picking and shipping errors go far beyond returns processing. Here’s why.
Modern retailers understand the core benefits of leveraging the power of Predictive Analytics and Artificial Intelligence. Predictive Analytics accounts for all of your company’s relevant data at a micro-level, identifies your business’ trends, opportunities, and influencing factors. It makes recommendations to retailers that will help them increase forecast accuracy, reduce inventory costs, increase in sales, and maintain high customer satisfaction levels.
For consumer goods companies with omnichannel sales, downstream demand is a key signal to consider when thinking about inventory allocation, new product launches, demand planning, and other decisions. However, not all downstream demand is created equal.
The increase in online shopping is creating chaos with returns. Learn how vision and imaging technology can improve reverse logistics for any size retailer today.
New research reveals that 88% of retailers with new supply chain initiatives said it has helped them exceed customer expectations; and 84% claim these efforts allow them to give customers more control over their shopping experiences.
"Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints are becoming ubiquitous thanks to a predicted compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32% from 2016 through 2021, according to Gartner research published in December 2017. These endpoints have the potential to disrupt order-to-cash processes and will enable digital optimization by creating new ways to serve and collaborate with customers and channel partners." Despite the expected disruption, the new report also revealed that only 22% of respondents have already or are currently investing in IoT. "However, in terms of the dollar value of spend on supply chain IT, only 18% of budget spend is put toward supporting innovation and agility to transform operations and create sustainable advantage."
The global supply chain is comprised of a set of complex business processes involving many players spread all over the world. An effective Global Trade Management (GTM) digital platform must be able to handle these diverse functions and be able to integrate well with both systems and people. A digital supply chain is an enabler of value. It will enable you to manage global risk; improve agility, speed and quality; and reduce costs in many areas of your operation. IDC predicts that, by 2020, digitally-mature companies will achieve $430 billion in productivity gains over their less-connected peers.
Retail buyers and merchandisers are continuously tasked with sourcing new merchandise and comparing to existing products to ensure their product lines remain competitive in the marketplace. With multiple seasons and programs to support, it is challenging to identify new supply sources, review new products with existing suppliers, negotiate contracts and confirm timely supplier production runs.
Global supply chain risks result from a variety of factors including inadequate or poor product quality testing and supplier management programs. The volatile socio-economic climate coupled with the constantly changing regulatory demands from governments at all levels has created an environment where strong risk mitigation practices are not only a competitive advantage, but a critical lifeline for brand survival. Brand manufacturers and retailers must take measures to help ensure accountability and full supply chain transparency.
To stay ahead of the competition, brands need to deliver products that are new and fresh, while at the same time ensure they meet consumer demands, flex with production shifts, and navigate a myriad of sourcing challenges including quality and regulatory requirements. Maintaining current and accurate product specification and costing data is a difficult task, especially for global brands and retailers in industries where the products and styles change frequently.
Customer service has become a key component of the overall customer journey, and more critically, customer lifetime value. Therefore, retailers need to invest in service options to provide choice and convenience to customers.
Digitizing the supply chain provides efficiency, reduces risk, and increases agility.
Radial, in partnership with the CFI Group, surveyed U.S. shoppers to discover their online shopping expectations specifically in the areas of returns, fraud, loyalty programs, and online communities.
Managing eCommerce fraud is extremely challenging, leaving many merchants stuck between elevated exposures and disrupting valuable customer experiences. Going it alone means merchants must invest heavily in fraud detection tools, collaborate with third-party agencies, and dedicate numerous resources to mitigating fraud. A daunting task for sure. However, digging a little deeper, there is an even more troubling trend at play.
