We all know snow shovels aren’t going to sell in the summer, and beach towels will flop in December. Most of us can identify general seasonality and spot a wrong seasonal index by applying simple common sense. But do you frontload your key seasons or reduce orders because your Replenishment System doesn’t quite get the job done? […]
Thanksgiving should be a holiday for all of us to take a much needed breather and spend some quality time with our friends and family. But if you work in retail, what should be a holiday usually turns into early mornings, late nights, or no vacation at all. In order for customers to shop on […]
Chinese New Year: Its Coming, Is Your Supply Chain Ready? Chinese New Year starts on February 8, 2016. Most retailers are familiar with Chinese New Year because every year their Chinese suppliers and factories shut down for a few weeks. Chinese New Year is a huge celebration for China and many surrounding countries. Workers head […]
I am amazed at where my education has failed me at this point in life. Allow me to clarify, when I was a child I looked at older people and thought, I can’t wait to be that smart one day. Now after years of school, college, grad school and a wealth of experiences I am […]
One of the questions that we get quite frequently is what is the difference between Demand Forecasting and Sales Forecasting? It seems that often the terms are used interchangeably. But once you understand the benefits between them, you’ll realize how important the distinction is. Then the next logical question is how do you know which […]
“Omni-channel” is a big buzz word in retail right now. Everyone wants to be “Omni-Channel”. The reasoning for an omni-channel approach is sound. For marketing and merchandising, customers see the same messaging, items, and pricing across all platforms. For inventory and order fulfillment, customers have access to all of your inventory, from stores to DCs. […]
Lead Time is an important factor in any demand-driven forecasting or retail replenishment system. It drives your order points and helps you place orders at just the right time. If your lead time is inaccurate you will quickly find yourself overstocked or understocked. Are you making these common lead time mistakes that cost retailers millions?
Wonder What Happens Next in this Slow Moving Scene? I call them “heartbeat” products. Every Retailer and Manufacturer has them. The slow or niche products that don’t sell every day but are still vital to your business. If you charted their sales history, it would look like a heart monitor, up one week, down the […]
Empowering Retailers with a Demand-driven Strategy for Holiday Shopping ATLANTA, October 13, 2015 – For retailers, planning for the 2015 holiday shopping season – the season that can make or break the sales year—has been in process for months. In the case of shelf-stable stock, large purchase orders are already sitting on retail shelves. Leveraging […]
Lost Sales are just a KPI, Right?!? Lost sales are a perpetual worry for all retailers. If your shelves are empty, customers go home empty-handed, and you won’t make your sales plan. Most replenishment systems and demand forecasting systems offer a lost sales calculation to help retailers manage this key business problem. But is your […]