Executing on the vision of customer service and availability
In today’s retail climate, the number of ways retailers can reach out to customers has put a strain on existing forecasting and order planning processes. In many cases, it is also increasing the inventory investment required to support the business, with each of the channels being operated semi-autonomously with little-to-no sharing of information or consistency of customer experience. In order to maintain growth, many retailers are looking overseas, away from their congested home markets. This has led them into unfamiliar territory with new challenges and constraints. With little to no product history in new channels, coupled with the unpredictability of consumers in today’s volatile economy, historical data has no relevance anymore.
Forecasting and order planning for the unpredictable consumer //
The present market has empowered consumers to be intelligent and practical with their purchases. Consumer loyalty needs to be regained. Retailers are currently undergoing a competitive reinvention of their processes, reevaluations of their stock and begun to plan strategic methods of gaining consumer confidence. The environment has also brought to light new values and new criteria that the customer has begun to judge products on. Retailers need to recognize the needs of their customers and give them products that meet these new expectations – and remember, these expectations will continue to change.
It’s time to reinvent the retail process //
Retailers now need a new approach to forecasting and order planning, one that understands the needs of the market at a lower level of granularity and one that learns and reacts from present buying trends. As channels grow and become more complex, planners and strategists require technology with the ability and intelligence to turn real-time data into actionable knowledge.
