Inventory

Managing spend is a tall order for retailers today. As the workforce grows more geographically distributed, and as employees increasingly drive business spending from the bottom up, it's harder to track cash flow across multiple touchpoints — from sourcing and manufacturing to advertising and employee supplies. COVID-19 has intensified these issues, forcing retailers to make…

Long before algorithms, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and even computers, retailers have depended upon demand planning principles to stay in business. Demand planning is the foundation for resetting retail. Fortunately, retailers can now use demand planning powered by AI and ML. It can help retail chains maximize profit even in times of external…

In episode 264 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Dana Zumbo, business development manager at Zappos Adaptive, a division of Zappos that carries a wide range of adaptive clothing and shoes with unique features to fit a variety of needs. Listen as Zumbo discusses why Zappos launched its Adaptive program, how the initiative was sparked…

It’s a question worth discussing as the unprecedented pandemic continues to strain the retail industry. Take, for example, TJX, the parent company of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, which reported first quarter net losses exceeding $887 million after closing all of its stores and distribution centers over a two-month span in compliance with statewide lockdowns.…

At the onset of COVID-19, out-of-stocks plagued retailers. Their immense impact was amplified by the "Bullwhip Effect" to create tsunami-like waves in demand from retailers to brands and on to their suppliers. The vicious cycle of hoarding and resulting out-of-stocks fueling further hoarding forced brands to look beyond point-of-sale (POS) data as their ultimate demand…

As the calendar turns toward September, shorts, shirts and swimsuits must make way for sweaters and slacks in retail stockrooms. But with consumers everywhere staying home, some retailers’ inventories may be bursting at the seams with backlogged products. Whether they’ve slowed their buying to keep balance sheets in check or are simply reaching the end…

In part one of this article, I examined the challenges that the retail sector has faced since the beginning of the pandemic, and its inability to rely on traditional historic consumer data when it comes to meeting consumer needs. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, however, could be the key to providing retailers with the…

Welcome to this week's Retail Resources, which features a curated list of the best content and resources that I hope will help you navigate through the coronavirus pandemic. This week I offer information and resources about business strategies, wellness tips, and personal finance information. If there's anything you would like me to share in a…

The spread of COVID-19 has quickly transformed how consumers shop, what they buy and what they want from retailers. And many say these new spending and shopping habits will last long after the crisis lifts. These are a few key findings from Capgemini Research Institute’s "The Consumer and COVID-19" survey of more than 11,000 consumers in the U.S.,…

In the weeks since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, shopping habits in the U.S. have rapidly and fundamentally changed, leaving the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail industries to adapt and rise to an unprecedented occasion. Consumers are not only altering what they’re buying, but also how they’re buying, with quarantine and social distancing guidelines…