Observations From NRF

Retailers of all types — brick-and-mortar, internet, catalog and multichannel variations of the three — are facing the same inventory challenges, yet still view their issues from the bias of their primary channel.

I was reminded of this while attending the recent National Retail Federation (NRF) Convention. Marketers seem to be further along with embracing multichannel or omnichannel planning (we refer to it as "allchannel" at Direct Tech) than the operations side of retailing. Inventory planners, in particular, haven't fully embraced the new customer marketplace.

Three observations that the Direct Tech contingent brought back from NRF seem to support this view:

1. The customer is now fully in charge. The goal then is to have the right inventory in the right location at the right price and at the right time so that consumers, acting in their own self-interest, will award us their business.

The idea that inventory optimization can help increase sales and pull in customers has finally taken hold, and it's not going away. As a result, inventory planners must find a way to address customer needs, marketers must support it and suppliers must enable it. That requires innovation and teamwork.

2. Channel walls, however, are still up. As much as retailers enjoy talking about their "omnichannel" businesses, the reality is that most are still fairly entrenched in the processes of their primary channel.

It's a different ballgame when your tablet-toting customer has dozens of other options at the touch of a keypad. The customer wants to purchase that item now, not tomorrow, and their device tells them in real time whether you have the item in stock. If you can't immediately fulfill the customer's request, the sale is probably lost.

So innovate. Be fluid. Adapt your inventory processes to cover all channels, not just your preferred way of doing business. Don't give the customer a reason to go elsewhere.