Newsletter – vol 1 issue 1

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN…

Yes, omni-channel season is upon us once more.

Wait, there’s an omni-channel season? Should we decorate? Well sort of… The annual NRF conference is a timely reminder to ask some big questions of ourselves.

We all know that omni-selling happens.

It’s a good thing. “Buy from us; anywhere, anytime, anyhow.”

We also know that fulifllment is omni as well. We have many potential points of fulfillment. This is also a good thing. We should have much less ‘stranded’ inventory.

How do we stop playing catchup, and get ahead?

We need to think about the real cost of fulfilling orders thru inefficient channels / touchpoints. Shouldn’t we we be more ‘plan-ful’ to better service the consumer in the first place and also be more profitable in the process?

Well, we can help. Let’s have a look at the business processes, organizations, systems, tools and reports are needed to run an efficient customer-first enterprise.

Stay tuned…

This is the first in a 3-part series on ‘Living with Omni Channel’

• Part I – Being Strategic / Merchandise Financial Planning in the Era of Omni
• Part 2 – The Technology Transformation Mandated by Omni
• Part 3 – Allocation: Rethinking the Role in the Time of Omni

JUST HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO PLAN FOR OMNI…

Part I – Being Strategic / Merchandise Financial Planning in the Era of Omni

We spend a lot of time in retail offices all over the world. We are hearing many of the same messages;

“We want to be more strategic”

“We want more time to evaluate business performance rather than gather data”

“We want to utilize analytics, forecasts, tools that improve accuracy and reduce manual effort”

“We want smart, integrated tools that share information intelligently so that we have clean, reliable data on which to base our decisions”

But there’s a problem.

To become an omni-organization requires transformation. And that requires commitment and investment.

The same situations are visible again and again:

• Limited investment in planning tools to stay current with the business process; users are forced to Excel
• Lack of integration or trust in forecasting / analytics engines
• Lack of investment on training and education
• Limited consistency in process, tools and requirements across businesses
• Minimal intregration with assortment processes and tools; even less connected to allocation / replenishment

THE GOOD NEWS – WE CAN HELP

We have worked through all of this and much more

Our team of experts has spent many years on many sides of the fence – planners, allocators, merchants, executives, project management, software design, development and on and on.

Our team is uniquely positioned to help you craft a vision, create a transformation plan, build a team to execute the change, and handhold you through the entire process.

We’ve done it time and time again. We’d love to talk to you about it.

Come and talk to us

We’ll be at NRF on booth # 2344. You can book a meeting here.

Also, have a drink on us!

We’ll be hosting our annual retailer cocktail reception at the Club Tropicana on Monday 15th Jan at 5pm. It’s a veritable who’s who of retailers. Don’t miss out. The details are here.

columbusconsulting.com