Partner Article

5 Growing Trends in Retail

After several years of instability, the retail sector is slowly starting to show positive signs of growth. This means that retailers need to be ready for increased traffic and demand, and when these changes translate into more business, additional volume needs to be accommodated quickly. One method to ensure your retail supply chain is ready is to have a retail inventory management system in place. Another is to know how to use it. Here are 5 trends of successful businesses in the retail sector.

Demand-Driven Supply Chain

By letting consumer demand dictate supply and collaborating with suppliers, your business will be able to apply retail inventory management best practices to meet demand more accurately. Let demand drive your retail supply chain; it will allow you to increase inventory turnaround while making cash flow more liquid.

Employ Best Practices

Best practices are so named because they are the tried and true methods of ensuring an efficient and profitable business. A retail ERP (enterprise resource planning) system can increase your competitive edge by focusing on sourcing, transportation, distribution and inventory management best practices to ensure that you can meet increased demand quickly. In addition, it is imperative to keep your supply chain moving smoothly. Look to articles like this one to learn the 5 tenets of how to achieve supply chain excellence and remember that success is driven by a business’ ability to respond quickly to changing dynamics.

Get Online

E-commerce gives consumers unparalleled access to comparative data, encouraging a more knowledgeable shopper. The convenience, easy access and price comparison benefits have all combined to make e-commerce a key growth area. Proper retail inventory management and supply chain monitoring will make sure that this growing segment returns strong growth.

Increase Speed to Market

Speed to market is crucial in staying relevant and current. Using your retail software to facilitate an efficient retail supply chain will allow for your organization to condense the time between design and shelf placement. The faster a product is on your shelf, the sooner your profitability can increase.

Expand Overseas

Consider your audience, and look at potential room for expansion. Use your retail ERP system to look at overall trends, and see if your business could profit from a move into emerging markets. China is currently the fastest growing economy worldwide, and savvy retailers have already moved into that market. While many retailers currently outsource in China, few have made the transition to selling in the Chinese market as well.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Caper .