Retailers Improve Planning and Allocation with BI

Posted On: 11/12/2008

In the weeks ahead, retailers will be anxiously awaiting sales results for what is widely predicted to be the most challenging holiday season in years. Then, after the final sales are rung and the numbers are in, the planning will start again for next year's make-or-break season.

Many retailers can make smarter, more informed decisions that can help them ultimately ring up more sales during the holidays and year-round. QuantiSense offers a list of tips for retailers to help ensure a successful holiday season:

Spot the winners early. Betting on the wrong thing - or not betting enough on the right thing - can effectively cripple a retailer's holiday season. In a period where one day' sales can be as significant as two weeks any other time of year, the ability to access key performance information on a daily basis is critical. QuantiSense BI allows retailers to track their daily performance by assortment, style, color, size, store and many other levels of detail. Planners can identify the hot sellers early in the season, then accelerate replenishment and order additional production. BI tools from QuantiSense track cross-channel sales data as Web sales are often the first indicator of which items will be the best-sellers in the stores, too.

Accurately plan inventory and assortments. Retailers typically base next year's holiday planning on last year's data. But without detailed information, retailers can easily make assumptions that spell disaster. One retailer, for example, placed a heavy order of a particular item based on the previous season's data - without realizing that the merchandise was heavily marked down and sold at a loss.

Understand which items are sold at full price and which cleared out only after promotional sales or markdowns. QuantiSense BI helps merchandising planners to identify full-price sales vs. markdowns and understand the true profit margins, then order appropriately to maximize full-price sales and minimize markdowns.

Prevent stock-outs. Retailers lose money every time a customer walks out because the right merchandise isn't in stock. QuantiSense application detects imminent stock-outs by measuring merchandise on hand and sales trends, then alerts retailers to take fast corrective action - speeding up replenishment, allocating merchandise to the stores where it's selling fastest, ordering more inventory, or finding alternate suppliers.

Conversely, QuantiSense BI pinpoints overstocks and prompt retailers to take markdowns, cancel production orders, and helps prevent having excess inventory on hand after December 25.