Merchandising Shifts to Omnichannel and Beyond

TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS GUIDE

NICK DOWNEY CEO MERCHANDISING SHIFTS TO Nead Werx, Inc.

OMNICHANNEL AND BEYOND PETER BLAIR Vice President of Global Marketing Omnichannel retail has forever changed the way merchandisers build and allocate as- TradeStone sortments. Today’s merchandisers need to be able to plan and forecast for multiple channels simultaneously, while allowing for the flexibility and personalization that modern customer-centric retailing requires. As the responsibilities of the merchandising depart- GREG GIRARD Program Director, ment continues to grow advanced tools powered by new data sources allow for increased World-Wide Omni-Channel visibility into shopper demand and make true omnichannel merchandising possible. Retail Analytics Strategies IDC Retail Insights How are merchandising processes evolving now that retailers are planning and forecasting for multiple channels simultaneously? PETER BLAIR: Online and mobile retail makes speed a requirement, and every chan- Qnel adds product variation. Merchandising operations must address this increasing IN THE LONG RUN complexity on the execution side no matter how well they plan. We’ve seen retailers struggle under the weight of administrative tasks as they try to develop and source products faster PRODUCT INNOVATION for more channels. E-mailing spreadsheets to hundreds of suppliers with every change to a BREEDS CUSTOMER style for every channel is the exact opposite of a speedy process. By automating changes to tech packs and purchase orders based on channel and region data, retailers can manage the LOYALTY AND increased complexity with less overhead. DIFFERENTIATES THE NICK DOWNEY: In the endeavor to forecast and plan for multichannel merchandising, RETAILER’S BRAND. retailers are starting business reviews and assortment planning activities much earlier than they have previously, and in a much more intentionally inclusive manner, with the end-goal of ensuring that all channels are engaged and executing a coherent vision. Since — PETER BLAIR, VP GLOBAL the in-store customer experience is increasingly important, merchandising execution MARKETING, TRADESTONE groups are being engaged at the start of the planning process, so that in-store strategies

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TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS GUIDE MERCHANDISING

are executed in a complimentary fashion to availability, service, a differentiated product, ing, buying, and localization decisions. Product the rest of the channels. and customer support. and market intelligence tools are giving retailers the kind of market transparency consumers Price transparency and matching Retailers are adding new data have but with the ability to provide systematic has been a huge challenge. How sources to the planning and fore- insight into competitors’ pricing, promoting, as- can retailers conquer this obstacle casting process, how can this- in sorting, and localization strategies. Retailers are Qto meet customer demand? Q crease in data help retailers? starting to apply this insight in pricing strate- BLAIR: One of the most successful ways we’ve DOWNEY: Retailers that are able to merge gies, assortment planning, and even new prod- seen retailers deal with price matching is to operational data, such as assortment, sales uct development. build their own brands into significant con- margin and sell-through rates with customer sumer brands. Often working with a combi- sentiment data, such as product reviews, in- What do retailers need to do to nation of marquee designers and in-house store behaviors and social networking activ- make omnichannel merchandising design teams savvy retailers create and source ity, can develop much more accurate models a reality given the current state of products that are loved by consumers and with which to predict and plan assortments Qtechnology systems? can’t really be price matched. This approach that will drive the highest value on the shelf. BLAIR: The push over the last five years has takes a commitment to execute, but in the To realize this vision, the merchant leader- been on the front end — websites, mobile long run product innovation breeds customer ship will need to work with the CTO to as- shopping, even brick-and-mortar store envi- loyalty and differentiates the retailer’s brand. semble teams of data scientists and give them ronments are applying more technology to the a voice during planning and forecasting. The customer experience, but investment on the GREG GIRARD: Use product intelligence tools speed with which data is driven back to the back-end of merchandising has not kept pace. to get the upper hand with ongoing system- operational team, will enable quicker re- Too many otherwise world-class retailers still atic, analytic, and comprehensive competitive sponse times to errant strategies, and enable manage product development, sourcing and price intelligence. A cohort of start-up ven- improved future processes. Real-time data purchasing with spreadsheets and e-mail. To dors are coming to market with these tools. becomes critical. move at the speed required to be truly success- Some are partnering with price optimization ful with omnichannel over the long haul, re- vendors, some are developing their own price GIRARD: There is a trillion-dollar “data divi- tailers need to look at these areas and employ optimization tools, and some are doing both. dend” available to companies across all indus- a collaborative approach on a single platform Use predictive analytics to guide price match- tries who use new data, new analytics, and with suppliers, factories and the rest of their ing strategies — to know when to apply them, new KPIs, and include new data users. Retail- extended trading community. understand their impact on margin, reve- ers are adopting marketing tools — audience nue, and customer loyalty. Assess the price- identification and segmentation tools applied DOWNEY: To make multichannel merchandis- matched product’s role in basket building. to location-informed shopper behavior data to ing a reality retailers need to take a fresh look Margin and revenue gained from attachment improve assortment localization. Some retail- at how technology can enable better decisions (bought with) items could offset financial loss ers have found analysis of trends in social men- early in the process, with as many stakehold- on the price match. Of course, do everything tions and sentiments to be good indicators of ers as possible in order to bring a singular possible to differentiate the offer (which is demand. Other retailers are using collective in- vision to all business units. Furthermore, more than price) — with the offer including telligence methods to improve selection, pric- that same technology should enable more purchases after the products are on shelves. Technology adoption has historically been an afterthought for retailers, and largely delegat- ed to the operations groups (logistics, supply TO MAKE MULTICHANNEL MERCHANDISING A REALITY RETAILERS NEED TO chain, store operations). This mindset needs TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN ENABLE BETTER DECISIONS to be replaced with a technology-first approach, which recognizes that retail is quickly EARLY IN THE PROCESS, WITH AS MANY STAKEHOLDERS AS POSSIBLE IN becoming a game of who can leverage their data faster, and everyone from merchants to ORDER TO BRING A SINGULAR VISION TO ALL BUSINESS UNITS. store associates need to be engaged with ac- countability based retail solutions. — NICK DOWNEY, CEO, NEAD WERX, INC.

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TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS GUIDE MERCHANDISING

COMPANY NAME/ WEBSITE RELEVANT PRODUCT/SOLUTION KEY CLIENTS

ANT USA Inc. www.antusa.com Buyer’s Toolbox Solution Guide Citi Trends, Yankee Candle, Zumiez

Celerant Technology CATO, Chinese Laundry, Command Retail www.celerant.com Farmers Furniture

Epicor Build-A-Bear Workshop, Donna Karan, Epicor Retail Merchandising www.Epicor.com/retail New Balance

Galleria RTS www.galleria-rts.com Customer Centric Merchandising A&P, Giant Eagle, Safeway

Island Pacific Systems www.islandpacific.com Island Pacific SmartSuite PVH, rue21, Urban Outfitters

Jesta I.S. www.jestais.com Jesta I.S. Vision Suite Genesco, Puma, Town Shoes

JustEnough Software Abercrombie & Fitch, James Perse, JustEnough Merchandise Financial Planning www.justenough.com Sephora

Logility Big Lots!, Tuesday Morning, Urban Logility Voyager Solutions www.logility.com Outfitters

Manthan Charming Charlie, Loves Travel Stops, Merchandise Analytics www.manthan.com Sprouts Farmers Markets

Mi9 Retail Coast Guard Exchange, Everything Mi9 Retail Suite, Mi9 Merchant, Mi9 BI www.mi9retail.com But Water, Home Depot Mexico

Multidev Technologies Inc. Boyds Philadelphia, Cathy Jean, ChainDrive www.multidev.com Cleveland Indians

Nead Werx, Inc. Ace Hardware, One Kings Lane, www.MerchLogix.com MerchLogix SEE AD ON PAGE 33 The Home Depot

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COMPANY NAME/ WEBSITE RELEVANT PRODUCT/SOLUTION KEY CLIENTS

Oracle www.oracle.com Oracle Retail Merchandising System Academy Sports, Forever21, Kohl’s

Predictix www.predictix.com Predictix Merchandising Suite Crate & Barrel, Home Depot, Kiabi

Raymark www.raymark.com Raymark Affinity Merchandising Escada, Helzberg Diamonds, St. John

RBM Technologies www.rbmtechnologies.com The Visual Merchandising Manager N/A

Revionics, Inc. Revionics Price Optimization, Revionics Promotion Delhaize America, Dick’s Sporting www.revionics.com Optimization, Revionics Markdown Optimization Goods, eBags.com

SAP SAP Planning for Retail; SAP Supply Network bauMax, BCBG, Tommy Hilfiger www.sap.com Collaboration

SAS www.sas.com SAS Integrated Merchandise Planning Belk, Family Dollar, Sobey’s

Omni Channel G.O.L.D. Merchandise Management, Symphony EYC Dollar General, Heinen’s Supermarkets, Inventory Management, Fulfillment, and Store www.eyc.com Spartan Nash Operations

Teradata Corporation Teradata Unified Data Architecture, Teradata Aster Belk Stores, eBay, Walmart www.teradata.com Discovery Platform, Teradata Marketing Applications

TradeStone Merchandise Lifecycle Management TradeStone Software American Eagle Outfitters, Lowes, www.tradestonesoftware.com Platform for PLM, Sourcing, Order Management, Urban Outfitters SEE AD ON PAGE 35 Trade Management and B2B Sales Management

TXT Retail Build-A-Bear Workshop, Pandora, TXT Retail Planning www.TXTRetail.com Sephora

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