Retail and CPG companies struggle to balance investments that remediate short-term pains and improve long-term resiliency. Disillusionment over prior investment payoffs, plus being in constant crisis mode, has supply chain executives focusing on fundamentalssuch as efficiency improvements and cost containment.
Retailers are already facing their next inventory crisis—too much stock on hand, with too few buyers.
When retailers come to us to look at our AI-driven lifecycle pricing solutions, the first people we talk with—the “point persons” responsible for overseeing pricing decisions—are usually quick to grasp the real benefits. They’re eternally striving for that ideal markdown “sweet spot” for every SKU—accelerating sell-through while preserving—if not squandering—margin. But without a unified, data-driven markdown strategy, they’re often the first to concede their haphazard, decentralized markdowns are “a mess”.
Anyone who’s purchased anything over the past 8-12 months—from a can of tuna to a new SUV—has shared a universal lament—almost everything seems to be getting more expensive. As of this past March, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the government’s yardstick for tracking inflation, reported an April figure of 8.3%—a nominal .3 drop from the previous month’s 40-year high.
Balancing Retail Orders in Times of Shortage
on May 5, 2022
| By Parth Thakker
You have the foresight to expect your retail customers’ orders are going to take a hit – now what?