Retail Merchandiser - March/April 2017 - 105
DATA MANAGEMENT SOLUTION PROVIDER improve consumers' e-commerce experience and grow e-commerce sales, which more than 60 percent of all retailers, manufacturers and distributors rank as their No. 1 priority for 2017. Retailers are eager to reinvigorate the store experience by bringing in more digital experiences. As a result, they are looking for manufacturers and other ecosystem partners who are willing to use data to collaborate and make quick and informed business decisions. An area survey respondents consider an enormous challenge is inventory visibility, which hinders both omnichannel execution and profitability. Only 78 percent of retailers have full visibility into their in-store inventory and only 77 percent have full visibility into their distribution center inventory. The percentages are even worse for distributors and manufacturers as 47 As retailers focus on the future of their stores, they should include their partners in the planning and execution, according to the report. percent of distributors and 45 percent of manufacturers have no visibility into their partners' inventory. This lack of inventory visibility creates ripples far beyond omnichannel execution. Without accurate and reliable visibility, retailers often over-invest in slow-moving or dying products, while starving fresh, unexpectedly hot items. Item attributes are another area where data and the sharing of it play a crucial role. Retailers originally hoped to speed product onboarding and trim costs by getting manufacturers to create and share item attributes. Now, retailers are looking to work hand in hand with manufacturers to create item attributes that help increase product visibility in response to consumer searches and social media activity. Such item attributes also enable retailers to create more personalized opportunities to connect with consumers. It's no wonder 43 percent of respondents across the ecosystem expect their use of item attributes to increase. And as retailers get deeper into personalized assortment and product recommendations, the need for expanded item attributes and more accurate inventory data - and the ability to share this data in real time - will continue to increase as well. Here are some other recommendations from this year's report: * Retailers: Collaborate with other ecosystem players. You must focus on the future of your stores, but this doesn't need to be an internal-only project. By including other players in both planning and execution, you're more likely to create stores your partners - and your shoppers - will actually support. * Manufacturers: Pay attention to retail channel health. With retailers struggling, it is critical to offer greater inventory visibility and more item attributes. * Distributors: Add services. With retailers ramping up drop-shipping and manufacturers selling direct to consumers, you could be squeezed out unless you find ways to improve or add services. * Logistics service providers: Breed speed. Although speed for speed's sake isn't the answer, you can increase your value by helping your partners achieve the gold standard, which is every order shipped the same day it's received. Those companies that fail to make these changes will likely be in for a rough ride, while those that succeed at moving beyond omnichannel retail will become the leaders of tomorrow. Which will you be? O Peter Zaballos is senior vice president and chief marketing offer of SPS Commerce, a retail cloud services platform provider. March/April 2017 RETAIL-MERCHANDISER.COM 105