Supply chain management
The proverbial bullwhip effect with volatility in demand – in this case moving from a low level to a high level and then back to lower levels ,
has led to excess inventory and markdowns and squeezing profits . The need for hardline retailers to be much more agile in responding to market changes has never been greater .
After the pandemic : building towards a more agile future
What can hardline retailers do to prevent
the inventory issues they have faced over the last couple of years ? Here are some strategies for consideration :
Invest in inventory visibility : A key capability is the ability to see inventory close to real-time with a high degree of accuracy . Beyond inventory visibility , retailers must be able to sense demand signals and translate them rapidly into decisions - such as pushing out or cancelling purchase orders , as well as allocating supply to regions and channels with the most anticipated sell through .
Leverage external drivers to forecast demand : The pandemic has highlighted the value of using predictive modeling as an
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