Upgrading the Distribution Center

Posted on February 25, 2014 by bermanevansretail
For larger retailers, the distribution center is a major focus in the logistics system. Thus, having the best possible distribution center is often a leading goal for such retailers.
As Joseph O’Reilly writes for Inbound Logistics:
“Every company prioritizes different factors when choosing the best location for a distribution center, or configuring the perfect logistics alignment between supplier, manufacturer, retailer, and consumer. It’s all about finding the right combination of geography, labor availability, financial incentives, and supply chain partner access. And in today’s demand-sensitive environment, identifying a strategy that embraces supply chain impulses while allowing room for change also plays a big role.”
“Companies have more options than ever when choosing a site. They can lease, buy, build-to-suit lease, and partner with third-party logistics (3PL) providers to manage dedicated operations or as part of multi-tenant arrangements. The variety of facilities businesses seek has evolved, too. Shifts in consumerism and commerce have transformed warehouses into hubs of opportunity, equipped with cloud technology, mobility applications, and automated materials handling equipment; and purposed for operations such as value-added manufacturing, packaging postponement, and cross-docking.”
Click the image to learn more.

 

Posted in Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Another Take on Bricks-and-Mortar Retailing

Posted on February 24, 2014 by bermanevansretail
An interesting question is whether any retailer can make it the future as a pure brick-and-mortar player, given the growth of online and mobile shopping. With this mind, Cynthia Clarke — writing for 1to1 Media — makes a number of interesting observations.
According to Clarke:
“While retail has evolved greatly over the centuries and is unrecognizable from the very early variety that operated on barter system, one thing is certain: Stores are part of the fabric of society, serving not only the need to provide goods for purchase but also addressing humans’ desire for social interaction.”
Yet, although “experts believe that there will always be a place for physical stores, they will only remain competitive as long as retailers are willing to adapt to a changing world. And the first step is to take the in-store experience beyond a simple purchase. ‘Retailers need to disassociate the store experience from buying,’ notes Michael Whitehouse, senior marketing strategist at OpinionLab. The idea is that humans have been congregating in public places since the beginning of time, and this should be one of the functions of physical stores. ‘It should be less about fulfillment, which can be done online, and more about the magic,’ Whitehouse explains. ‘Rebuild a store around connecting product evangelists and providing entertainment and value.'”
Click the image to read more.

 

Posted in Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 4: Store Location Planning, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Evolution of the Retail Barcode

Posted on February 22, 2014 by bermanevansretail
We know that technology drives a lot of retailing today. But it’s also interesting to track how technology has evolved over the decades.
Take the barcode, for example. Look at this infographic to see how far we’ve come since punch cards in 1890.

Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

 

Posted in Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Technology in Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments