{"id":25880,"date":"2022-09-27T15:12:46","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T09:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.aspiresys.com\/?p=25880"},"modified":"2025-05-12T11:30:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T11:30:12","slug":"streamline-your-inventory-management-with-a-oracle-retail-merchandising-cloud-services-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/retail\/retail-merchandising-planning\/streamline-your-inventory-management-with-a-oracle-retail-merchandising-cloud-services-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Streamline your Inventory Management with Oracle Retail Merchandising Cloud Services Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Real-time\ninventory visibility is a pre-requisite for retailers to offer a unified\nshopping experience and customer delight. It goes beyond the intricate balance between\noverstocking and understocking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why plan inventory? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Holding\ninventory is unavoidable for retailers as it ensures uninterrupted operation.\nIn this blog we shall understand some of the inventory management tactics that\nuses a smart retail merchandising system to help retailers remain relevant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Why<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Additional Benefits<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Adequate Stock\nReplenishment: With intelligent inventory\nmanagement, retailers can have appropriate products in stock to cater to a\nlarger diaspora of customers and their multi-faceted demands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy\nPredictions of Product Returns: Robust planning\nhelps retailers predict returns closely, thereby avoiding the overstocking and\nunderstocking of products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to leverage all of these benefits, an apt inventory management solution<\/a> is crucial. A solution that is profitable both for retailers and customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovative Strategies to Reinvent\nRetail Inventory<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of\nretail is inventory, goods, and the wares that retailers have in their brick-and-mortar\nstores. Even though it sounds obvious, the truth is that inventory in retail is\nindispensable to curating seamless experiences for customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retailers today\nhave moved beyond omnichannel, and they are trying out new models for effective\ninventory management. The good news is that these models are no more futuristic\npossibilities; they are already appearing and appealing to customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s have a quick look at some of those possibilities that a modern retailer might want to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Micro-fulfilment Centers<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Digital traffic today is humongous, and an\nalready fragile retail ecosystem is trying to cope with it. However, a new age\nadjustment they have come up with is micro-fulfilment centers (MFCs). These are\nsmall-scale warehouse centers in urban locations based on demographics. It is a\ngreat way to keep both stocks moving and customers delighted with faster\ndeliveries and lesser shipping costs because of a simple delivery chain. Also,\nretailers can stock up these small warehouses with products as per demand, to reduce\nwastage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using Stores as Fulfilment Centers<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Long delivery\ntimelines are never desirable. Retailers know that and leave no stone unturned\nto deliver fast, but certain things are beyond their control and delays happen,\nleading to customer dismay. However, when retailers start using stores as\nfulfilment centers, they do not need to map the order to the nearest warehouse;\ninstead, the product can be shipped directly from the store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Result<\/em>: Customers are pleased to receive super-fast delivery, products\ncontinue to move from stores, and retailers can continue to replenish the store\nwith new products. The idea is similar to how a rolling stone does not collect\nmoss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Convert Stores to Experience Centers<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Consumers have\nevolved beyond imagination. In particular, the younger generations prefer\nshopping digitally over visiting stores. Comfort is their top priority. If\nretailers can tap into this sentiment and act intelligently, it is better for\ntheir brand identity and certainly inventory management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to\naccomplish it?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Converting\nstores into experience centers is a workable idea. In such stores, customers\ncan have a sensory experience of a product and then order the same product\ndigitally. It will be shipped directly to their doorstep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro Tip<\/em><\/strong>: Have enough stock\nso that a few customers can make in-store purchases, if they so desire.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leverage the Concept of Drop Ship Vendors<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Using the\nconcept of dropshipping allows retailers to get rid of physical inventory. In\nthe dropshipping model, the retailer sells the product to the customer but\npasses on the sales order to a third-party fulfilment center, which then ships\nthe product to the customer on behalf of the retailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The model\nreduces overstocking, and the question of understocking doesn\u2019t arise since the\nvolume of physical stock is limited and as the primary objective is sensory\nexperience of the customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prop Tip: <\/em><\/strong>Dropshipping<\/em><\/a> retailers may miss out on\nproviding an exceptional customer experience; therefore, they should invest in\na highly efficient customer support team.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides the\nnew-age inventory management strategies mentioned above, the more common ones\nare:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discounts & Promotions<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Giving discounts\nwhen you have excess stock is a no-brainer. But how about offering discounts\nstrategically? One such effective way is to offer discounts to loyal customers\nthrough promotions. When loyal or high-value customers are offered lucrative\ndiscounts, there could be a quick clearing of the shelves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promotions & Automations<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Promotions are\nindeed lucrative to customers and effective for retailers; but curating\ntailor-made promotions isn\u2019t easy. Automations enables the designing of\npromotions more impactful, quicker, and less cumbersome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Result<\/em>: Better promotions; disbursing the right product to the right\nperson at the right time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multi-Channel Selling<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The new mantra\nof retail is to have the right product at the right time. Along with physical\nstores, customers today have several other digital touch points. The retail\necosystem has gone beyond and above omnichannel and has become multi-channel.\nConsumers must be empowered to make an immediate purchase. Deferring a purchase\nmight mean “a lost sale opportunity.” Growing immediacy among\nconsumers and the increasing FOMO of retailers has made the concept of\nmulti-channel selling highly popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, a\nside effect of multi-channel selling is efficient inventory management.\nRetailers can keep on toggling between channels to maintain optimum stock based\non requirement while customer delight is taken care of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concluding Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is a given\nfact that modern-day retailers are testing new and unusual operating models to keep\npace with the ever-changing trends. The reason is obvious; consumers are\nindisputably in control and retailers must meet them whenever and however they\ncan, whether by implementing new models or creating new markets. The three key\naspects that every retailer should keep in mind are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Lay a robust foundation before
    diving into a new model<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Have a clear picture of what is
    in stock and where<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Understand their customers<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    However, last but not least, irrespective of the channels they choose, retailers should prioritize inventory management. A streamlined inventory management solution enables brands to quickly adapt to new models while having a single source of truth across the ecosystem. A sturdy foundation will help retailers to buy some time to plan accordingly and remain ahead of the curve. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Real-time inventory visibility is a pre-requisite for retailers to offer a unified shopping experience and customer delight. It goes beyond…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":37004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4721],"tags":[154,223,226,150,95],"practice_industry":[4528],"coauthors":[145],"class_list":["post-25880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retail-merchandising-planning","tag-inventory-management","tag-oracle-retail-merchandising","tag-oracle-retail-merchandising-system","tag-oracle-retail-store-inventory-management","tag-retail-inventory-management","practice_industry-retail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25880"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40671,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25880\/revisions\/40671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25880"},{"taxonomy":"practice_industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/practice_industry?post=25880"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspiresys.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=25880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}