In order to balance inventory levels while anticipating customer needs, retailers must implement a unified approach to product, cross-channel and customer strategy.
The strong visualization of meaningful data is also crucial to a business’s success with artificial intelligence and analytics. It creates an engaging user experience that presents information in a highly intuitive way.
As bad as things might seem right now, the situation is temporary — and retailers must be prepared for the flood of consumer demand that will be released by economic recovery.
It’s no secret that today’s supply chains have become more complex than ever, with socioeconomic and market dynamics underscoring organizations’ need to respond to an outside-in, demand-driven world.
Analyst Insight: Many supply chains experience inefficiencies in receiving materials, and the construction sector is no exception. By optimizing demand forecasting, inventory management, and the setting of order cycles and quantities, and by increasing the level of automation in routine areas of replenishment, teams can focus their expertise on areas that require closer attention.
Analyst Insight: The wildly successful social media campaign for Popeyes’ new chicken sandwich — which quickly led to critical supply shortages for the company — is a cautionary tale about the havoc that social media can wreak on supply chains. To avoid squandering opportunities afforded by unprecedented demand, supply chains need to run like well-oiled machines, with collaborative sales and operations planning (S&OP), a finger on the pulse of social media sentiment, best-practice scenario planning, and rock-solid supplier relationships.
This video highlights the perspective of several senior-level supply chain executives about demand forecasting methods they follow to support their respective digital supply chain initiatives.