For CIOs

Retail CIOs: Prepare For Retail 2020

Well-Conceived Options For Game-Changing Technologies Will Catapult Your Perceived Value

by George Lawrie, August 10, 2009

Retail in Europe and North America is in the eye of a storm. Battered first by the fragmentation of traditional mass markets, then by the challenge of cross-channel interaction, and finally by a global recession and transfer of economic power to Asia, . . .

For CIOs

Retail Technology Self-Assessment Workbook  (150 KB XLS)

by George Lawrie, July 22, 2009

The Retail Technology Self-Assessment workbook can be used to evaluate retailers' strengths and weaknesses across a set of retail-centric technologies, processes, and capabilities. Retail IT executives should use this workbook to identify how well technology . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Filling The Store Labor Productivity Gap

How Can Retailers Deploy Technologies That Boost Store Labor Productivity?

by George Lawrie, April 23, 2009

Labor costs run at between 10% and 13.5% of retailers' revenues, but store labor workload is soaring to accommodate more product introductions and promotions. At the same time, store associates must cope with much better informed consumers, shorter product . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Alternative Delivery Options: Benefiting Both Buyers And Retailers

by Patti Freeman Evans, February 18, 2009

In-store pickup, shipment to store, and parcel pickup points all offer an alternative to home delivery of eCommerce orders in Europe. For retailers, alternative deliveries can create an opportunity for incremental sales, while also allowing them to develop . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Use Master Scheduling To Drive Service Levels

How Consumer Goods Value Chains Can Retain Customers Through A Recession

by George Lawrie, January 28, 2009

Empty shelves are a significant threat to brands and retailers as the economy sinks into a recession, and consumers may be tempted to buy cheaper merchandise or shop elsewhere. Yet, service levels on retailers' shelves have obstinately remained at the . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The Franchise Network Apps Portfolio

Which Apps Should Be Standardized In A Retail Franchise?

by George Lawrie, December 17, 2008

Retailers that face recession in home markets and lack cash to expand look to franchising as a source of growth. To ensure brand consistency, they need to provide some apps support to franchisees, without assuming unreasonable apps support costs and without . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The Consumer Centricity IT Road Map

Plan For Process Overhaul And Data Management Redesign

by George Lawrie, October 31, 2008

Consumer-facing firms like retailers and banks agree that they must offer merchandise and services that are much more in tune with their customers' needs. To do this, they must pay rigorous attention to the quantity and quality of location, product, and . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Retail Foundation Data

How To Maintain And Exploit Quality Merchandise And Location Data

by George Lawrie, October 31, 2008

Given the vastly expanded choice and market transparency, retailers are becoming increasingly dependent on merchandise data to add value to their unique selling proposition. Retailers need to hone their ability to move full truckloads and to exploit new . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The State Of Retailing Online 2008: Merchandising And Web Optimization Report

by Sucharita Mulpuru, August 15, 2008

This report summarizes the merchandising and Web optimization findings from the 11th annual fielding of "The State of Retailing Online," a Shop.org study conducted by Forrester Research. In this study, retailers reported that the top investment priorities . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

Industry Essential: Global Retail Industry

eCommerce Revitalization And "Legacy Lifelines" Dominate Retailers' IT Plans Around The Globe

by George Lawrie, August 13, 2008

IT spending and interest in new initiatives follows the sun, with optimism waning from Asia Pacific to Europe and then to North America. But retailers across the globe share many priorities — notably, common interest in prolonging the life of legacy apps . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Retail Multichannel IT Road Map

How Can Retail IT Support Multichannel Trading Without Ripping And Replacing Everything?

by George Lawrie, July 7, 2008

While many retailers still trade via isolated channels, sometimes even referring to the online channel as "store 999," consumers demand a complete shopping experience across channels that includes interactions such as researching or reserving merchandise . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Improving Retail Promotion Execution

by George Lawrie, December 19, 2007

Retailers continue to struggle with promotion execution and face hefty financial consequences, including skyrocketing administrative costs, misspent funds, and sales cannibalization. To help, an increasing number are investing in RFID, business intelligence . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: Miquel Masters Demand Management Implementation

by George Lawrie, December 12, 2007

To implement demand management effectively, firms must not only forecast demand but also fine-tune and shape demand across hundreds of interrelated items with appropriate pricing, markdowns, and promotions. Forrester spoke with the leadership team at . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: A North American Grocery Chain Adopts Transparent Allocation And Replenishment

by George Lawrie, October 16, 2007

A leading grocery chain used physical reorganization, reassignment of responsibility for inventory, and a deeper understanding of the relationship between service levels and inventory to tackle vendor reliability, overtime costs, and stock-out issues. . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: Just Group Implements Transparent Allocation And Replenishment

by George Lawrie, October 16, 2007

Retailers can use demand management to maintain a lead even in fragmented markets with limited barriers to entry. We spoke with Just Group leaders to find out how judicious use of demand profiling, multispeed supply chain, and alignment of decision-making . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Best Practices: Demand Management

by George Lawrie, September 13, 2007

Retailers and consumer goods manufacturers with more complex and extended supply chains, more sophisticated market segmentation, and highly empowered consumers face daunting challenges to elegantly match supply and demand. Yet some manage to accurately . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: Achieving "Last Tactical Mile" Supply Chain Visibility Using Active RFID

by Patrick M. Connaughton, April 9, 2007

During Operation Desert Storm, the term "mountains of iron" was coined to describe the thousands of unopened shipping containers sitting in the desert, rusting away, because the contents were unknown or the materials were grossly oversupplied. Since then, . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Sterling Commerce Breaks Down Warehouse Walls In WMS For Retail Supply Chains

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q2 2006

by Nikki Baird, June 7, 2006

With its Sterling nWMS 7.5, Sterling Commerce has taken the most unique approach to retail warehouse management systems (WMS) of any of the vendors evaluated by focusing on how WMS fits within an integrated logistics strategy. The result is a product . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: WMS For Retail Supply Chains, Q2 2006

Manhattan Associates Leads In Our Product Evaluation

by Nikki Baird, June 7, 2006

Between evolving consumers and consumer channels, convergence between retail and consumer product supply chains, and technology advances in warehouse management systems (WMS) a lot of change has come to warehouse management in a relatively short amount . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Oracle Retail Offers Solid Basic Functionality In WMS For Retail Supply Chains

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q2 2006

by Nikki Baird, June 7, 2006

Oracle Retail is paying off some old development debts by instituting a new platform discipline, aided by Oracle's world-class platform. While, overall, Oracle Retail is clearly a leader in the retail vertical, its warehouse management system (WMS) is . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

SSA Global Is A Top Performer In WMS For Retail Supply Chains

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q2 2006

by Nikki Baird, June 7, 2006

SSA Global Technologies has a strong warehouse management systems (WMS) product in Warehouse Management 2000. It competes well against best-of-breed WMS providers but faces three hurdles: furthering the capabilities of its existing products, converging . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Aldata Provides Core Functionality For WMS For Retail Supply Chains

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q2 2006

by Nikki Baird, June 7, 2006

While Aldata Solution has some large, complex retail customers, the vendor's warehouse management system (WMS) product, G.O.L.D. Stock V5.03, reflects the more basic requirements of the retail industry compared to other, more distribution-intensive and . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

RedPrairie: The Most Well-Rounded Solution For WMS

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q1 2006

by Nikki Baird, January 24, 2006

RedPrairie is the most well-rounded WMS provider, with a few clear standout capabilities, like value-added services and simulation within slotting optimization. With a recently released new product version, a strong services organization, and approximately . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

HighJump Software Leads In Out-Of-The-Box Configurability With Its WMS

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q1 2006

by Nikki Baird, January 24, 2006

As a 3M subsidiary with a tremendously configurable product, HighJump Software's WMS is an appealing option for users that want a WMS that can conform to existing business processes without extensive customization. HighJump performs strongly across all . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Manhattan Associates Leads In WMS

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q1 2006

by Nikki Baird, January 24, 2006

Manhattan Associates maintains its leadership in WMS even while making moves into the larger integrated supply chain planning/supply chain execution space. With more than 1,500 clients, Manhattan Associates offers a WMS that provides best-in-class capabilities . . .