Supplier and Retailer Coordination Vendors and retailers can coordinate their efforts in several ways. They can coordinate in planning sales and inventory levels, as well as in planning promotions and by sharing real-time sales data. Retailers have a variety of methods to plan their business. One of the most common is to predict future sales based on prior years’ performance. Through the use of “sales history”, a retailer has an… Read More »Supplier and Retailer Coordination

Sales and Information Systems Given the definition of a supply chain and some brief examples, one can imagine how difficult it must be to manage all of the moving parts of the process. Supply Chain Management systems (SCM) have been developed to help organizations do exactly that. A good SCM system ensures that the right inventory is in the right place to meet anticipated demand. This serves to maximize sales… Read More »Sales and Information Systems

Flow of Goods Based on the type of retailer, supply chains can range from simple to complex. For example, Mom or Dad supplying fresh pitchers of lemonade to the children’s corner drink stand would represent a small-scale supply chain (of course the lemons and water had to come from somewhere, but for the sake of argument let’s keep this one simple). For a national electronics retailer, the supply chain would… Read More »Flow of Goods :Based on the type of retailer, supply chains

Supply Chain Management What you’ll learn to do: Explore the use of information systems to manage the supply chain We will explore how retail businesses leverage technology to manage the supply chain. What is a supply chain? How can retailers have the right products at the right place at the right time to maximize sales? How does supply chain management impact the bottom line? What happens when retailers and vendors establish… Read More »use of information systems to manage the supply chain

UPC, RFID, and QR Codes There are three common technologies retailers use to identify and track individual product units in retail sales transactions, inventory management and distribution, or supply chain- UPC, RFID and QR codes. Most of these symbols are quite familiar as we see them on a daily basis. The Universal Product Code (UPC) is a barcode symbology that is widely used in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia,… Read More »UPC, RFID, and QR Codes technologies retailers use

Data Warehousing and Data Mining All of the RIS we have discussed so far have one major thing in common—an underlying database to store their unique data. Through the process of mergers and acquisitions, most large retailers inherit duplicative systems that continue to exist independent of each other due to the large cost of consolidation. With data “everywhere,” retailers turn to the latest IT techniques. Data warehouses (DW) are created… Read More »Data Warehousing and Data Mining

Retail Information Systems Retail information systems have evolved in similar fashion as business computing in general. More data has created the need for larger storage and faster processors. The need to give wider data access to more employees, so-called “data democratization,” has necessitated de-centralizing information platforms and increasing ease-of-use. We have seen platform evolution from mainframe systems to client/server to cloud and now to mobile platforms in retail information systems.… Read More »Retail Information Systems

Centralized Data Hubs What you’ll learn to do: Explain why retailers need a centralized data hub We will explore some of the key technologies retail businesses have adopted to meet their goals. How do retailers keep track of all of the products they sell? What are the benefits of data-driven information technology? What are the key information systems that can support better business decisions? What are data warehouses and how are… Read More »why retailers need a centralized data hub

Information Systems in Retail and CRM Software Retail businesses are facing some of most daunting challenges to their survival ever. Retail bankruptcies, re-organizations and store closures are at an all-time high. With the disruption caused by online companies such as Amazon.com, once-thriving shopping malls and strip centers are closing or being converted to other commercial uses. While many of retail’s name brands being hard hit, other retailers are growing and… Read More »Information Systems in Retail and CRM Software

Putting It Together: Trade-Area Analysis and Site Selection The location, the demographics of the population, how many people live within the trading area, secondary trading area and fringe area, along with many other variables need to be evaluated when you are putting together plans for any retail location. Even online businesses need to know their market in order to advertise appropriately and reach the right consumers.   There are so… Read More »Putting It Together: Trade-Area Analysis and Site Selection