Feature Articles

61. Black Ops IT Spend - When IT Starts Being Paid Outside The CIO 8/5/2013

    Retail has been abuzz about the increasing role of the CMO in the IT Spend process ever since Gartner analysts mentioned that they forecasted that the Chief Marketing Officer would control more IT spending than the Chief Information Officer by 2017.

62. Turning The Smartphone Into A Powerful Tool 7/10/2013

    Enabling real-time, enterprise-wide voice communication—from store floors to warehouses and DCs—doesn’t have to be a rip-and-replace proposition.

63. Bar Code & RFID Label Printing: Options For Printing From SAP 7/8/2013

    Generating bar code and RFID labels from the SAP environment is not always a straightforward process. The various versions and generations of SAP solutions are oriented to document printing and do not offer native support for most the specialized thermal printers used for bar code and RFID labeling. That means either the SAP solution or the printer has to be enabled to be compatible.

64. Merchandise Planning & Allocation Benchmark Survey: Planning For The Future 7/1/2013

    It's an exciting time for retail planning. The continued growth of the Internet and the proliferation of additional customer touch points create both new opportunities, as well as new challenges, for merchandise, channel and assortment planning. Today's Omni-channel consumer expects to seamlessly purchase the items, colors and sizes they want across every channel.

65. Complete And On-Time: The Key To Mitigating Retail Margin Risk And Ensuring Brand Protection 6/19/2013

    On-time and complete is one of the best KPIs for measuring merchandise plan execution success.  See how your company can increase your percentage of on-time and complete fulfillment.

66. New Technology Is Critical To Meeting Customer Demands - Infographic 6/12/2013

    Survey results show mobile solutions can dramatically improve operational efficiencies, decrease customer satisfaction, and reduce costs.

67. Vendor Compliance 103: Best In Class Vendor Compliance Program Considerations 5/29/2013

    As the concept of vendor compliance goes mainstream, more and more companies are making claims to being vendor compliance ready.  Too many of these companies consider only a single vertical and even retailers who built their programs internally make the same mistakes.  Compliance programs are much more than vendor requirements (often times considered vendor rules), compliance audits and penalties (chargebacks or expense offsets) in the four walls of a DC as some companies claim.

68. Unlocking Hidden Cost In The Distribution Center 5/23/2013

    With many businesses still feeling the effects of the recession, facing increased competition and being forced to operate on smaller and smaller profit margins, distribution managers are increasingly tasked with the seemingly impossible job of finding cost savings from existing operations. To do this, managers are learning that they have to leave no stone unturned in order to effectively evaluate current processes and technology to help identify areas for efficiency improvements.

69. Direct Part Marking: More Than Just A Code On A Surface 5/23/2013

    Direct Part Marking (DPM) is a process for imprinting a bar code directly on an item or surface in a permanent manner instead of printing the code on a paper label that is adhered or attached to a surface. The intent is to create a permanent identifier for the item. In most applications, 2D bar codes are used in DPM technology.

70. Retail Margin Risk: 5 Critical Supply Chain Steps To Ensure Merchandise Plan Execution 5/15/2013

    The value of merchandise plan execution is critical to any retailer's margin objectives. By systematically identifying and eliminating supply chain performance related issues, retailers can mitigate those events that put margin at risk. In a recovering economy where working capital still remains constrained, the supply chain professional who can run a predictable and consistent supply chain, influence margin performance, and increase operating cash flow will be invaluable.