Technology seems to have a common purpose – to make our lives easier. If we were living a century ago, the very idea that we could conveniently order merchandise from a computer in the comfort of our home would have seemed farfetched.  Now it’s a way of life. Who knows what the future...

It looks like 2017 is shaping up to be a solid year for retail growth. That’s because consumers are feeling more confident about parting with their hard-earned dollars. According to predictions from the National Retail Federation (NRF), sales growth could range between 3.7 and 4.2 percent. However,...

Retail businesses sure have changed since the days of the good old “general store.” Of course, general stores still exist but it would be rare these days if they don’t have a website and an online shopping cart, too. The question is, along with offering the ability to shop online,...

Spring is here and with its arrival comes that sense of wanting to spruce things up. You know, do some “spring cleaning.”  With the shift in seasons, especially in cold-weather climes, maybe now is a good time to tackle a reorganization of your inventory storage methods.  When...

Let’s get serious. About 43% of small business owners are not using technology to track inventory, or they’re using a manual process for perhaps the most mundane area of running a retail business. Are you one of them? The bigger question is, why?  It’s just crazy. If you haven’t...

How often do you run warehouse inventory reports? If you’re not all that consistent about staying on top of your inventory, especially if you have more than one storage location for your business, you could be losing money. You need to stay on top of what’s going on with your short-term...

We say it all the time. You need an efficient inventory management system to run an efficient retail business. And if your operation is big enough to need a warehouse to store what you sell, all the more reason to embrace today’s inventory management technology tools to ensure that efficiency. But,...

If you run a small to mid-sized retail shop, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to feel competitively squeezed out of potential customers by ecommerce sites like Amazon. But that doesn’t mean your business can’t rise above the competition. Sure, we all like a good bargain. And it’s...

Do you like to play guessing games? They are great brainteasers to play at holiday parties, or on rainy summer days on vacation, for example. You know the ones. Like “Charades,” where you have to act out something without saying anything and everyone has to guess what you’re trying...

Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Think of this quote in terms of managing inventory for your retail business. Counting, tracking, pricing, storing, and, of course, fulfillment.  Sounds mundane. But, these,...

If your retail business enjoyed high-sales volume during the holidays, that’s awesome news. Clearly you stocked up on merchandise your customers wanted. And happy customers should translate to brand loyalty down the road. But there is a flipside to be prepared for – how to efficiently process...

If you are a warehouse manager, you know that efficiency is key to running a smooth supply-chain operation. Of course, money is always an issue. If you are expected to keep costs down, how can you achieve top-notch efficiency? Key to the efficiency formula is inventory management. According to Inbound...

Now that the holiday buying frenzy has ended, the first month of a new year can be kind of a drag for retailers. Not only is January a long month, it can be a slow sales month, which is exactly why, back in 1878, John Wanamaker, founder of Wanamaker’s, one of the very first department stores in...

Internet shopping is convenient, but not for everyone, and that’s a challenge for retailers. For department stores like Macy’s, in-store holiday sales were weak enough to trigger the decision to close nearly 70 stores in 2017. Online sales were strong, but not strong enough. CEO Terry Lundgren...

Now that your end-of-year inventory audit is complete, what did you find? Any surprises? If inventory shrinkage turned out to be more than expected, that would not be out of the ordinary. According to the 2016 National Retail Security Survey, robberies continue to be a troublesome expense for retailers. According...