Would you agree that revenue growth depends on customer growth?  According to the 2017 State of Small Business Report, 69 percent of small businesses are expecting an increase in revenue in 2017.  But to realize that growth, it will take some doing, which is why 40 percent of small business...

Do you know how today’s sophisticated technology has changed inventory management and how it is impacting business from supplier to warehouse to consumer? According to Logistics Manager, “…retailers and manufacturers are increasingly seeing the supply chain as a source of competitive...

For your retail business to thrive in today’s Amazon-driven marketplace, you know how important it is to continually tweak strategies for improving the customer experience. After all, happy customers are key to robust sales profits. To attract new customers, whether it’s to your online store...

It’s getting harder and harder to ignore how technology is impacting how we do business, especially in the area of inventory management. We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep on saying it.  Retailers must get on the technology train to survive the future. There just is no good reason...

One of the key advantages to having an inventory management system in place for your retail business is having the ability to accurately track merchandise, from storeroom to sale, which is key to profitability. Technology tools makes it easy to forecast how much of any item to have on hand at specific...

Retail store closings are sweeping across the country. Even though the National Retail Federation predicted a good year for retailers, “especially for brick-and-mortar stores that added an e-commerce component to their business,” a research report from Credit Suisse said “ that it’s...

Technology as tools for inventory management had retailers all a-buzz at this year’s National Retail Federation Big Show. That’s because to stay in the game, retailers must compete with Amazon, which continues to dominate the online shopping scene. To do that, retailers must have an effective...

Can your retail business absorb a yearly profit loss of two percent? This is the average hit retailers feel due to inventory loss, also called shrinkage. It’s a big problem. According to the National Retail Security Survey, in 2016, shrinkage issues cost retailers more than $49 billion. To put...

Nothing can take the place of humans in the warehouse, right? That’s true, but there is another disruptive technology rising above the horizon, and we need to pay attention. Many industries are already taking notice about the potential use of drones as another tool for managing inventory. An article...

The retail industry is at a crossroads between technology and tradition. It’s too early to tell if online versus physical shopping will balance out so that both can be available for the discerning shopper. But one thing will never change – customer service, not only for the consumer, but...

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...