Here it comes – the holidays. Those omnichannel retail business owners who made the smart decision to implement a solid technology-driven inventory management system this year may be feeling very thankful indeed at the dinner table on the day before Black Friday’s kickoff into the holiday...

This holiday season, big-brand retailers are doing a delicate balancing act when it comes to inventory management. Having just the right amount of merchandise for in-store and online shoppers is the name of the game, and since this time of year is crucial for sales and profits –the National Retail...

Do you remember the Aesop’s fable about the grasshopper and the ant? The grasshopper wiled away the lazy days of summer while the ant industriously prepared for winter. Of course, we know the outcome to the story. When the season changed, the grasshopper was left out in the cold, while the ant...

If you had to rate counting inventory for your retail business on a scale from one to 10, with one being the least favorite task to accomplish, what would your answer be?  It wouldn’t be a surprise if your answer were number one. Counting physical inventory can be slow and tedious. It’s...

Clearly, having a handle on the ebb and flow of inventory levels in your store is key to profitability. If you’ve got the goods you’ll make the sale. Yet, 75% of retailers do not keep accurate counts of in-store inventory.   How can a store operate that way? Sam Walton, founder of...

The holiday buying season is getting close. Is your retail business ready to deliver?  According to eMarketer, many retailers have taken major steps this year to “improve their inventory systems and fulfillment options,” bracing for in-store shoppers and, more specifically, those consumers...

To buy a can of paint, you used to have to get yourself to the local hardware store and hope to find the right brand and color. As we all know, shopping is a lot easier thanks to the internet of things – that interconnectedness we now have between our computers, mobile devices and the physical...

Whether you like it or not, everyone is on Facebook – or at least 1.59 billion people around the world use Facebook every day. Of that number, 1.4 billion people are mobile users. So, the question is, do you advertise your retail business on Facebook? What are you doing to lure tech-savvy local...

Would you say that the secret sauce for success for a retail business is inventory control? If you’re suppressing a yawn over that idea, take a lesson from two of the bigger supply chains that failed to deliver the goods. The question is, why?  In 2011, the Star Tribune reported that Best...

How vulnerable is your retail business to shoplifting? Even though “crime does not pay,” apparently that truism isn’t enough of a warning to deter the daring person determined to steal from a store.  According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), theft was the leading cause...

Can you imagine sending a command through your cell phone to control the thermostat in your house so that the environment is just right by the time you get home from work? How about instead of driving yourself home you can tell your car to do it for you?  Such a world seems the stuff of science...

If you are a shop owner and have been slow to embrace the innovative technology tools now available for managing inventory, you need to face up to what’s holding you back.  If you’re holding on to a traditional browsing atmosphere for shoppers who wander into your store, that’s...

It doesn’t matter what you sell. You must pay attention to your inventory, and that includes the stuff that sits in reserve. For example, if it’s outdated merchandise that no one will ever buy and is just sitting on shelves collecting dust, that stuff represents a loss and needs to go. Old...

Making a profit is all about making the sale. Of course, that’s what you want – a profitable sales strategy. When you have a good handle on inventory flow, you’re ahead of the game because, in today’s marketplace, where business is competing for attention on the internet and...

It was Bill Gates who said, “The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.” Well, “tomorrow” is now. Today’s tech tools have changed how we shop. We can browse in a store, or browse online. We can order stuff with our cell phones. We can even...