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Welcome to the Invent Analytics Blog - the home of thought leadership for retail industry. Read our latest articles to catch up on what is next in retail supply chain planning.

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Retail Inventory Management for Hard and Soft Goods: Challenges and Strategies

Hard and soft goods have their unique inventory management challenges. If your product strategy includes both types, you face some additional considerations. Let’s take a closer look at them.

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Markdown Optimization for Retailers: How AI Can Save Millions

AI can play a big role in markdown optimization. Here's a complete guide on everything you need to know about how AI can save you millions.

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How Weather Data Improves Retail Demand Forecasting

We know that forecasting for the near future, capturing the impacts of local weather and using the short-term demand forecasts for store replenishment can make a big difference for retailers.

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Here Is Why US Retailers Have Excess Inventory and What to Do About It

Retailers have so much inventory that they can't get rid of it fast enough. There is a surplus of goods, but the demand for them isn’t there.

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How to Measure Demand Forecast Accuracy

Forecasting is never an end itself. In fact, even near-perfect forecasts don’t necessarily help achieving excellent business results unless there is a smooth and strong inventory planning process in place.

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Game-changers in Retail

Returns Management: How to Turn a Costly Burden into an Opportunity

In this Game-changers in Retail Series, we sat down with Jonathan Colehower, who has over 20 years of experience in the supply chain domain.

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Returns Forecasting: A Must-Have for Retailers

Retailers have always had to deal with returns. While returns can’t be avoided completely, awareness and AI-powered return forecasting is key.

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How to Find Optimal Inventory Balance to Reduce Inventory and Lost Sales

The insights in this article can help retailers increase their inventory planning capabilities significantly, reduce inventory, lost sales and achieve retail excellence.

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Retail Demand Forecasting: What, How, and Why?

What is demand forecasting in retail really? How is it done? What do retailers need to create better forecasts? Let’s find out.

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How to Optimize Inventory Using Analytics-Driven Supply Chain Improvements

How can next-level AI-based profit-optimization models and analytics-driven supply chain improvements empower retailers to upgrade their inventory management capabilities? Read on.

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NRF 2022 Big Ideas Session: Omni-evolution through financial optimization

Omni-channel retail: What tools do we have to measure, manage, and change?

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How to Deal with Inventory Shortages: 4 Tips for Retailers

How can retailers deal with global inventory shortages and achieve effective inventory optimization? Here are 4 practical tips.

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4 Key Takeaways from NRF 2022

That’s a wrap on NRF 2022. We’ve rounded up the top retail inventory planning insights from the retail industry’s biggest event – so whether you made it or not, you can stay in the loop with this year’s big themes.

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Game-changers in Retail

The Future of Omni-Channel Footwear Retail

As a part of our Game-changers in Retail Series, we sat down with Sito Luis Salas, Deputy CEO at Camper, a global shoe retailer and a pioneer company in omni-channel operations.

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Pre-Season Planning: Why Successful Inventory Optimization is Vital in Fashion Retail

Allocation, size optimization, and assortment optimization for fashion retailers. Dealing with demand uncertainty. Pre-season inventory planning.

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Trends and Predictions for Retailers in 2022

Omni-channel inventory planning predictions for retailers in 2022.

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How to Forecast Demand Accurately for the Next Season: The Billion-Dollar Fashion Retail Question

What will be the baseline demand for a new item that will be introduced to the market six months from now on? This is a billion-dollar question.

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Game-changers in Retail

Omni-Channel Choices for Retailers' Success Today and Tomorrow

In this Game-changers in Retail Series, we had the pleasure to sit down with Felipe Caro, Professor of Decisions, Operations and Technology Management. Felipe Caro leads UCLA Anderson's new M.S. in business analytics (MSBA).

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Retailers, Are You Ready for Allocation Challenges This Christmas?

How can retailers fulfill orders in an efficient and timely manner when they don’t have enough inventory on hand to meet the increasing demand?

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Game-changers in Retail

Taking Advantage of Advanced Analytics Across Retail Supply Chains

As a part of our Game-changers in Retail series, we’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Bill Franks, Director, Center for Statistics and Analytics Research, KSU and Chief Analytics Officer, IIA.

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Game-changers in Retail

The Future of Demand Forecasting and Inventory Planning for Grocery Retailers

In this Game-changers in Retail interview, we met with Makysym Tipukhov, Demand Forecasting Director, Fozzy Group, to discuss the future of grocery retail and how grocers can thrive in this new omni-channel era.

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Happy Halloween: Inventory Planning for Retail’s One of the Biggest Spending Holiday

After a Halloween-less year, this year is going to be spookier than ever. Retail’s second-biggest spending holiday is around the corner and your Halloween shoppers are ready to celebrate.

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Game-changers in Retail

The Future of Grocery Retail: How to Become Omni-Channel Grocery Champions

In this interview, Michelle Gloeckler, Board Member & Advisor tells us how grocers can be Omni-Retail Champions and shares her perspective on the future of grocery retail.

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Omni-Channel and Retail KPIs: The Good, the Bad and the Future

The problem facing retailers today, and into the future, is that the approach of the past is too slow, too cumbersome, and too imprecise for the complexity that omni-channel creates. So, how can retailers solve this problem and move to a better future?

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Game-changers in Retail

The Future of Omni-Channel Grocery Retail

In this Game-changers in Retail series, we’ve met with Justin Honaman, Head of Worldwide Consumer Products – Food & Beverage, Amazon Web Services, to discuss how he sees the future of grocery retail.

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Do You Have the Demand Forecasting Capabilities to Meet Your Omni-Channel Customers’ Demand?

There has been a revolution in retail. It’s been driven as much by consumers embracing technology as it has by innovative business models. In fact, many retailers have failed to keep up with customers’ changing shopping habits and are still struggling to develop and use accurate demand forecasting for inventory planning.

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3 Major Challenges for Omni-Channel Retail Inventory Planning

For many years, the single-channel brick-and-mortar retail model meant that supply chain processes were fairly straightforward. Occasionally, things might go slightly wrong, such as a store being out of stock of the shoes your customer wanted in her/his size. In that case, generally the retailer would lose the sale. In the omni-channel retail world, things are much more complicated.

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Reducing Lost Sales and Fulfilling Omni-Channel Demand at a Low Cost

Today’s omni-channel customers expect seamless and frictionless shopping experiences across all physical and digital touchpoints. They want speed and convenience and they won’t settle for anything less. When a customer walks into a store intending to purchase an item, they expect to be able to walk away with it right away.

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How to Reduce Fresh Waste by Using AI-Powered Demand Forecasting and Replenishment

It’s no surprise that consumers also changed their consumption habits during that time and shifted their priorities when it came to fresh food. As many people continue to work from home and because fresh food is seen as a driver of health and wellbeing, fresh fruits, vegetables, and dairy products consumption increased.

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Dark Stores for Grocery Retailers: What Are They and How Do They Work?

Online grocery shopping is booming, and it is here to stay. In the U.S. alone, online grocery shopping reached nearly $90 billion in sales in 2020, an increase of more than $30 billion. The same research tells us that online grocery shopping will push past $100 billion in 2021. By 2023, it will make up 11.2% of total grocery sales in the United States.

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3 Strategies Grocers Can Use to Enhance Online Availability and Avoid Losing Their Omni-Channel Customers

Customers worldwide have changed the way they shop for groceries. Millions have now chosen online shopping for ease, convenience, and safety. Take Florida-based Business Executive, Jeannette for example. She’s a full-time mother who prefers to do her grocery shopping online.

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Dealing with Retail Operations During Covid-19 Disruption

If you’re a retailer, coronavirus has impacted your business. You’re challenged with a business that is dramatically different that it was just days before. A business that still demands answers to questions and good decisions in spite of a little data reflecting current circumstances. And no decision is, in fact, a decision.

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Optimize Pricing and Markdown Decisions During COVID-19 and Recovery Periods

For the majority of retailers around the world, the COVID-19 outbreak is now a reality rather than a looming threat. In response, they have closed their brick-and-mortar stores and redirected consumers to digital channels.

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