Retail supply chain software for enhanced supply chain efficiency, encompassing warehouse & transportation solutions, inventory control, and strategic/planning modules.
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Sana to launch customisable SaaS e-commerce platform586 Views
Sana Commerce has announced a SaaS version of its B2B e-commerce platform. It aims to help manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers stay ahead of new developments in the fast-moving online sales market
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Retailers data only 75% accurate, warn industry specialists569 Views
Retailers data only 75% accurate, warn industry specialists
Detailed analysis by retail tech specialists at Detego has confirmed that the average retailers data is only about seventy-five percent accurate when it comes to knowing exactly what inventory is actually in stock at any particular time. The problem is often compounded by retailers continually managing stock across multiple channels and increasingly having to stay on top of consumer demands for up-to-the-minute, reliable information. Detego, which has been monitoring its own chatbot service that allows consumers to engage with retailers via their smartphones, found the most common enquiries to be about stock availability. It found data inaccuracies around inventory to be most of an issue in fashion retail where ever shorter product lifecycles, fast turnarounds of stock and multiple style, size and colour combinations can play havoc with the supply chain and in-store operations.“Customers, above all, want instant and accurate information on product availability,” says Dr. Michael Goller, CTO at Detego. “If youre shopping for clothes, you want to be sure of getting the exact size and style youre looking for. But many retailers fall by the wayside here their systems might tell them that a particular size is available; yet, theres a one in four chance that this isnt the case.”
According to Goller, continually relying on manual processes for something as vital to the retail business as stock – usually by shutting up shop once or twice a year for store or warehouse staff to do a stock-take – is madness. And especially given that smart technologies abound, including RFID and mobile devices which ensure continual monitoring and lead to near hundred percent accuracy and operational excellence in the stores.
Research by the University of Parma in Italy has shown consistent sales increases in RFID-managed apparel stores and deduced that “RFID item-level tagging is a powerful tool for improving inventory accuracy, which is a prerequisite for both omni-channel strategies and store floor replenishment from the backroom.”
Thanks to technology that helps increase the availability of products on the shopfloor – such as using wearable devices that rely on alerts and images to guide staff and speed up the replacement of missing articles and gaps on the shelves – the industry is starting to see a gradual shift towards more connected technologies in retail. IDC Retail Insights predicts that eighty percent of retailers are due to spend on visibility platforms powered by RFID and IoT over the next few years.
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CMC brings further automation in today’s fulfilment centres598 Views
CMC, a leading European packaging technology provider, has unveiled the newest CMC SmartStore at Deliver#3 in London.
The SmartStore is a system used for temporary storage of products to be processed for delivery for current orders. It is a modular system that can be customized to suit individuals applications. It is ideal for small to medium size products such as books, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fashion and shoes.
CMC SmartStore can be used to be integrated to a full turnkey solution utilizing CMC’s packaging solutions: inbound, picking, outbound, consolidation to order and packaging into boxes and paper or plastic satchels. This system further develops CMC’s technology portfolio of storage and packaging solutions aiming at improving productivity and efficiency in ecommerce, 3PL and fulfillment industries.
At Deliver this year, Retailers and Brand Owners have discussed their individual applications that may suit the:
CMC CartonWrap – the award winning right size packaging machine that processes 1.000 boxes an hour. Cartonwrap considerably improves operational/labour costs and eliminates empty space in the boxes reducing shipping costs and CO2 emissions. Creating boxes just in time saves storage space and labour cost in the warehouse.
CMC Packvertizing – CMC’s unique solution to personalize 1:1 right size packaging with full color branding, pictures and marketing messages for an improved customer experience.
CMC CartonPack – based on the CMC’s proprietary Vary-Tote, this machine is ideal for B2B applications and at the same time can automate multi line orders packed on boxes that are unique to each consignment.
CMC SmartMailer: based on the 40 years old inserting technology, the machine can fulfill single order items such as DVDs, books and electronics into rigid or bubble mailers.
CMC BubbleWrapper: the evolution of CMC polywrapping technology, the system can process apparel and fashion items in dynamic poly and bubble satchels and optionally cut-in a handle for click and collect.
Francesco Ponti, CMC CEO commented: “We have been pioneering different solutions for the ecommerce industry over the last 4 years and our technology has been very well accepted by the major retailers. Warehousing automation is key to achieve efficiency and productivity in packaging operations. With the newest SmartStore we have bridged the two processes”