In discussions with large retail organizations on their supply chain operations, I noticed a recurring issue related to an emerging industry trend. Supply chains are increasing in complexity as demanding customers and new technologies force retailers to adapt quickly. Yet many of them still rely on legacy tools to plan their operations.

Traditional planning tools weren’t made to solve the complex planning challenges that retailers deal with nowadays. These systems have limited capabilities and are highly dependent on the soft knowledge of planners, which aren’t readily available. When decisions are made in isolation, it becomes difficult for planning teams to provide optimal plans and respond to last-minute changes. This leads to inefficiencies in operations and avoidable costs – and eventually, to an unhappy customer who ends up turning to your competitor.

Those who don’t improve will struggle to survive. In a business with high competition and low margins like the retail industry, supply chain agility becomes the game changer to a competitive advantage.

If that’s the case, why are retailers missing opportunities when it comes to planning and optimization software? Could it be because they aren’t aware of the latest solutions available in the market? Or is it because the benefits of these solutions are still not yet well known?

We wanted to get some answers. Together with WBR Insights we conducted a survey among 150 of the world’s largest retailers to learn more about the current state of their supply chain operations, as well as the ability of these operations to withstand future disruptions.

The results were illuminating. We discovered that when it comes to the efficiency of their supply chains, there’s a gap between the retailers’ perceptions and reality. These led us to more questions:
• What does an ‘efficient’ supply chain really mean?
• How can a more powerful computer-assisted planning solution help improve your bottom line?

If you’d like to know the answer to these questions, download the full report to discover:
• The full results of this survey
• The benefits of having a fully integrated planning system that can be utilized by all stakeholders
• How retailers can strengthen their supply chain to meet the high demands of their customers and prepare their business for changes on the horizon