Business Intelligence for Retail

Retail is one of the most diverse industries in the vertical industry arena. Retail enterprises face numerous challenges; not the least of which is the challenge of sustained profit margins in a market where profit margins are traditionally small. Retailers must choose the right products to sell, select appropriate suppliers and shipping options, manage customer expectations, set appropriate pricing, anticipate and forecast stock and inventory needs and manage seasonal shifts in demand. Those are just a few of the challenges you face every day if you are a retailer.

The retail market is fickle, and market trends change rapidly. In this ever-changing environment, the retailer must have complete insight into how actual results compare to plan numbers, revenue by store, location, region, product line and other factors. The retail enterprise must carefully manage operational costs to be sure these costs are optimised. Hours of operation, resource allocation, hiring, training, facilities management and other factors impact revenue and the bottom line.

In the retail industry, Business Intelligence (BI) and Corporate Performance Management (CPM) is a delicate balance. One must understand buying behavior, customer requirements, exact price points for products, shipping and inventory timing and changing trends. Getting the right product on the store shelves at the right time, for the right price is what retail is all about. Choosing the right location and mix of web and brick and mortar facilities is also important. If the customer cannot find your business, they cannot consider your products.

But, the gathering and analysis of business intelligence and implementing KPI for Retail is not as easy as it may seem. The retail industry is awash in best of breed, enterprise and legacy systems to manage everything from point of sale (POS) to resource allocation, facilities management, shipping and inventory, equipment and assets, financial results, sales and marketing campaigns, pricing, coupons and discounting and more. If the retailer is to remain competitive, executives, managers and business users must have access to the most complete information with full insight into results and critical issues and the ability to quickly analyse, present and report these results to support decisions and adapt to the changing market.

If you need a rich, intuitive Business Intelligence for Retail solution, coupled with robust CPM features, we encourage you to contact us today to discuss your unique requirements and get started with the ElegantJ BI solution suite. Email us at sales@ElegantJBI.com

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