The Retailer's Guide to Cross-Channel Success
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7 Signs You Should Consider Outsourcing Your Fulfillment
January 2009 From Retail Online Integration
Hard times often require difficult decisions. Given the weak business environment and challenges facing multichannel marketers in particular, many have had to make tough choices to cut costs, with outsourcing being one of the options for doing so. Whether in good times or bad, however, outsourcing your order management, call center and/or fulfillment operations is one decision that requires careful consideration. Here are seven signs that you should think about outsourcing fulfillment:
January 2009 From Retail Online Integration
Hard times often require difficult decisions. Given the weak business environment and challenges facing multichannel marketers in particular, many have had to make tough choices to cut costs, with outsourcing being one of the options for doing so. Whether in good times or bad, however, outsourcing your order management, call center and/or fulfillment operations is one decision that requires careful consideration. Here are seven signs that you should think about outsourcing fulfillment:
April 2008 From Hold
Do you wonder how your fulfillment operation performs against others in your industry? Do you know which processes you’re handling well and those that need improvement? Or even which processes have the most impact on customer service levels? Or which of them lower warehousing and fulfillment costs while improving performance? Benchmarking, the process fulfillment managers use to draw meaningful comparisons between their companies’ performances and industry standards, can provide answers to all these questions. First, consider the two types of benchmarking. • Performance Benchmarking compares quantitative performance results, or metrics, to those of several different companies or to industry standards. Its objective is
Profit Model 2
October 1, 2007 From All About ROI
Employ a Detailed Approach to Merchandise Analysis
October 1, 2007 From All About ROI
Employ a Detailed Approach to Merchandise Analysis
Profit Model 1
October 1, 2007 From All About ROI
Employ a Detailed Approach to Merchandise Analysis
October 1, 2007 From All About ROI
Employ a Detailed Approach to Merchandise Analysis
Employ a Detailed Approach to Merchandise Analysis
October 2007 From Retail Online Integration
From a “bottom up” view, catalog/multichannel marketers must consider every aspect of an item’s performance or life cycle to ensure every touchpoint to profitability is being considered properly. An item’s profitability is impacted by much more than simply demand and margin. I offer a top-down approach, which is extremely critical to the planning process. I also go to the opposite spectrum, however, and consider detail levels that often are overlooked when considering an item’s true profitability. If you hold your products to higher standards by factoring all their costs up front, you can gain greater profit to the bottom line. Let’s break down these
October 2007 From Retail Online Integration
From a “bottom up” view, catalog/multichannel marketers must consider every aspect of an item’s performance or life cycle to ensure every touchpoint to profitability is being considered properly. An item’s profitability is impacted by much more than simply demand and margin. I offer a top-down approach, which is extremely critical to the planning process. I also go to the opposite spectrum, however, and consider detail levels that often are overlooked when considering an item’s true profitability. If you hold your products to higher standards by factoring all their costs up front, you can gain greater profit to the bottom line. Let’s break down these
July 2007 From Retail Online Integration
Merchandise analysis is an ongoing process. Although most companies should schedule formal reviews at the end of each season, the key to profitability is staying on top of the metrics that drive any multichannel business. Postmortems, as many of these reviews have been labeled, have a negative connotation in many marketers’ minds, and as a result, often are sidestepped. I’ve found that changing them to “preseason kick off” reviews promotes an offensive approach to profitability that can be maintained throughout the season. Of course, each business can apply its own weight to the measures to make final decisions. As multichannel merchants say, “It’s all about
Negotiate Better Deals with Parcel Carriers
May 2007 From Tactics & Tips
Published rates have spiked throughout the parcel industry, and will impact the bottom line of any cataloger who ships goods through any of the major parcel carriers. But according to Tim Sailor, founder/president of Long Beach, Calif.-based Navigo Consulting Group, the impact doesn’t have to be negative. Despite recent rate hikes, catalog/multichannel shippers still can cut good deals if they play their cards right. “Shippers don’t have the advantage now, since carriers are incentivized to sell their services at the highest possible cost,” Sailor said during a session at last week’s National Conference on Operations & Fulfillment in Schaumburg, Ill. Recent rate
May 2007 From Tactics & Tips
Published rates have spiked throughout the parcel industry, and will impact the bottom line of any cataloger who ships goods through any of the major parcel carriers. But according to Tim Sailor, founder/president of Long Beach, Calif.-based Navigo Consulting Group, the impact doesn’t have to be negative. Despite recent rate hikes, catalog/multichannel shippers still can cut good deals if they play their cards right. “Shippers don’t have the advantage now, since carriers are incentivized to sell their services at the highest possible cost,” Sailor said during a session at last week’s National Conference on Operations & Fulfillment in Schaumburg, Ill. Recent rate
Plan Now to Manage Holiday Returns
November 2004 From Tactics & Tips
Catalogers often try to reduce associated returns costs with policy initiatives. Since returns are seen as a bottom-line deficit, countless hours are spent defining a policy to minimize returns. Here are four tips for better managing returns:ï3/4ï3/4 ï3/4ï3/4 1. Divide the responsibility for returns between appropriate departments. If returns are due to product quality, your merchandising team must be involved in the solution. If they’re due to presentation issues, the creative team must participate. Slow deliveries? Get your fulfillment and inventory teams involved. Tip: Create a returns team with members from each department to focus on return reduction and management. Fiscal responsibility also should be shared. 2.
November 2004 From Tactics & Tips
Catalogers often try to reduce associated returns costs with policy initiatives. Since returns are seen as a bottom-line deficit, countless hours are spent defining a policy to minimize returns. Here are four tips for better managing returns:ï3/4ï3/4 ï3/4ï3/4 1. Divide the responsibility for returns between appropriate departments. If returns are due to product quality, your merchandising team must be involved in the solution. If they’re due to presentation issues, the creative team must participate. Slow deliveries? Get your fulfillment and inventory teams involved. Tip: Create a returns team with members from each department to focus on return reduction and management. Fiscal responsibility also should be shared. 2.
Trade Secrets to Help Boost Your Bottom Line
May 2003 From Retail Online Integration
With world conditions and the economy in upheaval, business has been tough for most catalogers lately. This month I’ll focus on several ideas to improve your bottom line. Although it’s always important to stay focused on long-term growth and strategic development of your business, some of you obviously will have to take action now to ensure short-term profitability. The following suggestions may produce only a temporary increase in your profitability, however, so be cautious about any potential impact down the road. Cut Cautiously 1. Improve your margins. The No. 1 expense line on your profit-and-loss statement (P&L) most likely is cost of goods.
May 2003 From Retail Online Integration
With world conditions and the economy in upheaval, business has been tough for most catalogers lately. This month I’ll focus on several ideas to improve your bottom line. Although it’s always important to stay focused on long-term growth and strategic development of your business, some of you obviously will have to take action now to ensure short-term profitability. The following suggestions may produce only a temporary increase in your profitability, however, so be cautious about any potential impact down the road. Cut Cautiously 1. Improve your margins. The No. 1 expense line on your profit-and-loss statement (P&L) most likely is cost of goods.
A Healthy Bottom Line
July 2002 From All About ROI
When Glen Pirie came to Swanson Health Products four years ago with a background in retail operations he was used to serving big customers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot. But he soon realized that for a consumer catalog, “A lot of the same business principles apply—like giving customers what they want.” The difference in the catalog field, he says is that there are “a lot more customers when you’re dealing with catalog orders. At Swanson, we have about 750,000.” Today, Pirie overseas purchasing, receiving, manufacturing and logistics at Swanson, which markets about 6,000 vitamin and health supplement products, including national and proprietary
July 2002 From All About ROI
When Glen Pirie came to Swanson Health Products four years ago with a background in retail operations he was used to serving big customers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot. But he soon realized that for a consumer catalog, “A lot of the same business principles apply—like giving customers what they want.” The difference in the catalog field, he says is that there are “a lot more customers when you’re dealing with catalog orders. At Swanson, we have about 750,000.” Today, Pirie overseas purchasing, receiving, manufacturing and logistics at Swanson, which markets about 6,000 vitamin and health supplement products, including national and proprietary
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