By Jim Lewis, CEO Enhanced Retail Solutions LLC Even the best inventory planners suffer from retail amnesia. The level of amnesia depends on how many products there are and how often new ones are launched. Inevitably, the question arises- how does the performance of this new product compare to ones from the past? So long as you have kept your weekly data (shame on you if you don’t have at least 3-4 years at this point) it isn’t a hard question to answer. But unlike the solar eclipse which you should never look at directly, tracking performance requires your full ocular capacity. Step 1: Determ ..read more

By Lennon Barrow, Business Analyst Intern at Enhanced Retail Solutions LLC In the dynamic realm of business, one fundamental truth remains unchanged: the paramount importance of customer service. Beyond merely addressing inquiries or resolving issues, exceptional customer service embodies a company’s commitment to customer satisfaction, loyalty, and long-term success. It serves as the cornerstone of positive brand experiences, fostering trust, and building lasting relationships with customers. In this post, we explore the expectations surrounding the customer experience, as well as the importa ..read more

By Jim Lewis, CEO Enhanced Retail Solutions LLC Last week I attended the Inspired Home Show (formerly known as the Housewares show). I had attended the show for at least 15 years prior to the pandemic. It was always my favorite of all the trade shows because you could eat your way through it. Literally- the South Hall was lined with celebrity chefs cooking with their sponsor’s pots and pans. Local restaurants even had space and offered delicacies along the way. The atmosphere was uplifting and fun. That’s all changed. Like most trade shows coming out of the pandemic, it was physically smaller ..read more

Usually in this blog I talk about inventory planning and retail analytics. But this post is personal. Not just to me, but to hundreds of students that have had the privilege of being in the presence of greatness. The greatness I am referring to is Cece Schulz, who for close to 30 years has taught, counseled, motivated and prepared students for professional careers. David F. Miller Retail Center At the Miller Retail Center at the University of Florida (Go Gators!), Cece engaged students to learn more about careers in the retail industry. It’s not what she did, but how she did it that makes her ..read more

By Jim Lewis, CEO Enhanced Retail Solutions LLC Last week I had the opportunity to connect with several colleagues that I hadn’t talked to in a while. Some are in a new job, some in their same job and some are looking for a new job. They were all very different conversations but one theme that came up was how technology is outpacing most companies’ ability to learn it and take advantage of it. Many are stuck in old methods and don’t follow what we call the Discipline of a Planner (DOP). We believe it is the key to optimize inventory planning and management. The DOP was developed by ERS in coll ..read more

By Jim Lewis, CEO Enhanced Retail Solutions LLC Smart retailers will take inventory from anywhere within their sphere to make a sale. If an online customer wants an item and it must be pulled from a store, so be it. I get it, anything to make the sale. Yet it does inject another level of complexity into inventory planning. Even with the abundance of data that’s available today to retail and wholesale planners, every week we can pick almost any program at any retailer and find a good number of stores out of stock. And expensive, sophisticated allocation tools may not be able to predict if an on ..read more

By Jim Lewis, CEO Enhanced Retail Solutions LLC There’s a lot of talk about AI, and most people don’t really know how it can help or hurt their lives. In the business world, a set of digital eyes can be very valuable. That sounds very generic because it is. Most businesses are not experts in AI and in most cases, don’t have to be. The key is finding a partner who can help you understand whether it can have an impact on your business. How to Put AI to Work for Your Business You may have played around with ChatGPT with mixed results. The big tech giants are integrating ChatGPT and other AI relat ..read more

By Jim Lewis, CEO Enhanced Retail Solutions LLC We all know that turning inventory is the key to any successful retail business. Planning inventory involves many steps. Allocation by location can make or break sales. Studying geographic and demographic trends is a great way to improve inventory productivity. At ERS we’ve always been big proponents of studying sales and inventory at store level. It provides the greatest level of detail. Other benefits include studying price thresholds by region, whether certain styles, colors or sizes have broad appeal, determining marketing effectiveness and f ..read more

Happy Holidays! To all our employees, clients, subscribers and partners around the globe, thank you for your support! Our gift to you is our recently updated Retail Math “Cheat Sheet”. It includes retail acronyms, terminology and formulas. Whether you are new at inventory planning or a seasoned pro, we hope it helps you. We wish you a peaceful and joyous holiday season and a happy new year! To get your Free copy, click the link on our Happy Holidays page. Thank you again, Jim Lewis, CEO Enhanced Retail Solutions LLC   The post Happy Holidays! Get Your Free Retail Math Cheat Sheet appeared ..read more

By Jim Lewis, CEO Enhanced Retail Solutions LLC Okay, it’s not 2 days, it’s more like a month-long event now. Regardless of how many days it is, the combination of Black Friday and Cyber-Monday is a huge percentage of most retailers’ business. How it will affect the rest of the holiday selling season will soon be revealed. While the numbers are still fresh, it’s a great time to analyze your business and see what intelligence can be gleaned. 5 Questions Looking back at what happened helps you plan for the future. Here are 5 questions we ask, along with recommendations of how to answer them. Wh ..read more