Intelligent sourcing is vital to maximise success in retail, with market analysis and audits of spending, sales, sourcing and supply chain being required to accurately track progress.
Trading relationships and sales figures should be updated and re-evaluated on a regular basis to ensure efficiency and determine the best price points. To create the best experience for shoppers and the best value for money, retailers should fully understand how well vendors are meeting their requirements and make changes where needed.
For intelligent sourcing to be successful, retailers, logistics companies and suppliers must all fully understand their role in the process, working to improve the performance of the supply chain to fulfil customer demand.
Before you begin to create your strategy for intelligent sourcing, ask yourself the following:
- Is it possible to find suppliers closer to destinations, to reduce the cost and time of shipping and delivery?
- Could ordering larger quantities reduce the cost per item?
- Can you consolidate your suppliers?
Once you outline your main areas to focus on, it is important to collect relevant data. Be aware that this may take time to consolidate, as well as deciding which areas to focus on. The reason for this is that there will almost certainly be more data than you know what to do with, much of which won’t be of use.
Make informed decisions throughout the supply chain by having numbers to back up every choice. Know exactly what is and is not selling, with data and statistics to demonstrate trends and areas to improve.
These metrics can then be utilised when understanding how well products perform across the marketplace, working to highlight suppliers which provide customers’ preferred products.
Holly brings a wealth of experience in both print and digital publishing. As Modern Retail’s Content Editor, Holly is passionate about helping independent retailers to thrive in today’s ever-changing market.
