FINAL_StitchLabs_InventoryVisibility_Report_v2

Inventory Visibility:Unlocking Omnichannel Control & Profitability

2Inventory Visibility Report | Stitch Labs

Contents

I. Introduction 3

II. The New Retail Reality 4

III. Unlocking Omnichannel Profitability 6

• Siloed Systems 6

• Inventory Visibility 7

• Fast, Flexible Fulfillment 8

IV. Unlocking Omnichannel Profitability 9

• Integrate Your Systems 9

• Automate Operations 9

• Increase Inventory Visibility 10

V. Conclusion 11

VI. About Stitch Labs 12


I. Introduction

The expansion of eCommerce presents consumers with an unprecedented number

of options for their shopping needs. With the opportunity for consumers to make

purchases anywhere, at any time, comes an increased responsibility for the retailer

to keep up with sales that could be happening on any number of different channels.

Retailers are doing their best to buy, build, or piece together back-end systems that

support these added complexities, but there are still many obstacles that separate

efficiently running a retail business and seamlessly executing an omnichannel strategy.

Building systems and processes for a profitable omnichannel business is a universal

challenge retailers of all sizes must overcome, but it’s not an impossibility. In order to

effectively manage your omnichannel retail business, it’s important first to consider

the current state of retail as well as the roadblocks to control and profitability.


II. The New Retail Reality

Today’s consumers expect to encounter and interact with brand across countless

different places and platforms: eCommerce sites, brick-and-mortar stores, online

marketplaces, email, social media, mobile search and applications—and the list will

only continue to expand as technology evolves. The experience shoppers have

with your brand across each of these channels matters, and the stronger your brand

presence on each, the more new customers you’ll acquire and repeat purchases you’ll

drive. Omnichannel is the new retail reality and brands must keep up with the ever-

changing landscape in order to successfully attract and retain today’s consumers.

But adopting an omnichannel strategy isn’t just about making connected customers

happy; it’s about making money and staying competitive. A recent RIS and EKN

Research study revealed the opportunity cost of not being omnichannel represents

10 percent in lost revenue for typical

retailers. Not to mention IDC’s discovery that

shoppers who buy on multiple channels

have 30 percent higher lifetime value than

single channel shoppers. These numbers

aren’t surprising when you look at shopping

habits of modern consumers.

WHY RETAILERS SHOULD GO OMNICHANNELOmnichannel is the new retail reality and brands need to adapt.

THE OMNI CHALLENGEMultichannel brands face barriers to real omnichannel success.

ACHIEVING OMNICHANNEL PROFITABILITYFollow these 3 steps to meet customer demands and profitably grow your business.

Inventory Visibility & Planning:The Retail Omni-Challenge

10%

120%+ = more revenue

of their data

Most companies analyzeONLY

30%higher lifetime value

Shoppers that buy on MULTIPLE CHANNELS have

than single channel shoppers

55%of online shoppers prefer to

buy from a retailer with a physical store presence

over an online-only seller

Siloed Systems

eCommerce retailers who also sell on 2 marketplacesEXPERIENCE HIGHER REVENUE

Inventory Visibility

94%

of retailerscite a lack of technology spanning eCommerce, mobile, and in-store35%

12%OMNICHANNEL

SUCCESS

Flexible Fullfillment

inventory planning and visibility as top

priorities

think delivery speed is important

Top 250 omnichannel

retailers

Retailers that are

profitable

have inaccurate inventory levels

in-store

due to overstocks, out-of-stocks, and

preventable returns

77%of retailers

rank

75% $1.75TRILLION

of retailers

Retailers lose

64%

82%

39%

of shoppers

of retailers’ supply chains

19%

NEED TO REPLENISH STOCK CLOSER TO THE POINT OF DEMAND

Break down data silos by leveraging flexible, integrated technologies to unify critical information and processes across all your retail and wholesale channels, systems, and fulfillment locations.

Sources:Accenture, “Speed of Delivery Is Important for Retail Shoppers.”ATKearney, “On Solid Ground: Brick-and-Mortar: Is the Foundation.”EKN Research, “A Step-by-Step Approach to Improving Omni-Channel Customer Profitability.”Forrester Consulting, “Customer Desires vs Retailer Capabilities: Minding the Omni-Channel Commerce Gap.”Forrester Research, “The Forrester Wave™: Big Data Hadoop Solutions, Q1 2014.”IDC, “FutureScape: Worldwide Retail 2015 Predictions — It's All About Participation Now.”IHL Group, “Retailers and the Ghost Economy: $1.75 Trillion Reasons to be Afraid.”PwC, “Global Retail and Consumer Goods CEO Survey: The Omni-Channel Ful llment Imperative.” Retail Systems Research, “Retail Supply Chain Execution: New Requirements To Meet New Demand.” RIS, “Customer Engagement Tech Trends Study: The Personalization Imperative.”Walker Sands Communications, “Reinventing Retail: Four Predictions for 2016 and Beyond.”

Reduce redundancies and improve efficiencies by automating manual processes and streamlining omnichannel sales, purchasing, inventory, fulfillment, and warehousing.

Avoid costly stockouts and overstocks with the increased inventory control, sales performance, and profit margin insights provided by centralized inventory management platforms.

CENTRALIZE SYSTEMS & PROCESSES

AUTOMATE OPERATIONS

IMPROVE INVENTORY VISIBILITY & CONTROL

Stitch Labs helps retailers improve inventory and operational

efficiencies by an average of

3.

73%

31%

of consumers shop online at least once a

month


week

in lost revenue

Not being omnichannel

COSTS TYPICAL RETAILERS

of retailersface significant

integration barriers

About Stitch LabsStitch Labs is a commerce operations platform that centralizes inventory, sales, purchasing,

and fulfillment to give retailers greater visibility, efficiency, insight, and control across their

business. With the power of Stitch’s cloud-based platform, retailers and wholesalers can

more easily reduce costs, maximize profitability, and intelligently scale their omnichannel

operations to meet customers needs.

www.stitchlabs.com

2.1.





10%


of their data








Siloed Systems



94%


12%OMNICHANNEL

SUCCESS



priorities


Top 250 omnichannel

retailers

Retailers that are

profitable


in-store


preventable returns

77%of retailers

rank

75% $1.75TRILLION

of retailers

Retailers lose

64%

82%

39%

of shoppers


19%







AUTOMATE OPERATIONS




3.

73%

31%


month


week

in lost revenue










www.stitchlabs.com

2.1.

http://www.stitchlabs.com/report/customer-loyalty-report?utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=visibility

http://risnews.edgl.com/retail-research/Customer-Engagement-Tech-Trends-Study--The-Personalization-Imperative95903

http://risnews.edgl.com/retail-research/Customer-Engagement-Tech-Trends-Study--The-Personalization-Imperative95903

http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=252327


Nearly a third of consumers now shop online at least once a week—an increase of 41

percent from just two years ago—and 73 percent of consumers shop online at least once

a month. Additionally, 30 percent of online retail purchases take place on mobile phones.

And even if shoppers aren’t purchasing via mobile, they’re certainly researching there.

Google has reported consumers spend over 15 hours per week researching items on

mobile devices. If you aren’t web and mobile-first, you’ve fallen behind.

Still, the convenience of online shopping hasn’t completely disrupted consumers’

desire for brick-and-mortar experiences; or, at the very least, the comfort they find

in having that option. Fifty-five percent of online shoppers prefer to buy from retailers

with a physical store presence over an online-only retailer.

While it’s true the more channels you add to your retail business, the more complex

your operations become, the benefits of multichannel selling far outweigh the

drawbacks. Stitch Labs data shows that eCommerce retailers who sell on two

additional online marketplaces make 120 percent more revenue than single-

channel sellers. And an IDC Retail Insights report found multichannel retailers saw

a 15-35 percent increase in average transaction size, along with a 5-10 percent

increase in loyalty customers’ profitability. So, why isn’t everyone benefitting from an

omnichannel strategy?





10%


of their data








Siloed Systems



94%


12%OMNICHANNEL

SUCCESS



priorities


Top 250 omnichannel

retailers

Retailers that are

profitable


in-store


preventable returns

77%of retailers

rank

75% $1.75TRILLION

of retailers

Retailers lose

64%

82%

39%

of shoppers


19%







AUTOMATE OPERATIONS




3.

73%

31%


month


week

in lost revenue










www.stitchlabs.com

2.1.





10%


of their data








Siloed Systems



94%


12%OMNICHANNEL

SUCCESS



priorities


Top 250 omnichannel

retailers

Retailers that are

profitable


in-store


preventable returns

77%of retailers

rank

75% $1.75TRILLION

of retailers

Retailers lose

64%

82%

39%

of shoppers


19%







AUTOMATE OPERATIONS




3.

73%

31%


month


week

in lost revenue










www.stitchlabs.com

2.1.

http://www.walkersands.com/images/files/image/pdf/Walker-Sands-2016-Future-of-Retail-Four-Key-Takeaways-for-Retailers-in-2016-and-Beyond-Whitepaper.pdf

https://www.internetretailer.com/mobile500/#!/

https://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/mobile-path-to-purchase-5-key-findings_research-studies.pdf

https://www.atkearney.com/documents/10192/4683364/On+Solid+Ground.pdf/f96d82ce-e40c-450d-97bb-884b017f4cd7

http://www.stitchlabs.com/blog/stitch-data-report-why-multichannel-selling-is-a-win-for-retailers?utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=visibility


III. Unlocking Omnichannel Profitability

Expanding into new sales channels is difficult enough, but it is made more

challenging by the added operational complexities that come with multichannel

selling. Allocating your inventory across various stores and fulfillment locations,

managing multiple systems and distributed datasets, and forecasting sales and

cross-channel demand are all pervasive challenges omnichannel retailers must

overcome if they are to achieve and sustain profitability.

Siloed Systems

One of the main reasons omnichannel strategies are so difficult for retailers is because

of disparate data and systems. When tracking products across multiple sales

channels and fulfillment centers, it is easy for crucial information to become siloed,

making it harder to make informed business decisions. Without a complete picture

of how your products and channels are performing, you can easily lose control

of inventory and costs, missing sales opportunities, potentially frustrating new

customers with “sold out” signs, and ultimately hurting your bottom line.

Ninety-four percent of retail decision makers surveyed by Forrester Consulting said

their companies face significant barriers to integrating their channels and operations

for a truly omnichannel business. More specifically, 40 percent of retailers reported

having difficulty integrating back-office technology across all their channels.





10%


of their data








Siloed Systems



94%


12%OMNICHANNEL

SUCCESS



priorities


Top 250 omnichannel

retailers

Retailers that are

profitable


in-store


preventable returns

77%of retailers

rank

75% $1.75TRILLION

of retailers

Retailers lose

64%

82%

39%

of shoppers


19%







AUTOMATE OPERATIONS




3.

73%

31%


month


week

in lost revenue










www.stitchlabs.com

2.1.

http://www.stitchlabs.com/ultimate-guide-to-scaling-your-retail-business/fueling-growth-through-multichannel-selling?utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=visibility


While some seasonal and promotional demand patterns are predictable, the more

channels you sell through, products you launch, or new markets you enter, the

harder it becomes to forecast demand. In fact, companies typically only analyze a

mere 12 percent of their data because, for most retailers, the data needed to inform

these important purchasing and merchandising decisions live in disparate systems.

How can you make strategic plans and solve operational problems if you don’t have

comprehensive, real-time intelligence all your teams can trust?


Another critical challenge presented by omnichannel and its disparate systems is a

lack of visibility into where your inventory is located and how much you actually have

on hand across your warehouses, physical stores, and online channels.

Understanding that inventory is the lifeline of their business, an overwhelming majority

of retailers (77 percent) rank inventory planning and visibility as the top needed

omnichannel capability. It’s easy to see why this is top-of-mind for retailers when you

consider 75 percent report having inaccurate inventory levels in stores and just how

much those inaccuracies can ultimately cost them. Retailers worldwide lose $1.75

trillion every year due to overstocks, out-of-stocks, and preventable returns.





10%


of their data








Siloed Systems



94%


12%OMNICHANNEL

SUCCESS



priorities


Top 250 omnichannel

retailers

Retailers that are

profitable


in-store


preventable returns

77%of retailers

rank

75% $1.75TRILLION

of retailers

Retailers lose

64%

82%

39%

of shoppers


19%







AUTOMATE OPERATIONS




3.

73%

31%


month


week

in lost revenue










www.stitchlabs.com

2.1.





10%


of their data








Siloed Systems



94%


12%OMNICHANNEL

SUCCESS



priorities


Top 250 omnichannel

retailers

Retailers that are

profitable


in-store


preventable returns

77%of retailers

rank

75% $1.75TRILLION

of retailers

Retailers lose

64%

82%

39%

of shoppers


19%







AUTOMATE OPERATIONS




3.

73%

31%


month


week

in lost revenue










www.stitchlabs.com

2.1.

https://blog.kissmetrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/the-big-data-iceberg.jpg

http://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/en_us/doc/analystreport/rsr-retail-supply-chain-execution-108120.pdf


The rise of online and mobile shopping not only means retailers must be present on

all the platforms consumers want to find and purchase their goods, but also ensure

those goods are always in stock—across all their different channels. Fifty-two percent

of retailers agree they have too many out-of-stocks in stores, a number that affects

not only your bottom line, but your customers’ loyalty.

A recent Aberdeen Group report stated, “Inventory availability is at the heart of an

omnichannel strategy; without inventory availability and visibility, retailers only have

a single channel-centric approach to the business.”

Fast, Flexible Fulfillment

Siloed systems and a lack of inventory visibility naturally compound into omnichannel

fulfillment issues. According to Retail Systems Research, “Accurate inventory is the

single most important prerequisite for profitable omnichannel order fulfillment”. Yet,

only 19 percent of the top 250 retailers can fulfill omnichannel demand profitably.

If even the top retailers can’t profitably fulfill omnichannel orders, how can growing

brands keep costs low while scaling their operations for fast delivery? Thanks to

industry leaders like Amazon, consumers now expect the products they want to be

available online with free, two-day (or even next-day) shipping. In fact, 64 percent of

shoppers consider delivery speed important when purchasing online.

In an effort to quickly give connected customers

what they want, when they want it, where they

want it, many retailers are struggling to affordably

reshape their distribution workflows to meet these

increasing demands.

“Accurate inventory is the single most important prerequisite for profitable omnichannel order fulfillment”.– Retail Systems Research

“Inventory availability is at the heart of an omnichannel strategy; without inventory availability and visibility, retailers only have a single channel-centric approach to the business.”– Aberdeen Group





10%


of their data








Siloed Systems



94%


12%OMNICHANNEL

SUCCESS



priorities


Top 250 omnichannel

retailers

Retailers that are

profitable


in-store


preventable returns

77%of retailers

rank

75% $1.75TRILLION

of retailers

Retailers lose

64%

82%

39%

of shoppers


19%







AUTOMATE OPERATIONS




3.

73%

31%


month


week

in lost revenue










www.stitchlabs.com

2.1.





10%


of their data








Siloed Systems



94%


12%OMNICHANNEL

SUCCESS



priorities


Top 250 omnichannel

retailers

Retailers that are

profitable


in-store


preventable returns

77%of retailers

rank

75% $1.75TRILLION

of retailers

Retailers lose

64%

82%

39%

of shoppers


19%







AUTOMATE OPERATIONS




3.

73%

31%


month


week

in lost revenue










www.stitchlabs.com

2.1.

https://www.em360tech.com/wp-content/files_mf/1396617550AberdeenOmniChannelRetailingQuestforHolyGrail.pdf

http://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/en_us/doc/analystreport/rsr-retail-supply-chain-execution-108120.pdf


IV. Unlocking Omnichannel Profitability

While there are many obstacles to becoming a profitable omnichannel retailer,

processes and technologies are constantly evolving to help brands keep pace with

the growing demands of omnichannel. The following steps have already helped

thousands of retailers establish a scalable foundation for sustainable omnichannel

control and profitability.

Integrate Your Systems

While siloed systems and inventory may have initially worked for your organization,

they will quickly become counter-productive to your growth as you scale your

multichannel operations. Not only do disparate systems breed inefficiencies, but

they also contribute to data inaccuracies and significant breakdowns in cross-

departmental communications.

In order to reduce redundancies and unify disparate systems and data, retailers must

integrate all their critical business technologies into a single operations and analytic

platform. Having a centralized control platform syncing all your retail and wholesale

channels and fulfillment centers will break down information and organizational silos

while improving data accuracy and visibility.

Automate Operations

Everyone knows that in business, time is money. Yet, countless retailers, both large and

small, still rely on error-prone and labor intensive spreadsheets, legacy systems, and

other antiquated tracking methods to manage their two greatest assets: inventory and

cash flow. The inefficiencies and inconsistencies these manual, outdated processes

perpetuate are holding retailers back from reaching their true omnichannel potential.

http://www.stitchlabs.com/customers?utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=visibility


By automating key processes across your multichannel operations, you can boost

productivity and stay competitive in a commerce landscape that’s constantly being

disrupted by both incumbent and emerging businesses.

Increase Inventory Visibility

While integration and automation provide the key to multichannel profitability, it’s the

holistic, cross-channel inventory visibility they enable that truly unlocks the door to

omnichannel success. Integrating all your retail and wholesale channels, systems,

and fulfillment centers allows you to control your purchase orders, stock counts,

sales data, and shipping and fulfillment information from a single platform. And this

level of visibility and control will become increasingly important as you expand

into new channels, create more dynamic fulfillment workflows, and manage more

complex systems.

Imagine knowing exactly how much inventory you have distributed across your

various warehouses, physical stores, and online marketplaces in a single glance,

or being able to quickly drill-down to see which products are selling best on each

of your sales channels.

True omnichannel visibility allows businesses to go beyond simply compiling data

or producing reports; it provides actionable insights to help increase profit margins

and accurately predict demand. To avoid out-of-stocks, many retailers overstock

their warehouses and end up with hundreds, thousands, and even millions of dollars

tied up in unsold inventory. With centralized omnichannel inventory management,

you can lower the amount of inventory you have on-hand while increasing stock

availability to meet omnichannel demand.


V. Conclusion

The sheer technological and logistical complexity of omnichannel retail operations

is something even top brands with endless resources are struggling to master. In

fact, 55 percent of retailers have stated their investments in omnichannel have been

driven by customers already expecting mature ominchannel capabilities. Everyone

is playing catch-up, leaving ample opportunity for retailers who can get it right.

Many retailers have resigned themselves to dealing with inefficient operational

systems, but there is a new breed of cloud-based, multichannel operations platforms

that are enabling retailers to achieve omnichannel success with more ease and

insights than ever before.

Stitch Labs helps over 3,500 retailers cost-effectively ensure the right stock is in

the right place at the right time. By automatically syncing inventory and consolidating

data across multiple sales channels and fulfillment centers, Stitch gives retailers a

single, holistic view of their business to help increase efficiencies and scale their

operations more intelligently.

Retailers like mix-and-match bedding brand Bedface have seen 100% month over

month revenue growth from the reliable inventory visibility and control Stitch provides

across their expanding multichannel (and multi-national) operations. Bedface Founder

Brad Westerop considers Stitch the “central hub” of his business, saying, “With over

28 million combinations of bed sheets, we are at the mercy of our inventory. Stitch

keeps our inventory intact and ready to sell.“

With ambitious goals to quadruple revenue growth by the end of the year, Bedface

trusts Stitch’s agile platform to increasingly provide the omnichannel transparency,

insight, and efficiency needed to maximize profitably. “We’ll continue to grow into

more facilities and channels and we know Stitch will grow with us.”

Want to see how Stitch Labs can centralize your retail operations and help you scale

more intelligently? Get a customized demo from a product expert or start a free

14-day trial today.

“With over 28 million combinations of bed sheets, we are at the mercy of our inventory. Stitch keeps our inventory intact and ready to sell.“ – Brad Westerop

Bedface Founder

https://www.sap.com/bin/sapcom/en_us/downloadasset.2014-05-may-29-15.customer-desires-vs-retailer-capabilities-minding-the-omni-channel-commerce-gap-pdf.bypassReg.html

http://www.stitchlabs.com/customers/bedface?utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=visibility

http://www.stitchlabs.com/lp/inventory-management-demo?utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=visibility

http://www.stitchlabs.com/lp/inventory-management-free-trial?utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=visibility

http://www.stitchlabs.com/lp/inventory-management-free-trial?utm_medium=report&utm_campaign=visibility


VI. About Stitch Labs

Stitch Labs is a commerce operations platform that centralizes inventory, sales,

purchasing, and fulfillment to give retailers greater visibility, efficiency, insight,

and control across their business. With the power of Stitch’s cloud-based platform,

retailers and wholesalers can more easily reduce costs, maximize profitability,

and intelligently scale their omnichannel operations to meet customers needs.

Stitch integrates with top eCommerce, POS, shipping, and fulfillment technologies

such as Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Magento, Bigcommerce, ShipStation, Square,

FBA, SPS Commerce, and DCL Logistics, as well as accounting solutions including

Quickbooks, Xero, and inDinero. To learn more, visit www.stitchlabs.com or follow

us on Twitter at @StitchLabs.

https://twitter.com/StitchLabs

FINAL_StitchLabs_InventoryVisibility_Report_v2

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