We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Survey: 63 percent of omnichannel retailers plan to upgrade merchandise planning software
newsworthy

Survey: 63 percent of omnichannel retailers plan to upgrade merchandise planning software

November 6, 2015
Ben Ames
No Comments

In an effort to upgrade their software platforms to keep up with the demands of omnichannel fulfillment, 63 percent of about 500 North American retailers plan to upgrade or replace their merchandise planning systems within two years, a new survey shows.

Most companies are changing their retail planning software systems because they aren't aligned with the rapidly changing omnichannel planning environment, according to the 2015 Merchandise Planning Survey conducted by Massachusetts-based Boston Retail Partners (BRP).

About 58 percent of respondents said that improving their data analytics capabilities is the main reason for the upgrades. This would represent a significant boost over their legacy planning applications that were installed during the late 1990s or early 2000s to manage retail business models that are nearing obsolescence, BRP said.

In the long term, 78 percent of retailers plan to have a unified commerce platform within five years. That achievement could mark a big change in the way e-commerce retailers do business, because 49 percent of respondents said they still maintain separate product inventories for each channel. These investments could also yield new opportunities for merchandise-planning software providers such as JDA Software Group Inc., Logility Inc., and SAS.

Whether companies are prepared for the wave of omnichannel business or not, the market will not wait for them. The survey showed that 85 percent of retailers expect an increase in 2016 e-commerce revenue over the previous year.

As that revenue grows, e-commerce companies are working hard to offer online shoppers a wide range of delivery options. The most popular "unified commerce services" currently implemented by respondents include: buy online, drop ship from vendor (51 percent); buy online, ship from store (40 percent); buy online, ship to store (36 percent); reserve online, pick up in store (27 percent); buy anywhere, ship anywhere (24 percent); and buy online, same-day delivery (14 percent).

"Unified Commerce enables transparency, or the 'glass pipeline,' of real-time visibility to inventory, product, and customer information," BRP principal Brian Brunk said in a statement announcing the findings. "This is the nirvana, or end-state, that many retailers are trying to achieve with their customer-experience and unified-commerce goals."

Survey respondents were primarily vice presidents or C-level executives at more than 500 specialty retail firms, comprising 45 percent in the specialty soft goods category, 26 percent in the specialty hard goods category, and the remainder in general merchandise, grocery, and other sectors.

Companies responding to the survey ranged widely in size, with 17 percent generating $100 million to $499 million in annual revenue, 26 percent between $500 million and $999 million, 29 percent between $1 billion and $4.99 billion, and the rest on either side.

Technology Demand Planning
KEYWORDS Boston Retail Partners JDA Software Group Logility SAS
  • Related Articles

    Survey: Just three percent of retailers have completed digital transformation projects

    Survey: retailers turning to AI to improve demand management

    Aptos Releases Quick Start Omnichannel and Merchandising Solutions To Help Retailers Rebound Faster

Benames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

Amazon licenses walk-through store technology to retailers

Conveyor company fought time and weather to open new factory

Reimagining the TMS for the age of e-commerce

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Relaxed regulations for drone parcel delivery to take effect in March

  • IBM survey says digitalization trends will sweep trucking industry by 2030

  • Gartner survey signals increased investment in resilience over the next two years

  • What Level of Automation is Right for Your Warehouse?

  • Old Dominion adds nine freight service centers to handle business growth

Now Playing on DCV-TV

D92f0dd1 a98c 434a 9e17 30b63ee72c90

Automated Pack-out and Print-Apply System for thredUP

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
SilMan Industries designed and implemented a mixed polybag-carton system, including automated print and apply, in a new regional Fulfillment Center for thredUP, one of the world’s largest online resale platforms for women’s and kids’ apparel, shoes, and accessories. The Situation Secondhand clothing and online...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Time to rethink your lift truck power

  • Warehouse Management System Project Toolkit

  • Solving Talent Management Challenges Now and In the Future

  • Shaping Up Last Mile Delivery to Surpass Customer Expectations

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing