Guest Column: 12 Things Retailers Did Last Year To Improve Supply Chain And Overall Business Performance

By Leslie Hand, Research Director, IDC Retail Insights

Last year was a tough year for retailers. Many had to close stores, some failed and almost all made an effort to carry less inventory and maintain margins. When there is less inventory in the pipeline, there is less work to do in the supply chain. Unfortunately, this meant that many retailers were forced to do layoffs. With slowed sales, many also cut back on new capital expenditures. But after many conversations with retail supply chain professionals, it's clear that retailers were far from idle, accomplishing quite a lot with very little. And the bonus - shared goals among functional silos made a new level of collaboration possible.

Many projects completed in 2009 required minimal financial resources, but they reaped immediate and long-lasting rewards. Store operations and supply chain teams had to work together to balance service levels, costs and high value long term objectives, including sustainability and leaner growth. Some projects required capital investments in technology or stronger commitments to fully utilizing technology that retailers already owned.