Men's Wearhouse Launches Omni-Channel Inventory Program
By Anna Rose Welch, Editorial & Community Director, Advancing RNA
Company ups the ante with employee-facing “Find-It” app and Reserve Online, Pick Up In-Store initiative
As the dust settles from its recent — and finally successful — battle with Jos. A. Bank, Men’s Wearhouse has announced the launch of its newest omni-channel inventory program. This new program provides inventory visibility for customers across all 900+ retail locations and from the company’s distribution center. As consumers begin their shopping processes online at home via desktop or on the go with a tablet or mobile phone, they will be able to see and order any item they want and have it delivered to the store of their choice.
The company has also invested in an employee-facing custom mobile app called “Find-It.” Over 650 Men’s Wearhouse stores have been equipped with iPads so employees can check inventory levels across the company’s network of stores. The employee can also add items to a customer’s online order regardless of its location in the store network.
In addition to inventory visibility, the company is extending its reserve online, pick up in-store policy. This service was originally piloted in the Houston market and saw some success, prompting a company-wide rollout. Now that the customer has the capability to check inventories of nearby stores and the company’s distribution center, they can now shave off some precious time from their shopping process with this initiative.
"By giving our customers visibility to each store's inventory, we can better serve their needs," said Adam Harris, director of innovation at Men's Wearhouse."The Find-It app and reserve online, pick up in-store rollout allows us to provide a truly omni-channel experience for ultimate convenience. And this is just the tip of the iceberg — by putting iPads in the hands of our employees in over 650 stores, we can rollout a multitude of other apps to increase efficiencies, improve productivity, and continue to provide world class customer service to our customers."
Over the past year, the company has been dedicated to creating a more convenient shopping process for customers both via mobile or in other countries. Last April, the company launched an m-commerce site for an unspecified but increasing percentage of shoppers, Internet Retailer said. The new site, built by Moovweb, allowed customers to locate the nearest store, receive exclusive deals and coupons, and design their own tuxedo using the Build-A-Tux feature. As Kelly Helthall, director of e-commerce said, “The smartphone shopper is extremely important to the future of Men’s Wearhouse. As more of our customers rely on smartphones to gather information about our stores and products, it is necessary we make this information accessible anytime and anywhere.”
In a further effort to make the company more available anywhere and anytime, it also extended the reach of its e-commerce business. Roughly a month ago, Men’s Wearhouse launched international e-commerce sales and shipping to customers in more than 100 countries through its e-commerce site. International customers are now able to select their country and preferred currency and see all prices and shipping costs displayed in their local currency.