Case Study: TransAccess Supplier Connect For General Merchandise Retailers

As general merchandise retailers seek to become more customer-centric, they need to offer the right products to the right customer at the right price. Thus, buyers need to understand the preferences of the demographic groups that patronize each store. They must stay on top of sales trends in order to determine the best pricing. And they need to track sales of new items to determine which orders to accelerate or decelerate. All of this can be a daunting task for buyers and merchandisers who may be responsible for hundreds of stores each with thousands of items in multiple sizes and colors.

To succeed, retailers must incorporate new business models that emphasize greater cooperation with vendors. These models permit retailers to leverage vendors' expertise selling in many different venues to optimize product assortments and pricing, improve merchandising and promotional activities—and boost customer satisfaction and sales. According to Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA), a global retail consultancy firm, these measures improve the bottom line by as much as 5 percent. Enhancing retailersupplier collaboration requires the adoption of new technologies that allow retailers to share appropriate post-sales transaction information with vendors so they can suggest improvements.