Retail/CPG

Traditional retailers are often caught in the middle – losing customers on the high end to stores offering more personalized service and on the low end to superstores offering lower prices.

At the same time, customers are becoming more sophisticated – researching products through one channel and purchasing through another – and more demanding – expecting consistent service across channels. Inefficient supply chains create losses with slower introductions of new products.

TIBCO is helping retailers address these challenges with solutions focusing on:

• Reducing Out-of-Stocks: Despite using ERP planning software, out-of stock rates hover around 8% for most retailers and go up to 40% during promotions. TIBCO’s POS Monitor tackles the bullwhip effect and store employee inertia by providing automatic and actionable insight into the current shelf situation. It also provides predictive capabilities during promotions, indicating when items are likely to become sold out.
• Reducing Supply Chain Friction: TIBCO software reduces supply chain friction through integration of all aspects of the supply chain system. The focus is not on planning but on executing according to schedule. How do you handle problems that arise? How do you make people aware of problems? Do you automate responses and reactions to ensure everything is running as planned? Can you predict the likelihood of supply chain problems while you are running special advertising campaigns, and are you prepared to respond immediately with automated responses based on your business rules? TIBCO's solution targeting supply chain friction integrates with classic supply chain functions, including materials procurement, outsourced manufacturing, and technologies such as RFID. Easing the friction improves market agility while reducing channel inventory, resulting in lower costs and higher margins.
• Collaborative Product Information Management: Product data is as complex and detailed as the product lifecycle itself, and forces companies to tackle challenges ranging from widely dispersed, incomplete, and inaccurate data to a lack of standards and ineffective delivery capabilities. TIBCO offers a comprehensive approach that confronts and resolves these challenges. In doing so, it delivers powerful business benefits: reduced costs through reduced errors and improved productivity, improved customer satisfaction through better service, and increased revenue through increased accuracy and faster time-to-shelf.