Reflections on Retail

As I write this from my hotel in Germany, 2009 is behind us. I don't need to inform anyone of the economic crisis our country has experienced over the last several quarters. Our economic meltdown has impacted almost everyone, regardless of industry. The retail industry, however, was hit especially hard (specialty retail, apparel and footwear retailers), and numerous retailers were forced to close stores in order to reduce cost and diminish operating losses.

Since retail sales impact manufacturers and distributors upstream in the chain, let's look ahead to this year. There are two questions to ask: Is the retail industry back on the right track and what can retailers do differently to ensure success?

I will attempt to answer these questions using a number of key retail statistics. As examples, I have selected companies where I have a personal interest in the company (they are an enVista client or I use their goods and services). Two key public retail company indicators of success are comp sales and annual stock price percentage change. Same store sales reveal the strength and growth or weakness and retraction of a retail chain. Stock price is how much one is willing to pay for one share based upon the company's performance and should not to be confused with stock value.

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In today’s marketplace, retailers, wholesalers and third party logistics (3PL) providers cannot afford to deliver a subpar customer experience – to any customer – at any point of interaction. While many elements impact customer satisfaction, reverse logistics is a crucial component that is largely overlooked and impacts the bottom line. Gartner Research notes that improperly handled returns can reduce profits by 35 percent. In fact, at least six, and as high as 35 percent of top line company revenue is typically sitting dormant in the warehouse or on the loading dock as a result of broken reverse logistics processes.

According to leading supply chain analysts, the reverse logistics process is a critical point of customer satisfaction and competitive differentiation. Yet, it is also a common source of confusion, cost, and inefficiency for companies, especially those that approach merchandise returns as individual, disjointed transactions. Companies that proficiently and cost-effectively collect merchandise and process returns, shortening the time from return origination to resale, are uniquely positioned to enhance customer satisfaction and to significantly reduce costs.

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At the National Retail Federation's (NRF's) Annual Conference and Expo, enVista announced that it has been selected by Microsoft to support its end-to-end ERP retail strategy. enVista was chosen based on its depth of experience across retail supply chain cost management, and with Microsoft's leading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, Microsoft Dynamics AX.

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Labor productivity directly impacts corporate profitability, yet it is one of the easiest and most cost-effective areas to improve within the warehouse. This paper will examine the “Five Barriers to Productivity” and what you can do to turn these stumbling blocks into stepping stones toward a more profitable, efficient and better place to work.

Five Common Stumbling Blocks to Labor Productivity
There are many kinds of barriers to productivity within the warehouse. Some are obvious and straightforward, others are not. Most fall into one of five categories:

1. Your people don’t know what you expect of them.
2. They are not adequately trained how to do the job.
3. They are simply unable to perform the job as it is defined.
4. They are impeded by organizational barriers.
5. They lack the motivation to do the job.

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Learn free, easy steps to trim money off your parcel costs!

enVista's leading transportation experts share in-depth insight in Parcel Magazine about the dynamics of today's transportation challenges, and how to conquer them.

Through the second installment in a two-part series of articles recently published in Parcel Magazine, you will get insider tips on how to control and minimize your parcel expenses.

Save money today without spending a cent.

Business Intelligence and Packages - Part 1 by Baris Tasdelen	Business Intelligence and Packages - Part 2 by Baris Tasdelen	Ideas for Green Packaging by Baris Tasdelen

For more information, please contact enVista at inforequest@envistacorp.com or 877-684-7700.

Mullen Over Supply Chain

I worked recently with a customer that was focused on improving worker performance and productivity. This customer had implemented a variety of compensation plans with their current workforce and wanted to benchmark their current productivity against best-in-class LEAN operational processes. During our observation of the customer's current inbound unloading and receipt staging process, enVista's team noted that our customer had implemented a very successful team-oriented approach aimed at maximizing productivity thru cooperative accountability.

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