Pain points

Companies focused on retail, whether through physical stores or online sales, often work with multiple brands. Typically, there are different suppliers for each brand, and when a single distributor delivers multiple brands, these are often separated into different quotations for the retailer. The challenge for the retailer is often managing the products efficiently, especially if the products are seasonal and come in various colors and sizes. Comparing sales to the previous year adds further complexity, as item numbers are not the same due to the introduction of new products each season.

Story

"Navip Clothing & Brands Inc." is a retailer with five physical stores and its own e-commerce platform, both supplied through a central warehouse. The central warehouse also replenishes the stores, although a few items are delivered directly from suppliers to the stores. Sales are strong and consist of around 50 brands purchased from nearly as many suppliers.

It is the order deadline for the spring season, and the assortment manager for the "NEWBRAND" brand is wrapping up the sales meeting. The outcome of the meeting is that the supplier receives the order quantities for the products being purchased for the stores this season. The assortment manager, however, emphasizes the importance of obtaining the product information in the form of their well-prepared Excel document. This document is a template with various columns that "Navip Clothing & Brands Inc." needs to publish the products on their e-commerce platform. Additionally, there is a column for order quantities, which facilitates the entire purchasing process.

A few days later, the assortment manager receives the completed document from the supplier via email. The supplier has chosen to include their entire range in the document, which the assortment manager has no objections to. The document is imported into the business system, and the order quantities appear. Since the quantities are filled in, the business system also knows that the product is subject to purchase and which of the products are core assortment and carry-overs from the previous season. The assortment manager confirms the creation of the products with a click of a button. He then creates the purchase order, which is eventually delivered to the central warehouse.

The product manager for the e-commerce platform is currently in his busiest period, as the product information is compiled and published on the e-commerce site for all brands in a short time. Fortunately, this information is delivered directly from the business system, including sales prices for all currencies. The prices have utilized the suppliers recommended prices and converted them according to a set of rules. For example, 40 EUR has become 39 EUR. The suppliers image links and product texts also follow from the business system, but these are often edited in the e-commerce tool to suit publication.

The products arrive, and sales on the web and in stores take off. In the analytics tool, the CEO and decision-makers monitor sales at the brand and seasonal level. Sales at the color and size level are aggregated to the product level for the best overview, and it is also possible to group at a higher level for those who wish, as well as analyze an individual color and/or size. The CEO is pleased!

Some products sell out and need to be replenished from the supplier. For some time now, "Navip Clothing & Brands Inc." has applied safety stock parameters to the products and found that this has contributed to increased sales, especially on e-commerce. The assortment managers review each of their brands monthly and revise the safety stock level based on monthly sales figures, comparison figures, and upcoming seasons. The revision may seem extensive to some, but it has recently overall streamlined the entire purchasing process. Purchase proposals are generated daily. The assortment managers create proposals for their own brands, and since the safety stock level is reliable, the process is quick. The proposal is executed, and a purchase order is generated. Each purchase order is sent to the supplier in PDF format.

Finally, when the season has ended, the purchase is followed up in the analytics tool. The purchase orders are compared with the previous year by order type and tracked at the quantity and amount level. Products return from the stores to the central warehouse to save space. They remain on the e-commerce platform but under a separate section called Outlet.

Solution

Anyware Retail for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central helps facilitate product management throughout the entire business system process, from purchasing to sales and follow-up. And the process starts in Excel.

For optimal efficiency, suppliers deliver the quotation in an agreed-upon Excel format. The Excel file is imported into the pricat module in Anyware Retail and stored there as master data. The products to be converted into item cards in Dynamics 365 Business Central are marked with a checkbox at the model level. With a single click, the item cards are created in Business Central, complete with the statistical codes and attributes defined by the products item group code in the quotation. If the product comes in various colors and sizes, these variants are also created for the item.

Directly in the pricat module, it is possible to enter purchase order quantities for the products. If the products come in various colors and sizes, an order matrix is applied for quantity entry. This step allows the purchase order to be created with just a few clicks. If the same order quantity is to be ordered for multiple stores with direct delivery to the store, this can be done by marking several locations simultaneously. The result is multiple purchase orders with the same items and quantities. The order matrix is also available on the purchase order.

When the products are delivered to the stores and sales are ongoing, it is time for replenishment. Replenishment can be done in two different ways, depending on whether there is a central warehouse or if suppliers should deliver to the stores. Both methods include reorder points and/or safety stock in various combinations.

To facilitate sales follow-up, the items are provided with more attributes and properties. All of these properties are available in the purchase history, sales history, and on item transactions. Here are some examples of the most used properties:

• Season
• Brand
• Item group
• Item type
• Theme
• Collection

In short: Simplify the purchasing process of seasonal products with Anyware Retail for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.