BY SUSAN K. LACEFIELD, EDITOR AT LARGE
RETAIL TRENDS STUDY
Strategy
FROM A SUPPLY CHAIN PERSPECTIVE, THE 2018
holiday season was relatively quiet. While some retailers
struggled with sales (most notably the department store
chain Macy’s), most made it through the holidays without any major breakdowns in service. Inventory was in
stock, on-shelf availability was good, and e-commerce
orders were delivered on time.
As retailers now turn the corner into 2019, they are
looking to build on that success. But to do so, they will
have to navigate a host of challenges, including the pressures created by omnichannel retailing, a shortage of
labor, and an ongoing push to boost operating efficiency.
To find out how retailers are responding to these
and other challenges, a team from Auburn University’s
Center for Supply Chain Innovation conducts a study
among retail supply chain executives each year. The
research is conducted in two parts. For the first phase of
the study, a team led by the center’s executive director,
Brian Gibson, conducts in-depth interviews with about
two-dozen senior supply chain executives from some of
the top 100 retailers by sales (the vast majority work at
companies with $2 billion or more in sales). This year,
those interviews took place in December and January.
The second phase is an online survey that Auburn con-
ducts in conjunction with DC VELOCITY and the Retail
Industry Leaders Association (RILA). The results of that
survey, which is now under way, will form the basis
for the annual State of the Retail Supply Chain Report,
which will be published by the end of April, according to
Gibson. (Last year’s report can be found at www.rila.org/
supply/resources/2018StateOfRetailSupplyChain.)
Although the results of the online survey were not
available at press time, the executive interviews offer
some important clues into where the retail industry is
headed this year. What follows is a look at some of the
findings.
With a smooth peak season in the rearview mirror,
retail supply chain executives turn their focus to new strategies
for tackling the labor crunch and incorporating disruptive technology.
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