By Radcliffe Cole, SVP of Consulting & Solutions at Tryzens

One of the biggest challenges that the retail industry faces centers on inventory visibility. Before the industrial revolution, supply chains were largely local in scope. The centuries unfolded alongside technological advancements, making it possible to manufacture, market, and ship products on a global scale.

Possible, but challenging to fully realize and manage. That’s because even with the abundance of available technology, many retailers still struggle to accurately determine what stock is available for sale and where it is located.

There are multiple root causes of this challenge. Fortunately, there are ways to thread a retailer’s operation together to achieve 360 inventory visibility, a single view of stock.

Let’s first unpack the root causes of the challenge.

When it comes to inventory management, it encompasses much more than ensuring stock availability. Retailers face multiple inventory challenges, which include unexpected spikes in demand, production delays, supply chain disruptions and supply chain shortages.

More than 75% of retailers experience supply chain disruptions at some point, which heavily impacts inventory availability. It’s impacting consumers’ attitudes and how they feel about retailers who are experiencing shortages. In a survey by Chain Store Age, 61% have felt frustrated, 46% impatient, 45% anxious, and 34% angry.

Inaccurate or ineffective forecasting and planning processes further contribute to inventory shortages. It’s responsible for retailers losing up to 30% on potential sales, according to the IBM Supply Chain Insights with Watson. Regardless of the size of a retail business, these challenges are universal and must be addressed to not only maintain operational efficiency but also transparency with customers.

Here are the core roots of the problem:

The product page for Zimmermann’s luminosity ruffle gown has all the ingredients needed for a single view of stock. Built into its clean and stylistic interface are the capabilities for customers to have 360-views of the product, which sizes and colors are available, the ability to find the product in a store, and how to contact the brand for further assistance. The customer service team will be equipped with the relevant stock data to help customers with issues around availability and placing orders.

So, what is the current state of single view of stock across retail? A report by Retail Week found that 49% of retailers have a single view of stock in real time, up from 40% in 2022. The same amount of retailers have a single view of stock but not in real time (29%).

With just over half of all retailers failing to have a single view of stock in real time, there is still some way to go before we see full market coverage. Those that are able to see the full picture are receiving the key benefits.

Key benefits of a single view of stock 

Enhanced customer experience: providing choice and convenience during the discovery phase of the customer journey significantly influences conversion rates.

Improved internal operations: equipping staff with the ability to assist customers in person, over the phone, or on social media leads to better service and increased sales.

Loyalty and reliability: maintaining reliable and always-available inventory fosters customer loyalty, encouraging repeat purchases.

Margin optimization: accurate inventory visibility enables merchandisers to identify underselling or overselling scenarios, ensuring optimal stock levels, and avoiding order cancellations.

Real-time inventory decision making: accurate and up-to-date inventory data across all channels and locations empowers businesses to make more informed decisions and future demand planning.

Reducing cost to serve & sustainability: with high demand in the UK for warehouse space, retailers can utilize their stores as fulfilment centers, helping to reduce cost to serve, offer quick delivery options, and also reduce their carbon footprint. 

How Tryzens empowers a single view of stock 

Tryzens offers expertise in order management and provides solutions to address the inventory visibility challenge, enabling retailers to achieve a single view of stock. Because we develop and implement tailored solutions for each of our partners, our platform-agnostic approach means that we fit the retailer with the right technology, not force the technology on the retailer. 

Tryzens provides high-level OMS consulting and strategy insights to set the foundations for tailored solutions. We also carry out OMS implementations using some of the best-of-breed platforms on the market, including Fluent Commerce, NewStore, OneStock, and Salesforce Order Management. 

We’re currently helping a global specialist in fashion footwear and accessories develop its order management capabilities. It operates a national network of stores and sells across other channels: dropshipping, concession, marketplaces, and wholesale. This set-up puts particular focus on the brand’s omnichannel strategy and international growth.

The well-known brand partnered with Tryzens to implement an order management system that would provide: 

• Increased product utilization 
• Lower cost to serve 
• A single view of inventory across its touchpoints 
• Improved customer experience that could drive loyalty 

Our approach to the OMS project involves two phases: consulting on high-level business requirements and a detailed discovery. 

Tryzens consulting involves helping to shape the OMS business requirements and understand the capabilities of suitable OMS vendors. We also executed both request for information (RFI) and request for proposal (RFP) processes, enabling downselection and award to the appropriate vendor. 

In the second phase, Tryzens led a detailed discovery by gathering low-level functional requirements across OMS-related business processes, operations, project and change management, ecosystem and integrations, order orchestrations and servicing. 

When retailers are able to overcome the long-standing challenge of inventory visibility, they can drive their organizations toward greater operational efficiency and improved customer experience, key levers of revenue growth in the current business landscape. 

With the right strategy in place, powered by the best-fit technologies, retailers are able to see the full view when it comes to stock, helping to solve one of the oldest problems in retail. If you’re looking to implement a new OMS or optimize your current one, connect with Tryzens.

The product page for Dune’s flatform trainers showcases rich imagery along with customer reviews of the product, the colors and sizes that are available, and the ability to check the stock in their local store. This gives customers all key information about the trainers and whether they prefer to buy online or visit to store for purchase.

The product page for Zimmermann’s luminosity ruffle gown has all the ingredients needed for a single view of stock. Built into its clean and stylistic interface are the capabilities for customers to have 360-views of the product, which sizes and colors are available, the ability to find the product in a store, and how to contact the brand for further assistance. The customer service team will be equipped with the relevant stock data to help customers with issues around availability and placing orders.

So, what is the current state of single view of stock across retail? A report by Retail Week found that 49% of retailers have a single view of stock in real time, up from 40% in 2022. The same amount of retailers have a single view of stock but not in real time (29%).

With just over half of all retailers failing to have a single view of stock in real time, there is still some way to go before we see full market coverage. Those that are able to see the full picture are receiving the key benefits.

Key benefits of a single view of stock 

Enhanced customer experience: providing choice and convenience during the discovery phase of the customer journey significantly influences conversion rates.

Improved internal operations: equipping staff with the ability to assist customers in person, over the phone, or on social media leads to better service and increased sales.

Loyalty and reliability: maintaining reliable and always-available inventory fosters customer loyalty, encouraging repeat purchases.

Margin optimization: accurate inventory visibility enables merchandisers to identify underselling or overselling scenarios, ensuring optimal stock levels, and avoiding order cancellations.

Real-time inventory decision making: accurate and up-to-date inventory data across all channels and locations empowers businesses to make more informed decisions and future demand planning.

Reducing cost to serve & sustainability: with high demand in the UK for warehouse space, retailers can utilize their stores as fulfilment centers, helping to reduce cost to serve, offer quick delivery options, and also reduce their carbon footprint. 

How Tryzens empowers a single view of stock 

Tryzens offers expertise in order management and provides solutions to address the inventory visibility challenge, enabling retailers to achieve a single view of stock. Because we develop and implement tailored solutions for each of our partners, our platform-agnostic approach means that we fit the retailer with the right technology, not force the technology on the retailer. 

Tryzens provides high-level OMS consulting and strategy insights to set the foundations for tailored solutions. We also carry out OMS implementations using some of the best-of-breed platforms on the market, including Fluent Commerce, NewStore, OneStock, and Salesforce Order Management. 

We’re currently helping a global specialist in fashion footwear and accessories develop its order management capabilities. It operates a national network of stores and sells across other channels: dropshipping, concession, marketplaces, and wholesale. This set-up puts particular focus on the brand’s omnichannel strategy and international growth.

The well-known brand partnered with Tryzens to implement an order management system that would provide: 

• Increased product utilization 
• Lower cost to serve 
• A single view of inventory across its touchpoints 
• Improved customer experience that could drive loyalty 

Our approach to the OMS project involves two phases: consulting on high-level business requirements and a detailed discovery. 

Tryzens consulting involves helping to shape the OMS business requirements and understand the capabilities of suitable OMS vendors. We also executed both request for information (RFI) and request for proposal (RFP) processes, enabling downselection and award to the appropriate vendor. 

In the second phase, Tryzens led a detailed discovery by gathering low-level functional requirements across OMS-related business processes, operations, project and change management, ecosystem and integrations, order orchestrations and servicing. 

When retailers are able to overcome the long-standing challenge of inventory visibility, they can drive their organizations toward greater operational efficiency and improved customer experience, key levers of revenue growth in the current business landscape. 

With the right strategy in place, powered by the best-fit technologies, retailers are able to see the full view when it comes to stock, helping to solve one of the oldest problems in retail. If you’re looking to implement a new OMS or optimize your current one, connect with Tryzens.