Bank says the increased efficiency has improved sell through by five per cent and improved staff productivity. Only seven merchandising and buying staff were needed to manage the extra volume of work the store growth created and only one extra person is expected to be needed for the next 25 per cent growth. Also Warehousing staff have been reduced by 15 per cent despite 15 more stores being added.

The retailer aims to consistently have the right customer sizes in stock. Buyers are using Futura Retail Management Solution’s business intelligence tools to analyse where trends are taking off and to make sure the goods are then in stock. Using historical data, the system forecasts future buying patterns and allows buyers to use “what if” functionality to see the effects of buying one range over another. 

To ensure Bank’s customers can see available stock in several colours and sizes, the merchandising team look at historic stock levels and clothes sizes to guarantee the right size curves are in the store and target stock levels are reached. When Bank first analysed their customers size profiles, they found buying in traditional size ratios of 1,2,2,1 was not always appropriate for all styles – often ending up with too many large sizes. Analysis showed that to meet their customer profile, they needed to buy 2,2,1,1. Obtaining this information helped Bank’s buyers to accurately adjust size curves and reduce over-ordering in larger fringe sizes. Bank estimates this has increased sell through by five per cent.

Buyers and managers can quickly see current stock levels, product performance and profitability in real time on the system and what customers are not buying. By comparing sales with previous years’, buyers can establish when sales patterns are different to determine real price elasticity, so stock can be priced right and mid-season promotions can be changed.

Merchandisers’ target minimum stock levels are pre-defined for each store, so when the new stock arrives in the warehouse, it is quickly sorted and despatched in a very smooth operation, allowing little room for human error. This new method of allocations and replenishment has created greater efficiency compared to the way it used to be handled. Warehouse staffing has been reduced over the last year by 15 per cent, while stores have increased by 15 per cent.

The management uses Futura’s performance management and analytical tools to ‘model’ future sales, costs, cash and inventories, then define the top level budget. Computerising this exercise cuts down on data entry and manpower and also improves accuracy.

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