New research from Martec International has found that only 18 per cent of retailers are satisfied with their current promotion and new line introduction planning and forecasting system.

Furthermore, only 24 per cent of respondents said that they are satisfied with the analytical and reporting capabilities of their supply chain systems. For the majority of organisations, the supply chain is still managed in its own silo and does not take into consideration either ‘space’ or ‘external’ data, such as weather or competitive pricing. On average, retailers scored 5.1 and 4.3 out of 10 respectively for these aspects of supply chain management.

The research, which was commissioned by RELEX Solutions and surveyed 80 retailers across France, Germany, Italy, the Nordics, Spain and the UK, found that ‘handling promotions effectively’ was the main supply chain planning and execution issue (40 per cent), while ‘forecasting more effectively for promotions and promotional lift’ ranked as the most significant forecasting challenge.

Fran Riseley, deputy managing director of Martec International, said: “With the latest supply chain technology, retailers can now generate a single and accurate demand forecast that takes into account fluctuations in demand, seasonality, promotions, competitive pricing, and even weather – all at an individual store level.

“What-if scenarios can be run based on a holistic view of all relevant internal and external data to ensure the end-to-end supply chain is optimally managed for both known events and exceptions. Increasingly, it will be a retailer’s ability to manage such exceptions well that will provide them with the competitive differentiation to succeed.”

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