Retail
Retail enterprises must balance customer service
with inventory turns. Consumers demand product selection
options and expect to find what they are looking for on store
shelves. Retailers must keep product in stock, offer a
variety of brands and product choices to be competitive, and
control inventory levels across the company or risk financial
exposure. Retail
distribution operations are on the front line of meeting these
competing challenges.
Fulfilling customer demands while controlling inventory has
forced changes in the way leading companies re-stock stores.
Kiva enables key retail re-stocking strategies:
- More frequent orders / shipments
- Smaller order minimums
- More each and case picking / fewer full pallet picks
- Orders delivered in re-usable containers / totes
- Hub-and-spoke distribution models
- Consumer orders online for store pickup
- In-store kiosk ordering for direct-to-home delivery
With the Kiva solution, retail distribution centers improve
service and lower inventory levels for the enterprise while
improving distribution productivity. Kiva makes it possible
to pick eaches and cases as productively as full pallets.
Kiva delivers just-in-time store replenishment. By
integrating store front-end systems with Kiva's back-end order processing
system, retailers are capable of selling an item at store level
and picking a replacement item in the distribution center within
minutes. It is even viable to ship the store replenishment order on
the same day.
Order
fulfillment using Kiva follows the same basic processes whether
orders are for store delivery or for home delivery. Retailers
use Kiva to support store re-stocking, in-store pick up and
direct-to-consumer fulfillment using the same solution, equipment
and people in a single facility.
To learn more about how a Kiva solution can solve your retail
distribution challenges, contact us.