How to Shift Inventory Based on Shifts in Consumer Demand
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause shifts in consumer demand. Some consumers are shopping at fewer retail stores but buying more on each trip. Others are flocking to eCommerce and other low-contact shopping methods, like curbside pickup. At the same time,...
EDI Software for the Undecided
Whether you’re new to EDI software or a veteran, choosing the right solution is a big decision. Perhaps you’re asking, “what should I look for in EDI software?” or “what’s involved with a new EDI software implementation?” Let’s explore some fundamental questions about...
Master the inventory balancing act for BOPIS
Managing inventory has never been easy. But it’s more complex now than ever with the rise of digital fulfillment options such as buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS), curbside pickup, and home delivery services like Shipt. These fulfillment options have grown...
eCommerce and the New Age of Retail
About Guest Author Shipfusion Shipfusion sets your business on autopilot and combines flexible, reliable fulfillment with powerful, real-time technology. Shipfusion has multiple fulfillment centers across the US and Canada - making it easy to manage your eCommerce...
![Australia’s Grocery Retailers and Vendors Automate with EDI [Case Study]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/iStock-1223553745-1080x675.jpg)
Australia’s Grocery Retailers and Vendors Automate with EDI [Case Study]
What happens when you turn your grocery supply chain inside out? How do your vendor relationships change when you cut out the distributor and go direct to your suppliers? The answer: You have a whole new grocery supply chain to automate. This was the case with Drakes...
Replacing inventory with information
Inventory information can be the lifeline or the death rattle of companies in the retail ecosystem. Companies – regardless of size – need to balance inventory with meeting customers’ needs (whether your customer is an actual shopper, a retailer, or a manufacturer)....
SPS Commerce Ranked #1 Twin Cities Largest Software Development Firm
The Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal recently published its annual list of who’s who among Twin Cities tech firms. This year the Journal combined the Software Developer and Software-as-a-Service lists into one. And, SPS was (again) ranked as the largest...
How to Manage Increased Drop-Ship Demand at Scale with SPS and NetSuite
Are you new to the drop ship order process? Has the pandemic replaced many of your bulk orders with drop-ship ones? Or, maybe you’ve dabbled in drop ship, but now you’re seeing your drop-ship orders skyrocket? If so, you’re definitely not alone. Every segment of...
The Data Needed for Distributed Order Management
A consumer places an online order. The next step is for the buying organization to put it in a box and ship it to them. Sounds simple, but those of us in retail and distribution know that it’s not. Where should the item be pulled from? Inventory isn’t always on-hand...
Boost Omnichannel Sales with Retail Product Data Management
Whether suppliers sell their products in stores or through eCommerce, the right item information and visual assets are essential. From attractive photos to accurate dimensions and vivid descriptions, consumers need product data when shopping on any device or at any...
![[INFOGRAPHIC] Reduce Stock on Hand & Improve Inventory Optimization with Retail Data Analytics](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/iStock-850852928_super-1080x675.jpg)
[INFOGRAPHIC] Reduce Stock on Hand & Improve Inventory Optimization with Retail Data Analytics
Finding ways to reduce stock on hand or improve inventory optimization isn’t easy. It’s especially challenging when the sales and inventory data you get from retailers is incomplete, delayed or in multiple formats that you have to compile yourself. Fortunately, a...
Optimize the Open-to-Buy Process with Order Acknowledgments
Once a buyer places an order with a supplier, they are often left in the dark about if and when the order will arrive or what will be on the delivery. The lack of a confirmation and/or order acknowledgment leaves buyers asking questions like: Can the vendor ship the...
5 Tips to Manage Order Volume Velocity without Retail Chargebacks
Orders can spike quickly when trends take off or consumers are displaced, often with little notice. In just a few days, new retailers are calling and wanting to do business. But, don’t forget that all good things typically come with a few strings attached, or in this...
How a retail data tool can improve forecasting and decision-making
If you’re like most businesses, making decisions and planning for the future is especially challenging in today’s uncertain market. It's even more challenging when you look at the retail data that informs your decisions and find that it's incomplete, delayed or...
How to Avoid Overspending on Package Shipping Rates
Cash flow is the lifeblood of small businesses. Optimizing shipping costs can help businesses preserve cash, which is more important now than ever. Compare shipping rates for drop-ship fulfillment For companies that drop-ship, the ability to reduce package shipping...
Using Analytics to React to Disruptions with Data
Earlier this week, I was speaking to a footwear supplier in California who wanted to see how their sales were shifting by week and by state. I also talked to a supplier of fitness products whose sales were spiking and wanted to make sure they had inventory in the...
Data Requirements for Supply Chain Traceability and Visibility
Let's talk supply chain visibility. No one likes surprises, but they happen every day. Whether it’s a recall or simply a missing order, data is needed to inform retailers and suppliers about the product’s journey and its location. If you are like me, I’d prefer to...
SPS Commerce encourages Girl Scouts to “Think Like a Programmer”
It’s no surprise that young girls often associate math and science with boys, as only 24% of women make up the STEM workforce. Events like “Think Like a Programmer” are helping to break down those barriers. “Think Like a Programmer” is a full-day event for Girl...
How to Implement Just-in-Time Inventory
Evolve Your Business to Just-in-Time Inventory Inventory management within your supply chain often includes a complicated web of data being managed through multiple systems. High cost, inefficient inventory, and distribution management practices are unfortunately...
Why EDI Integration That’s Built for Oracle NetSuite Certified Matters
When you’re a small to mid-sized company, new orders and new customers are the lifeblood of your business. But as your order volume grows, so does the complexity of your supply chain. If your company is going through a transition like this, automating your...
Improve business relationships with retail data analytics
Fifteen minutes before their annual buyer meeting, a supplier of premium sandals received a spreadsheet from their retail customer. The spreadsheet included data on how their sandals had been selling by store and by region. This supplier scrambled to make...
Toying with Success? Global EDI is Coming.
It’s the dream of every consumer goods business owner. Demand for your product is making headlines across Australia, the United States (U.S.) and around the globe. This was the case with Moose Toys. They are the Australian family-run business that shook up the toy...
Click and Collect Expands Retail Volume Online and In-Store
As the continued growth of online purchases, in-store pickup, and ship-to-store strategies widen, the supply chain has driven retailers to become more flexible. Click and Collect is perfectly positioned to offer this kind of flexibility to retailers by delivering the...
How to Prevent Stockouts Using Retail Data Analytics
It should come as no surprise that stockouts are a critical problem in the retail industry. According to advisory firm IHL, stockouts lead to lost sales of nearly $1 trillion annually. Estimates show that suppliers lose an average of 10% of sales each year due to...
Turn Your Products Faster with Better Inventory Visibility
Inventory visibility has always been a vital part of any retail process. Still, the absence of it can be painful for buying organizations and felt in a variety of ways such as missing wholesale item data, incomplete packing data, shipping information, and inconsistent...
Determining the EDI Cost Savings for Your Business
Companies invest in retail technologies with the expectation that it will make their business more efficient, save time and money, or help them to grow. To prioritize these investments, businesses look at metrics such as the payback period, return on investment (ROI),...
EDI Data: Visibility that Trading Partners Need
Both retailers and suppliers need more visibility to the status of orders in their supply chain. With the latest advances in electronic reporting and EDI, trading partners have more power than ever. When an error or delay occurs, trading partners often don’t have the...
Better Inventory Management Starts with Accurate Supplier Data
Each year, retailers and distributors reflect on what went well and what they want to improve the upcoming year and beyond. Virtually all buying organizations I talk to have one thing in common: they don’t have the accurate supplier data needed for effective...
![Cost Savings of EDI? 372 % ROI for Peter Grimm [Research Study]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Screen-Shot-2019-12-17-at-9.22.49-AM.png)
Cost Savings of EDI? 372 % ROI for Peter Grimm [Research Study]
Suppliers often view EDI as a necessary business function to sell one’s products in retail channels. This is true. However, there are many additional benefits of EDI that companies experience, especially those using full-service EDI. Companies reap the rewards of...
5 Signs You Might Be Outgrowing Your Warehouse
If you are an SMB supplier experiencing an explosive growth curve, you may be outgrowing your warehouse. At some point, you are going to have to figure out how to maintain that growth to scale your shipping operations to keep up with demand. For most small, or new...
![EDI Cuts eCommerce Supplier’s Drop Ship Delivery Times [Case Study]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Screen-Shot-2019-12-11-at-11.36.38-AM.png)
EDI Cuts eCommerce Supplier’s Drop Ship Delivery Times [Case Study]
ZLine Kitchen and Bath is known for its innovative kitchen ranges and cooktops and was growing quickly. It had recently launched its products at Lowes, the latest of many retailers selling their products using a drop-ship model. With each new retailer, the supplier...
![Australia’s Retail Market is Easier with Full-Service EDI [Case Study]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Screen-Shot-2019-12-10-at-3.56.07-PM.png)
Australia’s Retail Market is Easier with Full-Service EDI [Case Study]
The Trilogy Group grew from a small New Zealand company in 2002 with five products to a multinational company with more than 40 products today, including Ecoya candles, Goodness Skincare and Trilogy Skincare. The natural skincare supplier was very successful in New...
How to lead a successful EDI change management process
To keep pace in a constantly evolving retail business world, organizations often need to implement enterprisewide changes affecting their processes, products, and people. Process change is a fact of life in businesses today. It can be difficult, and people often...
SPS Tower celebrates unveiling of Women Who Code floor
On Friday, November 15th, 2019, SPS Commerce celebrated the grand reveal of its fully reimagined 8th floor at SPS Tower. Highlighting inspirational and historical women in technology, the WOMEN WHO CODE 8th floor opened for normal operations on Monday, November 18th,...
![The secret to increasing retail sales [Case Study]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Benchmade-case-study-SPS-Commerce-1080x675.png)
The secret to increasing retail sales [Case Study]
Benchmade is widely recognized for its quality pocket knives, making it a preferred choice of law enforcement officers, government officials, and outdoor enthusiasts. The company offers more than 300 SKUs at outdoor, hardware and sporting goods retailers nationwide....
How to excel at eCommerce order fulfillment
It’s no surprise that eCommerce order fulfillment is capturing headlines and mindshare. On-time shipments, BOPIS/BORIS options, and recognizable packaging can make or break a consumer’s shopping experience. If done right, they’ll return. If not, forget about a repeat...
![Jonny Pops serves up small business growth with full-service EDI [video]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-18-at-11.23.32-AM.png)
Jonny Pops serves up small business growth with full-service EDI [video]
Jonny Pops is a small business growth story rooted in making the world a better place, one frozen pop at a time. Connor Wray and his dorm mates at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, became retail entrepreneurs with an idea for a smoothie on a stick. They...
2019 pre-holiday eCommerce preparedness checklist
We're in the last few weeks before the biggest pain points for this year's holiday online shopping experiences are known. This is the time to batten down the hatches and make sure everything is ship-shape, allowing you to execute as fantastic of a holiday season as...
![Drop Shipping Webinar: Five requirements for success [VIDEO]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Drop-Shipping-101-webinar-1080x675.png)
Drop Shipping Webinar: Five requirements for success [VIDEO]
This on-demand drop shipping webinar will share the basics you’ll need to understand what’s required to start your own drop shipping program. Created in partnership with ShipStation, we've also included some great tips and advice on how to drop ship successfully. To...
SPS Commerce IN>TORONTO19: An evening of eCommerce insights and conversation
eCommerce companies are tempted to grow quickly and through every channel open to their business. However, the experts on the panel at our Toronto event had some insight and advice for entrepreneurs and small business owners. These topics were part of the panel...
How Artificial Intelligence is shaping the retail supply chain
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly become mainstream––interjecting itself into almost every aspect of our modern, technology-based lives. The potential of AI to enhance everyday business actions and strategies within the supply chain has been a topic of great...
VIP Products scales business with full-service EDI
Founded by entrepreneur Steven Sacra, VIP Products manufactures pet toys for today’s toughest dogs and their owners. The business started in his garage and quickly grew as national retailers discovered his product line. For Sacra, growth required automation,...
![Streamlining & simplifying item data management [PODCAST]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Simplifying-item-data-management.jpg)
Streamlining & simplifying item data management [PODCAST]
When you’re managing item data for hundreds or thousands of products, things can get out of hand real fast. That’s especially true if your processes include manual data entry task – anything performed by a human runs the risk for errors. Every retailer or vendor has...
![EDI 101: Five signs your business could benefit from an EDI solution [INFOGRAPHIC]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Screen-Shot-2019-09-25-at-2.27.39-PM-1080x675.png)
EDI 101: Five signs your business could benefit from an EDI solution [INFOGRAPHIC]
An EDI solution opens up communication directly with trading partners and connects multiple business systems, giving you a seamless, end-to-end solution. Sounds dreamy, right? The name Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) just doesn’t do it justice. But what does EDI do,...
Shamrock Foods: Success in easy vendor onboarding
Grocery distributor, Shamrock Foods, was experiencing growth and looking for more ways to expand business automation across its retail supply chain, this included easier vendor onboarding. While the food company has used EDI solutions with suppliers for years, they...
Free up your order processing schedule with EDI automation
With the summer behind us, autumn has officially begun, and with this change in season, the busy holiday season is now underway as is a return to standard daylight time. Retailers nation-wide are rejoicing at the ability to use that ‘extra hour’ to manage their retail...
Streamlining Item Data Management
Streamlining item data management is not only achievable, it’s quite helpful for retailers, vendors and even the consumer. Find out more in this podcast.
Automation: The understaffing antidote in retail
Now that 2019 holiday planning has begun in earnest, or if you’re hyper-organized its already complete, retailers and suppliers alike are scrambling to address the worker shortage that is plaguing the industry. With unemployment at a nearly 50-year low, finding...
![Retail Order Fulfillment in the Digital Era: How Vendor Partnerships Enhance Execution & Profitability [White paper]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Order-Fulfillment-in-the-digital-era-white-paper-SPS-Commerce-1080x582.png)
Retail Order Fulfillment in the Digital Era: How Vendor Partnerships Enhance Execution & Profitability [White paper]
Over the past decade, many terms—including multi-channel, omnichannel, integrated retail, unified commerce, retail order fulfillment, and others—have been used to describe the changing nature of shopping. All of these terms reflect the same goal: to create an...
![Retail system readiness for the holiday season [PODCAST]](https://www.spscommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Retail-system-readiness-for-the-holiday-season-Podcast.jpg)
Retail system readiness for the holiday season [PODCAST]
The next episode of Mastering the Retail Game is here, just in time to get you pumped and ready for the holiday shopping season. Every year, retailers and their trading partners revamp their processes, update their technology, open new sales channels and fine tune...
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