Software for Merchandise Management
Retailers need to manage time-consuming planning and administrative activities. Merchandise management software automates back-office tasks from planning to the distribution of goods, thus saving time and money. REMIRA offers you a suitable and proven software solution for the retail industry.
What is a merchandise management system?
An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is software that ensures the right goods are in the right place at the right time. Modern enterprise resource planning (ERP) software manages the supply of goods to retail outlets and provides largely automated enterprise-wide control of the movement of goods. This is based on information from the company and defined specifications. The software automatically reorders items that should always be in stock (NOS items = Never Out of Stock) or suggests stock transfers from other stores. An Enterprise Resource Planning system is usually the inventory management system for all item and customer data in the company.
With this orientation, the merchandise management system is close to the classic ERP system, especially since merchandise management systems can also provide enhancements and take over tasks of a typical ERP system. In this case, no distinction is necessarily made between the terms. If ERP software is already available in the company, which has proven itself for various business processes, but does not or insufficiently map the merchandise management processes, it can make sense to network the merchandise management system with the existing ERP solution. Using the appropriate interfaces, a merchandise management system can also be connected to other software in a company - for example, to accounting software, a CRM system or an online store. When connected to e-commerce, the merchandise mnagement system transmits article and inventory data to the online store. Conversely, the store system reports the order data back to the merchandise management system. This makes the merchandise management system the central data hub in e-commerce and omnichannel retailing.
EDI as an important factor
Manufacturers can use a merchandise management system to centrally map and control the flow of goods across hundreds of areas. There are solutions that offer the highest level of automation. Certain data transfers require an EDI connection. A merchandise management solution should therefore be able to translate data communication into suitable formats using an EDI converter. The use of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) in retail also saves time. For example, EAN bar codes on packaging can be used with the core data sent by suppliers. Invoices from suppliers can also be managed automatically, saving time during invoice verification.
With its merchandise management system, REMIRA offers you a powerful system with proven standards and a large number of effective state-of-the-art functions. In addition, REMIRA's solution already offers the most important interfaces for the handling of central business processes in trade and sales.
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What are the benefits of merchandising software?
A merchandise management system is a flexible off-the-shelf software solution that provides both basic and specialized functionality for your retail business. Merchandise management thus reduces the use of individually programmed software and workarounds in your company. This reduces the error rate in many processes and indirectly leads to more satisfied customers. Lengthy decision-making processes for the distribution of goods are also completely eliminated by the automated processes in the inventory management system. For example, if a company receives orders from its online store, without the appropriate software solutions, a subjective decision would have to be made as to which store should pick up the order. With a merchandise management system, this decision is made by the system, saving you time and money.
Merchandise management software also assists your purchasing department in planning merchandise requirements. This function is based on comparative periods from previous years, also with a time lag to the planning period. Even stores for which no historical data is available are calculated on the basis of reference stores. A data warehouse or BI tool dashboard can also be used to keep an eye on the purchasing limit. Want to perform a stock transfer for your customers? Then simply start the goods requisition in the appropriate module for item inventory and trigger the automated stock transfer. Whether NOS items, stock transfers, recalls or replenishment from the central warehouse, an inventory management system ensures efficient processes and determines sales potential. Using a variety of decision parameters, a merchandise management system evaluates in seconds which of your company's stores, for example, should have higher minimum stock levels per item in order to achieve better sales figures.
Overview of the benefits of a retail merchandise management system
- Get the right goods to the right place at the right time
- Track and manage inventory
- NOS item management and reordering
- Automated processes
- Business process monitoring
- Clear business metrics
- Fast evaluation, e.g. sales evaluation, according to various parameters
- Management of goods in different sales areas
- Organization of stores and territories, e.g. by territory master sheet
- Real-time data update
- EDI Integration
- Connection to an ERP system, online store, accounting, personnel planning, etc.
- Interface to other enterprise software
What functions does merchandise management software need?
Whether you are a manufacturer or a retailer, whether you are implementing a merchandise management system for the first time or replacing an existing merchandise management solution: You need to find the right system for your retail business. The chosen software solution should offer you many advantages and important interfaces already in the standard version according to the best of breed principle. We would be happy to conduct a free consultation with you to determine your needs and provide you with a quote.
Key functions of an merchandise management system
- Merchandise Management: Avoid price markdowns and markdowns
- Inventory control: Suggestions for stock transfers, price changes, or reordering
- Workflows: Adaptation to the processes in the company
- Planning: For all stores, based on comparative periods
- Event Management: Control for relevant situations
- Omnichannel capability: Ready for e-commerce with real-time data transfer
You can meet the expectations of your customers with your retail business and expand your merchandise management software with an online store and other software from other providers. REMIRA's open software solution ensures that other solutions can be easily connected to the core systems and that data exchange takes place in real time. Due to its modular structure, REMIRA ERP is a good choice for a single store as well as for companies with one or several hundred stores. For customers with smaller companies, REMIRA also offers a compact enterprise resource planning system as a cloud solution.
Special requirements for merchandise management solutions in the fashion industry
An inventory management system for the fashion retail industry knows item attributes such as size and color. Re-orders of NOS items, the "basics" of the brand, play an important role in this industry. Above all, the software supports demanding management tasks in the fashion, lifestyle and sports industry. The merchandise management of REMIRA ERP makes it possible to place goods where interested customers are by means of targeted stock transfers. This helps to avoid markdowns, because price reductions can be postponed to a later point in time. The REMIRA software's merchandise management creates the conditions to move goods quickly to the place where they will achieve the highest possible margin. In most cases, EDI processing is already integrated into the system, so that invoices from suppliers or credit notes can be managed automatically via EDI, thus saving time. The software also provides the company's management with reporting options for various purposes.
Examples of reports using a merchandise management system
For a short-term income statement (KER), e.g. quarterly, monthly, weekly
- Store evaluation
- Supplier evaluation
- Material group evaluation
- Inventory information
- Information about orders
- Turnover Rate
- Renner Bum Analysis
- Sales ratio
- Price markdowns
- Age statistics (commodity)
- Discounts
- Season/combined with weather data
- Conversion rate: customer frequency in combination with coupons
- Ranking: Top suppliers, top customers
- Which (registered) customers buy which brands/sizes/at which times
What are the requirements for implementing an merchandise management system?
Are you planning to refresh your IT landscape in the foreseeable future, or are you considering implementing an enterprise resource planning solution for the first time? We can help make the transition easier:
- Gain visibility into business processes
- Derive requirements for new software
- Schedule internal resources
- Schedule workshop with IT vendor*.
- Involve employees from all from different departments
- Plan and balance processes and risks
- If necessary, set up a test system*.
- Have employees trained who then train colleagues
- Discuss and plan support
*Not required for small businesses that rely on a solution from the cloud as a licensing model in a modular design that can be installed in a few hours.
Are you looking for a solution for optimal merchandise management?
Our all-in-one solution automates and streamlines your back-office processes and places your merchandise where it sells best. Maintain a constant view of all current data and processes in your store and create the foundation for modern omnichannel commerce.
Learn more in our free web session!