RPW 5-27-08

Retail Paradox Weekly

Retail News Analysis by RSR Research

May 27, 2008

Supply Chain Visibility: The Quest Continues

By Nikki Baird, Managing Partner
5/27/2008

At Manhattan’s User Group Conference, Momentum 2008, three retailers sat on a panel session about supply chain visibility: Jonah Saint McIntire, Supply Chain Improvement Bear from Build-A-Bear Workshop; Miles Tedder, VP Supply Chain at Anna's Linens; and Ken McKinney, Director of Distribution at Urban Outfitters. For me, it was déjà vu all over again.

Almost since the internet became an option for business to business transactions, supply chain leaders have tried... More

Microsoft: More than a Marketing Machine

By Brian Kilcourse, Managing Partner
5/27/2008

Among some of my retail tech friends, a favorite debate is over what lasting contributions the various technology firms have made to industry (it helps to be having this conversation over a beer or two). The proposition is usually framed around the question, “Imagine that a solutions provider disappeared tomorrow – what would it be remembered for 50 years from now?” For example, IBM will always be remembered for giving rise to commercial computing with the development of OS/360 (wonderfully described in Frederick Brook’s book, “The Mythical Man Month”).

When the discussion turns to Microsoft, the discussion can get contentious... More

Momentum: User Group Season in Full Swing

By Paula Rosenblum, Managing Partner
5/27/2008

Nikki and I are freshly back from Momentum, Manhattan Associates’ annual Users Group convention. Nikki’s article talks about a particular panel, but I want to address the tone of the event itself and provide some overarching observations.

You do learn a lot about how a company is treating its customers and how well its implementations go by attending these conferences, especially if you give yourself the luxury of attending sessions where you’re not the featured speaker. Truly, during user conference season... More

RSR Featured FastFact:

Logic would seem to indicate that the unstable economy would drive retailer and consumer decisions, and that the last thing on their minds would be that ephemeral thing called “customer service.” RSR surveyed more than 90 retailers to understand the impact of this uncertain economy. Much to our surprise, we found that customer centricity remains in the forefront of the minds of both retailers and consumers. Clearly retail laggards (those whose year over year comparable sales performance lags their peers and inflation) are seriously concerned for their own futures, but our data shows that the better a retailer’s past performance, the less it focuses on short-term economic conditions as a business driver).

To read the full report, click here.