Take the Red Pill at Retail Risk Dublin

Managers dealing with stock control are surrounded by numbers. But are they making sense of the figures or just staring at code flashing by on a screen?

Retailers wondering “what is the Matrix?” could try asking Eoin O’Neill.

As Business Development Manager, Ireland, OCS Group, Eoin analyses supply chains for many of the world’s largest retailers. In his presentation at the Retail Risk – Dublin conference on 6^th July, he will be helping to crack the inventory code.

Knowing what to look for and how to decipher the raw data of supply chain audits, stock takes and other stock management processes can often mean the difference between profitability and loss, as he explains.

“Very often people have the specific data from the stock takes in front of them, but they don’t use it to see what’s gone wrong.

“Operational losses along the supply chain can be huge. Some of our customers have seven or eight stages from the manufacturer in south East Asia, say, to a distributions centre first in Asia and then in Europe, from there to warehouses in the UK or Ireland and on to the stock room and the shop.

“To err is human and there are humans at each link in the chain.”

OCS is a UK based family owned firm that started out cleaning windows in 1900 and now employs more than 90,000 people worldwide providing total facilities management.

“I always tell people we’re the biggest unknown known,” says Eoin. “Our customers know us, and they include more than half the top 100 retail companies.”

The Group has been growing rapidly as more and more companies realise they are better off outsourcing their stock taking and other aspects of supply chain and facilities management.

Omni-channel makes outsourcing an even better idea, Eoin argues.

“It’s a fabulous concept being able to use your devices to shop but having your stock correct is vital. The worst thing that can happen with omni-channel is for people to lose faith in it.”

He cites the example of an unnamed retailer whose omni-channel presence came to the fore in the last year and a half.

“A huge part of their business is click and collect and they have been struggling to deal with customers who were finding their item was not in stock. It’s only a tiny proportion of customers who were having this experience but customers who have a bad shopping experience are going to tell ten times as many people.

“There was a drop off of 2-3% in online sales and when we crunched the numbers it was very clear it was because of a loss of confidence.

“Retailers have rushed to build huge customer-facing omnichannel infrastructures without addressing the underlying issues of a genuine complete stock management strategy. It’s a rare retailer who has fully realised omni channel promised improvements to inventory turn and efficiency.”

With advances in analysing every part of the inventory chain from technological (RFID and improved Cloud based software), to technique in counting stock and measuring stock levels (through advanced best practice methods) OCS is offering retailers “seamless stock management with accurate data and ‘Real’ stock control”.

Or as Eoin puts it: “We have the ability to decipher the Matrix.”

To secure your free retailer’s pass to the conference go www.retailrisk.com/dublin-booking/