Somewhat quietly, US retail inventories have been increasing in recent years, with the inventory-to-sales ratio (ITS) in the retail sector rising slowly but steadily since 2010.
But now it looks like retailers are fighting back. Home Depot, for example, has plans to increase sales by 15% by 2018, but do so keeping invenory levels about where they are now. That is quite a change from the way retailers have historically managed inventories vrsus sales growth.
Target and Walmart have recently taken several steps to reduce inventories, while Kohl's has new plans to slow inventory growth. Kmart is experimenting with taking deliveries straight to the store shelf, rather than the backroom, though that may have more to do with its financial condition than anything.
Please watch SCTV News anchor Jim Stephens and SCDigest editor Dan Gilmore discuss all this and more, in a clip excerpted from our Supply Chain Video News broadcast released each week in partnership with CSCMP.
Want even more details? Read our full written article here: Retailers Rethinking Inventory Strategies
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