The order management software benefits we don’t see can be the most valuable. Image source Since the earliest days of commerce, the history of order management has reflected the available technology of the times. Over the centuries, we have gone from orders (literally) etched in stone, to advanced, portable, and cloud-enabled order management software, and […]
How customer relationship management and mass-personalization go hand in hand. Image source In pre-industrial times, marketing and manufacturing processes were always personalized. A face-to-face conversation between a craftsman and their patron would lead to a custom-built product days later. In the early 1900s, mass production, as personified by the US auto industry, was accompanied by […]
The past, present, and future of point of sale hold unexpected possibilities. Image source Retail point of sale (POS) is not a new concept. The mechanical cash registers of the 1800s were considered the first true point of sale devices, with materials, payments, and records exchanged simultaneously at the checkout stand. The POS lineage can […]
Retailers can improve delivery times by balancing supply chain complexity with customer service. Image source If you are continually amazed by online retailers like Amazon who can offer one or two day delivery for nearly every available product, you are not alone. As top retailers master the art and science of logistics, the real secret […]
Sharing real-time data with customers and suppliers is becoming a necessity. Image source In the days before the internet, sharing data between companies was difficult at best. Surprisingly, the dawn of the digital age did little to change the status quo of siloed inventory management that had existed for decades. In recent years, part shortages, […]
Why customers and retailers are shifting their focus to the return process. Image source The first retail return probably occurred not long after the first retail sale, but the term “reverse logistics” was not coined until 1992, when Logistics Professor James Stock found a new way to describe the process of returning products back to […]
