In today’s volatile retail landscape, organizations face unprecedented challenges across both category management and inventory planning. While point solutions promise to address specific pain points, they often perpetuate silos that hinder cohesive, effective planning and optimization. To remain competitive, retailers must embrace a comprehensive approach that taps into the synergy across all functions — from category management to inventory allocation.
The growing complexity of modern retail
Mounting pressures on category managers
The pressure to optimize category strategies has never been more intense. Shopping patterns are constantly evolving, with changes in frequency, basket size and channel preferences. Inflation is driving consumers to trade down to private-label products, while hybrid shopping experiences add complexity to decision-making.
To make matters worse, the retail sector faces the third-highest quit rate among major industries, according to 2024 statistics from the United States Chamber of Commerce. This labor shortage impacts in-store execution, with planogram compliance falling below 50% in some cases — effectively undermining the meticulous planning efforts of category managers.
Inventory planning challenges
At the same time, inventory planning teams are grappling with their own set of hurdles:
- Organizational silos: Planning teams often rely on disparate processes and niche tools. While these solutions may appear efficient in isolation, they create barriers to cross-category optimization.
- Rising disruptions: The frequency and complexity of supply chain disruptions continue to escalate. Planners often spend excessive time managing day-to-day exceptions, leaving little bandwidth for strategic, value-driven activities.
- Automation hesitancy: Despite having technology at their fingertips, past bad experiences result in enough skepticism to perpetuate a cycle of manual processes that increase stress and workload.
