How do we get better in Retail

Learning from the last 2 decades in retail.

1. Focus on shortening your lead time, and 
2. Effective execution.

Forecasts are predictions about what will happen in the future. Even though they are not always correct, we still need to make them to plan for the future. 
In retail, we have to sell our products quickly, but it takes a long time to plan and get everything ready. 

To solve this problem, we try to do two things: 

• Effective Execution
Do the best we can with the plan we have, and make sure we use our inventory to make the most money possible. 
Example: Making sure there are enough of the most popular products in stock.
Easy, right?

• Shorten Lead Times
Learn from reality. Create fast feedback loops to improve our original plan. Respond within the selling period
Example: 
Ordering products from suppliers faster, so they can get new items on the shelves faster. Using technology like computers to communicate with suppliers and customers faster.