MANUFACTURING TIDBITS
MANUFACTURERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AND RETAILERS:
PART OF AN INCREASINGLY HOLISTIC SUPPLY CHAIN by CLIFF ISAACSON Cloud-native supply chain solutions for wholesale distributors, specialty retailers, and discrete manufacturers are critical because each is stuck in the financial quicksand of inventory decisions. Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers: part of an increasingly holistic supply chain. Distributors, in particular, have a unique challenge in that manual or “cost-plus” approaches to pricing lack the flexibility required to compete and are disconnected from customer willingness-to-pay. New pricing optimization platforms leverage advanced science to quickly identify opportunities and simulate pricing strategies for peak margin, profits, revenues, and sales.
rapid, optimized financial outcomes by highlighting which items, at which locations, or on what channels, are best. The analysis must be done in real-time and results are not static. Using machine learning (ML), distributors quickly identify underpriced and overpriced items while setting prices that both maximize profitability and beat the competition. Only with the machine learning algorithms are distributors, manufacturers, and retailers able to simulate different pricing strategies and changes prior to implementation. Pricing hypotheses can be tested comparing forecasted outcomes. Because there is time for “vision and revision” (T.S.
Science-driven results
Elliott attribution acknowledged), distributors are
With 10,000+ SKUs, distributors must access
continually refining pricing strategies to achieve their
science-driven results determining what drives
financial goals.
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Manufacturing Outlook / February 2021