September 2022 / Vol 1, Issue 3 / In Our Industry Outlook, read about how "Vendors are tweaking logistics to help retailers optimize product flow"...

behind the scenes...

Catch-up with what's happening at A. Interior Decor Home Accents and the Industry!

In Our Industry Outlook, read about how "Vendors are tweaking logistics to help retailers optimize product flow"...

Our Source: Furniture Today

 

What We’re Up To

I hope we all had a great summer!

I would like to start by saying Thank You! for subscribing to A. Interior Decor Home Accents' Newsletter.

We hope your summer ended on a High & Fun note like Ours.

A. Interior Decor Home Accents, attended four amazing days at the Jacob Javits Center Convention in New York. We initially registered for this event when it was taking place June of 2020, but COVID-19 changed that. So when we were informed that the event was taking place August 2022, we were excited!

The four day event was amazing with a spectacular comeback after 2 years. There were about 1000 brands and the days were filled with lots of great experiences, connections and contacts.

There were keynote speakers and speakers covering topics on what it means now going forward for both retailers and vendors since COVID, inflation, the dive on customer demands, and etc. There were also panel discussions on Sustainability and Diversity, Equity, Access and Inclusivity (DEAI) values.

In our previous Newsletter, I talked about A. Interior Decor Home Accents partnering with Local and Global Artisans; so it was an unexpected treat to hear The fair Trade Federation speak. Chuck-Load-Of-Info!

We were so impressed with the line-up of speakers like Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas, the host of HGTV's Bargain Block and founding partners of NINE Design + Home. I know that when I am back at the office and the juices start flowing, I now I've attended a Great! event.

The event was absolutely Chuck-Full-Of-Info and Chuck-Full-Of-Fun!!!

We're Looking forward to the Winter 2023 Event!

*Just a little information on the above photos:

The photos to the left are of pieces you'll possible see at A. Interior Decor Home Accents toward the mid or end of October. The beautiful young lady in front is Jyann, one of the vendors all the way from Morocco. I spent a significant amount of time at her booth and we spoke about her products and design concepts. She felt the need to capture our fun experience, she posted it to Instagram, so you'll probably find our pic floating around on Instagram.

OUR INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

How are Vendors helping Retailers deliver goods to Customers?

Logistics is "the process of integration and maintenance (flow and storage) of goods in an organization". -google

As we near the end of the second half of 2022, retailers are still facing challenging times. Products are not moving with a consistent flow (creating a storage problem, sometimes forcing retailers to purchase/rent additional facilities), imports are still taking a long time to arrive and, heavy discounting has seem to be the thing.

When we look back to 2020 and last year, any and all inventory was good but, 2022 has proven that retailers have to act with more precision. But the challenges faced are buying right, creating a balance between demand and supply and, the over use of discounting.

In an effort to keep from resorting to heavy discounting and to mitigate the heavy impact on revenue; retailers are tightening back office operations and logistics, to improve it's efficiency and save money. They are also cancelling POs to maintain warehousing space for current inventory, as well as, re-strategizing delivery to get more paid goods out to customers, including partially filled orders.

Vendors are really starting to see the importance of building a better working relationship with retailers. They are recognizing that the focus should be on their customers (the retailers -after all, we are their funnel) and realize it will "keep the supply chain moving". So, vendors are stepping up to the plate.

It is so much easier to control and manage inventory if the majority of your inventory is produce here in the states; much more different from when it comes across ocean carriers.

So what manufacturers and importers are doing to help retailers improve product flow and warehousing, is that they are making cost-effective changes to their logistics and supply chain operations. Changes like, implementing new transportation management systems, better managing their drayage and, diversifying their carriers.

The re-vamping of logistics for better maximization and optimization, has now allowed vendors the ability to (1) hold request and (2) even with a set minimum purchasing requirement, the vendor has allowed the retailer to literally just order what they need. This helps the retailer with warehouse space.

This coordination between vendor and retailer makes the product flow better, bringing balance to supply and demand. It is great to see that vendors have noticed that to have a sustainable supply chain the strength of our relationship is key.