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State of Retail: The Canadian Report 2010
Best–in–Class Analysis
Best–in–Class (BiC) firms are defined as retailers that achieve positive results in key performance criteria: average comparable stores sales (year–over–year), average gross margin improvement (year–over–year), average customer conversion rate increase (year–over–year), and channel in–stock performance. This section examines how BiC retail firms compare to laggards regarding their organizational and knowledge processes along with their technology adoption. BiC retailers represent those firms, regardless of size, that constitute the top 20 percent of aggregate performance scorers while laggards constitute the bottom 30 percent.1
At the corporate level, BiC firms are more likely to adopt enterprise–wide business analytics. Specifically, BiC firms are three times more likely than laggards to have enterprise–wide inventory visibility (Figure 16). Also, BiC firms invest in and implement a combination of technologies to facilitate the achievement of business goals.1
In addition to increased technology adoption, BiC retailers are also more likely to have organizational and knowledge processes in place that help foster competitiveness. BiC firms are more likely than laggards to improve inventory management and operational flows through timely information integration. Real–time business analytics reporting enables BiC firms to quickly adjust to the changing playing field. In particular, BiC are seven times more able than laggards to provide real–time or near real–time reporting of KPI (Figure 17).
[Description of Figure 17]BiC firms also have a stronger focus on cost factors in addition to revenue evidenced through their ability to timely report current and expected costs of operating. Finally, BiC firms are three times more likely than laggards to utilize customer demographics and demand trends to drive their marketing initiatives.1
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