Leaner Retailing: Overhauling your cost structure for sustainable, long-term effectiveness

Economic conditions in retail are challenging, and they are going to stay that way for 12 to 18 months while consumers adjust their lifestyles and reset their spending habits. The current negative revenue growth environment is creating enormous cost issues for retailers. Competitive pressures are increasing, and they are amplified by the initial actions retailers have taken to address weak demand (sales, promotions, markdowns).  Kurt Salmon Associates has identified an array of quick, high-impact initiatives that can yield 3-5% improvements in product costs and 10-15% cost improvement in other supply chain and corporate costs. The process includes both a "top down" strategic review and a "bottom up" application of eight improvement programs (Retail Operations, Supply Chain, Distribution, Inventory Effectiveness, Organizational Redesign, Marketing, IT and Other Corporate Spend).  The white paper "Leaner Retailing" describes these initiatives and provides key learnings for how organizations should pursue them.