According to an article in the Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_11446814

A costly investment in an ineffective inventory system contributed to the downfall of the Shane Company.

This is a situation that no retailer needs to find themselves in.  IFSO by Forerunner Systems provides proven capabilities for a substantially lower cost than custom development and/or trying to modify an application that is not designed to optimize inventory flow for direct commerce companies.

The current economic climate requires disciplined fiscal responsibility, not just in terms of how inventory is purchased, but also the investments made in tools that manage that inventory.

Now more than ever, your inventory management solution has to work.  Spreadsheets just do not provide the visibility and control you need, and many software solutions can cost millions of dollars to develop and still provide questionable results.

IFSO does both, it is a proven forecasting solution and can be implemented for a fraction of what it would cost to launch either custom development or many other systems.

So how’s business?  A pretty simple question with a pretty bleak answer these days, but adversity creates opportunity and the question is: How are you going to manage your way out of the economic crisis.

Many companies have gotten by with spreadsheets as a tool to manage their inventory forecasting and determine appropriate inventory levels.  For many years this has been “good enough”.

Let’s be clear “good enough” just does not cut it these days.  Right now it is critical that inventory is managed effectively.  It is by far the largest capital investment that a retail company makes.  Having stock in the wrong items, or missing sales on the right items is the difference between being in business and being out of business and spreadsheets just do not provide the level of visibility and control that is required to optimize your inventory spend.

An inventory management solution will provide that control.  A system will help manage complex concurrent promotions, drive management changes through to ensure purchasing alignment, and provide reporting to alert the entire organization of potential problems before they happen.

Now I ask you, is your spreadsheet still “good enough”?

According to a study by RIS News and research partner IHL group, the loss of sales due to stock outs measures a staggering 98 Billion dollars in lost revenue.

Furthermore according to a study by Information Resources Inc. (IRI) 70% of customers will buy a substitute the first time a stock out occurs but by the second out of stock experience there is a 50% chance that those customers will go to a competitor.

Don’t let this happen to you.  The IFSO inventory forecasting solution will help ensure that you have the right inventory at the right time.  Not too much and not too little.

This and every holiday season, it is critical that you capture every hard earned customer and maximize the sales potential of the inventory that you have.

Strong planning, accurate forecasts and a strategic buying strategy are critical to achieving these results.  Ask us how IFSO can help you salvage every sale, while still mainting a streamlined inventory possition.

There is no denying that these are difficult economic times, the worst I have seen in my 20+ years in Retail.

Direct Retailers are taking drastic measures to manage costs at this time.  Layoffs, cuts in circulation, reductions in online marketing… All good measures, but sometimes not enough.

When managing costs and more importantly managing cash are important (well they are always important) but when they are critical to survival, managing inventory tightly is not just a goal it is an imperative.

Inventory is the single largest capital outlay a retailer will make on a recurring basis.  When credit is tight having too much inventory is suicide, and it is more important than ever to make sure you can capture every sale.

An inventory management system will help ensure that you have the right stock at the right time.  Not too much and not too little.  Of course if business is difficult, and reducing costs is critical then spending a lot of money on a new system may not seem like such a good idea.

That is where Forerunner Systems comes in.  Our IFSO OnDemand solution can be implemented for a low activation fee and run for a small monthly subscription fee.  Our 60 day implementation approach can have you running leaner and more efficiently before holiday returns start rolling in.

They say you have to spend money to make money.  With IFSO, you can spend a little to make a lot and in these uncertain times, that is an investement worth making.

Inventory Management is part art and part science.

At FSI we have spent decades mastering both the art and science of inventory management.  I myself have built many a spreadsheet to keep track of, and improve the inventory situation at a number of companies.  Excel is a great way to manage inventory, up to a point.

When a company grows and evolves it can be very difficult to keep up using spreadsheets and other manual  inventory solutions.  The following situations may indicate that it is time to move on from a manual solution to a more sophisticated system:

Concurrent Catalog Drops and Website Builds:  Every experienced inventory analyst knows the best sellers and highest overstocks, but when there are many sources of customer demand occurring at the same time it is critical that the right inventory is available at the right time.  The manual process of updating actual demand across a wide range of offers and sales channels can very quickly overwhelm even the most experienced.

Kits / Complex Item Assortments:  When one sku is used in many different product offerings it can be very difficult to keep track of how much inventory is required to support all of the sources of customer demand.  IFSO can track both the selling assortment and the component skus with equal simplicity and create a single purchase recommendation.

High Volume Assortments: As businesses grow, so do their product assortments.   An inventory forecasting solution like IFSO allows a smaller team to manage more skus and more products profitably.

Managing Cashflow: IFSO will help leverage your inventory investment in the most efficient way possible.  Reducing backorders, eliminating overstocks and identifying the items with the best markdown potential to help ensure that your capital is invested with the highest return.

Great People and Smart Software combined, create extraordinary results.

On June 27th Forerunner Systems Inc. is launching an exclusive online community for our customers and partners.

The online community is the latest in a series of service innovations that Forerunner has launched over the last 12 months.  Online workshops, redesigned user guides and high customer interaction differentiate Forerunner from other software providers to the direct commerce industry.

The launch of our social network brings together many elements that make Forerunner and our product IFSO unique.

1) Technical Innovation

2) Industry Expertise

3) Commitment to Service

The online community brings a “Facebook” style community where customers can get the latest information on IFSO and the Direct Industry, post questions and interact directly with each other, and build on the 15 years of wisdom that has evolved from our customers, our employees and our partners.

To achieve the best results with IFSO we recommend following a series of steps.

Some of these steps are best performed pre-season and some are best performed in-season. Some of these steps are executed by managers, some by planners and some by administrators.

Which steps should you be running?

Join us for our 3rd online workshop and learn which steps should be run, when they should be run, and who should run them.

In this session we will cover:
• An overview of the Steps in the weekly process (pre-season vs in-season)
• Roles and Responsibilities for each Step
• When NOT to run a step
• What the purpose is of each step

Future classes will drill deeply into specific functionality and business rules for each step. This course should be considered and overview of the whole process.

This Class is a refresher level class for users of all skill levels.

Seminar Details

The Weekly Process
Wednesday May 28th
12:00pm PST

Please RSVP to David@forerunnersystems.com to receive conference session connection details and passwords.

Every now and again, we will use this Blog to promote a good cause.

Today we would like to highlight the Samantha Corpus Foundation. The Samantha Corpus Foundation is dedicated to helping fund research and developing a cure for Rett Syndrome.

Rett Syndrome is a developmental disorder that effects mostly young girls. Little girls will develop normally until the age of about 2 to 3 years old.

Rett syndrome causes problems in brain function that are responsible for cognitive, sensory, emotional, motor and autonomic function. These can include learning, speech, sensory sensations, mood, movement, breathing, cardiac function, and even chewing, swallowing, and digestion. It is often diagnosed as autism or cerebral palsy. Significant strides in identifying and reversing the effects of this syndrome.

The Samantha Corpus Foundation has been raising money for Rett Syndrome research since 2005. Their major fund raiser is Samantha Corpus Golf Tournament, held this year on May 20th at the Blackhawk Country Club in Dublin, Ca.

To make a donation, or learn more about this great cause go to www.samanthacorpus.org

On May 14th, 2008 we will be having our second online workshop.

The topic will be the Intelligent Forecaster. The Intelligent Forecaster is the primary pre-season planning tool within the IFSO application.

It is used by Inventory Planning, Merchandising and anyone that is interested in using historical selling to create new forecasts.

In the Workshop we will review the following information:

• How to Select History
• Blending History
• Adjustment Factors
• Connecting to the Item Factors Window

Please be sure to RSVP by sending an e-mail to David@Forerunnersystems.com

We will also be having a second May Workshop on May 28th to review the weekly process.

ShindigZ Inc. announced that they have selected IFSO – The inventory forecaster to replace their current inventory management solution.

“In December 2007, Escalate Retail announced that they were no longer supporting IFM the inventory forecasting solution provided by Ecometry.” Said Steve Vestal, Directory of Inventory Planning. “We selected IFSO from Forerunner Systems Inc. because of their great combination of functionality and value pricing.”

We are very excited to be working with Steve and the team at ShindigZ. We believe our service and features will continue to advance ShindigZ and help them improve their inventory management. Our Kit Module specifically will help track the inventory needs of items that are used in a variety of party packs.

Since 1926, ShindigZ has been America’s favorite for Prom and party supplies. From coast to coast, they’ve played a pivotal role in transforming millions of special events from ordinary to extraordinary. When they introduced the first “Memorie” book and the first decorations for Prom, who would have imagined what ShindigZ would ultimately become!