Corporate consulting in retail

Whether stationary retail, multi-channel, pure online retail or marketplace: retail companies are under massive competitive pressure. A strong and preferably personalised focus on the customer, differentiation from direct competitors and the special shopping experience are crucial to remain competitive.

In this context, efficient processes, clearly structured assortment planning, flexibility in category management and sourcing prices in line with the market are of particular importance in order to keep pace with the changing needs of customers. Find out how we, as experts with many years of experience in management consultancy in retail, can support you in this.

Optimisation in procurement & supply chain management increases profitability in retail

Our 20 years of retail consulting experience with over 70 international clients ranges from food and non-food for brands and private labels to needs in indirect procurement (“Goods not for Resale”).

Get an insight into a successful retail project:

Our extensive expertise in purchasing consultancy and supply chain management enables us to quickly identify potential in the supply chain and improve processes. Your results are significantly increased as a result – and that is how we measure ourselves.

As different as the products on offer and the role they play in consumers’ everyday lives are – many retail companies face similar challenges in procurement and supply chain management. This is something we observe again and again as experts in retail consulting.

Category Management: Convincing Assortment Design

Strategically built assortments are crucial in retail to differentiate from the competition and retain customers. With our proven optimisation approaches in category management, we support you in convincing customers and increasing the value of the average receipt with a holistic design of your range.

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Successfully Designing Brand Negotiations

The basis of successful brand negotiations is professional preparation. This includes in-depth supplier analysis and calculation of potentials as well as the selection of negotiation strategies and levers and the setting of a maximum and minimum target. We provide your procurement staff with a tried and tested toolset and support them with training so that they are optimally prepared for annual negotiations and can improve the results in the long term.

We use the textile and fashion trade as an example of how we proceed – but the strategy also applies to brand negotiations in the food trade or for consumer electronics.

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Private labels: ensuring profitability

Private labels are a challenging field for procurement. On the one hand, they have to be cheaper than branded products, but on the other hand, they have to meet quality expectations in order to convince customers. For the retailer, private labels must increase the company’s average selling margin. For these reasons, private label sourcing is an elementary part of today’s purchasing function.

In order to fulfil all requirements, we support your procurement

In the standardisation and specification
In the preparation and realisation of (online) auctions
In the qualification and further development of suppliers
In process optimisation

Knowledge transfer is possible both through targeted further training in procurement and through on-the-job training by working together with our experts.

Learn more with a customer example

Global Sourcing: Networked worldwide with the right partners

The right choice of suppliers and procurement channels can lead to a significant competitive advantage. However, inconsistent standards, political and legal differences as well as communication barriers can make it difficult to tap into global procurement markets, especially when sourcing activities in Asia are managed from Europe.

With our location in Shanghai, we support you in opening up Asian procurement markets, identifying suitable suppliers and establishing stable supply chains. The aim is to reduce your purchasing costs while maintaining product quality.

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The trend for sustainability in fashion is on the rise

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the textile industry and sales of ecologically and fairly produced fashion are on the rise. In addition, the planned Supply Chain Act obliges companies to comply with environmental and human rights standards in the future.

In order to prove the origin of textiles from environmentally and socially responsible production, there is a multitude of different textile labels. This presents buyers with the challenge of keeping track of certification marks, audited suppliers and processes. We support you in creating transparency about the textile seals and their meaning and in identifying suitable textile seals for your procurement. In doing so, we consider quality requirements and costs in addition to the fulfilment of sustainability aspects.

Goods not for Resale – Managing Indirect Demand Successfully

Indirect requirements – or “goods not for resale” such as shop design, marketing, IT or facility management – are often procured by the specialist departments without the involvement of professional purchasers. The result: without the buyer’s expertise, too much is bought at too high a price and often too much – especially if the departments work in a decentralised way. This reduces profitability.

You can get a general overview of the topic of indirect procurement on our expertise pages on the topic.

In over 20 years of experience, INVERTO has optimised the procurement of indirect requirements in numerous trading companies. In most projects, shopfitting plays a special role, because the shops are the customers’ immediate touchpoints; they convey brand character, image and value. We describe what is important in shopfitting here.

Furthermore, learn more about the procurement of other indirect needs:

Digitisation of retail – and procurement

For some years now, retail companies have been feeling massive pressure to change from the large online retailers. But while consumers naturally shop with their mobile phones, tablets or home computers, everything remained the same in professional procurement for a long time: procurement was done by phone, fax and lists.

The Corona pandemic is now forcing trading companies in all sectors to push the digital transformation in-house. Our digitalisation experts support you in this process. Find out how we can help you with the digital transformation of your procurement on our digitisation expertise pages.

Sustainability

Customers want it, politicians are passing laws for it, the long-neglected protection of climate, environment and human rights requires it: Sustainability is one of the pressing tasks of our time.

As experts in procurement and supply chains, we know that procurement plays a central role in the realisation of sustainability goals. You can find out here. what framework conditions companies need to create so that their procurement can fulfil this role.

The supply chain act: solutions for the fashion industry

From 2023, the new Supply Chain Act will apply, with which policymakers want to prevent violations of human rights and anchor the duty to protect the environment beyond national borders. Companies must implement comprehensive compliance measures and processes and create transparency across their entire global supply chain.

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