CASE STUDY desired . “ It was quite difficult to examine long-term sales trends because the data would only go back so far ,” he said . “ The reporting limitations also made it challenging to pinpoint out-of-stocks , overstocks or vendor cost discrepancies .”
Vintners was also struggling with the lack of a centralized pricebook . “ All the retails and costs were controlled at the site , not the home office . As one would expect , this created issues with accuracy and consistency ,” Goyal states .
When it comes to item-level inventory , few things are more important than a reliable handheld solution . “ We needed something that would simplify the receiving and auditing processes while making them more efficient and accurate ,” said Goyal .
PDI solution
One of the primary obstacles to the success of Vintners ’ item-level inventory program was its pricebook . PDI Pricebook , a key component of the PDI Enterprise retail solution , was just what the company was looking for . Its centralized electronic control of site-level pricing and vendor costs allowed the retailer to ensure consistency at every site .
“ PDI Pricebook is a huge part of our day-to-day operation ,” said Goyal . “ Aside from improving our process for updating retail prices and providing exception management for vendor costs , PDI designed the pricebook to integrate with practically any kind of POS device . With that type of data integrity , our WAC calculations are much easier and more reliable .”
Next , Vintners implemented PDI Store Assistant , a mobile handheld solution that improves store-level merchandising productivity and accuracy . “ The handheld is great , especially for retailers trying to maximize the benefits of item-level inventory ,” said Goyal . “ It easily handles merchandise receiving , transfers , suggested ordering , product verification , and , of course , audits .”
To help maintain that delicate balance between over and under-stocking , Vintners relies on PDI Inventory . “ The system seamlessly integrates with PDI Store Assistant , creating powerful inventory management that not only keeps the right products on our shelves , but also aids in identifying shrink ,” Goyal said .
Lastly , the business intelligence tool , PDI FocalPoint , bolstered the retailer ’ s reporting capabilities . “ With PDI , the reporting doesn ’ t have limitations ,” Goyal said . “ For example , we can take sales from 2010 and compare them to 2014 down to the sell unit . This kind of detailed reporting is really unique to PDI and has been a huge asset to our organization .”
Customer results
The ability to effectively implement and manage itemlevel inventory at its stores improved efficiency across the company .
58 INTELLIGENTCIO NORTH AMERICA www . intelligentcio . com