The age of digital transformation is yet again urging retailers to take advantage of the shift. With the window for inventive strategies wide open, retailers now have more opportunities to better improve on category management plans that are key to consumer impact.
In line with strategizing for new retail trends, the need to maintain brand differentiation, along with satisfying customer demands, still remain. In response to the digital shift and emerging market demands, JDA Software Group, Inc. ushers in new capabilities within its Category Management. The new and improved capabilities is said to allow retailers to thrive in new market trends, as well as improve on assortment collaboration between store and category managers, and manufacturers.
“In today’s customer-centric retail environment, getting merchandise assortments right the first time is crucial to shopper satisfaction as well as profitability. Given this, we have enhanced several components within JDA Category Management to move JDA further towards the goal of providing an ‘always on’ category management platform that runs at the speed of retail,” said Todd McCourtie, senior director, solutions strategy, JDA. “We have simplified many aspects of the assortment and space optimization processes to empower category managers to not only create customer-centric planograms, but also to unite retailers and manufacturers together in planning process for a more granular localized assortments every time.”
The new global trend in today’s economy sees customers that demands a more intimate and personalized shopping experience that’s both relevant and seamless. In response to the adaptive need, the JDA Category Management now features a more dynamic and agile proactive planning process that’s apt for changing market dynamics. The key enhancements are the following:
- JDA open access now features improved assortment collaboration. A web based interface to review scorecard measures enable more fluid communication between retailers and stakeholders or trading partners. Additionally, the feedback and reviews of proposed assortment plans of stores can be reviewed to optimize local preferences.
- The JDA Category Management now consists of a redesigned look better suited for a modern experience with an ease of convenience. Likewise, the Open Access Mobile application was also visually enhanced for optimized usability.
- For more successful and profitable merchandise plans, space planners can now analyze outcomes of merchandising rules of localized space plans before actually running them. The what-if scenario planning allows perceived errors to be avoided.