The CHPTA & COPA “Making Waves” Online Learning Event continued on January 18, with a presentation by retail industry expert Liza Amlani who provided her thoughts on supply chain and the changing role of sourcing partners, as well as use of technology to get a deeper understanding of consumers and improve speed to market and product delivery results.
The presentation started off with some comments on physical retail which remains, and will remain, a factor according to Liza, however, retailers need to continue to evolve to best service their customers. Many retailers, including Amazon, continue to invest in bricks & mortar stores.
The talk then focused on the use of digital tools and customer data in order to better understand your consumers, while simplifying and speeding up product supply and delivery. Improved efficiencies and profit can be gained by better inventory management. Digital technology is creating more opportunities to engage and gain insights about your consumers for better planning and product development.
The last part of the discussion addressed supply chain and trying to reduce risks. This involved looking into expanding product sourcing partners and diversification. Again, through digital technology, a better understanding of your consumers can allow you to plan closer to the season, improve product assortments, and avoid excess inventory situations. Aligning your company and products with your consumer ideals is vital and could impact where you source product as well. Delivering product in a sustainable way and reducing your carbon footprint will be increasingly important.
We would like to thank Liza for her excellent presentation and insights and for taking the time to speak to our members. You can find Liza on all social platforms under the @theMerchantLife and follow her on LinkedIn or RetailWire for her POV on all things retail from a retail insider.
About the Speaker
Liza Amlani is a retail industry expert with over 2 decades of experience in merchandising, product creation, and go to market strategy across physical, digital and omni-channel.
In her career, Liza has worked with familiar brands including Holt Renfrew, Ralph Lauren Europe and Canada, Club Monaco, Nike, Walmart, and several others. Her experience encompasses brick and mortar, e-commerce and omni-channel in the areas of product creation, merchandising, go to market strategies and the supply chain.
In shifting to consulting, she played an integral role in Accenture’s Retail Strategy group, where she was responsible for consulting with fashion brands and retailers, supporting several major business transformations across product creation, merchandising, speed to market and materials management.
Liza is currently the Principal at Retail Strategy Group – a consulting practice which helps companies in the retail space dramatically improve profitability. She is a respected voice on topics such as responsible retail and sustainability, retail diversity and inclusion, the future of retail and the urgency of technology enablement in merchandising, assortment optimization and demand planning.
