Market volume of 26.7 trillion U.S. dollars by 2022
Changing consumer interests call for innovation
Market subject to strong seasonality like back to school time
The Retail Industry
The retail industry is faced with the challenges of maintaining market share and profits while attempting new concepts and store formats in an effort to differentiate itself from other types of retailers. To better compete in a high pressured environment, retailers are increasingly tailoring their product offerings to meet changing consumer interests through constant innovation. As margins are slim, effective retail product management is essential to compete and grow in the sector. For many retailers, cash flow is uneven because of seasonal demand and promotions. Due to increased demand during the winter holidays, many retailers, including toy, jewelry, and consumer electronics stores, generate a disproportionate share of revenue during the fourth quarter. Back-to-school, spring, and fall fashion introductions drive sales peaks for apparel retailers. Even general merchandise stores must improve retail products management to prepare for key selling periods.
Features of our Retail PLM Software
Optimize your product portfolio
Master your product portfolio with centralized information and documents in a unique and up-to-date repository. Products are organized by category used later for category management. Lascom from Aptean’s product management solution offers a single repository performing as a “single version of the truth” providing updated data to all participants; for most organizations, the product information repository stores a great deal of data, document, and any other type of information both from internal teams and external participants. With our solution:
- Create, edit and store all documents related to your products: datasheets, specifications, certifications, and more
- Have a clear product representation with images and brief information
- Keep the ability to go into detail if needed (nutritional information, structured list of ingredients, delivery units, etc.)
- Identify quickly products reaching end of commercialization or new products reaching the shelves.
- Ensure that product documentation is up to date thanks to alerts to complete with suppliers
- Manage products commercialized in multiple countries in a unique multilingual solution
- Facilitate teamwork with tasks management and workflows
Supplier Relationship Management and RFQ
Lascom from Aptean’s product management solution offers an RFP module to facilitate bidding processes; optimizing the RFP process and collaboration with suppliers. Benefit from a portal with dedicated access to securely input information about proposals, quotations, or product specifications. Tight seal front office to avoid information leaks from a supplier to another is key.
- Drive innovation effectively with a specification repository
- Ensure the continuity of information from the call for tenders to the quality data requested later
- Facilitate collaboration with your partners thanks to a dedicated and secured portal. Each supplier area is password safeguarded and individual data are protected
- Authorize the entry of information into the product repository directly from suppliers. No more spreadsheet nor volatile email
- Suppliers can alert, update documents, or use an existing product to offer a similar product thanks to an outside referencing cycle access to its product
- Set up access rights to define authorized actions for suppliers
- True right of reply to the briefs submitted to suppliers, the system offers the various proposals in order to choose the most relevant.
- Use the information entered for long-term reporting: evaluation, suppliers, financial dependence …
- Manage suppliers’ quality audits and certifications directly on the platform
Benefits for Retail Product Management
Productivity gains: Unique and up-to-date information, no information retrieval, automatic generation of specification sheets, internal and external exchange cycle reduced by 70%, tender management best dealt with
Quality gains: Responsibility for the veracity of the data carried by the supplier, improved traceability of data and exchanges, improved risk management and customer complaints, regulatory compliance
Strategic gains: Improved visibility into company performance, improved decision-making, increased ROI of products, prioritization of projects with high added value, building a strategic vision for the company
Aptean Food and Beverage PLM, Lascom Edition in video!
Discover our PLM solution for the Food and Beverage industry!
Feedback
“The PLM empowers product-centric collaboration by bringing together internal services, suppliers and consumers.”
“With Lascom from Aptean PLM, we were able to make our data more reliable and to work with traceable validation processes.”
“We found in Lascom from Aptean solution a holistic program able to interact with both manufacturing and technical specifications.”
Your retailer challenges, our PLM features
Project and Product Portfolio Management
Properly understand and track your activities using structure and secure information
New product development
Foster innovation and reduce time to market with an effective NPD process management
Packaging
management
Master the graphic and printing process of your packaging as well as its compliance
Supplier relationship management
Structure processes and workflows and improve the collaboration with your suppliers
RFQ & RFP
management
Optimize RFQ and RFP management from initial request to the selection of suppliers
Customer complaint management
Gather, analyze and rectify any customer problems hence improving satisfaction
White Paper
4 best practices to speed up your product development
