{"id":1675127,"date":"2020-08-26T12:22:40","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T19:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/?p=1675127"},"modified":"2025-08-15T10:12:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T17:12:38","slug":"operational-growing-pains-during-covid-19-inefficiency-stemming-from-poor-data-visibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/2020\/08\/26\/operational-growing-pains-during-covid-19-inefficiency-stemming-from-poor-data-visibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Operational growing pains: Inefficiency stemming from poor data visibility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The larger a retailer becomes, the longer it takes to get simple tasks accomplished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it is an associate\u2019s inability to quickly respond to a customer’s product feature query, or the HR department’s delay in answering an employee’s benefits question, such examples are indicative of a systemic problem in providing relevant information when needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, when a global pandemic strikes, the inefficiencies resulting from operational growing pains are made all the more evident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\nA systemic information problem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Inefficiencies tend to be rooted around lack of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A customer service agent doesn’t have visibility into the supply chain, for example, and can’t answer a customer’s question about order status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the consequences of those inefficiencies are generally not confined to the backroom \u2013 one inventory problem can very quickly escalate to a customer service issue when a product shows up on the computer as in-stock, yet isn’t available on the sales floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attempting to solve customer problems can be a frustrating process for both the employee and the customer, which may eventually lead to loss of trust and decreased retention for the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That threat can’t be taken lightly; according to Salesforce, 76% of customers report that it\u2019s easier than ever to take their business elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\nGaining comprehensive visibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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A comprehensive suite of reporting and analysis capabilities is necessary to make sense of all the data a retail business collects through its various sales channels, including in-store as well as online and social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customizable business intelligence dashboards and reporting tools like Retail Pro Decisions<\/a> and Retail Pro Reporting<\/a> deliver visibility of operational performance and exception alerts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are available on a wide range of desktop and mobile devices and provide not only decision-making data daily, but also a historical and trend view that offers strategic insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\nSelective archive search<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Slow, inefficient archive operations force employees to struggle with storage and retrieval of in-formation that business analytics provides, stealing time from performing their core responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gathering too much information can be a major barrier to accessing the right information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some inefficiencies can be solved with archival systems that enable the easy application of multiple retention rules according to the document category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, those HR records that require longer archiving periods than others would automatically be filed appropriately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, permissions are automatically allocated to those who require them according to skillset and authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All archived materials should be easy to access as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\nVisibility into what?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Retailers are faced with gathering the answers to inventory questions, beyond what products are best-sellers and who is the target customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such analytical questions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n