Supply chain management (SCM) in retail refers to managing the flow of goods, products, and services from suppliers to customers. The prominent activities of SCM have been severely impacted by the pandemic, accelerating the emergence of online commerce and bringing in the wave of technological transformation. Despite the challenges in meeting increased consumer demands, it extends back to managing large volumes of products and the prompt-moving nature of goods.
On the cusp of such circumstances, along with the convergence of the retail industry, Robotic process automation (RPA) has been beckoning into the world of retail. Read on to learn how harnessing the power of this game-changer will impact supply chain agility.
RPA, or Robotic Process Automation, is quickly becoming recognized as an impeccable tool for assisting merchants in retail inventory management by inducing the full potential of automation for their business. In the inception stage, robotic process automation was built to complete the mundane administrative work using predefined rule sets and sophisticated data macros.
Nonetheless, it is evolving to perform more advanced functions, including analyzing unstructured data sets using NLP (Natural Language Processing) and content analytics. Recognizing the benefits of technology in supply chain management, businesses have to acknowledge its automation at a large scale to improve cycle time, agility, and customer-employee satisfaction.
Inventory management in retail is a multifaceted process, where retailers have to face the challenge of integrating data from diverse sources. A recent survey has reported that 67% of global employers in the retail industry have been burdened by performing repetitive tasks, which prioritizes the need for automation. Instilling RPA will mimic human actions at the user interface level, ensuring accurate and timely inventory records.
According to experts, more than 72% of retail companies will be projected to implement robotic process automation tools in the supply chain. It allows inventory management to make real-time offers, monitor product availability, and proactively adjust the supply chain. It will prevent stockouts or excess supply while maintaining the optimal stock levels.
For instance, Walmart, a prominent brand name in the market, has been using RPA to track the inventory flow and manage stocks, highlighting the profound applications in retail’s supply chain. The ability to alert staff promptly if there are any potential inventory discrepancies, ensuring timely interventions.
RPA plays a vital role in maintaining a smooth and seamless supply chain in the retail industry. Let us explore the top impactful use cases that signify the role of RPA in supply chain agility.
● Sales Analytics
RPA helps retail owners analyze every possible factor that might affect the product's sale, calculate the number of sales in various geographical locations, consumer’s cultural preferences, gender or age preference, and more. With the earned real-time insights, you can make better business decisions that will help you achieve supply chain agility.
● ERP management
ERP (Enterprise management) plays a vital role in keeping track of billing and price modifications of the products, which are required to produce reports on payable and receivable accounts. Implementing RPA solutions in your business infrastructure can automate the back-office manual tasks, which minimizes human-prone errors and streamlines your inventory management.
● Demand forecasting
Predictive analytics creates the stage for accurate demand predictions. However, instilling RPA software in your supply chain manager will ensure an efficient operational response to such predictions. The strength of RPA in supply is to swiftly and accurately analyze the vast collection of datasets. By processing historical data, market trends, and other pertinent factors, RPA tools can generate precise demand projects, allowing you to maintain optimal inventory levels and minimize the risk of wastage of unsold products.
● Customer support management
The business should have round-the-clock customer support and AI-based bots to achieve supply chain agility in retail. They will serve as the critical ingredients of competitive retail, enabling them to grow and retain ideal stocks and satisfied customers. From assisting consumers in recommending relevant products to make timely deliveries, RPA software and bots will help you achieve superior, hassle-free customer support management.
● Quality Assurance
RPA is reshaping the impact of quality assurance in the supply chain management of retail businesses. The technology automates the repetitive quality check with consistency, reducing any chances for recurring errors affecting the quality of stocks. Besides the quality, RPA automates compliance reporting to ensure the products meet certain criteria to protect your brand reputation.
Let us explore the potential benefits of RPA in revolutionizing the retail industry:
● Streamlined supply chain management – Logistics are an important aspect of the supply chain that can be improved by robotic process automation. It will lower costs, improve delivery procedures, enable faster delivery, and increase customer satisfaction by automating the tasks in supply chain management.
● Improved agility – Automation equips the retail industry with the supply chain agility to adapt to the evolving market demands and dynamics. The ability of the RPA tools will allow you to promptly respond to the latest trends, keeping yourself ahead of the competitive industry.
● Augmenting the stock planning – Retailers tend to optimize the layout of their shops with the help of RPA technology by gaining insights into customer behavior and expectations. It will help them create a seamless shopping experience by making smart decisions on design, product placement, and more.
Retailers are rapidly adapting to robotic process automation strategies to combat the challenges in the retail sector due to evolving customer behavior and increasing demand for prompt services. As a proactive automation tool, RPA drives efficiency and improves customer experience in the retail industry by supporting them in making strategic objectives and value-added decisions.
At Mindfire Solutions, we provide the best-in-class RPA solutions that can automate your supply chain seamlessly. From conceptualization to deployment, we deliver cutting-edge RPA services that will exceed your expectations while opening up new opportunities making your retail business more effective and productive. Contact our experts today and prepare your retail business with intelligence RPA solutions!