Marks and Spencer Group Plc (M&S) has chosen Quantum Retail's software solution, Q, to manage the end-to-end inventory forecasting, replenishment and order planning needs for its food division.
M&S began running Q for the first area of merchandise in less than six months. The rollout is planned to commence in 2010, according to a press release.
Q meets inventory-management challenges by considering constraints such as availability, shelf life and wastage. The system is able to forecast and make inventory decisions in real-time, while considering both inter-day and intra-day stocking. Importantly, Q forecasts demand at an individual item/SKU level for every store, rather than using averages across a range of similar stores. Buying decisions are made based on current stock levels, as well as considerations, such as daily selling patterns, product life-cycle, seasonality, projected waste, target service levels and inventory availability.
