TCS Optumera™ Omnichannel Assortment Optimization

ABSTRACT

Stocking the right product mix and brands across channels sounds simple but the proliferation of stock keeping units (SKUs), growth of private labels, fluid customer preferences, varying store formats and sizes, and supply chain pressures make it increasingly challenging for merchants and category managers. The effects of sub-optimal assortments run deep: it can drive away customers, waste shelf space, step up supply chain costs, cause margin erosion, limit sales growth, and dent customer perception.

Because consistent growth and enhanced brand perception are anchored by customer-centric assortments, the stakes are high to get the category planning processes right to keep pace with change and outpace competition. Take the guesswork out of assortment optimization with data-driven decisions and build agility to grab opportunities. 

OVERVIEW

TCS Optumera Omnichannel Assortment Optimization helps merchants and category managers curate perfect assortments across channels that harmonize choice and availability while working within supply chain and store space constraints. It helps address overarching strategic questions of category managers such as:

• How can I fuel category growth with available or lesser space?
• Which categories should I invest in?
• How do I evaluate the performance of a new product?
• What happens if I remove an SKU; will demand transfer to a similar item?
• If customers don’t find what they want on the shelf, do I have substitute products so that I don’t miss a sale?

OUR SOLUTION

TCS Optumera Omnichannel Assortment Optimization takes a multi-dimensional approach to assortment optimization by considering 1,000+ sales-influencing factors to recommend efficient and localized assortments across store clusters, driving up AOV. By turning data into a competitive resource powered by AI, TCS Optumera Omnichannel Assortment Optimization helps category managers make profitable assortment decisions with a complete understanding of what drives customer’s buying decisions and the impact of assortment decisions across the value chain.

• Enables simple one-click, goal-based assortment optimization
• Synthesizes the power of AI and the resourcefulness of category managers to curate assortments
• Provides granular and localized assortment recommendations aligned to seasons and business dynamics
• Provides transparent assortment and substitute recommendations with insights into tradeoffs
• Allows category managers to simulate business scenarios with what-if analysis
• Enables competitor assortment mapping and gap analysis to discover new opportunities
• Integrates seamlessly with space, pricing, and supply chain solutions
• Serves many use cases such as curating profitable assortments, rationalizing SKUs, and predicting best sellers 
• Provides rich visualizations, configurable dashboards, and notifications to track and manage performance
• Offers simple workflows for effective collaboration across teams

By considering 1,000+ sales influencing factors, TCS Optumera recommends efficient and localized assortments across store clusters, driving up AOV.

BENEFITS

• 3-5% increase in revenue
• 5-7% increase in margin
• 15-20% improved shelf space productivity
• 10-15% gain in category space with SKU rationalization
• 9% increase in AOV
• 30% improvement in productivity
• Drive 5X assortment strategies
• Higher inventory turnover and reduced wastage and markdowns