Integration

ToyAddict · 08-30-2011, 07:31 PM

It may not be so much a problem with manufacturer distribution as it is with the retailers procedures.

1) Retailers buy a bunch at the start of the line and/or at the start of their seasonal setup. They get a bulk discount this way (I mean, did you see how much TF

OTM stuff was at Walmart when it first came out? They bought a billion tons of the stuff; and by doing so they could offer the Deluxe figures at $9.88 instead of the $11.88 they are asking for the Generations stuff)
2) They "skim sales off the top" by trying to have their stuff first-to-market and in abundance.
3) The Point-Of-Sale (POS) system tracks where the stuff is being sold. It sends more product to that store to at least cover what was sold (maybe more. . .if it thinks it is selling well at a particular location, why not send it even more?).
4) The store gets whatever is in the distribution center. Say, if they quickly sold a bunch from wave 1, the distribution center probably still has wave 1 it wants to get rid of (they will rotate their inventory, first-in-first-out). That's kinda how the stores that actually have shoppers that want to buy stuff get clogged with the waves they've already purchased.
5) The stores treat it all as one product, not individual waves or case assortments or figures, as was said. So once they're clogged with product that is not moving, it is stuck there until the line is dropped entirely. (I've still got a Walmart that is LOADED with GI Joe: Rise of Cobra movie figures--at full price!)
6) And in the end, they work and work and work to automate it as fully as possible so they can hire someone at the lowest cost possible to "run" things. Stocking a shelf is pretty simple. Scanning a barcode to SEE if something is in stock is pretty simple. Letting that person have RESPONSIBILITY in doing ordering takes some training and some trust. Somewhere along the way that's going to translate to higher pay. That's why Walmart has evolved to the point that they don't have a TOY department manager anymore; that person is over toys AND I think electronics now. Because they don't have ordering responsibilities; they just are to make sure the stuff is on the shelf correctly and neatly; someone at the main office chooses what and how much the store will carry, and the computer maintains it. So if you actually found a stock person who cares about the inventory (which is unusual), they really might not be able to do anything about it. They can't clearance the slow-selling junk until the store manager or someone even higher says so, and the computer system might not let them.

Online toy stores don't seem to have to much of a problem of getting their inventory in, for all the waves. But that's because they care, can clearance individual items when they choose, and don't have as much motive to buy in bulk.

08-30-2011, 07:31 PM	#18
ToyAddict Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Pensacola, FL Posts: 532	It may not be so much a problem with manufacturer distribution as it is with the retailers procedures. 1) Retailers buy a bunch at the start of the line and/or at the start of their seasonal setup. They get a bulk discount this way (I mean, did you see how much TFOTM stuff was at Walmart when it first came out? They bought a billion tons of the stuff; and by doing so they could offer the Deluxe figures at $9.88 instead of the $11.88 they are asking for the Generations stuff) 2) They "skim sales off the top" by trying to have their stuff first-to-market and in abundance. 3) The Point-Of-Sale (POS) system tracks where the stuff is being sold. It sends more product to that store to at least cover what was sold (maybe more. . .if it thinks it is selling well at a particular location, why not send it even more?). 4) The store gets whatever is in the distribution center. Say, if they quickly sold a bunch from wave 1, the distribution center probably still has wave 1 it wants to get rid of (they will rotate their inventory, first-in-first-out). That's kinda how the stores that actually have shoppers that want to buy stuff get clogged with the waves they've already purchased. 5) The stores treat it all as one product, not individual waves or case assortments or figures, as was said. So once they're clogged with product that is not moving, it is stuck there until the line is dropped entirely. (I've still got a Walmart that is LOADED with GI Joe: Rise of Cobra movie figures--at full price!) 6) And in the end, they work and work and work to automate it as fully as possible so they can hire someone at the lowest cost possible to "run" things. Stocking a shelf is pretty simple. Scanning a barcode to SEE if something is in stock is pretty simple. Letting that person have RESPONSIBILITY in doing ordering takes some training and some trust. Somewhere along the way that's going to translate to higher pay. That's why Walmart has evolved to the point that they don't have a TOY department manager anymore; that person is over toys AND I think electronics now. Because they don't have ordering responsibilities; they just are to make sure the stuff is on the shelf correctly and neatly; someone at the main office chooses what and how much the store will carry, and the computer maintains it. So if you actually found a stock person who cares about the inventory (which is unusual), they really might not be able to do anything about it. They can't clearance the slow-selling junk until the store manager or someone even higher says so, and the computer system might not let them. Online toy stores don't seem to have to much of a problem of getting their inventory in, for all the waves. But that's because they care, can clearance individual items when they choose, and don't have as much motive to buy in bulk.