Ahhhh, feel that? It’s the crisp autumn air, scented with a hint of pumpkin spice and fallen leaves. It feels fresh and clear and cool, like a renewal. It feels like… selling season is coming soon and coming fast.

We all know that this part of the year feels like it’s being fast-forwarded, but it’s not! We still have time, but we need it make it count. So take a deep breath (oooooo, pumpkin spice) and ask yourself these questions:

1. Have I saved my key reports and scheduled them to be sent to me at the appropriate cadence? Examples would be:

    • Styles by door (replenishment)
    • Retailer Weekly/Monthly/Yearly trending (benchmarking)
    • Category by price point (merchandising)

2. Have I established a replenishment plan, schedule and budget with my retailers?

3. Do I have enough stock in my best-sellers to handle projected replenishment based on current sales trend?

4. Is my item catalog updated? Is all my current and coming newness added?

5. Do I need to add any additional attributes, program designations or marketing flags to my item catalog?

6. Is my item mapping within a proper margin? We like to ensure that vendors never have an unmapped percentage over 20%.

If the answer to any of these questions is NO, then now is the time to act! Engage the product leads for the catalog and mapping, start saving and scheduling your favorite reports, and have conversations with your retailer on what they consider to be fast-sellers, what their preferred reorder cadence is, and what their maximum inventory level for your brand might be. Getting these ducks in a row before the madness – we mean, busy period begins will make for a much smoother and more profitable experience for you and your retailer. And if you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to let us know! We can walk through each and every project to determine the status and outline a plan forward – that’s what we are here for!

And if your answer to all of these questions is YES, well, good for you. Seriously – we aren’t being sarcastic, we’re really proud of you. Go get yourself a pumpkin spice treat to celebrate.