Purchasing
The feature that will offer you the most competitive edge over your competition is Merchant Technologies' Purchasing module.
Comprised of our Open to Buy, Merchandising Reports, Price Management, Purchasing and Allocation System, Prism is designed to ensure that orders are placed and allocated in the fastest manner possible with the maximum level of effectiveness-saving you substantial time and money.
Prism provides you with multiple models for simplified purchasing and allocation of your inventory. Our Open to Buy offers 4 years of historical review in to assist with the effective appropriation of your buying dollars. The Price Management reports allow you to easily manage your promotions, markdowns and clearance items utilizing our proprietary algorithms and event tracking features. And, our Merchandising Reports pinpoint in an infinite number of ways what is selling, what is not selling and their contributions to your bottom line.
Purchasing Features
Purchase Orders can be created for a variety of retail environments.
- Manually create a purchase order of a single location or multiple location
- The system will create a purchase order based upon seasonal min/max criteria.
- The system will create a purchase order based upon preset purchasing models.
Prism affords you the flexibility to establish an infinite number of locations and regions in order to effectively purchase, manage, measure and allocate you inventory.
Based upon a ratio, you may define your stores by an allocation mix. For example, your small stores could be identified as "A" level, your mid-size stores types "B" level, your flagship stores would be "C" level.
Therefore, you may decide on a mix in which an "A" Store gets 1 unit, a "B" Store would get 1.5, and a "C" Store would get 3. Vendor, department and/or class may define this allocation mix. The bottom line is this, it will take as much time to purchase and allocate for one store as it would for 100 stores.
Prism will allow you the option to automatically restock your stores based upon sales history. Since all data is transmitted on a real-time basis, you may initiate the replenishment functions on the same day as your sales occurred.
This powerful budgeting tool provides 4 years of comparative data, which can be calculated in retail dollars, cost dollars and unit sales by any or all locations, departments and classes. Plan calculations and adjustments may be made as a percentage up or down against last year's actual figures and last year's plan figures and may be continuously revised.
Report on your vendors' performance as it impacts your bottom line and manage your vendors' fulfillment on purchase orders. Prism alerts you to purchase orders that are late and partially filled so that you may contact your vendors to address these issues.
For our apparel/fashion customers, Prism provides a 3 dimensional view of a style with to accommodate colors and sizes. By style, the user may determine the view (ex. color/size, color/length/width, etc.). An infinite number of views may be defined by the user and linkage of similar colors can be assembled for easier reporting analysis (ex. maroon = burgundy, deep red, wine).
Promotions and promotional events are tracked and reported on in detail in the Prism System. Promotions may be pre-set as far in advance as the user wishes.
Our own proprietary algorithm, which takes into consideration among other variables the item's sell through rate, items are identified as markdown candidates, markdown again candidates and clearance candidates.
Sales Journals, Usage Reports, Stock to Sales Reports, Performance Summaries and Gross Margin Return on Investment are a small sampling of our extensive reporting capabilities. Prism maintains 99-months worth of history, which can be viewed at any time, for any date range or comparatives periods.
Prism provides warehouse personnel with the tools necessary to distribute, transfer goods to replenish your stores. It also provides your warehouse staff with the ability to fill special orders when the merchandise arrives. Also, for mail order and e-commerce fulfillment, the system provides for the generation of pick tickets, packing slips, invoices and interfaces to Federal Express and UPS.
Balancing inventory and expediently and efficiently distribute and transfer merchandise are the hallmarks of this feature. Track status of items in-transfer, received at store levels with a comprehensive audit trail for researching problem areas. Handheld technology may be employed to expedite these processes.
Purchasing Features
Purchasing Reports
Merchandising Reports
