Ecommerce businesses have a lot on their hands today. They’ve got to be on top of the game at all times. They need to evolve with change and be able to provide the best customer experiences to consumers who are well informed and who have a plethora of options to choose from. Sounds like quite a challenge right?
While a lot has been said about what entails an ideal customer experience, much of it revolves around customer engagement or service. Sometimes it is easy to overlook the role of merchandise management, in spite of it being a core part of the shoppers’ experience. Let’s face it, no matter how good your product or service is, what really matters at the end of the day is making them available for the customers. If the customer is not able to walk away with the product he or she is looking for, then you have lost the customer to your competitor.
Open to buy or OTB is an inventory management tool quite essential to your e-commerce business. It refers to the merchandise quantity your store can purchase within a certain time frame. In other words, OTB helps in understanding how much inventory is needed initially and then on a month-on-month basis to meet demand while ensuring healthy cash flows. It is a financial budget designed particularly to cater to the needs of retailers to help them manage their inventory better.
