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Retail Buying

Notes Is it scalable?

Can the new retail system actually grow with the business or will you be looking for another
system again in a couple of years? Are you planning to expand into other countries? Can the
system be supported in other languages and currencies? Can it support tax rules in other countries?
Can it support another retail brand, or will you need to buy another system?

!

Caution Businesses must not assume that the system they originally adopted when the
company started up will be able to handle their needs as the company expands. As the
organisation grows, the system must be able to grow with it.
Can it be implemented quickly and is it fully supported?
Time is money. The retail industry moves fast and retailers shouldn’t have to wait years for a
new IT system to be implemented. So, look for a system that can be implemented in a few
months rather than years.

Did u know? As with any new IT system purchase, make sure that the technology is proven
and reliable. Has the vendor got a number of happy retail customers that you can talk to?
Again, you may think that the well known software brands are a ‘safe choice’ but this can
be deceptive. Large software vendors are often inflexible and will tend to neglect smaller
companies.
It is, therefore, important that you choose your retail systems wisely. If a mistake is made, it will
hinder the potential growth and success of the business for years. Running a retail business
without a good retail management software can impede not only on profits but also on customer
service levels, stock management and sales conversions.

10.1.2 How to Prepare Your Purchasing Negotiation in 3 Basic Steps?

The way to make the preparation process easy, intuitive and less monotonous is to split it in 3
clear defined steps. After you do that a few times and you include this in your negotiation
routine, it will take (in the often case of a supplier you already work with) an unimportant
amount of your time, sometimes up to 20 minutes.
However, as a general rule, take enough time to plan. This may be the most productive part of
your negotiation actually. There is no pressure. If you are not negotiating alone, but in a team,
prepare/delegate/split the preparation work with your team. If there is a new supplier, then the
amount of work involved is obviously bigger. In case of your usual partners, you already know
the information, just put it in writing. Don’t hurry, think in deep. This gives you the warranty
that you leave at the hand of probability only very few variables.

When you have a new vendor in sight, the number of variables being much higher, documentation
work takes a bit more time (also, the strategy and tactics adopted for the first meeting are
specific).
Knowing your supplier is one of the best tools, weapons, instruments – no matter how you want
to call it – to control the situation and always have the benefit in discussions, negotiations, day
to day purchasing activity.
“Knowing” the supplier takes a lot of time and work at the beginning. It takes time to dig into
the information, to learn all you can about their production capabilities, their partners (basically
your competition), their competition; their reputation in the market and the reputation of their

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