Sephora rejuvenates forecasting and replenishment
Specialty beauty retailer Sephora is getting a better look at the merchandise its stores will need.
Sephora has deployed TXT Retail TXTPlanning software to forecast and replenish its stores on a global scale. The solution, rolled out as part of a larger supply chain transformation project named "Galaxy," has been rolled out to 330 stores in France, followed by Poland, China and the U.S., to become the corporate standard for every new store opening.
With more than 2,100 stores in 32 countries, including more than 360 stores in North America and a growing offering of more than 65,000 products, Sephora runs flagship stores, concessions in department stores and Internet stores. According to Sephora, the use of TXTPlanning for forecasting and replenishment across these different customer touchpoints is generating significant gains.
These include increased stock rotation, which means the retailer can carry less stock in each store and reduce stock-outs and product obsolescence rates. The solution supports four key objectives initially set out by Sephora: basing sales forecasts on sell-through rates of stores and being able to drill down through data by week, item and store level; managing all products with TXTPlanning, including slow-movers; shifting demand from stores to its distribution centers and suppliers for greater forecast accuracy; and forecasting demand while taking into account special events and promotional activity, as well as the seasonality of products.
Sephora also leverages the capacity planning functionality of TXTPlanning in order to optimize replenishment at store and warehouse levels during peak periods. Forecasting, which now has a four-month horizon, drives replenishments upstream and generates orders to suppliers.
In addition, Sephora said the ability to anticipate needs and start planning for Christmas early in September has translated into greater agility and resulted in a number of efficiencies, such as stores having fewer overstocks.