Omega Sports’ business thrives through inventory ‘nervous system’
A renewed focused on inventory control enables Omega Sports to uphold its signature customer service, improve email communications, and compete with larger retailers.
The 14-store retailer is committed to helping customers find — and get fitted with — the right gear, from running shoes to baseball bats. However, a legacy retail management system (RMS) didn’t help store managers understand which items were selling well, which should be discounted for sale, and or what should no longer be stocked.
By transitioning to the Celerant retail management system in September 2016, the retailer gained an integrated point-of-sale (POS) and purchase order system, as well as the ability to monitor inventory and maintain and retrieve data.
“The Celerant retail system is basically Omega Sports’ central nervous system,” said Craig Carlock, CEO of Omega Sports. “We don’t do anything without a set of data — we don’t change a price, we don’t issue a purchase order, we don’t take a refund, we don’t bring in a new item, we don’t set up a new vendor without working with Celerant.”
Sales are now tracked at the store level down to the hour, which enables Carlock to optimize store hours and increase sales. The system also maintains a database of 140,000 customers. Armed with technology that enables the company to better understand purchasing patterns, the company has also started sending email promotions to different consumers on different days of the week. The initiative has yielded “substantial sales,” he said.
“Understanding which items are selling, reducing our exposure to items that aren’t selling, optimizing our hours, and knowing which emails generate sales help us effectively compete against those larger-box retailers,” says Carlock.
Looking ahead, the system is expected to increase business by upwards of 10% in the next few years, he said.
The 14-store retailer is committed to helping customers find — and get fitted with — the right gear, from running shoes to baseball bats. However, a legacy retail management system (RMS) didn’t help store managers understand which items were selling well, which should be discounted for sale, and or what should no longer be stocked.
By transitioning to the Celerant retail management system in September 2016, the retailer gained an integrated point-of-sale (POS) and purchase order system, as well as the ability to monitor inventory and maintain and retrieve data.
“The Celerant retail system is basically Omega Sports’ central nervous system,” said Craig Carlock, CEO of Omega Sports. “We don’t do anything without a set of data — we don’t change a price, we don’t issue a purchase order, we don’t take a refund, we don’t bring in a new item, we don’t set up a new vendor without working with Celerant.”
Sales are now tracked at the store level down to the hour, which enables Carlock to optimize store hours and increase sales. The system also maintains a database of 140,000 customers. Armed with technology that enables the company to better understand purchasing patterns, the company has also started sending email promotions to different consumers on different days of the week. The initiative has yielded “substantial sales,” he said.
“Understanding which items are selling, reducing our exposure to items that aren’t selling, optimizing our hours, and knowing which emails generate sales help us effectively compete against those larger-box retailers,” says Carlock.
Looking ahead, the system is expected to increase business by upwards of 10% in the next few years, he said.