ETD: 937 RFID warehouse; What's in a name?; Small Stores Carve
Out Niche Despite Big Competitors
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Tue Dec 6 13:59:06 GMT 2005
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0937 December 6, 2005
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem at gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] RFID warehouse
[3] What's in a name?
[4] Small Stores Carve Out Niche Despite Big Competitors
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
I'm working with a client who loves to do things on the bleeding
edge. They've been doing so for the 18 years that they have been a
client, and have been very successful. Now they are looking at
having custom programing for an RFID-controlled warehouse, using
triangulation like that used with GPS. Has anybody ever heard of
anybody doing this? Is there a market for such a product?
The recent Harris Reputation Quotient ranking study came out, and it
is interesting to note how the landscape has changed. Reputation
is your most valuable asset. It will make or break a company. How
is your reputation?
We all know how big box retailers cripple many companies. However,
there are some who thrive even when the big guys come to town. Today
we report on such an occurrence.
Actually, one of our older members has always had a story to tell
with their venture into the online world, and how they competed
against Home Depot. Maybe we can get Todd Mogren of Coastal Tool to
give us an update.
How's the season going for you so far?
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, LLC
mailto:georgem at gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] RFID warehouse
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Does anybody have any experience with RFID in a warehouse? We are
bringing in new technology, among other things, for a client, and are
looking at RFID for the warehouse. To us it seems a natural - use
triangulation like they do with the GPS systems, to locate an item in
a warehouse. The benefits are phenomenal...
1. No need to have distinct areas to put away goods.
2. Eliminate physical inventory.
3. Track all movement of goods from receipt to put away to shipment.
4. Eventually use robots for inventory control.
Obviously it needs some work to get it right. In fact, a couple of
companies to whom we spoke don't believe it is possible. Our
contention is it's a software issue.
What do you think? Do you know of anybody who uses RFID in their
warehouse? How about GPS?
George
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[3] What's in a name?
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Harris Interactive polled 20,000 people to learn the best and worst
corporate names in the annual Reputation Quotient ranking. Corporate
stalwarts Johnson & Johnson and Coca Cola, both over a century
old, were 1 and 2 among 50 of the most prominent companies in the
world. However, a relatively new upstart ranked third - Google Inc.
a company that is only seven years old.
Other technology companies in the top 10: Sony Corp., Microsoft Corp.
and Intel Corp. In addition, International Business Machines Corp.
and Apple Computer Inc., buoyed by its popular iPod music players,
both climbed higher in this year's ranking, landing at No. 19 and No.
27, respectively.
The technology industry is the exception. In the reputation survey,
Harris Interactive Inc., a Rochester, N.Y., research firm, found that
most industries, particularly automotive, airlines, pharmaceuticals
and energy, lost ground in the ratings. Only the tobacco industry
ranked lower than energy and pharmaceuticals.
The overall reputation of American corporations, already weak,
slipped further this year. Despite corporate-governance reforms and a
growing commitment to ethics and social responsibility, companies
haven't redeemed themselves with the public. This year, 71% of
respondents rated American businesses' reputation as "not good" or
"terrible," compared with 68% in 2004.
The Reputation Quotient study, developed jointly by Harris and the
Reputation Institute in New York, was conducted in two parts. Between
March and June, 6,977 respondents were asked to name the two
companies with the best reputations and the two with the worst. The
60 companies named most often were then rated by 19,564 people in a
separate survey between Aug. 30 and Sept. 26.
Respondents evaluated companies they were familiar with on 20
attributes that measure emotional appeal, financial performance,
quality of products and services, social responsibility, vision and
leadership, and workplace environment. The 60 companies in the final
ranking vary slightly from year to year, depending on which are most
top-of-mind with the general public.
One company has shown particular consistency. Johnson & Johnson has
had a lock on first place since the survey began in 1999,
successfully dodging the bullets fired at other pharmaceutical
companies. It scored well for the quality of its products and for
emotional appeal because of people's warm feelings about its
baby-products business. It also received the highest scores for being
ethical and trustworthy. J&J "is as American as Mom and apple pie,"
one respondent commented.
Details at...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113382708423014553.html
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[4] Small Stores Carve Out Niche Despite Big Competitors
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Smaller retailers have to carefully balance their inventories. "It's
hard for us to justify putting something in our store that doesn't
turn a couple of times a year," Randy Campbell, owner of Triple Creek
Rod & Gun said.
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Sometimes, a small outdoor outfitter in this area of Pennsylvania can
feel more vulnerable than a whitetail deer in late November.
In recent years, such mom-and-pop retailers have lost some of their
customers to much larger hunting grounds -- such as the
85,000-square-foot Gander Mountain store in Lower Paxton Twp., the
225,000-square-foot Bass Pro Shops in Swatara, Penn. Twp. and the
250,000-square-foot Cabela's in Berks County.
And then there's the Internet , where the well-clad outdoorsman can
go on a virtual shopping safari for clothes and accessories.
'Peaks and Valleys'
"We have our peaks and valleys. It's kind of hard for me to say if
they hurt us," Randy Campbell, owner of Triple Creek Rod & Gun in
Spring Twp., Perry County, said of his bigger competitors.
Smaller retailers have to carefully balance their inventories.
"It's hard for us to justify putting something in our store that
doesn't turn a couple of times a year," Campbell said.
But the guns sell "fairly steady," he said. "People buy all year. We
do a lot of collectibles."
Trop Gun Shop in Mount Joy Twp. has more than 1,500 used and new
firearms in stock. The store, which has been around for decades,
experienced a small decrease in traffic after the big stores came to
town, but the customers returned, employee Kerry Kneisley said.
Service the Key
"We feel that we have better expertise in the area of firearms and
more one-on-one service," he said.
Trop also has seasonal clothing, although it has phased out some
lines because they weren't selling. "That could go back to the box
stores coming in town," Kneisley said.
"Fewer hunters is a larger contributor to the decline in business,
but we're doing fairly well," he added.
Campbell, who employs six people in his store, also has noticed fewer
hunters this year.
"I know in our area it's big, although I think this year I've seen a
decline," Campbell said. "A lot of people aren't seeing any deer."
Changes in work schedules and longer workdays also reduce the amount
of time hunters spend in the woods, he noted.
Hunting for Clients
It's hard to quantify just what contribution to the Pennsylvania
economy stores such as Triple Creek Rod & Gun and Trop Gun Shop make.
The Center for Rural Pennsylvania did a study in 1998 that found
hunting generated 45,089 jobs and had a US$4.8 billion economic
impact in the state. Included in that calculation was how much
hunters spent on equipment, goods and licenses.
Jerry Feaser, Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman, noted that the
study was done before the arrival of Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops. He
believes that, since then, the economic impact of hunting has increased.
"Why would Bass Pro Shops come to Harrisburg? Why would Cabela's come
to Hamburg in Berks County? Because they know Pennsylvania has an
enormous audience, client base," Feaser said.
Article at..
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/47648.html
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