Customer Centric Retailing Podcast

In this episode, our special guest, Nate Skiver, the founder of LPF Spend Management, delves into the intricacies of omnichannel strategies like Ship From Store, managing relationships with logistics partners, and optimizing store fulfillment and shipping strategies for fashion retail brands. Additionally, he touches on the challenges that retailers face when implementing Ship From Store and possible solutions to overcome them.

With over 20 years of experience, Nate Skiver has had a prosperous retail career, demonstrating leadership in transportation, order management, order fulfillment, and logistics. His background in retail enables him to provide holistic solutions to problems in the retail industry, especially in parcel delivery management.

In this episode, our special guest, Jamie Schisler, Chief Comfort Officer at Upwest, delves into the unique challenges faced when initiating a brand within a well-established corporation. Additionally, the episode touches on the role of brick-and-mortar stores in retail and the evolving landscape of digital-first brands.

Jamie Schisler has more than two decades of experience in merchandising, strategy development, design, marketing, and digital within the retail sector. Jamie's retail journey commenced in merchandising at Abercrombie & Fitch and continued through Express, the parent company of Upwest.

This episode’s special guest, Nick Nedev, Digital Product Manager for BJ’s Wholesale, discusses the value of inventory explainability and how omnichannel owners leverage this concept to effectively manage their business.

• How is inventory explainability defined and how do omnichannel owners use this concept to manage their business? What Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be employed to measure inventory explainability? How does this information aid in strategic inventory considerations and help omnichannel owners maintain positive relationships with partners? 
• In this episode, we delve into these questions and more with our special guest, Nick Nedev. Drawing from his hands-on experience of processing orders and managing inventory flows at BJ’s Wholesale, Nedev unfolds the intricacies of inventory explainability. He explains how this understanding provides crucial internal insight into how retailers attain ATP inventory, thereby creating a comprehensive understanding of the various components that coordinate in the overall inventory flow.

This episode’s special guest,  Matthew Lafone, President of The Athlete's Foot, shares key insights and tips on how retail brands can best navigate changing consumer behavior and approach sustainability in retail today.

• How can retail brands best uplift underserved communities and promote social justice? What's the key to enduring success amid times of change in retail? In what ways can retailers meaningfully mitigate the negative impacts of consumerism by implementing sustainable initiatives? 
• We answer these questions and many more with this episode’s special guest, Matthew Lafone, President of The Athlete's Foot. Speaking from his experience building programs that aid underserved communities, Matthew shares valuable insights for retailers navigating changing consumer behavior and sustainability in retail. 

This episode’s special guest,  Louise du Toit, President at Ganni, tackles the subject of sustainability in retail and discusses how brands can best minimize their impact on the environment.

• What does sustainability in retail mean? How many retailers can actually call themselves sustainable, and what are the roadblocks and limitations we need to consider? How can brands make conscious choices in their supply chain to minimize waste?
• We answer these questions and many more with this episode’s special guest, Louise du Toit, President at Ganni. She shares how Ganni has tackled the issue of sustainability, and why she prefers the term “responsible” to more accurately depict the company’s approach to environmental impact. She talks about how Ganni has made sustainability a mission in all areas of the company - from their culture to their supply chains to the way they manage excess stock.

This episode’s special guest, Filipp Labkovskiy, Head of E-Commerce at ECCO Shoes Russia, offers expert tips and meaningful insight into the role of business analytics in creating successful omnichannel strategies.

- What steps can retailers take to ensure the implementation of new retail technology goes smoothly? How can retail brands best adapt to meet customers’ ever-changing expectations? How can they harness the power of their OMS to drive conversions and inform marketing strategies? Is BORIS a worthwhile investment for omnichannel retailers?

- We explore these questions and more with this episode’s special guest, Filipp Labkovskiy, Head of E-Commerce at ECCO Shoes Russia. Speaking from his vast experience in retail and business analytics, Filipp offers expert tips and meaningful insights for developing omnichannel strategies that work.

This episode’s special guest,  Angela Picin, Global Omnichannel and Retail Operations Manager at Roger Vivier, shares key insights and tips from her experience managing the implementation of successful omnichannel retail operations.

- What steps can omnichannel retailers take to prioritize a seamless customer experience? How do omnichannel initiatives affect the sales targets that we set for our in-store staff, including both store managers and store associates? What is the process for retail teams to achieve accurate, real-time inventory data, accessible across all retail locations?

- We answer these questions and many more with this episode’s special guest, Angela Picin, Global Omnichannel and Retail Operations Manager at Roger Vivier. Speaking from her experience managing the implementation of successful omnichannel retail operations, Angela shares valuable insight and key strategies for retailers developing omnichannel initiatives at a large scale.

This episode’s special guest, Fred Schofield, discusses the importance of aligning your eCommerce and in-store operations to create successful BOPIS and ship-from-store omnichannel initiatives.

- How can retailers incentivize store associates to champion their greater omnichannel strategy? Should brands attribute online sales to local stores? How should retailers measure KPIs for stores that assist with eCommerce sales? How quickly should stores be expected to have a BOPIS order ready for customers?

- We dive into these questions and many more with this episode’s special guest, retail store expert Fred Schofield. Speaking from decades of experience working in retail, Fred discusses the importance of aligning your eCommerce initiatives with brick-and-mortar store operations and provides expert tips on how brands can create successful omnichannel retail initiatives.

This episode’s special guest, Mark Pilkington, discusses the role that omnichannel stores play in next-generation retail and how the classic model of retail is evolving.

- What is the role of stores in the increasingly digital landscape of retail? How can we run brick-and-mortar stores like eCommerce? What excites Mark most about the future of retail?

- In this episode, we explore these topics and many more with our special guest, Retail Chief Executive and Bloomsbury author Mark Pilkington. Mark offers his insights on how the classic model of retail is evolving and how the next generation of retail is taking its place, leaving many brands behind. Discover how retailers can best optimize their multi-channel strategies to keep up with customer expectations. You don’t want to miss this one!

This episode’s special guest, Worth Darling, discusses the importance of leveraging your stores and store associates to create seamless BOPIS and ship-from-store omnichannel initiatives.

- How can retailers implement BOPIS & ship-from-store initiatives without risking the experience of their walk-in customers? Does BOPIS actually increase retail brands’ top-line revenue? Why should retailers take the leap of faith to implement a BOPIS strategy without having all the answers up-front?

- We dive into these questions and more with this episode’s special guest, Worth Darling, Senior Director of DTC Innovation & Technology at Vans. Speaking from his vast experience in the world of omnichannel retail, Worth discusses the importance of injecting a human touch into your omnichannel eCommerce strategies and how brands can rethink their retail strategy to foster a seamless integration of in-store and online fulfillment initiatives.