An original music rap about Merchandise Planning

written by Susan Martin, performed by expert USA rap artist, Gee Smiff (and zero AI).

Retailbiz interviewed the winners of the NORA Solutions Partner Awards 2023. They wanted to hear -

• What it means to us at SMART IN PLANNING to be an award winner

• Why we think the Awards are a valuable asset for the industry

See our responses inside …

In this session we worked through practical examples on how to analyse and manage performance using these clever tools and techniques:

• Trade Reports

• Sell Through matrix

• Markdown calculator

See the video -> coming soon

As part of Lisa Jones’s Scale Program, in this session we looked at current challenges in the Retail industry, including

• Budgeting with unstable history

• Assortment Width vs Depth

• Production capability restrictions

See the full video ->

Honoured to be named in the Top 50 Small Business Leaders Report of 2022, published by Inside Small Business.

Each year, the report celebrates the achievements and innovation of pioneers in the small-business sector, with the last couple of years adding “a huge dose of resilience into the recipe that makes a leader”, according to Inside Small Business.

You can read the full article here.

Clichés are commonplace across the retail industry, but I think some of these clichés may be doing more harm than good.

I’ve put a few of our old favourites under the microscope to see if they can be considered tried and true thinking and are worthy of keeping around, or whether they’re archaic and it’s time to move on.

You can read the full article here.

Shaeden Watson (CEO Carpet Right) is a super host. We jump right into all my favourite topics, and catch up on what we’ve been up to at SMART IN PLANNING this past year.

Back again for an update on NORA TV with our 4th partner showreel (think that makes us “veterans”).

Add to Cart is the Australian eCommerce podcast that express delivers all you need to know about the fast-moving world of online retail. Hosted by Nathan Bush, eComm super-guru, Susan takes a deep dive into Merchandise Planning and how it applies to eCommerce.

PODCAST link inside …

Susan recently had a chat with our friends at the Australian Fashion Council.

They covered many topics, and finished with the cherry on top – a special AFC member benefit !

Details inside …

An important part of a stock planner’s job is mitigating risk. This carries a natural association with the concept of pessimism, resulting in a reputation for only seeing the downside. I have a different view. Stock planners are often able to see things others don’t, by employing lateral thinking …

You can read the full article here.

Abhishek Vohra, CEO of Okkular.io, interviewed our Founder, Susan Martin, to talk Retail … Tech, Trends and Covid times. Headline topics from this casual Q&A format:

• Challenges businesses are still grappling with 6+ months into Covid

• Coping with the accelerated transition to ecommerce; Excel; Data vs Gut Feel decision making

• Leadership styles, Productivity and getting cut through in times of Covid

Watch the full video for all the insights. 🎥 🎥 🎥 Video below (runtime 29:11 mins)

Australian Fashion Council caught up with a handful of members from across the industry to see how they’re navigating these unprecedented times.

In their article, Meet SMART IN PLANNING CEO & Founder Susan Martin, they explore these topics:

• Key challenges that you, and others in your community, are facing around COVID-19?

• What are some of the opportunities for our industry that you see coming out of this crisis?

• How will you be passing the time during social distancing, and how can people get involved?

Click HERE to access the full interview, and see what Susan and the team have been nurturing these past few months.

Take 3! In my third showreel with NORA TV - I catch up with Julie Mathers (CEO & Founder of Flora & Fauna).

Always a treat speaking with an industry leader, especially one who is also passionate about Merchandise Planning.

Plus an exciting announcement.

Merchandise Planning is about getting the most out of your inventory - how it’s planned, invested, flowed and traded - to achieve the most profitable outcomes

Download FREE resources ->

You can watch the webcast here.

This workshop was aimed at emerging and start up brands and labels, creating awareness of key Merchandise Planning principles to deal with stock and cash flow.

• Stock assessment and options for dealing with overstocks

• Pricing and Foreign Exchange impacts

• Measures to track progress

You can watch the webcast here.

Advice and support to navigate what comes next during this unique time in Retail.

• focusing on actions for now, the medium and longer term horizons

• putting key issues on your radar

• reminding you of important Planning principles that are more relevant than ever

You can watch the summarised video of the IFAB webcast here.

Stock planning is vital in retail, particularly in relation to managing margins. In this article I explain how to take a strategic approach to the process.

You can read the full article here.

In this interview with Zoe Thompson of Australian Retailers Association, I speak from the heart about my career in Retail.

You can read the full article here.

What’s the answer to recurring markdown and promotional pain? Better inventory management - of course!

Asked by Inside Retail to contribute to this critical topic, and happy to share my thoughts.

You can read the full article here.

In this Q&A interview with ARA, I cover my views and experience on popular topics:

• career path, and where I started

• investment in Merchandise Planning

• challenges I have faced

• what drives me, if not a catchy motivational quote

• my advice for anyone looking to get into Merchandise Planning

You can watch the video here.

A year on from my last showreel with Paul Greenberg - I caught up with Wayne Baskin (Deputy CEO, CTO at Booktopia and NORA Network Advisory council member), who did a great job facilitating this chat on a topic that is not always that easy to navigate.

We unpack what Merchandise Planning is all about, clear up some confusion around the term “merchandising”, and reflect on what sets us apart as a business.

Always a pleasure catching up with Paul Greenberg on the forward thinking initiatives that NORA Network is putting out into the Retailscape .

Ventured OUT of my comfort zone to do this video covering a topic that sits squarely IN my comfort zone #merchandiseplanning. SMART IN PLANNING provides solutions in “everything Merchandise Planning” – giving Retailers access to expertise and capacity through a flexible and tailored service.