Read the full article by Rithum CEO Bryan Dove here.

Today’s “Now Economy” demands unprecedented adaptiveness in retail planning cycles. In the era of “I see it, I want it, I’ve got it,” traditional seasonal planning can no longer meet accelerating shifts in consumer expectations. As a result, retailers are now adopting vendor-fulfilled models like drop-ship and marketplace — but while this represents a step in the right direction, it’s only one component of a data-driven retail planning solution.

To create an agile supply chain that responds to shifts in consumer demand, retailers need to forecast trends, stock inventory consumers actually want, place that inventory where customers will find it, and still profit after shipping costs. That’s why retailers need to adopt an approach in which fulfillment-model decisions are driven by data on customers’ actual purchasing behavior…