Navigating retail challenges in Africa: Smart solutions for a competitive edge
The retail landscape in Africa presents a unique set of challenges, from supply chain disruptions and margin control to regulatory compliance and infrastructure limitations. Retailers must navigate these obstacles strategically to ensure profitability and long-term success.
The silent profit killer: Out-of-stock situations
Out-of-stock issues are widely recognised as the biggest “revenue killer” in African retail. An empty shelf means lost sales, dissatisfied customers and potential damage to brand loyalty. The key to mitigating stock shortages lies in real-time demand visibility and supply chain efficiency.
Arch Retail’s AI-powered demand forecasting and EDI eReplenish system provide retailers with proactive stock management. Arch eReplenish:
- Automates purchase orders based on demand forecasts.
- ASN (advanced shipment notifications) from suppliers.
- Calculates short fills ahead of delivery, allowing for proactive action.
- Ensures seamless replenishment, reducing stockouts and missed sales opportunities.
Pricing and margin control: Buy good or goodbye!
A retailer’s ability to sell at a competitive price begins with cost-effective procurement. At Arch, we say: "Buy good, or goodbye!" – a reminder that managing supplier deals is critical to profitability.
Arch Retail offers AI-powered demand forecasting
With Arch Retail’s dynamic pricing capabilities, retailers can:
- Load multiple list prices and deals for the same product from different suppliers.
- Allow overlapping price contracts to take advantage of the best deal at any moment.
- Automatically order at the best available deal price, ensuring optimal margins.
- Simplify invoice reconciliation by automatically raising an "overcharge claim" when discrepancies arise.
Arch Retail ensures that retailers don’t just keep shelves stocked, but also maximise profits on every sale.
Offline trading: Business continuity in any condition
In Africa, retailers frequently face network outages and power disruptions, which can cripple operations. Unlike cloud-dependent solutions, Arch Retail is designed to function independently off an internet connection for extended periods.
- Full operational capability
The in-store system (Arch Retail) functions independently from head office (Arch Enterprise), meaning sales, stock management and pricing updates continue without interruption.
Arch Retail offers AI-powered demand forecasting.
- Smart price management
Selling price batches, supplier list prices and promotional campaigns can be preloaded and scheduled, ensuring that pricing updates activate automatically.
- Continuous synchronisation
The system constantly attempts to reconnect in the background and automatically syncs all data with head office once connectivity is restored.
- Power failure recovery
If an outage disrupts in-store processes, all scheduled tasks resume automatically when the system comes back online, eliminating the need for manual intervention.
- USB-based data exchange for eReplenish
In low-connectivity areas, users can transfer purchase orders, invoices and supplier updates via USB and a web interface, ensuring smooth replenishment.
Future-proofing African retail
From supply chain management to regulatory compliance and offline trading, Arch Retail Solutions equips retailers with the tools to thrive in Africa’s dynamic retail environment. By embracing intelligent automation, demand-driven replenishment and resilient infrastructure, retailers can reduce losses, improve margins and maintain a seamless shopping experience – even in the face of challenges.
Retail in Africa is evolving – are you ready to lead the way?