Computers in Retailing

• Published in: International journal of physical distribution and materials management Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 3 - 36
• Main Authors: Walters, D., Rands, C.A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: MCB UP Ltd 01-04-1983
• ISSN: 0269-8218
• DOI: 10.1108/eb014561

Along with organisations in other fields, retailers have been using computers in management systems since the mid-1960s and, in some cases, much earlier. Over this period, there have been dramatic changes in the computer technology available for use by management, together with considerable accumulated experience in using them, particularly in retailing. However, this has, in many industries, been offset by an increase in the problems facing managers; in retailing, for instance, companies now have to face economies in which disposable incomes have been squeezed, whilst buying patterns are changing rapidly and becoming difficult to predict. A consequence of this is that to survive today retailers must be far better at product range planning, cash planning and control of capital than they needed to be in the 1960s. They may be helped in this by an increasing understanding of how to manage product range, cash flow or funds allocation problems, and also by the availability of more advanced computing facilities which allow managers to apply this understanding more effectively. These facilities vary from the range of computers on offer (mainframe to micros) to data flow networks, automated data input, visual display terminals and specialist soft-ware for retail planning and control (e.g. distribution packages).