JOIN US“Manhattan Associates thrives on complexity and enjoys the challenges that unified commerce has brought to supply chain management,” said company CEO and president Eddie Capel. The US-based company has $556 million turnover.
With the advent of omni-channel retail and unified commerce gaining momentum, “No longer are we dealing with big shipments to big stores. Now, it is all about personalisation and individuality of products as well as customers,” he said. The company counts Coach, Lacoste, Under Armour and Citizen Watch, among others, in its niche clientele, some 40 per cent of which debuts in their portfolio every year.
“There was a time when waiting two weeks for order delivery was okay, however, now, thats not the case. With catalysts like Amazon, which revolutionised retail, expectations have been driven towards one-day and next-day delivery models,” he said. As a continuation of that, forecasting models too have evolved, in that, trend-based forecasting algorithms are making way for social media feed-based forecasting models, which have been able to deliver greater efficiency in stock management, he added.
“Supply chain today, has become more consumer-oriented. Data from social media, like tweets and likes, allow for demography and geography-based forecasting. We have found that it has enabled companies reduce mark downs by optimising stock levels in each of its warehouses,” he reasoned.
Some 70 per cent of the company’s R&D, and its entire quality assurance operations are driven out of its only offshore development office in Bengaluru. Going forward, this year, the company plans to add up to 400 employees to its existing 3,000+ employees, globally. “At least 60 per cent of the new hiring this year, will be for the Bengaluru office,” he said, adding that the company plans to grow at a steady 13 per cent this year to close at around $615 million in revenues.