RILA show: Covid and consumer pressures force update of KPIs

Companies have long measured the success of both their internal departments and business partners by charting certain key performance indicators (KPIs), but recent economic turmoil has inspired many leaders to take a second look at those classic yardsticks, speakers said in a session today at the Retail Industry leaders Assoc. (RILA)’s annual conference.

KPIs created before the advent of real-time visibility are not standing up to pressures like the covid pandemic and rising consumer expectations of next-day delivery, Mark Delaney, retail vice president, global industry strategy, at FourKites, said in a session at the LINK2023 show in Orlando titled “Am I Measuring Up? What Retailers Need to Know about their Logistics KPIs.” 

“Consumer expectations are returning to pre-pandemic levels, and shoppers’ loyalty is up for grabs,” agreed Charles Griffith, chief technology officer-Quiet Platforms Inc., at American Eagle Outfitters. To keep up with the pace, many companies are turning to technology, which is swiftly redefining what is possible in logistics, since machines can do repetitive tasks faster and with fewer errors than human workers.

KPIs also need to change to keep up with a changing business landscape, following a retail acquisition spree in recent years highlighted by Walmart’s purchase of e-grocery fulfillment firm Alert Innovation and American Eagle Outfitters buying the fulfillment and delivery provider Quiet Platforms, Delaney said.

Those moves have triggered a new age of cooperation between competitors—also called “co-opetition”—where large retailers open their shipping and fulfillment networks to other companies and consumer packaged goods (CPG) providers share their live shipment tracking data with retailers.