4 retail efficiency blockers and how retailers can get past them

Behind breakneck speed expansion, retailers are still grappling with deep-rooted inefficiencies that demand more than just surface-level fixes

Bengaluru: As Indian retail marches forward at an unprecedented pace, with omni-channel strategies expanding rapidly and digital-first stores becoming the norm, back-end inefficiencies remain an uphill battle, particularly inventory planning, real-time data management, and organisational workflows.

Despite massive investments in technology and ERP systems, many retailers are struggling to eliminate silos, align data streams, and keep up with fast-changing consumer preferences.

Across categories like fashion, footwear, and value retail, brands are discovering that legacy systems and instinct-driven decisions are no longer enough. The real challenge isn’t technology adoption, but making that technology work in service of smart, streamlined, and scalable operations.

Efficiency roadblocks: What needs fixing

To better understand the operational bottlenecks that are slowing down growth, here are the most pressing challenges retailers are currently facing:

• Siloed data systems

Retailers often operate with multiple standalone platforms for key functions such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), inventory tracking, sales reporting, and workforce management. 

These systems typically do not communicate well with one another, resulting in inconsistent or incomplete data flows, creating operational blind spots, delays in decision-making, and duplicative manual work.

• Ineffective inventory replenishment

Inventory replenishment cycles in fast fashion and seasonal retail need to be dynamic and responsive to rapid fluctuations in demand. However, many current systems are rigid, relying on batch updates and pre-set allocation models that do not adapt in real time. This leads to either overstocking of slow-moving SKUs or understocking of fast-selling items, both of which impact revenue and working capital.

• Too much data, too little focus

While most modern retail organizations now have access to a wealth of operational data through ERP dashboards, POS analytics, and customer behavior tracking tools, the volume of available information often overwhelms teams. In many cases, stakeholders at different levels are unclear on which data points are most actionable, leading to analysis paralysis and a lack of timely interventions.

• Misaligned organisational priorities

A disconnect frequently exists between top-level strategic planning and day-to-day operational execution. For instance, while management may prioritise profitability, store teams may be incentivised only on sales targets or SKU push. This dilutes accountability, undermines cross-functional coordination, and reduces the overall effectiveness of digital tools and systems deployed.

How retailers can rewire operating models

Rather than focusing on speed alone, brands are now prioritising organisational coherence, ensuring that data, decisions, and execution all move with unified intent. They are restructuring decision loops, refining data consumption, and building operational clarity into the DNA of their systems.

“We have realised that complexity isn’t just in systems, it’s cultural. If a store manager has to log into five different platforms just to start their day, you have already lost operational time,” says Mayank Gupta, Chief Growth Officer at Stovekraft. “So we began by eliminating those redundancies. Fewer logins, cleaner dashboards, sharper priorities. Efficiency isn’t just about tools, it’s about removing friction.”

On a similar note, Kartik Shankar, Country Head – Growth Businesses at Campus Activewear, says that, “We killed layers. That was our first intervention. The less layered we are, the faster decisions move. Our industry is execution-heavy. If data flows slower than floor activity, it’s useless. So we simplified the flow—just five key metrics, tightly aligned across teams. Everyone should be solving the same five problems every week.”

This shift from information-heavy systems to decision-light frameworks is helping brands unburden their execution teams while still maintaining oversight.

A new approach to inventory intelligence

For decades, inventory decisions in Indian retail, especially fashion, have been built on seasonal forecasting, gut instinct, and legacy sell-through patterns. However, with swiftly shifting trends and consumer expectations, this model is eroding.

Now, retailers are embedding demand intelligence and regional relevance into the planning layer, moving from a push-first to pull-calibrated inventory model.

“We are done distributing by guesswork,” says Vikash Kumar, CTO of Style Bazaar. “We have shifted our lens entirely. Store inventory is now aligned to granular demand cues – SKU movement, region-wise velocity, even product affinity across nearby cities. The days of ‘let’s try this mix and see’ are over.”

Gupta of Stovekraft expands on the upstream changes driving better outcomes. “We no longer flood new stores with inventory and hope for clarity later. Instead, we find geo-affinity, which is to identify similar performing stores based on regional and demographic filters and use their data as a base model.”

This recalibration is a mindset reset, where precision replaces assumption, and local nuance outweighs centralised optimism.

Lakhbir Singh, Retail Head at Killer Jeans, adds a perspective from the fast fashion lens, saying, “Fashion is volatile by nature. But that’s no excuse for chaos. We have divided our stock into quantitative and qualitative layers. It’s not just how much we push, it’s how much of it is actually resonant with a specific region. You can’t sell Goa to Patna.”

Human systems, not just digital 

Beyond platforms and processes, retailers are beginning to realise that true efficiency is deeply human. Alignment, simplicity, and shared context across organisational layers is what makes agility stick.

“We still see area managers overloaded with data dumps they will never use,” says Singh of Killer Jeans. “We flipped the pyramid. Complexity now sits at the top. On the ground, the brief is clear, clean, and actionable. If your frontliners are decoding Excel instead of engaging customers, you are losing the plot.”

This mix of practical thinking and smart planning is what turns digital tools into real improvements. Shankar of Campus highlights culture as a blind spot: “We often underestimate how little we institutionalise consumer feedback. FMCG brands run structured consumer immersions every quarter. Fashion retail? We assume we know the customer because we once sold well. That assumption needs to go.”

A clearer path forward

Efficiency in retail will not be achieved through code alone. While systems and dashboards may shape the backbone of operations, it is the rhythm of smart coordination that will define who moves forward and who falls behind.

Brands that treat operational improvement as an ongoing craft, not a one-time setup, will be better prepared to handle market swings, seasonal demand shifts, and changing customer behaviour. 

What lies ahead is not a rush toward more technology, but a careful return to what truly matters. The businesses that last will be those built on clear thinking, flexible structures, and quiet discipline, the kind that may not make headlines but keeps everything moving. In an industry long driven by instinct, the real advantage now lies in intelligent restraint, systemised agility, and the courage to simplify.

With inputs from a recent panel discussion ‘Infinite Efficiency: Engineering Agile Retail Operations’ at the Phygital Retail Convention 2025

Curious how retailers are tackling the excess inventory challenge? Click here

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