About the Guide

The Complete Guide to Strategic Merchandising Operations (MerchOps) is a playbook for retailers and suppliers navigating today’s fast-changing consumer landscape. It provides a roadmap to understand, evaluate, and implement MerchOps as the next evolution beyond traditional PLM. Packed with brand case studies, survey data, ROI metrics, and workflow tools, this guide empowers businesses to reduce errors, improve collaboration, and accelerate speed to market. Whether you’re stuck in spreadsheets, struggling with siloed PLM systems, or losing margin to inefficiency, this guide shows how MerchOps transforms product strategy into market impact.

Who's it for

This guide is essential reading for B2B retail professionals: buyers, planners, merchandisers, sourcing teams, product developers, compliance leaders, and IT stakeholders. It’s equally valuable for executives evaluating enterprise software and for suppliers aiming to digitize collaboration and meet retailer expectations.

What's inside

• MerchOps 101: What it is, how it works, and why it’s the future of product strategy
  
  
• Why MerchOps Matters: How it reduces costs, strengthens vendor collaboration, and accelerates go-to-market
  
  
• Signs You Need MerchOps: From redundant data entry to lost buyer feedback, self-diagnose your readiness
  
  
• From PLM to MerchOps: A clear roadmap to modernize workflows and unite teams
  
  
• Tools & Templates: MerchOps RFP templates, adoption checklists, and change management playbooks

Why it matters

Retailers using MerchOps cut go-to-market cycles by weeks, reduce quote and PO errors by 40%, and improve sell-through by aligning assortments with real-time demand. A MerchOps platform replaces disconnected spreadsheets and rigid PLMs with a shared, visual workspace that unites internal teams and external partners. It’s not just a system. It’s the operating model for growth in modern retail.