Dive Brief:
- Target has reached its "strongest item availability in recent years" among its most frequently purchased products as the retailer continues its push for better-stocked shelves, EVP and COO Lisa Roath said on a Q2 earnings call Wednesday.
- A key test for Target was ensuring product availability during the back-to-school shopping season. Closer coordination within Target's supply chain, merchandising and store operations teams, plus improvements to planning tools, helped the retailer better prepare for the rush, Roath said.
- "By prepositioning inventory and dedicating trailer capacity to key seasonal assortments, we improved product availability in our highest-volume stores and helped create a more reliable and inspiring guest experience during these important seasons," Roath said.
Dive Insight:
Target is pushing to strengthen in-stock reliability — an area it has struggled with in the past — amid progress in its broader turnaround plan. In May, the retailer emphasized the importance of inventory availability in announcing its hiring of former Walmart executive Jeff England as EVP and chief global supply chain and logistics officer.
While Roath didn't share specific data on item availability, the recent gains in that area mean more shoppers "are ending their shopping trips with all the products they came to Target to buy, one of the most important ways we're looking to build trust," she said.
However, Target still has work to do, according to Roath. The company will continue pursuing stronger inventory reliability, with the end goal being "greater consistency across all stores and all categories."
One way Target is looking to build on its in-stock momentum is via technology tools like Proxima, a digital twin of the retailer's middle-mile inventory positioning system announced Aug. 13. Proxima simulates how supply chain decisions would play out before inventory teams execute them, with the aim of improving product flows and availability.
"Proxima helps us more efficiently evaluate inventory processes between our buildings and stores, giving our teams a way to quickly understand potential downstream impacts, learn faster, and make inventory decisions with greater confidence," Roath said.
Beyond inventory reliability, Target is also pushing to boost delivery speeds. The company fulfilled nearly 30% more same-day and next-day units in Q2 than the year prior, and Target "will continue investing to get even faster," Roath said.
