Strategic, Financial, and Operational Planning

F. Curtis Barry & Company's strategic and business expertise can help you improve your existing catalog profitability, Internet profitability, or retail business profitability – or add channels to an existing business. We are catalog consultants with many years in the business offering expertise in a number of areas:

We have developed multi-year business plans that incorporate demand, cancellations and returns projections to net sales; sales projections from circulation planning; budgeting of marketing expenses including catalog creative, production, and mailing; expense planning for fulfillment and overhead; and capital expenditure planning.

We have assisted many companies with new channel start-ups, including retail store expansion and Internet and e-mail marketing and catalog tests. Our efforts encompass business planning, circulation planning, building customer databases and installing the systems required.

For a number of clients we have developed analyses of: net contribution to profit for multiple seasons/year-to-year; pages; import vs. domestic; varying price ranges; price point; catalog page and depiction; category and sub-category; private label vs. open market; style, color, and size; Internet vs. catalog; new vs. repeat.

We have developed requirements and sent out RFPs to vendors, assisted in vendor selection, and planned and overseen installation of commercial inventory planning and management systems for direct and retail businesses.

Benchmarking Services and Our Executive Forum

F. Curtis Barry & Company has conducted benchmarking assignments for customer contact centers, fulfillment operations, and inventory management to see where the operation can be improved in terms of customer service, service levels and profitability. We provide analysis and comparison of your business to other multichannel businesses.  Our overall objective is to improve your Internet, retail and catalog profitability and customer service. 

Since 2001, we have facilitated a three-day Executive Forum annually for owners and senior managers. Forum topics typically include growing your Internet business, developing your brand, circulation strategies, fulfillment strategies, and expense-saving ideas. For more information visit our Benchmarking ShareGroups page.  

Below are examples of the types of work we have completed:

Case Study 1

F. Curtis Barry & Company developed a five-year strategic plan for a billion-dollar, public, multichannel company. The plan included an analysis that led to inbound/outbound freight savings of $4.5 million annually, and development of a fulfillment process for three distribution centers, including a review and layout of one center. In addition, we introduced inventory balancing to help serve the client's customers better, and addressed the client's future needs by developing system requirements for cross-docking, inventory optimization, warehouse management, and planning.

Case Study 2

As catalog consultants, we assisted a major non-profit catalog to implement a net contribution to profit approach to analyze merchandise results and to plan categories and products for the next season. Implementing this approach created an increase in catalog profitability from break-even to an 8% gain.

For help with your e-commerce, retail or catalog profitability, please contact our marketing manager, Jeff Barry, at (804) 740-8743, e-mail him at jbarry@fcbco.com, or use the ”Request Information” at the top of this page.

Strategic, Financial, and Operational Planning Articles What Are Your Shipping Options? In the next few weeks, all the carriers will complete their 2008 pricing announcements. As we look at the future, it’s probably a good bet that these carriers’ rates aren’t going down any more than the cost of oil. So what’s the impact and action plan for your business? Read more... The Fulfillment Doctor on... The Price of Free Holiday Shipping What are the underlying reasons behind offering free shipping and processing to customers? Is this common practice in other companies in the multichannel industry? Can anything positive come from giving free shipping to our customers? Read more... The Fulfillment Doctor on...Employee Turnover...What Does It Really Cost You? Many companies see turnover as a necessary cost of doing business, especially in managing a call center or a fulfillment center. However, have you taken a good look recently at your staff turnover levels and the actual dollars this costs your company? Read more... Read more related articles and whitepapers

Strategic, Financial, and Operational Planning Blog Posts Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:03:05 Black Friday Sales Officially Have Started From a retail marketing approach, we all know that every year stores bring in and display Christmas merchandise in October. But this year with the tough economy and most stores except for Walmart being off plan, Black Friday sales have started this week. In our local newspaper, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, this morning, Kohl’s, Read more... Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:42:37 2009 UPS and FedEx Rates Special Report F. Curtis Barry & Company’s 2009 UPS and FedEx Rate Special Report highlights some of the rate increases that will effect your shipping and business in 53 days. The question to ask yourself when reading this Special Report is, “have I done everything that I can to prepare my company for these rate increases?” Overall Rate Read more... Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:53:21 Direct Mailer’s View of Business in the UK Several times this week I’ve been asked about the state of UK mail order and ecommerce amid the economic meltdown and how it compares with things back in the US. At the magazine I edit, Catalogue/e-business (www.catalog-biz.com), we’re certainly covering our share of redundancies (“layoffs” in Brit speak) and companies entering administration (filing for bankruptcy). Read more... Visit our blog site to read more