The 7 Features for Effectively Managing Your Network with Franchise and Integrated Management Software

Franchise businesses unite investors around a brand initiative. This brand offers services to help its network achieve its objectives. Conversely, integrated businesses develop a brand-owned network. Each store is managed by a director responsible for sales, merchandising standards, and executing marketing strategies. The headquarters oversee all aspects, including the product catalog, inventory, pricing, promotions, and store locations.

In both models, your franchise and integrated management software is crucial. It should empower you to deliver services that enhance operational efficiency and drive growth for your stores. Here are 7 of its key features !

1. A common product repository

Franchised or integrated software centralizes product information across your store network. This product catalog is crucial for your network’s growth, enabling the consolidation of consistent data essential for analysis and decision-making (restocking, purchasing, balancing, promotions, etc.).

By reducing data entry tasks, it speeds up time-to-market and minimizes errors that could affect the presentation of your products on other sales channels. Additionally, it is essential for streamlining sales processes within the network and offering a tailored customer experience (click & collect, store-to-web, ship-from-store, etc.).

Ces améliorations rendent le texte plus fluide et dynamique tout en conservant un ton professionnel.

2. Consolidated Inventory

This stock consolidation, combined with the product catalog, is also a prerequisite for developing other customer journeys through OMS (Order Management System) and PIM (Product Information Management) solutions.

Within the network and thanks to a connected supply chain, if store A is out of a product expected by the customer, store B can deliver it the same day to meet the demand or send it directly to the customer’s address.

Additionally, at a glance, you can see your stock levels and identify the current top-selling products. By analyzing trends, you can more easily negotiate prices with suppliers while preparing your strategy for the upcoming season.

Ces modifications rendent le texte plus fluide et naturel, tout en maintenant un ton professionnel et informatif.

3. An omnichannel customer relationship (CRM)

It’s rare for a brand not to have a CRM tool, a software that collects and analyzes data on a single platform. Managing your network with franchised or integrated software gives you a 360-degree view of your interactions.

You know who your customers are across your entire network, as well as their expectations and needs. Based on their purchase history, you can tailor your offerings to meet their needs, providing a better experience both in-store and online (personalized newsletters, VIP offers, discounts, gift cards, etc.).

Aligned with your digital strategy, you gain comprehensive information about your customers at every touchpoint with your brand. This enables you to run an effective loyalty program both online and offline.

Ces modifications rendent le texte plus fluide et naturel, tout en maintenant un ton professionnel et informatif.

4. A managed commercial network animation

As the network leader, you help your franchised and integrated stores boost their revenue. To achieve this, your teams design commercial and marketing campaigns with varying objectives: clearing out inventory, gathering data, driving in-store traffic, etc. The creation of these campaigns is managed by the network leader for all or selected stores. You guide your teams on in-store implementation and sales execution.

Therefore, your franchised and integrated store software should enable you to manage time-consuming and tedious tasks such as product selection, defining discounts and offers, etc.

Your marketing teams collect real-time data on the performance of ongoing campaigns to support each store in achieving commercial plan success, for benchmarking and ROI analysis.

Ces modifications rendent le texte plus fluide et naturel, tout en maintenant un ton professionnel et informatif.

5. Facilitated automatic restocking

Inventory management is a significant challenge for any brand, especially if its network of franchised and integrated stores is not well-coordinated. This can lead to overstocking and/or understocking across your store network.

Your franchised or integrated store software supports you by:

• Analyzing trends,
• Sending you alerts (risk of understocking or overstocking),
• Automating restocking needs for a selection of models (e.g., permanent items)

Your software for an integrated or franchised network mitigates these risks and maximizes store revenue by ensuring the right products are available to meet customer demand.

6. 360-degree coordination of your activities

Through your franchised or integrated store software, you develop a 360-degree view of all activities across your network. You monitor:

• Sales reports
• Stock levels
• Restocking needs
• Performance analysis of your commercial operations
• In-store traffic analysis, etc.

7. Sharing indicators within the network

These consolidated data allow you to share network performance with your members and store managers. Your franchised and integrated stores have access to data that enable them to benchmark their performance at the desired level of detail: by geographic area, by department, by supplier, by customer type, etc.

An all-in-one solution to grow your retail brand

Through franchised or integrated software, all essential information related to your brand’s growth is updated in real time. You receive feedback on your commercial operations, top-selling and unsold products, etc.

You can adjust stock levels and refine merchandising in stores with lower sales performance. You have highly accurate indicators of the key success factors within your store networks.