Retailers Should Reduce Their SKUs for a Healthier Supply Chain. Here’s Why.

 

In the current retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) landscape, the industry faces significant challenges in maintaining a healthier supply chain. A 2023 Consumer Survey by O9 Solutions underscores this, revealing that over half of consumers have encountered product shortages, leading to a shift towards price-based purchasing over brand loyalty and reduced shopping due to price hikes. This situation presents a complex scenario for the CPG and retail sectors, marked by increased marketing costs to attract disloyal customers, higher product and expediting costs, and strained supplier relationships.

Amidst the rapidly changing landscape of consumer demands and complex supply chain challenges, what strategies can retail and CPG giants employ to remain competitive and efficient? 

Piyush Shah, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management in the Department of Information Systems, Analytics & Supply Chain at Florida Gulf Coast University brings a wealth of knowledge and practical solutions to the forefront, focusing on SKU optimization and the importance of strategic partnerships to promote a healthier supply chain.

“We need similar innovations coming where CPG companies and retailers have to work together to have some sort of local assembly, local packaging, and local production so as to ensure that customers get the products that they need and at the same time the inventories and the cost stay controlled,” Shah said.

Article written by Sonia Gossai

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

Doable
Rethinking Leadership: Why “Doable” Might Be the Most Powerful Strategy in Education Today
April 3, 2026

At a time when educator burnout is rising and schools across the U.S. are facing ongoing teacher shortages, leaders are being forced to rethink what sustainable success actually looks like. Research shows that teacher attrition is closely tied to working conditions, job-related stress, and workload demands. As districts push for innovation, data-driven instruction, and…

Read More
Casey Brown
From Poverty to Pricing Power | Why Great Companies Undercharge
April 2, 2026

Casey Brown didn’t grow up thinking she would become an entrepreneur. She grew up in a blue-collar family where money was always tight — close enough to the edge that the fear of poverty shaped many of her early decisions. That fear led her into engineering, into corporate America, and eventually into a moment…

Read More
Nightingales Summit: Empowering the Next Generation of Nigerian Nurses
Nightingales Summit: Empowering the Next Generation of Nigerian Nurses
April 2, 2026

In this episode of Care Anywhere, host Lea Sims sits down with Nigerian nurse entrepreneur and advocate Obafemi Arowosegbe to discuss leadership, mentorship, and the future of nursing in Africa. While still a nursing student, Obafemi founded the Nightingale Summit, a growing conference designed to empower nursing students and early-career nurses with leadership skills,…

Read More
Oncology
From Denial to Access: Rethinking Oncology Care Through AI, Clinical Trials, and Patient-Centered Innovation
April 1, 2026

The rapid expansion of precision medicine, biologics, and targeted cancer therapies is transforming oncology—but it’s also overwhelming a system not built to keep pace. In the U.S., cancer drugs now account for some of the highest-cost treatments in healthcare, and with that has come a surge in prior authorization requirements and denials. Studies suggest physicians…

Read More