The Vendor Stress Test: 10 Questions to Ask Any Replenishment Software Vendor
Every replenishment vendor will tell you its system forecasts demand, automates orders, and integrates with your ERP. The difference shows up later: on the day an item goes out of stock, the day a promotion starts, the day someone has to explain a strange number to finance. This guide for ops and supply chain leaders at retail chains gives you 10 questions that test what a system does mechanically, with what to check in each answer and a Demonstrated / Claimed only / Not supported mark for every one. Inside: a data-flow map to fill in during the demo and results from four named retailers.
A practical checklist for teams shortlisting replenishment software, built to bring into every vendor demo and compare the answers side by side.
Format
12 minutes
Reading time
English
Language
What you'll walk away with:
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Ten questions a sales team can't answer with an adjective, so you hear how a system behaves on a specific day, for a specific SKU, at a specific store.
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The one follow-up that works on any vendor answer, and why it matters more than how you phrase the first question.
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Three ways a new system quietly repeats the overstock and stockouts you're trying to leave behind, and how to spot each one in a demo.
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How to find out, in one session, which steps between forecast and supplier order will still land on your planners after go-live.
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What to ask so the numbers survive your CFO: how stockout losses are priced, which assumptions sit behind them, and whether the ROI case holds up without the vendor in the room.
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An integration map to fill in during the demo, so "we integrate with all major ERPs" becomes named files, flows, and schedules before you sign.
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A scorecard for every question (Demonstrated / Claimed only / Not supported), so every vendor on your shortlist gets measured against one standard, including us.
