invent.ai Congratulates GNC’s Erica Evans for 2023 Women in Supply Chain Award Win
PHILADELPHIA — Sept. 18, 2023 — invent.ai, an award-winning global retail planning solutions provider, is proud to congratulate Erica Evans, Vice President of Merchandise Planning, Replenishment, Allocation, Pricing, Business Intelligence and Customer Data at GNC, for her 2023 Women in Supply Chain award win. Presented by Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazines, the annual award honors female supply chain leaders and executives whose accomplishments and mentorship set a foundation for women in all levels of a company’s supply chain network. Eric was selected for leading GNC in solving supply chain challenges, optimizing processes, and leveraging technology like invent.ai's AI-driven inventory planning solutions to achieve business goals.
In her role at GNC, Erica primarily focuses on inventory planning, inventory management, store and DC replenishment, and merchandise planning and analysis. Over the last five years, Erica has spearheaded many successful supply chain transformation initiatives that have helped GNC overcome internal challenges, navigate external disruptions, and seize optimization opportunities. These initiatives include:
- Creating new order fulfillment methods and optimizing inventory flow during COVID-19
- Diversifying GNC’s supplier base and optimizing inbound inventory
- Protecting vendor relationships during times of uncertainty
- Securing key wholesale partnerships with major retailers
- Launching localization efforts to tailor products assortments to customer demographics
- Supporting store openings with new allocation processes
Across her efforts, Erica embraces innovative technology solutions to support GNC and its supply chain teams. In one notable example, Erica helped GNC implement and leverage AI-powered retail profit optimization solutions for inventory management provided by invent.ai. These AI systems help GNC’s team generate accurate demand forecasts with a decision platform to make smart decisions about inventory planning, store replenishment, and DC replenishment. Erica was adamant about rapid delivery while quantifying tangible profit for the business. As a result, with invent.ai's AI-powered inventory optimization solutions, GNC was able to improve the profitability of inventory decisions and increase sales capture by 150 basis points while reducing inventory.
Gurhan Kok, CEO & Founder, invent.ai, said, “Congratulations to Erica for this well-deserved honor! Erica was awarded for her dedication and commitment to supply chain innovation, and we’re proud to be a part of her initiatives at GNC. Her work is an excellent example of what’s possible when you combine the best in supply chain talent with the best of inventory optimization technologies. With Erica leading the way, GNC is well positioned to achieve success and delight customers for years to come.”
“Women have been making a significant impact in supply chain management, contributing to the growth and innovation of the supply chain industry. As more women join the supply chain workforce, they bring diverse perspectives that can help address complex supply chain problems and improve global supply chain operations. It is important that we empower, recognize and elevate these achievements through initiatives like the Women in Supply Chain Award, as seen through the overwhelming response. Congratulations to all the winners, those who nominated others and the bravery of those who nominated themselves,” added Sarah Barnes-Humphrey, founder of Let’s Talk Supply Chain podcast and Blended Pledge project, both exclusive sponsors of the Women in Supply Chain award.
To see the full list of 2023 Women in Supply Chain award recipients, visit https://foodl.me/fdx1zi.