About this Presentation
The retail environment is full of myths that prevent proper functioning and perpetuate damaging modes of operation - pushing inventories is just one of them. In this workshop, we'll investigate myths in four broad categories - stockouts, surpluses, time and technology - and how to replace them with reality using TOC.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
This hands-on workshop challenges some of retail’s most persistent assumptions, showing how myths about mix, stockouts, surpluses, time, and technology can quietly sustain poor availability and weak financial performance.
A major insight is that not all SKUs should be treated the same. The workshop uses alpha-beta-gamma logic, substitution effects, and real-curve examples to reframe how retailers think about assortment, fast movers, slow movers, and new product decisions.
The session argues that stockouts and surpluses are both badly misunderstood. It shows why measured stockouts can understate customer impact, and why even small reductions in blockage and excess stock can create outsized profit gains.
Time emerges as the critical retail variable. The workshop connects resupply lead time, decision time, supply time, and technology choices to a larger goal: enabling retail systems that respond faster, replenish better, and create value with fewer shortages.
Instructor(s)
Humberto R. Baptista
Humberto R. Baptista is a strategic thinker, innovator, and Synergist, serving as CEO of Vectis Solutions. A recipient of the TOCICO Lifetime Achievement Award (2019), he has spent decades shaping how organizations think, decide, and perform. Humberto was a strategic advisor to Neogrid, a member of the TOCICO Board of Directors, and a senior figure in the Goldratt Group. He has led major Viable Vision transformations across sectors—from consumer goods and retail to manufacturing, services, and large-scale projects—delivering tangible, systemic breakthroughs. As a global educator, he has trained hundreds of TOC Viable Vision Application Experts and Project Leaders. Humberto is the creator of the Comprehensive Management methodology, designed to connect local actions with global consequences in real-world business systems. His current focus includes Comprehensive Management, TOC Principles, S&T-based implementations, advanced TOC Finance, and applying TOC to complex domains like retail, government, health, and education.