Why are collaboration and customer service so important in retail? When we think of retail and fashion, images of shopping, trendy styles and social media influencers come to mind. Behind the scenes, however, manufacturers are putting together product collections that designers create using materials sourced from a global network of suppliers, with increasingly tight deadlines and evolving consumer preferences.
Although this seems to be a complex challenge for most companies to manage, several emerging technologies are poised to have a significant impact of the retail industry and the way that products are designed, manufacturing, supplied and managed across the extended demand and supply chains.
A PwC study found that businesses that adopt and embrace these innovations and technologies can reduce their costs by as much as 3.6% per year and increase their revenue by as much as 2.9% per year.
But to take advantage of the changing retail landscape, retailers need to develop a strategy for identifying which innovations and technologies can benefit them and allow them to become more and more competitive while also driving down their costs.
The focus must be on new technology platforms, to enable effective digital transformation across the business. New technologies like Cloud computing, coupled with fully integrated business systems and transformed business processes, can drive positive change and benefits across the entire enterprise.
The Bionic Report – Retail Edition put the spotlight on the importance of using technology in the business, to enhance its prospects for developing and surviving. We asked Tom Cheesewright, a leading applied futurist, what the future might hold for the retail sector. Read or download the report.
New technologies will enable staff and customers to collaborate in ways that were not available before. For staff, the reduction in manual administrative jobs will encourage a higher level of customer service. The interconnectivity of devices via IoT will ensure that the employees are better informed on everything from stock to customer profiles.
Retailers will also need to invest in either retraining or hiring staff with more digitally focused or data-led skillsets.
With big data as the “new electricity” acting as a driver for innovation, analytical and interpretation skills are the most crucial for mapping a retailer’s strategy for the future.
For customers, personalisation of the shopping experience will be amplified as the IoT connects their own devices to those in store, triggering individual content.
Not long ago, you used information and reports that might be a day or a week old and already obsolete, to plan your logistics. Today, we have predictive logistics, based on continuously updated real-time data. With new cloud-based ERP systems, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, you can collect real-time data from different systems and get insight into changes in stock and their location, production prognosis, online sales, physical store sales, and consumers’ purchasing patterns. This will enable you to optimise warehousing, develop offers better tailored to your customers, and ultimately improve the customer experience and increase customer loyalty.
Act now. It won’t be long before these innovations become a basic facet of the retail ecosystem.
Identify the key opportunities. Retailers should identify and prioritise the best technology for their unique retail proposition, which can better serve their customer base.
Remember that it is a step-by-step process. An entire company-wide transformation isn’t going to happen overnight – start with a small change, like introducing IoT and RFID tags to track inventory, before introducing robots to automate and stack shelves.
Get everyone involved. Collaborate with the leading technology companies and ensure all staff are trained with the new systems in mind.
Innovate, innovate, innovate. Whether it’s actively adopting new technologies into your processes, experimenting with your own ideas or updating your teams, consistent innovation – no matter how small – is key to keeping the company on top and competitive.
Nexer have market-leading solutions and services that enables retail companies to connect their entire enterprise to their distributed warehouses, retail stores, and external distributed supplier network, to provide seamless connectivity and real-time updates.
Nexer’s Digital Transformation Model, our market-leading Retail solutions, provide real-time connectivity, automation of key business processes, and collaborative systems to help our retail customers to securely and efficiently connect their systems and processes into a truly connected enterprise.
Nexer’s extensive portfolio comprises:
• Cloud Computing Services
• Microsoft Dynamics Sales and Marketing (CE)
• Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service (CE)
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O ERP
• Nexer Insight (Internet of Things) Solutions
• Nexer Big Data and Power BI Analytics
• Nexer e-Commerce and Customer Loyalty Solutions
• Product Information Management Solutions
• Product Data Exchange Services
• Nexer Connected Field Service
• Nexer Cybersecurity
• Nexer MRO Plant Maintenance
• Nexer AMS (Enterprise Application Maintenance)
You can now connect your local, international and global enterprise into a single Connected Enterprise solution. This gives you access to the real-time business data you need for decisive decision making across your business.
Nexer can be your global technology and systems partner to help you stay competitive. We will provide your organization with systems and processes built on leading-edge technology.
With Nexer, you get a Promising Future!
