5 retail technology trends to watch in 2011

A great article from the retail customer experience website on retail tech trends in 2011.

The shopping outlook for the holiday season seems to be positive. Online sales are expected to have a high single digit year-on-year growth like last year. The highlights have been better product assortment, lower prices, and good promotion strategies. As a result, cross-channel fulfillment and inventory optimization have become imperative to sustain business.

Here are the five big IT trends that will impact retailers in 2011:

In Store Experience: After being at the forefront of technology news for most of 2010, apart from the shopping app, tablet devices such as iPad remain relatively unexplored for the retail world. High-end retailers would look at providing a custom in-store experience for walk-in customers using these tablets. The usability of this tablet could be explored for the store associates/attendants for functionalities such as item search etc. Given the large screen of the tablets, it can prove to be extremely useful in providing a real life experience such as exhibiting products in various colors and viewing merchandise that is otherwise unavailable in stock.

Multi-Channel Fulfillment: Shopping across channels is available as order online and pick-up in store, or order in-store and get it shipped to a delivery address. Despite this becoming a norm in the retail industry, only a few have managed to master it. Thus, multi-channel fulfillment will form the point of convergence for providing a great shopping experience and customer retention, as well as the retailers’ own inventory optimization.

The existing approaches to fulfill this are:

Order online and in-store pick-up
Order in store and delivery at customer address
The retailers who have already successfully implemented these solutions could look at further optimization, such as a combination of both i.e. order online and ship-out from the store. This would reduce shelf life of in-store inventory.

Better Online Experience: Among the indicators of non-conversion of online sales, the most evident one is shopping cart abandonment. There are a few areas of improvement for retailers:

Better sorting, searching, and filtering: A majority of sites are still struggling to provide filtering while multi-options filtering is almost non-existent.
Multi-brand combination in single cart: Multi-brand retailers should be able to combine shopping carts across brands and apply promotion on the complete cart.
Clarity on Price and Delivery rate: Prices and delivery dates should be clearly marked with no ambiguity.
Payment Options: Payment should include more non-credit card options.
Return policies: Return policies should be clearly explained.
Check-out options: A buyer should be able to complete checkout without registering with the seller.
Planning and Forecasting: Profiling of each store and assortment planning are the key areas to optimize inventory in these times. Even though forecasting at the organizational level is pretty common, the implementation of the correct assortment mix at the store level becomes a challenge. In order to obtain better efficiency at the store level, retailers are likely to invest in new products or enhancements to their existing systems. This could range from systems to measure customer mix, customer behavior towards changing in price changes, and promotions in a particular month or quarter of the year.

Mobile Platform: The mobile platform has become an important channel for retailers with the much more advanced smartphone. Smartphone providers such as Apple, Blackberry, or Android have open platforms for development of software applications for their OS. Since mobile phones are discretionary points of spending, retailers are likely to cater to this need with their own shopping applications. These shopping apps are a low-cost investment and can quickly become a popular channel for shopping, provided they have ease of usability and offer hassle-free shopping.

Sharad Singh is pre-sales head and solution architect, retail at MindTree Limited.

Innovate. Differentiate. Profit.

Tech-savvy, fickle consumers and a volatile economy threaten precious margins every day. Being innovative and creating the most differentiated consumer experience wins new and repeat purchases.

Deliver a more alluring consumer experience, drive value chain innovation, and generate profitable growth with innovative technology and retail best practices.

The team at Retail and Supply Chain (RSC) Advocates bring the latest in retail technologies and operational excellence to your business.

We offer:

· Retail consultancy

• End to end professional services and support

• Customer Experience programs

• Business Intelligence solutions

• Multi-channel\ online solutions

• Loyalty and CRM systems

• In store video and TV

• Community TV solutions

• POS systems

• Printers, scanners & utilities

• CCTV, security systems

• Integration services

• Traditional, in store, cloud or web based POS

• Head office, regional or in store retail solutions

• Self service kiosks

• Mobile payment solutions

• Social Media integration

• Shelf talkers

• IT services and support

• Hardware and Software independence

• and much more...

So if you’re interested in:

Improving your margins

Improving your revenues

Reducing your costs

Upgrading your technology

Improving your customer’s retail experience;

then the team, @RSC would love to hear from you,

so please call or email Peter & the RSC team today for a free consultation

Invest Victoria, Melbourne, Australia: Victorian Government Investment Promotion Agency IPA

Invest Victoria, Melbourne, Australia: Victorian Government Investment Promotion Agency IPA

Mystery Shopping - Customer Experience

i was recently given a real insight into the 'behind the scenes' workings of a mystery shopping company.

Very impressive , very labor intensive and very interesting all round if i do say..

The technology and solutions offering seem to best suit, high volume customer focused companies with 100's of retail outlets, like telco's, large food franchise that have a very competitive market place.

If you've not looked at this area before i would recommend you do.

Melbourne Point Of Sale

i met up with a POS vendor yesterday - MELBOURNE POS .

Very impressive product, great functionality, very knowledgeable team and a well priced solution.

They work mainly with HP hardware.

If you have a moment check out the link. http://www.melbournepos.com.au/

The health of the Retail Sector in Australia

I have a potential concern with the health of the Australian retail sector at the moment.
Its just a few weeks to Christmas and the shopping mall of Australia should be buzzing..
But the mall and shops seem to be, ( at least to me, ) quiet.
And behind the scenes cost cutting measures are in place in many of the large retailers.
Companies are announcing head count freezes, delaying projects and everybody seems to be preparing for soft sales numbers during this period.

Lets hope it will all rebound in 2011.

Australian Card Authentication Technology

Ventures International Group is representing an Australian Card Authentication Technology company (“The Company”) which is already achieving market acceptance and has been adopted by Visa Europe who are currently actively promoting it to their member banks.

The Company is now actively engaging with potential strategic partners for whom the technology is synergistic with their current business in either the Global Payments industry (credit cards, ATMs, POS, interbank networks, SI’s), or the Security space.

• The company is seeking to raise AUD $33.5M to facilitate an offer to be made to one of the major global accounting firms to enable it to exit from its current 51% stake in the business
• This represents the world’s first and only multi- feature authentication, transaction integrity and identity protection solution that is commercially endorsed and supported by a leading Payment Card Industry (PCI) member – Visa Europe.
• The Company was established May 2006 by a group of security and technology specialists with more than 25 years combined experience in strategic information security, risk management and commercialisation of technology software and services.
• The Company aims to become the global leader in innovative security solutions spanning multiple potential markets. Its flagship product is a credit/debit/ATM/ID card with embedded keypad, display, microprocessor and proximity chip that is currently marketed for use in card-not-present transactions.
• The use of the technology could also be extended for use in all card-present transactions such as ATM, PIN-Entry-Devices (PED) and Point-of-Sales (POS) terminals.
• The enabling technology is strongly protected by worldwide patents.
• This is a multiple-capability security solution that addresses the numerous security threats associated with financial fraud and theft, as well as identity theft. The unique ability to combine multiple security solutions in a single delivery unit (either an ISO:7810 compliant card or a mobile phone), enables the general public - for the first time - to greatly enhance their security, without the onerous need to memorise multiple passwords, or the need to carry, and look after, multiple tokens and cards.
• The revolutionary and patented solution has the capacity to largely eliminate many of the more prevalent financial frauds such as card skimming and online payment fraud, while reducing the ease by which to perpetrate other attacks such as phishing, all of which affect everyone involved in using electronic banking, PED and POS transactions, and of course paying for goods and services on the internet.
• For the first time there is a product available to the public that will protect their financial transactions, and their identity, in a format that is easy to use, effective, and even desirable. The possibility of marketing a piece of security technology and making it a sexy, advanced technical status symbol (think iPhone vs any other mobile phone), means that for the first time greatly increased security can become a ‘Pull Marketing’ product that the public will actively demand from their banks.
• Independent research revealed has an extremely high approval rating amongst techno savvy Gen-Y consumers willing to pay for the chance of getting hold of a card.
• After an extensive evaluation, testing and certification process, Visa Europe signed a deal with the Company that will see the technology made available across all Visa Europe’s 4,600 member banks. Visa Europe has over 380 million Visa debit, credit and commercial cards in use. ( The USA card market is in excess of 1.3B cards)

We would pleased to provide more detailed information, including the Information Memorandum, upon execution of the attached NDA.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Olavs J. Ritenis CEO Ventures International Group
M : +65 9185 3044 (Singapore) M : +61 405 448 938 (Australia)
E : olavs@ventures-international.net

20 Cecil Street, #15-08 Equity Plaza, Singapore 049705
www.ventures-international.net

New RFID Manu..

Shenzhen New Force Communication Technology Co., Ltd is a high-tech enterprise specializing in researching, developing, producing and selling 915M ultra high frequency (UHF) of radio frequency identification (RFID) Products. We master core technologies and win independent intellectual property rights covering UHF RFID reader, antenna, electronic label and RFID application system.

The New Force Communication own enormous technological potential. Since its inception, the company has been coming off with the following honors: Shenzhen hi-tech sector, Shenzhen Double software enterprise, FCC certification of USA, CE and RoHS certification of EU. And the patents for invention about UHF reader were applied for also. The New Force Communication’s products are widely applied in parking, access, logistics, warehouse management, assets management, theft-proof and counterfeit-proof, automation of assembly etc, and covering many provinces of China mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, Southeast Asian, North American and Europe etc.

The New Force Communication have founded a RFID Joint Research Lab with Hunan University, one of the famous University in China. This provides powerful support and scientific foundation in theory, experiment, calculation and application aspects for the company engage in hi-tech innovation. The RFID Joint Lab combines the advantages of manufacturing, institution and research teams, ensures the leading position in RFID technology. The New Force Communication’s enterprising and cooperative researching team transfers the technological achievements which they research&develop quickly, offers customers the best solutions which adapt to every special need in different area in time, include software and hardware development, systems integration, after-sale support and personnel training etc.

SCM Software as a Service (SaaS)

Less Software build native SaaS applications on the Force.com platform from SalesForce.com which enables users to efficiently Buy, Manage and Sell their Inventory to their customers.
The Application supports multiple channels for selling their products, including Field-Sales Tele-Sales, Web-Stores and eBay which enables companies with the ability to Acquire, Manage, Distribute products and Fulfill customer’s orders.

Modules Include:
Acquisition Inventory Management Order Fulfillment

Business intelligence at the start…
Less Software’s approach to building applications starts with asking the business intelligence questions first then build the application to answer the questions using analytics, reports and dashboards to help our customers manage their business.

Specialties
Supply Chain Management, SCM, SAAS, supply chain management, inventory management, supplier relationship management, supply chain solutions, logistics software, procurement software, supply chain logistics, scm software, logistics management software, supply management software, saas logistics, saas procurement, web based supply chain software and I.M.

Social Media for the Winery Business

If you are a winery and do not have a formal Strategy for Online marketing, then please download this pdf from ewinery as it discussed the pro's and con's , do's and don'ts of social media as it pertains to the wine industry.

While social media is improtant to your brand and messaging its only part of the online marketing or direct to consumer growth market.

Contact me to discuss further..

Top 100 Retail Movers 2010

This free report, sponsored by Motorola, highlights the top companies, people, issues and trends that dominated retail in a very tumultuous year.

Retail Business Intelligence

Manthan - The latest in Retail Technology B.I

As a retailer today, you know - better than anyone - the need for speed in retail.
The need to arrive at optimal enterprise-wide strategies and tactics, as swiftly as possible.
The need to formulate the ideal rapid responses to ebbs and flows in the market.
In short, the need for accurate, fluid, streamlined decision making.
This is why you need solutions that have evolved beyond providing mere decision support. Products and services that are designed with our deep domain expertise in retail, to do more than merely provide raw information.
Tools that let you make sense of the flood of data pouring in from across your organization, and help you choose the best course of action.
And then, help you implement your decisions, seamlessly, enterprise-wide.

Retail Technology Webcast

"Facing a difficult economic environment, retailers have started to scrutinise their IT investments. As a result they are prioritising solutions that cut costs, improve efficiency and enhance their customers experience to boost profitability, even in saturated markets."

Planet Retail's Joachim Pinhammer, Senior Retail Technology Analyst

Session 1
Focus: Retail Technology Date: 28 June 2010 Time: 11am (UK Time) Duration: 40 minutes

competitive supply chain of the future

According to the experts, the competitive supply chain of the future must have:

Optimization: The alignment of global supply chain resources

Synchronization: The ability to coordinate, organize and manage end-to-end supply chain flows

Profitability: The result of creating value through supply chain activities

Adaptability: The degree to which supply chain members can change in response to unexpected events

Velocity: The speed at which end-to-end flows occur in the supply chain

Ten Attributes of a Superior Self-Checkout Solution Environment

The most successful self-checkout solution represents a blend of innovation, engineering excellence and in-depth understanding of the customer experience. It incorporates rugged, precision-built hardware in a user-friendly configuration designed for flexibility and exceptional total cost of ownership.

But make no mistake, when it comes to assuring the best all-around experience for your customers as well as store associates and the information technology (IT) team, nothing differentiates a superior self-checkout implementation more than the solution software.

The link is to an NCR sponsered whitepaper on Self checkout technology.

Improving the Instore Experience

This pdf presentation ( see link) looks at 5 technologies at play in the Retail store environment that when used correctly can enhance the shopping experience and ensure retailers get closer to their customer base.

Click on the link about to download pdf or copy and paste this link :

http://global.networldalliance.com/downloads/white_papers/GlobalShop09_Enhancing_The_In-Store_Experience.pdf

Top 10 Retail White papers

The Top 10 Most Popular on RetailCustomerExperience.com for March

"Top 100 Retail Movers and Shakers" was once again the most popular downloaded publication last month, while a story that offered tips for marketing toward women was the most popular article.

Read on for the complete Top 10 lists for March on RetailCustomerExperience.com.

TOP 10 WHITE PAPERS


1. Top 100 Retail Movers and Shakers
2. Top 10 Customer Satisfaction Survey Best Practices
3. Designing the Shopping Experience: Five crucial steps
4. Measurement and Analysis for Digital Signage
5. Small-Screen Displays in a Retail Environment
6. 10 Reasons Why Kiosk Projects Fail
7. Kiosk Branding
8. Slides: Enhancing the In-Store Experience
9. Digital Display Technology: Learning the Basics of Digital Signage
10. Social Media: An Inside Look at the People Who Use It

Supply Chain Data: Real-Time Speed Is Seductive, Dangerous

Let's call it the Wall Street Effect: Many companies now face tremendous pressure to ensure that all corporate data is "up to the second," just like those traders on The Street who bask in sub-second financial data and those consumer "day traders" who now demand equal speed.

Give me my data, and Give it to me fast!

That "need for speed" in today's supply chains is one of the underlying messages of a recent report from Aberdeen Group: "Supply Chain Intelligence: Adopt Role-Based Operational Business Intelligence and Improve Visibility." (Free with registration.)

Given that Wall Street Effect, users of supply chain systems today expect this up-to-the-second data. Customers now look for it as well. The Aberdeen report notes that 21st-century supply chains must collaborate with and respond to customers, suppliers and partners at real-time speeds. Supply chain risk needs to be assessed as it happens.

In several instances, the report's authors, analysts Nari Viswanathan and Viktoriya Sadlovska, point to a coming shift in historic supply-chain strategy: from the traditional "supply chain organization" to a "customer-focused customer value chain organization" that utilizes "advanced BI technologies that are pervasive and role-based."

That may be a buzzy mouthful, but the message is clear: Supply chains must become quick to respond--to anything, anyone and anywhere in the chain.

Bad Data Delivered Faster Is Still Bad Data

Multichannel Logistics: Walmart.com’s Site-to-Store Strategy

Multichannel Logistics: Walmart.com’s Site-to-Store Strategy

At the end of every year, Walmart holds a meeting for the investment community. Because so much of Walmart's core strategy revolves around excellence in supply chain management, I always enjoy hearing about the company's plans. What interested me the most this year was Walmart's multichannel strategy.

The linked article details some of the key points..

• Amazon is the company's main target. Walmart.com, of course, is currently much smaller than Amazon, but it is growing faster. Walmart is trying to leverage its reputation for price leadership to take on Amazon. While the company doesn't have the vast selection of books that Amazon has, Walmart wants to be the price leader for bestsellers. Many prescription drugs are now offered for $4 and can be delivered to the home. Whereas Amazon attracts many price-insensitive convenience shoppers, Walmart is clearly targeting price-sensitive shoppers, and these shoppers pay close attention to shipping charges. Some of Walmart.com's products ship to the home at ridiculously low prices. For example, if you go to the Health & Beauty section of Walmart.com, you will find that it offers 97 cent shipping for many items.

• In taking on Amazon, Walmart has added more than a million products through a partner network. Because of this, Walmart offers a much larger variety of products online than what it offers in stores. Like at Amazon, shoppers can view the same product from different partners, read reviews on the reliability of that partner, and pick the partner that offers the best combination of price and reputation.

• It is Walmart's "Site to Store" strategy, however, that really differentiates the company from other online retailers. A customer can use the Site-to-Store service to have eligible products shipped for free to their local Walmart. For a customer that is already a regular Walmart shopper, this is a great convenience. In fact, a Walmart.com fact sheet claims that nearly 90 percent of its customers shop in Walmart stores at least once per month. The online site thus serves a dual purpose. Shoppers can also use the site to research products they might want to buy in the store. For example, Walmart added a tool that allows customers to set weight loss goals and then view the food products they shop for most frequently in stores and check product details, like ingredients and nutritional content.
Forty percent of Walmart.com sales are Site-to-Store purchases. To support Site-to-Store, Walmart is experimenting at a couple of store locations with a drive-thru pick up option. It is also making the store sections where online purchases are picked up larger and more prominent.

Site-to-Store is an impactful strategy for a couple of reasons. Multichannel purchasers are typically much more profitable than customers that just shop at the store. A presentation I received from Manhattan Associates (an ARC client) about its multichannel software solutions cited Nielsen Online data showing that the typical Walmart multi-channel shopper spent 38 percent more per year than Walmart offline shoppers in 2008. Presumably this is why Walmart is testing, rather than rolling out, the drive-thru option. The company wants to make sure that what it gains from an increase in online shoppers more than makes up for the smaller transaction sizes.

But what is most impactful in the Site-to-Store strategy is that it allows Walmart to utilize its existing network of 147 US distribution centers (DCs), 51 transportation offices, 7,200 tractors, 53,000 trailers, and 8,000 drivers. Last year, Walmart made two moves in its DC network: the company opened a DC to support food imports and it closed a Walmart.com DC!

Walmart also mentioned that it had implemented a new inventory management system. I wondered why until I started to think about its multichannel offerings. If you want to support Site-to-Store or be able to sell against network-wide inventory, you would need a unified inventory management system.
Walmart competes on low prices and its multichannel tactics reflect this strategy. The company's website makes it clear that online prices do not always match store prices, and prices may also vary between stores. This is widely considered a multichannel mistake, but one can see the logic of this for a low-cost provider like Walmart. Further, I can't find a phone support option at Walmart.com.

Apparently, all ordering problems must be addressed by email.

Walmart clearly wants to use its size and scale to compete more effectively. Leveraging its existing logistics network to support Site-to-Store is just one example.

WMS Architecture and Total Cost of Ownership

WMS Architecture and Total Cost of Ownership

Steve Banker of ARC has written a new article on WMS configurability or Business Process Modelling & configurablity. Its a good read idf your looking to install an configurable , flexible WMS