ERP Insights >> Magazine >> May - 2015 issue
Digital Communication: The Future of Retail Industry
Author : Subhasish Saha, Chief Technology Officer, Apeejay-Surrendra Group
Monday, May 18, 2015
Founded in 1910, Apeejay-Surrendra Group is a conglomerate that operates in the verticals of hospitality, tea, real estate,
shipping and retail. Under the retail vertical the company owns brands such as Flury�s and Oxford Books.
The retail industry in India has come forth as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. The total concept and idea of shopping has undergone an attention drawing change in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping in India. e-commerce has takenthe Indian retail industry by storm in the recent past, with innovative business models emerging, investor interest in the segment growing, operations being streamlined and a plethora of start-ups making a foray into the field. The movement of e-commerce has been the current trend in the retail industry. Earlier, retail majorly included brick and mortar stores; it and was delivered directly in person where people used to give preference to personal touch and feel rather than the convenience. So, people did not mind going to a store and looking at things while shopping. But the trend has changed with time due to various reasons.
One of the major reasons is accessibility which has changed the whole paradigm of the way people look at retail, while the other is the personification of customer experience. Digital communication, which was earlier a drawback, has significantly developed to make every web store available with the help of various smart gadgets. This particular trend chain has brought in new challenges for technologies in the retail segment. With a shift in the trend, and increasing availability of network and gadgets, the challenge on retail companies is to provide a smooth customer experience both online and brick and mortar stores. For example if a customer wishes to buy a book online, he might want to flip through pages and decide on it. Hence, it is important for web stores to provide a similar kind of experience with a clear understanding of the customer�s need.
Integrating the Modifications
Nowadays every retail sector has their loyalty programs that include mobile based CLPs, promotions, activations etc. both in web stores and physical stores. In virtue of these loyalty programs, customers are given loyalty cards (CLP) to get points and redeem points while shopping. Thus, the CLP earned by a customer needs to be available both in stores and web stores. So, the challenges of integration between physical and web store are something that require attention. Apart from this, the intelligence level of ERPs, the way of managing inventories is also becoming better. The basic operation to run inventories and financial accounting thus needs to have a basic ERP in place which will have good support for integration of master data management and transaction controls and the business intelligence. In a competitive business world, the biggest challenge for a retailer is price competitiveness which has significantly increased. Customers have a choice to buy things from anywhere they want. Purchase competitiveness depends on how well an inventory is managed in terms of number of days, weeks. Holding pattern of inventory also determines the ultimate efficiency
of being competitive and for that you need lot of good business intelligence tools.
Advancements Affecting Retail
Industry
The solution providers in the retail industry are yet to come up with solutions for providing a customer with the similar experiences both, on a technology platform and in a physical format. It is not possible for every retailer to keep on changing methods as the market demands but it is essential to understand the strengths and priorities. For e.g. if any retailer feels that their strength lies with the brick and mortar stores, then they must focus more on it. Retailers
need to continuously invest in newer innovations and technology without ignoring the importance of innovations occurring in the e-commerce industry.
Digital Communication: The Future of Retail Industry
Author : Subhasish Saha, Chief Technology Officer, Apeejay-Surrendra Group
Monday, May 18, 2015
Founded in 1910, Apeejay-Surrendra Group is a conglomerate that operates in the verticals of hospitality, tea, real estate,
shipping and retail. Under the retail vertical the company owns brands such as Flury�s and Oxford Books.
The retail industry in India has come forth as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. The total concept and idea of shopping has undergone an attention drawing change in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping in India. e-commerce has takenthe Indian retail industry by storm in the recent past, with innovative business models emerging, investor interest in the segment growing, operations being streamlined and a plethora of start-ups making a foray into the field. The movement of e-commerce has been the current trend in the retail industry. Earlier, retail majorly included brick and mortar stores; it and was delivered directly in person where people used to give preference to personal touch and feel rather than the convenience. So, people did not mind going to a store and looking at things while shopping. But the trend has changed with time due to various reasons.
One of the major reasons is accessibility which has changed the whole paradigm of the way people look at retail, while the other is the personification of customer experience. Digital communication, which was earlier a drawback, has significantly developed to make every web store available with the help of various smart gadgets. This particular trend chain has brought in new challenges for technologies in the retail segment. With a shift in the trend, and increasing availability of network and gadgets, the challenge on retail companies is to provide a smooth customer experience both online and brick and mortar stores. For example if a customer wishes to buy a book online, he might want to flip through pages and decide on it. Hence, it is important for web stores to provide a similar kind of experience with a clear understanding of the customer�s need.
Integrating the Modifications
Nowadays every retail sector has their loyalty programs that include mobile based CLPs, promotions, activations etc. both in web stores and physical stores. In virtue of these loyalty programs, customers are given loyalty cards (CLP) to get points and redeem points while shopping. Thus, the CLP earned by a customer needs to be available both in stores and web stores. So, the challenges of integration between physical and web store are something that require attention. Apart from this, the intelligence level of ERPs, the way of managing inventories is also becoming better. The basic operation to run inventories and financial accounting thus needs to have a basic ERP in place which will have good support for integration of master data management and transaction controls and the business intelligence. In a competitive business world, the biggest challenge for a retailer is price competitiveness which has significantly increased. Customers have a choice to buy things from anywhere they want. Purchase competitiveness depends on how well an inventory is managed in terms of number of days, weeks. Holding pattern of inventory also determines the ultimate efficiency
of being competitive and for that you need lot of good business intelligence tools.
Advancements Affecting Retail
Industry
The solution providers in the retail industry are yet to come up with solutions for providing a customer with the similar experiences both, on a technology platform and in a physical format. It is not possible for every retailer to keep on changing methods as the market demands but it is essential to understand the strengths and priorities. For e.g. if any retailer feels that their strength lies with the brick and mortar stores, then they must focus more on it. Retailers
need to continuously invest in newer innovations and technology without ignoring the importance of innovations occurring in the e-commerce industry.
shipping and retail. Under the retail vertical the company owns brands such as Flury�s and Oxford Books.
The retail industry in India has come forth as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. The total concept and idea of shopping has undergone an attention drawing change in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping in India. e-commerce has takenthe Indian retail industry by storm in the recent past, with innovative business models emerging, investor interest in the segment growing, operations being streamlined and a plethora of start-ups making a foray into the field. The movement of e-commerce has been the current trend in the retail industry. Earlier, retail majorly included brick and mortar stores; it and was delivered directly in person where people used to give preference to personal touch and feel rather than the convenience. So, people did not mind going to a store and looking at things while shopping. But the trend has changed with time due to various reasons.
One of the major reasons is accessibility which has changed the whole paradigm of the way people look at retail, while the other is the personification of customer experience. Digital communication, which was earlier a drawback, has significantly developed to make every web store available with the help of various smart gadgets. This particular trend chain has brought in new challenges for technologies in the retail segment. With a shift in the trend, and increasing availability of network and gadgets, the challenge on retail companies is to provide a smooth customer experience both online and brick and mortar stores. For example if a customer wishes to buy a book online, he might want to flip through pages and decide on it. Hence, it is important for web stores to provide a similar kind of experience with a clear understanding of the customer�s need.
Integrating the Modifications
Nowadays every retail sector has their loyalty programs that include mobile based CLPs, promotions, activations etc. both in web stores and physical stores. In virtue of these loyalty programs, customers are given loyalty cards (CLP) to get points and redeem points while shopping. Thus, the CLP earned by a customer needs to be available both in stores and web stores. So, the challenges of integration between physical and web store are something that require attention. Apart from this, the intelligence level of ERPs, the way of managing inventories is also becoming better. The basic operation to run inventories and financial accounting thus needs to have a basic ERP in place which will have good support for integration of master data management and transaction controls and the business intelligence. In a competitive business world, the biggest challenge for a retailer is price competitiveness which has significantly increased. Customers have a choice to buy things from anywhere they want. Purchase competitiveness depends on how well an inventory is managed in terms of number of days, weeks. Holding pattern of inventory also determines the ultimate efficiency
of being competitive and for that you need lot of good business intelligence tools.
Advancements Affecting Retail
Industry
The solution providers in the retail industry are yet to come up with solutions for providing a customer with the similar experiences both, on a technology platform and in a physical format. It is not possible for every retailer to keep on changing methods as the market demands but it is essential to understand the strengths and priorities. For e.g. if any retailer feels that their strength lies with the brick and mortar stores, then they must focus more on it. Retailers
need to continuously invest in newer innovations and technology without ignoring the importance of innovations occurring in the e-commerce industry.
