Technology to blur the click and brick difference
Technology to blur the click and brick difference

With the pervasiveness of mobile and digital technologies, customer expectations are driving retailers to think and act differently. And no second thoughts that from showrooming to beacons, disruptive technology will continue to blur the lines between online and brick and mortar establishments, making omni-channel retailing the norm, asserts Sunil Kumar Thakur, Country Manager - India, BMC Software.

What is driving digital transformation in retail segment?

Retail is a dynamic industry with its own set of manifold and diverse business processes and requirements. With the advent of emerging technology, retailers today are challenged with multiple disruptive technologies followed by dynamic demands of tech-savvy consumers. In order to stay abreast in this cut-throat retail market, retailers need to stay on top of technological advances and learn how to incorporate these technical innovations into setting their business goals.

Today, there are a significant number of new retailing formats which include, online selling, kiosks, mail catalogues etc. For a retailer, it becomes pivotal to convert into an omni-channel and provide a seamless shopping experience for his consumers irrespective of what channel is being opted for.

How has digital transformation benefitted the retail segment?

Over the years, digital transformation has significantly impacted the retail sector. The entire supplier to customer value chain has been enhanced with the entry of smartphones, tablets, phablets, and other types of social media, eventually resulting in the growth of B2B interchange itself.

Today, retailers are given too many options to experiment with and enhance their sales, for instance - the usage of kiosks at the store, in-store services, smart shelves, home delivery, logistics automation etc. Hence, new age technology will continue to grow and at the same time allow companies to expand their reach with multichannel commerce.

With many retailers offering identical or comparable merchandise, competition can be intense. To differentiate, enabling seamless shopping will make Omni-Channel retailing the norm to provide a distinct shopping experience.

What are the challenges for adoption of digital transformation in retail market?

With advanced technologies seeping in, retailers need to re-visit their current operating model, in order to accommodate new software developments for devising their business strategy.

Out of all, the most prominent challenges faced by retailers today are -- offering a seamless omni-channel experience to consumers, integrating technology, managing huge amount of product data and incorporating mobile technology.

Consumer’s expectations have certainly grown when it comes to having an omni-channel experience. Irrespective of the mode of the purchases made, consumers would always prefer making transactions impeccably online or at an offline store.

Application integration is not enough for connectivity in software driven businesses like retail. Retailers should look at creating competitive edge by using these softwares. With an emphasis on the showroom experience, retailers are leveraging mobile technology to free up salespeople to engage with customers, wherever they are on the showroom floor. Today’s retailers are expected to provide online access to everything from calorie counts to instruction manuals. Collecting, storing, and serving up data in the most effective and efficient manner is still a challenge for many retailers.

How is BMC Software helping retailers adopt and deploy digital transformation solutions?

With the pervasiveness of mobile and digital technologies, customer expectations are driving retailers to think and act differently. Vendors are now striving to deliver an experience that will win and retain their customers. BMC can enable retailers to compete and thrive in the rapidly evolving world of retail with in-store personalisation and mobile technology, omni-channel sales, managing product data and also delivering customer expectations.

BMC has an array of solutions such as Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping, TrueSight Operations Management, My IT, Control-M Workload Automation, Data Management for DB2® on z/OS® and TrueSight Capacity Optimization which can help the retail industry adopt and deploy digital transformation solutions, seamlessly.

Digital Enterprise Management from BMC enables IT and Retail Transformation. Broad BMC Digital Enterprise Management coverage of IT Management makes it the ideal foundation for transformation initiatives, addressing both improvement of legacy operations at retail companies and modernization of Omni-Channel and Services Platform to drive new products and customers. Deployment of Digital Enterprise Management is incremental by nature, and business value for IT and operations only accelerates as the organization evolves into such a service-led model.

 

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