Harnessing the Power of Online Shopping

The reality is that online sales are becoming too popular for retailers now to treat as a separate entity from other retail channels. The key for retailers, and a major talking point at NG Retail EU Summit currently in process, is trying to achieve truly seamless cross-channel alignment.

This is especially relevant in the week that H&M has launched and made public their online store. The arrival of H&M online comes soon after Zara and GAP opened virtual retail to the UK.

Previously cross-channeling has presented numerous challenges, such as difficulties adapting older systems designed for store-based retailing to online sales as well as issues around managing order information, inventory levels and customer data across multiple channels.

The recession and current economic dip has meant that retailers have moved to lower inventory levels, which has made cross-channeling even more difficult, but has also allowed executives in the industry to rally around topics that can see upward movement industry wide. Executives attending NG Retail EU Summit like IKEA - Paolo Cinelli, CIO, Puma - Markus Birkel, Head of IT, Tesco - Harm Van Weezel, IT Director are all working for developing the increase in the retail sector prior to the Christmas shopping season.

Just because cross-channeling has been more difficult, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It has meant that new IT solutions have been created that can link order management and inventory systems, and provide enterprise-wide, real-time information to those that need it. In addition, supply chain fulfillment systems are optimizing key processes such as shipping. These increasingly aligned cross-channel supply chains can help retailers improve margins while maximizing their inventory investment and continuing to meet customer service requirements.

If done right, then cross-channeling and can provide a wealth of advantages for businesses. These include:

Increased revenues by using multiple cross-channel capabilities to effectively capture lost sales opportunities.

Cross-sell and up-sell opportunities during customer in-store pickup.

Improved overall customer satisfaction by offering more services in-store and online.
Better customer contact, communications and marketing through improved service options, enhanced personalization and business intelligence.

In short, with lower order and fulfillment costs, companies can improve merchandising and inventory management; streamline fulfillment processes through distributed fulfillment capabilities, implement intelligent order routing and lower costly store-to-store transfers.

Tesco’s Billionaire lifestyle for ‘Value’ Air miles

On the same day Tesco announces monster profits, they have played down any threat that may be caused as a result of the flight ban across Northern Europe because of their early adoption of green strategies. Tesco pride itself on having only one percent of their UK goods arrive by air, owing to an internal policy set up in 2008. In an exclusive interview with MeetTheBossTV, Tesco’s Global Technology and Architecture Director, Mike Yorwerth, reveals the secrets behind supermarket success in 2010.

“It all started with Sir Terry Leahy,” Yorwerth explains. “He sat down with 500 people and said, ‘I want to talk to you about climate change,’ and we all went, ‘Okay’.” What followed was the restructuring of Tesco’s green IT strategies, which has in turn led to soaring profits of GBP£3.4 billion and countless incarnations of Tesco – from Metro stores, to Express stores, to the Fresh and Easy brand – popping up across the world’s high streets. However, such growth has not led to a greater carbon footprint from the retailer, as Tesco has gone to huge lengths to reduce its emissions by 50 percent (on target by 2020).

"Tesco will be carbon neutral by 2050,” Mike confidently told MeetTheBossTV. But does it take yearly profits of GBP£3.4billion to achieve carbon neutrality, or can smaller businesses follow the example of the UK’s favourite supermarket?

“Going green is more about the attitude, and that’s where we [Tesco] started.” Mike offers. “For example, before this our Information Technology backbone was terribly inefficient; primarily because the IT department had no real understanding of its energy use, so if you start by talking about that, and people get their heads around it and actively reduce consumptions, there’s a massive savings opportunity.”

Carbon neutrality appears to be a detailed and meticulous method then, but one that all businesses can achieve. Mike believes it is wholly necessary process, and with the retail giant once again announcing huge profits, we are hard pushed to disagree.