Articles

RSS

By Matt Pillar, Editor In Chief, Retail Solutions Online/Integrated Solutions For Retailers magazine

Solutions for managing customers, data, mobility, and cash were hot at this month's BIG Show. Our coverage of NRF '10 draws to a close with this final installment of product news and notes from the event.

There's been no shortage of post-NRF show coverage, and everyone's taking guesses at what will be hot this year. In this, our last report on the event, we'll revisit notes from a few memorable briefings and share product news from some key solution providers in cash management, CRM, data management, mobility, and more.

Cash: Wincor-Nixdorf's approach to cash management is based on what VP of retail Doug Wallace calls the "convergence of retail and banking." Its focus is on minimizing cash handling costs, citing research that suggests cash changes hands at least nine times in its migration from the POS to the bank, and that annual US cash handling costs are more than $50 billion. The company is paying particular attention to C-stores, a segment crushed by profit killing cash loss.

Cash handling automation was also a focus at Tidel's booth, where the company's new Sentinel Bulk Coin Dispenser with Coin Recycler (BCD-R) was on display. EVP of Global Sales Ed Grondahl says the unit automates the cash room for retailers' cash handling and reconciliation processes. Cashiers can begin and end their shifts without interacting with anybody or anything but the BCD-R, and end-of-shift and end-of-day balancing is automated.

CRM: You don't need another point solution for CRM, but a Web-based service that allows you to measure loyalty and develop strategies to improve it? That could be good. Empathica's (www.empathica.com) survey-based approach to measuring the quality of the customer's experience, which results in more than 30 million surveys annually, feeds its ability to help you create loyalty and increase spend among your shoppers. Look up Brennan Wilkie there; he's a young man, but "he speaks customer."

AfterBOT is gaining momentum with some innovative means of communicating with customers on their terms, in their preferred mediums (print, digital, etc). The company has rolled out its digital receipts initiative (QuickReceipts Connect) with several leading retailers, giving them more advanced ways to serve and support their customers and increase loyalty. The solution is PCI compliant and uses the NRF (National Retail Federation) industry standard ARTS Digital Receipt XML (DRXML) format. As always, we enjoyed our time with afterBOT's veteran insider, occasional curmudgeon, and prolific conversationalist Jim Nadler.

Data: At 1010data, it's all about accessing data in a faster, more accurate way. The company is making some bold statements about its approach to data management. It's backing those statements up with an offer to safely demonstrate — using your data — how direct query of unfiltered transaction-level information is manageable, fast, and more accurate than traditional approaches to database management. 1010data VP Jim Mattecheck, who knows retail data challenges like few others, is happy to talk to you about it.

When you think "kiosk," do you think beyond the store? Source Technologies does. Its line of input and communication devices facilitates data delivery at all levels and in all spaces in the retail operation. I learned from VP Bryan Jorett at NRF that its solutions are built for many more apps than I thought, including customer check-in, AP/payroll check issuance, price checking/product info, production check printing, bill payment, credit enrollment, check cashing, personal remittance, and even pick/pack management in the warehouse.

Quantum Retail founder Vicki Raport was proud to tell me that Marks & Spencer had chosen Q, Quantum's flagship inventory forecasting, replenishment, and order planning solution, for its grocery operations. She was also eager to discuss the company's new ACE (Agile Customer Experience) methodology, its new customer engagement initiative that's supposed to lead to quicker deployments and faster ROI.

Mobility: Mobile marketing is a 2010 focus at Epicor. Epicor Retail Mobile Marketing, released at the NRF BIG Show, is the company's customer-facing mobile initiative. Director of Product Marketing Diane Cerulli told me that, recognizing the proliferation of personal mobile devices, Epicor seeks to help retailers leverage the medium for SMS (text message) campaign delivery, mobile coupon delivery, and other marketing initiatives. That's pretty neat stuff for an ERP company.

Oracle, on the other hand, demonstrated seven different iPhone applications at the show, but none were developed for the consumer's hands. Its approach is somewhat similar to the Sterling Commerce strategy I wrote about here, whereby store managers are empowered by mobile applications that help manage store ops and consumer relations. For its part, Oracle has paid specific attention to its application interfaces, employing more drag-and-drop, visually-oriented tools in an effort Duncan Angove (GM and SVP, Oracle Retail) calls the "consumerization" of enterprise software.

Verizon made a splash at the BIG Show, putting a stake in the ground that will make the three-way battle in the major carrier space an exciting one to watch. Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon are all making a push into mobile store and enterprise applications with retail-specific solution sets. Verizon's always-enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable Ravi Bagal shared the company's take, dubbed the Verizon Framework for Retail, which includes a partnership with Motorola on solutions developed to secure retailers' wireless infrastructures.

Go back to our special edition newsletter for more product news from the BIG Show.