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Editor's Notebook
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Hidden In The Data: BI
By Matt Pillar, editor in chief
As we analyzed the data from this year's Retail Tech Spending survey, we quickly noticed a theme that wove its way through all the topics we covered; retailers have seen the value of BI (business intelligence), and they want more of it. But, the building interest in BI begs a word of caution.
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Special Year-End Report
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Retail Tech Budgets 2012: Who's Getting The Dollars, & What Are They Buying?
By Matt Pillar, editor in chief
Our annual report on retailers' 2011 systems successes, failures, and spending priorities for the coming year provides a unique look into the state of the industry. Retail is a most unfortunate victim to slumping consumer confidence, impulsive (increasingly compulsive) saving, poverty, and certainly unemployment. However, one of the themes of our report is the overarching optimism regarding the steps retailers are taking to make the most of these economic circumstances.
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In-Store Systems
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From WFM To Mobile: Family Dollar's Lucrative In-Store Systems
A Q&A with Joshua Jewett, senior VP, IT, and CIO, Family Dollar
Family Dollar is always looking for ways to better understand how to meet customers' needs and design its stores accordingly. Jewett answers questions about what's driving in-store systems solutions spending decisions and what's on deck for Family Dollar in 2012.
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Taking POS Mobile And Giving It A New 'Image'
By Frank Riso, Motorola Solutions
Armed with mobile devices that put information at their fingertips, shoppers expect store associates to have answers faster than they can type "Google.com" into their smartphone. Once they've found what they're looking for, they want to check it out in a store as fast — and with as much ease — as they can online.
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Supply Chain/Logistics
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Rethink Supply Chain Transit Time
A Q&A with Gough Grubbs, senior VP of distribution/logistics, Stage Stores
There's passion behind Gough Grubbs' experience as a leader in logistics. As senior VP of distribution/logistics at Stage Stores, Grubbs speaks candidly and knowledgeably about enforcing efficiency and optimization in the supply chain.
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Retailers Look Toward 2012 Investment In Supply Chain
By Ann Marie O'Connor, RedPrairie
From the survey in this month's issue of Integrated Solutions for Retailers, we see 56% of retail executives feel that the biggest ROI in supply chain and logistics will come from inventory initiatives, a key to all-channel fulfillment.
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Loss Prevention
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Loss Prevention Spending Priorities In 2012
By Lee Pernice, ADT Security Services, Inc.
There are a number of issues facing retailers as we continue our economic recovery. Consumers' buying behavior remains cautious. As a result, retailers continue to be challenged to keep their costs down while asking more from their staff. This can create a gap for even greater losses.
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Marketing/Operations
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EMS, WFM Integral At DSW
A Q&A with Dave Crawford, VP store planning and construction, DSW
Back in April, Integrated Solutions For Retailers featured DSW's successful EMS implementation that's saving the retailer 10% on its energy bills. Dave Crawford, VP store planning and construction, talks to me again, this time about DSW's plans for a WFM implementation and the retailer's high expectations for the project.
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Retailers Invest In WFM To Enhance The Customer Experience
By Rochelle Schard, Infor WFM Workbrain
It is important for retailers to deliver a consistent customer experience across every channel or customer touch point. A recent Google survey indicates that about 8 out of 10 shoppers are researching their purchases online before they enter the store. Of those, only 41% are buying online, while 51% are buying in the store.
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Cross-Channel Retailing
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E-Commerce Is Dead — Long Live E-Commerce
By Lelah Manz, Akamai Technologies, America
After attending Shop.org in Boston, a quick scan of the agenda shows mobile, cross-channel, and social media dominate today's conversations. Given this focus, the ubiquity of e-commerce sites for tier-one and tier-two retailers and the large number of respondents planning e-commerce investment is surprising.
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Free Magazine Subscription
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For insight on how retailers can achieve critical business objectives by integrating leading-edge technology and operations solutions across the retail enterprise, subscribe to Integrated Solutions For Retailers magazine.
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Special Insert
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| Build A Bottom Line That Keeps You Ahead Of The Curve |
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The Sprint 3G network reaches over 274 million people, but there's much more to Sprint than that. As your communications partner, Sprint is ready to deliver solutions that help you meet the challenges of today's competitive retail environment.
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