Grid Dynamics Launches New Omnichannel eGrocery Solution Built On SAP Hybris Platform

The Grid Dynamics Omnichannel Grocery Platform allows grocers to create an integrated, personalized user experience across all channels

Menlo Park, CA /PRNewswire/ - Grid Dynamics, a leading provider of scalable eCommerce technology solutions, announced today the release of Omnichannel Grocery Platform--a new SAP hybris extension that helps grocers create an integrated, personalized user experience across all channels. Built on the SAP hybris platform, the Grid Dynamics solution helps grocers transition their business model from a purely physical model to an integrated omnichannel model across store, on mobile devices and online.

Online grocery shopping is expected to show tremendous growth over the next several years as consumers continue to become more comfortable with purchasing goods through eCommerce platforms. New entrants such as Amazon Fresh and Google Express and the emergence of omnichannel business models has changed customer expectations as well, forcing traditional grocery stores to enhance their own online presence. According to BI Intelligence, 3.3 percent of current U.S. grocery spending is online, and this is expected to grow to nearly 20 percent by 2018.

The Grid Dynamics Omnichannel Grocery Platform allows grocers to implement a omnichannel platform that provide consumers with an intuitive user experience across, giving them the flexibility to shop and consume grocery-related content anytime, anywhere on their preferred medium. At the same time, grocers gain a 360-degree real-time view of customer behavior allowing them to create targeted marketing and personalized promotions to drive customer behavior and maximize returns.

The omnichannel grocery platform will allow consumers to order online for in-store or home delivery; view nutritional and brand information; create and write reviews; add ingredients to their cart directly from recipes and cooking-related content; save, manage and share shopping lists; create custom orders (from the bakery, for example); and manage loyalty cards and points.

Data collected and analyzed from these engagements gives grocers valuable insight into user behavior they can use to cross- and up- sell; create custom promotions; implement variable pricing; enhance product search; and better manage inventory systems in real-time.

"Online grocery shopping is growing at a much faster rate than the overall category, and grocers can benefit from it only by providing customers a seamless shopping experience across physical and digital channels," said Leonard Livschitz, CEO, Grid Dynamics. "Teaming up with SAP hybris allows us to provide them an industry leading software platform that that will help them retain and grow marketshare in a quickly changing category."

Grid Dynamics Omnichannel Grocery Platform is comprised of the following major components:

SAP hybris commerce platform – Acts as the business logic engine, providing a web interface for customers and merchandisers while exposing remote endpoints for mobile devices

eGrocery Extensions – A set of extensions for the SAP hybris platform that implement advanced eCommerce functions and grocery-specific functionality

• SAP hybris Product Content Management – Stores catalog data (product attributes, prices, etc.)
• Apache Solr – Enables search and faceted navigation
• Sercato – Solr-based solution that provides more intuitive and precise search results
• Personalization DB – Stores personalized content such as targeted offers and promotions
• Agile Software Factory – Helps grocers deploy new software and updates with the agility of Amazon

"I am excited about our partnership with Grid Dynamics to offer a unique and differentiated Grocery solution on the hybris platform," said Randy Evins, Sr. Principal IVE Food & Drug, SAP Retail. "Grid Dynamics Omnichannel Grocery Platform is a great example of combining the capabilities of the SAP hybris platform with the domain expertise of Grid Dynamics to deliver significant value to our joint customers around the world."

About Grid Dynamics
Grid Dynamics is a leading provider of open, scalable, next-generation commerce technology solutions for Tier 1 retail. Grid Dynamics has in-depth expertise in commerce technologies and wide involvement in the open source community. Great companies, partnered with Grid Dynamics, gain a sustainable business advantage by implementing and managing solutions in the areas of omnichannel platforms, product search and personalization, and continuous delivery. To learn more about Grid Dynamics, find us at www.griddynamics.com or by following us on Twitter @GridDynamics.