How retailers could find the right omnichannel platform

Marco Lim, CEGID commercial director for APAC, said choosing the right platform is “not one-size-fits-all.”

Investing in omni-channel platforms will be a game changer for retailers, but Marco Lim, commercial director for Asia Pacific at CEGID, reminded retailers that budget is finite and they have to evaluate their operations to find the platform that will suit their vision.

Speaking at the Retail Asia Forum, Lim said among the considerations retailers have to assess in finding a compatible omnichannel is the advantages the platform will provide to the business and the seamless shopping experience that it will offer to consumers which may include the various payment methods.

“Convenience is key nowadays. Customers want the same convenience offline that we have online,” he said.

“[O]mni-channel is not just buying a piece of technology, it is about the opportunity to rethink operations as a retailer to have the entire company be focused around servicing the consumer the way they want it and allowing them to buy however they wanted and whenever they want it,” Lim said at the Retail Asia Forum in Manila.

Retailers would also have to think about their staff or the people who will use the technology. They should check how the adoption of the omnichannel platform helped in delivering their tasks, and ensure that only the right people can accomplish what they are allowed to.

Staff adjustments should also be taken into consideration, as well as the capacity of the platform to help the business in expanding its store network, Lim said.

Lim cited Australian brand Aesop which has over 400 stores globally can harmonise its operation across 40 markets to one single system which captures data which is fed to the warehouse.

Amongst the advantages that retailers should look into is the potential contribution of the platform in improving store conversion rates, average basket or order size, and client registration speed, personalisation level.

For the e-commerce level, they should evaluate the benefits of online conversion and the enhancement of customer service. On the operational side, retailers should assess the improvement of margins, and discount strategies, and reduce the dissonance between online and offline, amongst others.

“Selecting the right features or selecting the right partner that can support your vision, support your short-term and long-term objectives can be the difference between success and failure in a project,” he added.

For example, PVH, the owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, cut the number of apps it uses from 21 to three, which effectively saved them four hours a week which translates to around $364,000 (£300,000).

No one-size-fits-all

In choosing the tech partner, Lim said retailers should look closely at their reliability and reputations.

He said retailers should check how reliable the tech stack of their partner, their security team, and their accessibility amongst others. The ease of collaboration should also be taken into account as well as their product roadmap as they can tap into these new features.

The customer advisory board is also a vital part of choosing the right partner. Lim said that at CEGID, they meet up with their customers every two months to discuss the challenges and their recommendations as they will help improve their solutions.

“This is how we see a long-term partnership with our customers,” he said.

“What to keep in mind during the selection process? That depends on your objective for your business, your maturity level in that omni-channel journey… This is not a one-size-fits-all view,” Lim said.

Some of the key things retailers should keep in mind in selecting a partner also include compliance across different countries, mobile apps, partner ecosystem, security, openness, cloud software-as-a-service, and ease of adoption, Lim said.

He also reminded retailers to take into account the project timeline and budget, customisation level for their needs, subscription limitations, talent recruitment, and the internal sources to support the technology.

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