Helping retailers reign with cloud

Cloud computing not only helps retailers to be more agile, but it can also explore new business models and add new capabilities to retailers’ application portfolios, which in turn increases their speed to market. Muneerah Bee finds out more.

In today’s consumer-driven age, retailers are pressed to improve operational efficiency and reduce cost while meeting consumer demands and providing engaging experiences.

Hence, retailers are recognising the transformative power of cloud computing in this digital era as it is seen as a model which allows retailers to access IT-based services via the Internet in an adaptable and scalable manner.

Kamal Brar, vice-president and general manager of APAC/ME at Hortonworks, explained: “Cloud computing unlocks newer channels of reaching  customers — through social media, mobile apps, online stores or other touchpoints which collect a myriad of information about each customer. With the right data platform, retailers can use this data to gain a deeper understanding of customer behaviours, wants and needs.”

This means synchronising mobile, Web and in-store data to identify patterns and deliver relevant and timely promotions and offers. This, in turn, allows retailers to drive strategic, targeted campaigns at segments of consumers — improving the effectiveness of such marketing campaigns and differentiating themselves from the competition.

Cloud computing not only helps retailers to be more agile, but it can also explore new business models and add new capabilities to retailers’ application portfolios, which in turn increases their speed to market. Muneerah Bee finds out more.

Sami Ammous, Avaya’s managing director of ASEAN, shared that cloud technology is revolutionising retail in a big way in that it lays the foundation
to build a seamless platform from which retailers can create a coherent, consistent and seamless customer experience across all their channels.

He said: “Cloud computing models enable retailers to obtain a single view of the customer. For example, retailers can easily access customer  preferences, previous purchases and even pain points faced to build a coherent view of their customer and allow them to tailor experiences and offers just for them. Analytics and real-time access to customer and inventory data allow immediate resolution of demands and requests in the store.”

By leveraging the cloud, retailers can access the information from anywhere (and on any device), build consumer profiles and tailor marketing and communication strategies to meet business goals while fulfilling customer’s desires, Ammous added.

Additionally, cloud technology is beneficial to smaller businesses looking to scale up, especially those in the retail industry.

Unveiling the benefits

In today’s digital economy, Brar commented, customers are not thinking about whether they are online, offline, mobile or in-store shopping. “Customers want their merchandise in the easiest way possible at better prices, with more assortment and a more personal experience. Cloud computing is essential for retailers to not only stay relevant but also stay competitive. It is more challenging than ever in retail, but the common denominator is data. By collecting, storing and analysing shopper sentiment, product movement and consumer loyalty, retailers will improve
their bottom line,” he explained.

As cloud is remaking industries and improving customer experiences, customer expectation for consistent interactions across channels has also increased over the years.

Ammous remarked: “As customers shift from traditional bricks-and-mortar stores to shopping online, it is essential that traditional retailers innovate to adopt an omni-channel strategy to meet the growing demands of today’s digital consumer. This will enable the delivery of a seamless and consistent experience across channels, enhance the overall customer experience and more importantly,  maintain revenues for retailers — because a satisfied customer is always more likely to turn into a loyal customer and spend more.”

Swirling into the future

With cloud, retailers are able to harness the power of data from their business and their customers to better personalise, contextualise and  nderstand who customers are.

The use of data will proliferate even further in the future, Brar forecasted, using machine learning, sensors and artificial intelligence. “We are already
seeing snippets of development in the US, where Amazon is experimenting with new stores through ‘walk-out technology’. Through such examples,
data is clearly the new currency that buys retailers a competitive edge through innovations and personalised customer interactions — and we are expecting more retailers to experiment and innovate with the data at their fingertips to create unique and new shopping experiences.”

Moving to cloud-based supply chain management

THE rise of e-commerce and mobility has made it necessary for retailers to have greater visibility when it comes to logistical arrangements. Migrating to cloud-based supply chain management (SCM) ensures that retailers have greater visibility over their inventory and the entire supply chain because the cloud stores all important information quickly and easily. It gives better control on how to best deliver products in the fastest and most efficient way possible, as well as room to make last-minute changes when necessary.

Sami Ammous, Avaya’s managing director, ASEAN, said: “As retailers become more agile, this will boost customer satisfaction in the long run and allow retailers to remain profitable and relevant to today’s increasingly demanding consumers.”

Cloud-based SCM is also designed to seamlessly integrate with existing retail systems and allow retailers to spend less time managing systems and data. Kamal Brar, vice-president and general manager of APAC/ME at Hortonworks, listed that the main benefits of cloud-based SCM  include savings in operational costs, scalability, inventory management and greater efficiency. For example, cloud-based SCM allows businesses to cut down on operational costs by not having to manage disparate and interdependent systems in-house, or purchase the hardware or IT management infrastructure to support the supply chain. Furthermore, employees will not need to spend time manually managing systems and data.

“As demand fluctuates — particularly around the holiday season — retailers need flexible systems that can scale up or down on demand. With cloud-based SCM, systems are automatically tweaked following demand and business can scale up or down based on the resources they need at that point in time,” he concluded.