ebook how to turn 9 retail it challenges into 9 business opportunities

HOW TO TURN 9 RETAIL IT

CHALLENGES INTO 9

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES


CHALLENGES INTO 9 BUSINESS

OPPORTUNITIES

· 2·

Intro

Embracing mobility

Leveraging the cloud

Progressing in cross-channel

Leveraging competitive advantages

Being agile and staying innovative

Being prepared for growth

Ensuring secure operations

Leveraging prior IT investments

Improving customer service and boosting

staff productivity

Final Summary

Infographics

According to a recent market study on

the state of the retail sector that we have

released at Openbravo, almost 82% of

today’s retailers were planning to increase

their IT budgets this year which clearly

shows a trend change that would continue

in the coming years. Top priorities in

retailers’ IT spending are focused on

cross-channel, cloud and mobile

capabilities, and 79% of retailers will

invest specifi cally in their store systems,

where the number of retailers using

mobile POS is expected to triple in 2015.

This shows a positive market outlook

for vendors of innovative solutions and

systems targeting retail.

What the same study confi rms as well is

that despite the rapid growth of online

retail, physical stores will continue to

be the main driver of total retail sales

for several more years to come. This

is especially true in emerging markets

due to different infrastructure, legal and

consumer behavior reasons. Over the

coming years, 89% of total retail sales in

developed countries like the USA, and a

whopping 95% on average in emerging

markets like Mexico or India will still be

realized in physical stores. It is clear then

that physical stores will continue to play a

key role in the retail space.

Retail dynamics are changing though and

that needs to be taken into account by

retailers themselves in their strategies, as

well as by solution vendors like Openbravo

to continue to support retailers for

enhanced competitiveness.

Back in 2010 we made the strategic

decision to develop a new point of sale

solution, fully web and mobile.

At Openbravo we were well positioned

to do so since today’s mobile point of

sale is an evolution of our tremendously

successful previous point of sale solution,

the Openbravo Java POS that was

downloaded close to 1 million times! Our

entirely new point of sale was launched in

2012 embedded in the new Openbravo for

Retail solution. Today we can still proudly

say that it is a differential product in the

market and this has allowed us to achieve

great results especially in emerging

markets where open source affordability

plays a key role.

· 3 ·



OPPORTUNITIES

· 4·

Intro

Embracing mobility









staff productivity

Final Summary

Infographics

Mobility has rapidly become one of the

highest priorities for forward-thinking

companies in recent years and it is deeply

transforming the way they do business.

Employees, suppliers and customers are

benefi tting from mobile technologies with

better access to the best information

anytime, anywhere. The explosion of the

use of tablets and smartphones has only

accelerated this process.

Retailers are not an exception and

mobility has been pointed out as one

of the most important IT investment

decisions. Customer Service, Store

Operations or Supply Chain are the areas

which have benefi tted most by enabling

retailers to better connect with customers,

manage stores and collaborate with the

supply chain more effi ciently.

In the stores, mobile POS has penetrated

deeply into the critical realms of the

shopping experience and customer

satisfaction. More empowered employees

armed with mobile solutions count now

with better tools and information on hand

to provide a better shopping experience

on the shop fl oor.

It is of no surprise then to see that the

adoption of mobile POS has tripled

according to a recent Openbravo study.

Hardgoods and softgoods specialty

retailers are the most interested, to whom

an interactive assisted sale everywhere in

the store makes all the difference.

EMBRACING

MOBILITY

· 5 ·

Processes such as inventory management

are also benefi t highly from mobility.

More accurate inventory counts or goods

movements can be executed from a

mobile device and in real time thus

helping to signifi cantly improve store

operations and the whole supply chain

when they are executed in the stores or in

central warehouses or supplier facilities.

Openbravo provides retailers with a mobile-ready platform that allows them to easily extend their business processes to any mobile

devices and touch screens. Thanks to the Openbravo Core Mobile Infrastructure, retailers can build and deploy mobile applications

for secure access to business processes, anytime, anywhere, and on any device thanks to the use of HTML5 and responsive design

technologies. It leverages the Openbravo web based architecture so all mobile solutions are also web based thus helping to

dramatically simplify the way mobile solutions must be deployed and maintained. And by storing transactions processed during

connection outage and sending them transparently to the back-offi ce once connectivity returns, support is provided for uninterrupted

operations.

The Openbravo Web POS is a full web and mobile POS solution that provides full transactional support from any device, unusual in

other solutions where the mobile POS supports only a limited functionality. Thanks to it being a full web POS the way it is deployed

is dramatically simplifi ed since only a browser is required, thus providing independence from the mobile device so the retailer can

select the device of its choice. Terminals can be rapidly added and removed, therefore helping to adapt more effectively to stationary

situations or enabling new stores to be opened much faster.

An additional mobile functionality for purchasing and warehouse operations is also available, including management of goods

movements, picking lists and inventory counts, that can be easily extended to adapt to customer requirements.



OPPORTUNITIES

· 6·

LEVERAGING

THE CLOUD

The cloud is a disruptive technology for all businesses in all industries, which is

transforming how companies invest and manage their IT assets. This is especially

relevant for retailers who need to embrace technology that will allow them to react

faster and be more fl exible to succeed in today’s super-empowered consumer age. 68%

of retail executives plan to adopt cloud technologies into their business strategies and

operations*.

The fi nancial advantages of the cloud, primarily the ability to move capital to operating

expenses, may initially drive cloud adoption for many retailers, but there are more

benefi ts and they are commonly related to IT effi ciency, IT agility and business

innovation.

Intro

Embracing mobility









staff productivity

Final Summary

Infographics

· 7 ·

Openbravo provides retailers with a cloud-

ready platform so they can benefi t from a

higher IT agility and deployment simplicity.

The Openbravo native web architecture is

of great benefi t, allowing to transparently

deploy the system under different

scenarios.

The Openbravo Commerce Platform can

also be deployed as an On Demand service

using the Amazon AWS infrastructure

and managed by Openbravo directly. In

comparison with traditional SaaS models,

Openbravo On Demand does not only

provide a managed infrastructure but

it also gives retailers the possibility to

fully adapt their system, typical of an On

Premise deployment, so it combines the

advantages of both worlds.

Thecloud provides IT

departments with the ability

to provision and deliver

solutions faster which is very

attractive to retailers facing

common seasonal situations

that require constant capacity

adjustments. Faster time

to market is also achieved

making, for example,

geographic expansion easier,

without the expense of

developing traditional IT

infrastructure.

The cloud provides more

attractive pricing models

compared with traditional

offerings. Cost effi ciency is also

improved since cloud adoption

allows to reduce idle time for

IT assets.

The cloud offers unique

opportunities for integration

given that the information is

more easily accessible from

other solutions and in a highly

secure way.

in combination with

mobile, social, and analytics

technologies, cloud platforms

will continue to add agility,

effi ciency, and cost savings to

projects while enabling options

that are not otherwise viable.

HIGHER

BUSINESS

AGILITY:

LOWER

COST:

BETTER

INTEGRATION

CAPABILITIES:

LEVERAGE, OTHER

TECHNOLOGIES:



OPPORTUNITIES

· 8·

Intro

Embracing mobility









staff productivity

Final Summary

Infographics

PROGRESSING IN

CROSSCHANNEL

Retailers no longer need evidence that cross-channel capabilities are critical factors

for success today and they will be even more important in the future. This interest is

fully confi rmed by several studies that reveal that multi-channel consumers are more

profi table than consumers using just one channel.

However, this does not mean that all retailers are ready for it and in fact most, if not all

retailers have a long way to go to become true champions in this fi eld.

Several aspects have been pointed out as main reasons behind this lower cross-channel

adoption.

Poor Merchandise Management Agility and Supply Chain Management Effi ciency

Merchandise Management Agility and Supply Chain Management Effi ciency are

considered two of the most important building blocks for any successful cross-channel

strategy. However, a lot of retailers are still using old systems, which do not provide

the required capabilities, for example when managing a huge number of products,

assortments, or promotions across all channels.

Lack of Business Analytics

For any successful cross-channel strategy, retailers need actionable customer

intelligence that allows them to react quickly to customer behavior changes and

evaluate the effi ciency of any decision. 71% of retailers think that cross channel

initiatives are still low due to the lack of proper actionable analytics

· 9 ·

Lack of a Single Platform.

A single platform would facilitate seamless cross-channel scenarios but the reality is

that for the moment, retailers´ transaction platform will be a hybrid of multiple channel

specifi c platforms. It is the natural result if you take into account how they made their

large prior IT investments. An interesting aspect to consider is whether in the future

the primary transaction system will be POS or E-commerce. At the moment, only big

retailers can afford to progress in this fi eld and we are starting to hear about new

Order Management Systems that are trying to orchestrate the fulfi llment process across

different channels.

The Openbravo Commerce Platform allows retailers to progress solidly in their cross-

channel strategies.

Higher merchandise management agility is provided with the capacity of dealing

with a huge number of products and assortments in an effective way, with features

like product characteristics, variants and multilevel product catalogs. This agility is

also achieved by the availability of a powerful price and promotions engine for a

faster development and execution of pricing strategies. An unlimited number of price

list versions and a strong discounts and promotion engine including scaled prices,

discretionary or automatic discounts, buy one get 2 promotions, packs, amount or

percentage discounts at line or ticket level are some of the existing features.

Seamless supply chain operations are supported with a comprehensive procurement,

warehouse and inventory management functionality. Retailers can achieve an accurate

control of the whole procurement process with requisitions, purchase orders and

goods receipts, get visibility in real time about stock in all locations with alerts for

replenishment and real time control of order status and warehouse movements for an

accurate planning of picking, packing and shipping activities.

Advanced analytics are provided by Openbravo Retail Analytics, a powerful embedded

analytics engine with visual and role-tailored decision-making tools that communicate

key performance indicators in simple terms and allow to drill down when immediate

action is required. And it requires minimal IT overheads since in most common

scenarios it can be simply deployed in the same Openbravo instance.

The online channel can also be effi ciently integrated by means of existing connectors

with platforms like Magento that fi nally allow retailers to integrate all their channels

and leverage the Openbravo fl exible architecture to build a true OMS that orchestrates

processes across all channels.



OPPORTUNITIES

· 10·

Intro

Embracing mobility









staff productivity

Final Summary

Infographics

LEVERAGING

COMPETITIVE

ADVANTAGES

In today’s hyper-competitive landscape retailers need to develop competitive

advantages. Under these circumstances, retailers are struggling to make the most of

their systems, mainly due to the existence of a gap between key business requirements

and systems capabilities. That gap can be particularly wide with traditional solutions,

particularly as a fi rm’s business processes change as the organization itself grows and

changes.

So retailers are seeking modern systems that allow them to support their competitive

advantages in a sustainable manner. Very specifi c business requirements such as

loyalty programs, custom pricing and special inventory replenishment procedures are

just some examples that can make all the difference and require the system to be

adapted. In fact it is known that a lot of retailers have very customized legacy systems

and they consider it impossible to move to a new system due to the complexity

it represents. These retailers need solutions that can be easily adapted to their

requirements and not the other way around..

· 11 ·

BEING AGILE

AND STAYING

INNOVATIVE

Today’s dynamic markets are very demanding and agility for responsiveness is becoming a must. Unforseen market and business

events, changes in existing processes or the introduction of new products are some examples that require a quick reaction and will

very often have an impact on the existing systems. Therefore retailers require business management systems that are easy to evolve

and maintain. They should provide a straightforward process to upgrade the system to newer versions without any painful migration

process thus allowing to continuously adopt new innovations while protecting any existing specifi c developments.

Openbravo is a fully modular platform. Modularity changes the way in which Openbravo can be adapted to user needs. Instead of

customizing the code to match user requirements, it is possible to externally –from an independent module- extend functionality

and to confi gure it, providing higher fl exibility and greatly simplifying the adaptation of the system to user needs. And most

importantly, this guarantees the isolation and protection of any existing customization so the system can be updated frequently and

smoothly.

Openbravo modular architecture also enables a more effi cient development process, encourages sharing and reuse of new

functionality, and reduces complexity through modules that can add new functionality and modify/extend behavior of other modules

so it greatly helps to reduce time-to-market when introducing new changes.



OPPORTUNITIES

· 12·

BEING

PREPARED

FOR GROWTH

Successful retailers do not only care for their situation today but they also constantly

seek growth opportunities. Introduction of new products, new promotions, new stores

or international operations are just some of the business events that retailers will face

along the way. So they need to adopt solutions that effectively support their future

growth, without impacting their whole business performance.

Openbravo provides retailers with a future-proof platform ready to adapt to future needs and growth. It features a highly

scalable arquitecture that has been designed for high performance and heavy load environments (users and data) and

allows to adapt to any stage of growth thus increasing IT responsiveness to business objectives.

Openbravo’s web architecture enables real-time operation and simplifi es the system landscape, making it easier to deploy

and maintain thus decreasing its operation costs.

Retailers seeking growth internationally can also benefi t from the Openbravo Commerce Platform capabilities, thanks to

the support it provides to international operations with multi-language, multi-currency or multi-accounting features.

Intro

Embracing mobility









staff productivity

Final Summary

Infographics

· 13 ·

ENSURING

SECURE

OPERATIONS

Security is another big concern for retailers. Secured system access but most

importantly accurate operational control and audit to avoid any fraudulent activity in

particular at the point of sale or in online transactions is a must for retailers today.

The Openbravo Commerce Platform provides a strong and fl exible security model that allows retailers to be in control of

their operations.

Secure HTTPS access and LDAP authentication as well as a role based system and auditing capabilities are some of the

available features. At the POS the system allows to easily confi gure manager approvals for most typical actions, which

improves operational effi ciency and help to minimize fraudulent activities.effi ciency while helping to minimize fraudulent

activities.



OPPORTUNITIES

· 14·

LEVERAGING

PRIOR IT

INVESTMENTS

One of the biggest concerns when adopting a new solution is the capacity to

continue using existing systems in other areas that allow the leveraging of prior

investments. More complex supply chains also demand the capacity to easily integrate

with customers and suppliers´ systems. And with a growing number of new retail

technologies it is mandatory that the adopted platforms provide proper tools that

allow retailers to leverage them (new payment methods, digital signage, social media

integration, location based marketing…).

Openbravo provides retailers with a highly interoperable platform that helps retailers to leverage their prior IT investments

while ensuring that new and future technologies will be easily integrated.

The Openbravo Commerce Platform provides an out-of-the-box web services layer (JSON/XML CRUD REST web services),

which simplifi es the way other solutions can be integrated. Standard web services can be easily extended to adapt to any

integration requirement. Ad-hoc web services for specifi c entities (SOAP) can be also developed.

Retailers can benefi t from existing connectors with solutions like Magento, SugarCRM or ZohoReports.

Intro

Embracing mobility









staff productivity

Final Summary

Infographics

· 15 ·

IMPROVING

CUSTOMER

SERVICE AND

BOOSTING STAFF

PRODUCTIVITY

With consumers at the center of any retailer strategy a superb service becomes a critical

goal. To achieve that it is imperative to count with highly motivated and empowered

employees. Employees armed with better tools and information that help to provide

customers the expected shopping experience.

In addition, given that retail has one of the highest turnover rates and faces frequent

stationary situations that require constant adaptation to the available staff capacity,

retailers and especially brick-and-mortar retailers need to ensure staff productivity in a

shorter time, so adopted tools must enable staff to start working with minimum training.

The Openbravo Commerce Platform provides a highly productive web interface

for higher staff productivity and people`s collaboration.

The Openbravo POS allows the processing of new sales in minutes, including a

training mode that allows people to get trained rapidly. Sales associates armed

with mobile devices can provide an interactive assisted sale everywhere in the

store to improve customer service and increase cross-selling and up-selling

opportunities. A fully embedded analytics engine helps store managers to take

more informed decisions and get better insights into the store performance



OPPORTUNITIES

· 16·

CHALLENGES

9

Intro

Embracing mobility









staff productivity

Final Summary

Infographics

FINAL SUMMARY

Mobilize your organization and leverage

existing mobile POS, mobile purchasing

and mobile warehouse solutions

Adopt a cloud-ready platform for higher

business agility

Progress in Cross-Channel thanks

to achieving higher merchandise

management agility, ensuring supply

chain management effi ciency and gaining

insights into your business performance

across all channels with a powerful

embedded analytics engine

Adapt for competitiveness by easily

adapting the solution to your business

needs and not the other way around

React faster to market changes and

leverage continous innovations delivered

by Openbravo thanks to modularity, which

allows you to safely and rapidly introduce

modifi cations and dramatically simplifi es

the upgrade process

Be prepared for your future growth.

Introduce new stores, manage a huge

number of products and assortments or

expand internationally thanks to support

to international operations

Ensure higher operational effi ciency and

security with advanced features such as

auditing or manager approvals that help

to minimize risk of fraud activities

Leverage prior investments with a

platform that is easy to integrate with

Empower your staff and boost productivity

with a solution which is easy to learn

and use and provide modern tools that

will help to improve decision making and

customer service

· 17 ·

Experience Openbravo products by accessing our demonstration environments.

Start with the Product Tour to get a fi rst impression through a guided and interactive tour and continue with the Online Trial on your own to go into more detail with the product

exploration.

http://www.openbravo.com/demo/



OPPORTUNITIES

· 18·

Intro

Embracing mobility









staff productivity

Final Summary

Infographics

INFOGRAPHICS:

*MARKET STUDY

ON THE STATE

OF THE RETAIL

SECTOR BY

OPENBRAVO

· 19 ·

About us:Openbravo is the provider of the preferred Commerce and ERP Platform. A state-of-the-art Commerce

solution for agile retailers and a broad horizontal ERP solution for any industry, both built on top of a fl exible

and easily extendible web, mobile and cloud-ready development platform, ready to power companies’ ideas

for building smart enterprise solutions. Openbravo solutions are distributed exclusively through the network

of global Openbravo partners.With 3m+ downloads and 1,000s of organizations using Openbravo solutions

every day, Openbravo is a world leader in the Open Source enterprise software space.

ebook how to turn 9 retail it challenges into 9 business opportunities

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