a		a

Aggressive competition, disruptive technologies and demanding customers will always be the background against which retailers fight their everyday battle to attract and retain customers, is how Mim Burt, Principal Analyst (Retail), GartnerG2, sums up the current retail environment. Aggressive competition, demanding customers, fine, but disruptive technology is what retailers need to be vigilant about. It is costly… it is necessary for survival… but it should achieve the objective it is intended for. But, isn't risk-taking an integral part of entrepreneurship? It certainly is, and it is also one of the core philosophies behind the success of retail giant Wal-Mart. So, it is the time to take stock of emerging technologies and adapt them as per the futuristic requirement…

More than ever, companies are facing an unprecedented complex set of challenges on all fronts, retail, consumer, competition, globalisation and growth. Profit margins are low, revenue growth is stagnant, and costs are rising. Managers have thus far relied more on gut instincts and are going for tried and trusted measures. But the rules of the game are changing and conventional responses are failing to produce expected results. CPG organisations are faced with demands for increased service levels (completeness & speed) to retailers, facing cost increase for holding additional inventory, higher logistics cost, higher manufacturing cost, increased trade promotion and increased collections cost.
The din of the confusion notwithstanding, Retailers around the world have survived the turbulent times of the past few years. As recovery begins, stores are starting to address the operational inefficiencies. From improving access to company information to updating sales technologies, companies are now refocusing on the future of their business. Discarding the older proprietary technologies, today's retailers are looking for the most effective way to simplify operations, control costs, and build for the future. Many suffer from limited visibility into the supply chain and store operations, time-consuming business processes, restricted customer information, and little collaboration between the various store sites.
A cross-channel integrated approach to understanding cross-channel execution of the core retail business processes is a key weapon to driving retailer loyalty as it will enable retailers to understand and serve the customer through the most appropriate channel at the right time and in the most cost-effective and revenue-generating way.
The most successful companies will be those that can adjust to an environment where change is a constant. The ability to discern what customers want, and to be able to provide it to them, not only how and when they want it, but also at a price they are comfortable with and that maintains the company's margins. This has become a challenging proposition in today's rapidly shifting marketplace and requires a high degree of Business Agility throughout the enterprise. Technology has the answer.