RETAIL
The retail environment has changed significantly not only with the advent of online outlets but also consumer consumption patterns have drastically change since the Covid pandemic.
In a recent report by McKinsey & Company – highlighted:
“The industry has been reshaped by several factors—including the rise of e-commerce and omnichannel, changing customer behavior and hyper -personalization, and growing supply chain complexity—all of which have been accelerated by the pandemic. These shifts have heightened the pressure on retailers’ bottom line: over the past five years, margins have been shrinking by two to three percentage points per year, or even by as much as five to six percentage points, depending on the vertical.”
Furthermore, the report goes on to reinforce that “A coordinated; ambitious tech transformation can have a wide-ranging impact. Our Digital Quotient Survey in the consumer and retail industries found that digital leaders generated 3.3 times the TSR of digital laggards between 2016 and 2020. This finding upholds the idea that technology will be a core driver of next-generation retail growth and will fuel omnichannel customer experience, smart offerings, and lean operations, as well as emerging business models such as data monetization.”
Research has also emphasized the idea of an Omnichannel approached to retail.
Omnichannel can be defined as a business strategy that integrates different methods of shopping available to consumers. It is defined as “seamless and effortless, high-quality customer experiences that occur within and between contact channels” by Frost & Sullivan1. The term is most frequently used in retail and e-commerce settings.
OAS partners with a variety of vendors to develop and implement systems that meet the needs of retail. By providing seamless, integrated experiences across multiple channels, connecting the different channels used by the retail business to support a continuous customer journey, whether it be online or bricks and mortar or a combination of both.
Citrix, Azure and Nutanix - Collaborative Solutions
All three organizations have joined forces to offer businesses a holistic approach to their digital transformation, in meeting the ever-changing consumer demands and retail is no exception.
By combining the strengths of each vendor OAS can offer the retail industry solutions tailored to meet the overall business objectives.
For example:
A hybrid solution might include:
- Citrix Desktop as a Service (DaaS), Citrix Secure Access (CSA) and Citrix Cloud
- Microsoft 365, Office 365 and Azure,
- Nutanix Hyper Convergence and Nutanix data secure storage facilities,
OAS can offer a solution that:
- Enhances the user experience.
- Offer a high level of security to the overall environment.
- Analyse consumer behavior data to implement strategies to meet the customer requirements.
- Streamline the entire environment into a unified infrastructure.
- Reduce overall costs due to the flexibility of pay as you use licensing options offered by the vendors.
- Scalability and agility – on demand licensing options and the flexibility to adapt the environment in real time.
- Improve internal operations such as stock controls, supply line optimization and customer service by improving employee experience.
- Any device, anywhere working environment
- Hybrid cloud / Multi cloud infrastructure operating from a single pane of glass.
OAS can tailor a combination of the above solutions to meet each retailer's induvial requirements and can offer a Managed Services Agreement , reducing the burden on the organization's it department and ensuring the highest level of expertise in implementation, deployment and support.