It is important to create an operational structure that is agile enough to react to changes without making life difficult for associates and customers
It is that time of year for celebrations as the festive season knocks on our doors again, beginning with Onam and stretching all the way to Christmas.
Shoppers are getting both their online and physical shopping carts ready, which is expected to drive strong demand and pressure retailers of all sizes to respond with the right omni-channel strategy to help overcome potential operational challenges they may encounter.
With India’s e-commerce market projected to touch INR12 lakh crore (approximately USD184.56 billion) by 2026, retailers will need to focus on seamless and personalised customer experiences and rely on three key pillars to excite, retain, and increase cart size.
1. Engaging Associates
Retailers typically expand their front/back of the store workforce during the busy festive period, and this can be quite daunting. Onboarding, training, and managing staff can be a challenge.
Streamlining store execution with task management software is a great way to funnel automatically prioritized tasks to the right employees’ mobile devices. This gives them a list of tasks, updated in real-time, that they can use to ensure associates are at the right place at the right time, working on the right tasks.
Simplifying communication and collaboration with real-time communication solutions enables employees to better engage with customers. It enables retail associates with the ability to answer customer questions more quickly by working together with other employees, and it makes it easier for managers to provide in-the-moment feedback and ensure they are not confused or frustrated with their work. That clarity has a huge impact on retail associates and reflects on customer satisfaction.
2. Optimizing Inventory
“Out of stock” SKUs can be a big dampener for a customer. Retailers can improve on-shelf availability by investing in inventory management solutions with real-time or near-real-time tracking to conduct faster and lower-cost cycle counts, making it easier to monitor stock levels and adjust prices as needed. They can ensure that the right SKUs are on the shelf by tapping into artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that have been specifically refined to improve forecasting and planning accuracy.
Retailers can also semi-automate in-store fulfilment by utilizing task management and real-time communication to inform employees when they need to handle orders and help them pick orders faster via guided picking tools in the warehouse.
To minimize loss and theft, detect unseen sources of product loss, and take prompt course-corrective actions to rectify such issues, retailers can make use of AI-powered analytics. Loss prevention plays a role in inventory availability with a direct impact on the bottom line.
3. Elevating the Customer Experience
Retail associates need to be able to respond, at a moment’s notice, to any question that a customer may have, or risk breaking that seamless search-shop-pay experience that helps increase transaction volume and value.
Equipping staff with the right mobile communication hardware and software is crucial to accomplishing this real-time response. Without a way to talk or text with other employees or check product information in real-time, employees would only get in the customer’s way. Retail associates also need real-time directions about assigned tasks, whether the priority is putting up relevant signage, setting up in-store promotions, or restocking empty shelves. So much about the customer experience relies on employees being productive and informed, so they can improve the in-store service and ensure that the shopper journey is frictionless. In-store, other technologies such as queue busting with tablet-based mobile Point-of-Sale (POS), radio frequency identification (RFID_ based self-checkout counters, or fast multi plane scanners can help reduce wait times significantly.
Change A Lot on the Floor Without Changing Much Behind the Scenes
It is important to create an operational structure that is agile enough to react to changes without making life difficult for associates and customers – and that starts with adding intelligence into the operational technology infrastructure that keeps people in the know and pointed in the right direction. AI-powered software that is trained to drive demand forecasting, planning, task management, loss prevention, and labor scheduling does not require retailers to completely replace systems or re-engineer business processes. It can be embedded within the existing framework. It will help quickly reduce the risks, losses, and uncertainties challenging one’s ability to keep customers, employees, and executives happy.
(This article is authored by Rajnish Gupta, VP & Head, India and Sub-Continent business, Zebra Technologies APAC)
