CRM Software Retail Trends in Western Europe

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 By Denise Holland

Western European Retailers Integrate CRM Software with ERP Systems and Social CRM

Whether they are bricks-and-mortar boutiques, large chain stores, or online e-tailers, retailers in Western Europe are attracting shoppers through smart inventory choices and competitive pricing, coupled with sophisticated customer relationship management (CRM) software technologies often tied into social media strategies.

Perhaps never before have consumers faced so many choices. And so retailers, no matter whether they use a storefront, a website or a mix of the two mediums, actively are courting shoppers, looking to convert casual consumers into repeat buyers and loyal buyers. Online retail across 17 of the largest European Union markets in Western Europe is expected to reach €114 billion by 2014, with 190 million Europeans shopping online in that year, up from 141 million today, according to Forrester Research. In fact, e-commerce in Western Europe will grow at about 11% a year, slightly ahead of the United Kingdom and the United States, two mature markets, the research firm said.

"Much of the overall retail sector's growth in both the U.S. and the EU over the next five years will come from the Internet," said Sucharita Mulpuru, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester. "To maximize that growth, e-business professionals will have to help enable a multichannel strategy that responds to consumers' increased desire to hop between the offline and online worlds and their increasing mobile and social behaviors. The retail innovators over the next five years will demonstrate customer enablement across all touchpoints, not just via a PC-based Web browser."

In the U.K., online retail will reach €40 billion by 2014, with 40 million online shoppers, up from 31 million in 2010, the researcher said. Today, 48% of British consumers go online to make a monthly e-commerce purchase—the highest percentage in Europe—compared with 32% across the rest of the continent, according to Forrester.

CRM Integration with POS and ERP Systems

Leading British retailers such as Argos and Next Retail have integrated their channels in search of a seamless cross-channel customer experience to help drive substantial sales growth, Forrester said.

To truly accomplish this cross-channel customer experience, however, retailers also must address—and conquer—the back-office, integrating multiple technologies such as point-of-sale, accounting, inventory, human resources, and marketing, with mobile and social media, among others. "In addition, CRM systems are very popular in the retail industry: every successful company in the sector uses this type of system to analyse customer behavior and predict sales," said Jan Ondrus and Yves Pigneur, both of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, in their report, titled Coupling Mobile Payments and CRM in the Retail Industry. "Consequently, with the collected data, retailers can offer personalized offers and coupons to consumers who are members of

their loyalty programs."

CRM systems -- along with enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, content-management systems and collaborative technologies -- are some of the hottest areas of software technology investment focus for Western European retailers, said Ivano Ortis, EMEA research director for IDC Retail Insights. Western European retailers' modernization road maps are expected to encompass the IT infrastructure, back-office systems, and front-end applications, including store systems and multi-channel selling platforms, IDC predicts.

These retail operations do not, however, plan to create these new infrastructures themselves. Rather, they increasingly are turning to outsourcing providers for hosted enterprise IT systems and Software as a Service (SaaS) CRM delivery options, IDC said.

BLUW--a product designer and manufacturer that sells its novelty gadgets through its online store--operates on three continents through its offices in London, New York and Hong Kong. The company needed a globally-accessible, real-time financials and CRM solution that would provide e-commerce, inventory management, CRM and marketing on one platform, said Ian Harkin, financial director. In addition, the software had to handle and consolidate multiple currencies and multiple locations, and distribution-chain management, he said.

The company opted for NetSuite's OneWorld solution, implemented by British solution provider First Hosted Ltd., which installed the hosted ERP and CRM solution in all three company locations. "With NetSuite, we must have saved in excess of £50,000 in computer hardware and infrastructure alone and at least as much again in salaries and fees for IT maintenance and support," said Harkin. "It makes no commercial sense for BLUW to own computer equipment."

Using Business Software Technology to Meet Customer Demands

Retailers are using software technology to keep customers front and center.

Keeping the right products in inventory -- and not wasting unnecessary resources on unwanted items -- is critical to the success of any retailer or distributor, and was a challenge also facing CV Vooruit, a major Belgian pharmaceutical distributor and retailer. The company, which has headquarters in the Ghent area in western Belgium, owns 36 drugstores and its central warehouse, which stores about 10,000 products from more than 200 suppliers, ships inventory to the stores each day.

"Optimizing the quantities and types of products kept in stock is a continuous challenge," says André Devos, CEO. "We were faced with the typical difficulties related to inventory management. We had excess stocks of certain inventory, while our levels for others were running too low. In addition, our manual stock forecasting methods were taking up too much time. And our average storage costs per item were too high."

CV Vooruit knew it needed a dose of the right technology. The cure? An SAS forecasting application. Today, the SAS application handles the entire forecasting process, from data collection to reporting, combining data from multiple sources, including sales, stock levels, and prices. The system forecasts weekly demand and

recommends optimal stock levels.

As a result, CV Vooruit improved its service-level performance by 3%, reaching 97% of its target while increasing its inventory turns by five times, the retailer said. As a result, earnings and working capital increased and stock-outs declined, according to the company.

Retailers also are tapping CRM software systems to improve customer communications via social CRM tools and methods. Social media adoption in Europe continues to grow, with 68% of online Europeans now using social technologies each month, up from 61% in 2009, according to Forrester. Earlier this year, Attensity Group acquired Biz360, a provider of social media monitoring and market intelligence solutions, and integrated the solution's capabilities with Attensity's CRM technologies—Attensity Analyze and Attensity Service Suite.

"Retailers today face a multitude of challenges: a tough economic climate, channel blurring, consolidation, need for differentiation, multi-channel growth, and of course, increasingly empowered social consumers," according to the British company. "Consumers today have more shopping choices than ever and they don't hesitate to share opinions about their shopping experiences with others on blogs, Twitter, forums, and more."

Retail CRM Solutions Become More Specialised

Retail and distribution is such a broad, huge market that some CRM software developers have drilled further down, specialising in specific niches within the broader category.

Raymark, which recently opened a new office in Spain and its second branch in France, offers CRM solutions targeted at apparel, footwear, jewelry, cosmetics, sporting goods, specialty, and hard goods sellers.

With niche oriented CRM retail systems, deep functionality and integration can become more complex. Retail CRM systems often include complex pricing and promotions capabilities, as well as sophisticated discounting scenarios, loyalty programs and RFID and bar-code scanning to augment order-management procedures. In addition, retailers want CRM solutions that support real-time integration with point of sale (POS) systems, either legacy or new, as well as supply chain management (SCM) systems. On the distribution side, CRM systems should interact seamlessly with ERP applications, SCM and warehouse systems to enable consistent, accurate and real-time inventory information, organization-wide.

It may be more difficult to separate consumers from their money, but at no time has it been more important for retailers to enter shoppers' living rooms. Using e-commerce with integrated CRM systems, that knowledge of buyers' habits and preferences, plus up-to-date information about inventory, pricing and availability, will help keep online and offline aisles buzzing and registers ringing. 

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IDC - Press Release 

Top Ten Predictions for the Netherlands ICT Industry – Look to the "3rd Platform" for Growth and Innovation 

12 Feb 2013 

Amsterdam – February 12, 2013 – IDC announced the Top 10 ICT predictions for the Netherlands in 2013. Based on local and international industry movements, the study contains ten predictions compiled by all IDC analysts based in the region.

With the uncertain economic outlook in Europe continuing to impact the Netherlands, IDC expects businesses to maintain a cautionary attitude when considering their ICT spending in 2013. Nevertheless, ICT spending will continue to slowly increase in the Netherlands in 2013. The most important events will cluster around what IDC calls the "3rd Platform" for IT growth and innovation.

"The first platform used mainframe and terminal technology. The second platform was based on Internet and client/server connections. We have now come to the third generation platform, with new technologies that enable users to work regardless of their device and location. Private and business usage and behavior has been united, and companies realize that the data they store can be useful for the business and is growing exponentially," said Jeroen Wortel, country manager, IDC Benelux.

With this in mind, IDC provides the following ICT predictions for 2013:

• Dutch IT Spending Will Be Slow But Boosted by Mobility

• Mobility Will Drive the Corporatization of Consumers

• The Dutch Telecom Market Will Be Data Driven; Overall Revenue Will Remain Flat in 2013

• Social Marketing Will Reach a Paradigm Shift

• Enterprise Social Collaboration Will Continue to Be the Fastest-Growing Software Market

• Dutch Shopkeepers Will Embrace Omnichannel Retailing Strategies

• Private Cloud Adoption Will Drive Enterprise Public Cloud Growth

• Server Virtualization Will Remain an Important Investment Area

• Services Industry in the Netherlands Will Struggle: Survive and Acquire

• CIOs Will Play a Smaller Role in the Evaluation and Ownership of ICT Investments

"2013 will be a 'make or break' year for some ICT vendors and service providers, while they have yet to come up with the structural answer to the disruptive trends of the 3rd Platform combined with the economic crisis and the changing business dynamics," said Wortel. "Leadership teams will need to pull the right levers to ensure successful execution and to meet client expectations for increased cost transparency, elasticity of consumption, and deliver

Going Dutch: changes underway in the NetherlandsView all articles

There is no doubting the extent of the change in the Dutch retail sector, particularly since the birth of a new ‘super power’ in the form of Jumbo, as well as the development of a new buying lobby set to challenge Albert Heijn’s position at the top.

The economic backdrop

According to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the Dutch economy shrank by 4.0% in 2009 – the single biggest decline since the end of World War II.

However, one positive story to come out of the recession is the way in which the country has been able to keep a close control over levels of unemployment, which at the end of 2009 stood at 4.0% according to Eurostat - the lowest figure reported by any of the EU27 nations. This is at a time when average unemployment across the eurozone is running at a ten year high.

Grocery retail performance has also proven to hold its ground in the most recent 12 month period, with nominal growth of 1.8% in the Netherlands for 2009 compared to negative growth in several countries nearby, most notably France and Spain.

The catalyst for change

There have been two major developments of late which have gripped the Dutch retail sector.

First to make the headlines in October 2009 was Schuitema’s strategic tie-up with Jumbo, two competing retailers who decided to establish a new buying group, an initiative to manage the combined sourcing for the two chains.

Soon after, Jumbo itself shot to further stardom by acquiring no.2 player Super de Boer from French retailer Casino in a deal valued at just over €550 million, turning this once small family-owned player into no.2 in the market.

Since then, Jumbo has unveiled its plans for the 170 stores it has acquired in the medium-term, with the retailer now embarking on one of the biggest store conversion programmes ever in Dutch retail history.

Who exactly is Jumbo?

Jumbo is a family-owned business under the full control of the Van Eerd family. The family has always had a strong history in retailing, with the Jumbo brand first gaining widespread recognition in the south of the country before pursuing a broader expansion plan in the mid-1990s.

Jumbo’s business model is what sets it apart from the rest, with shoppers greeted by an innovative take on ‘Every Day Low Price’ combined with best- in-class food theatre, all under one roof.

In fact, the company’s founding principles still remain its hallmark, described simply as ‘The Jumbo Formula’ – a combination of low prices, a wide assortment and exceptional customer service - perhaps the equation for others to follow in the years ahead.

Supply chains

In this changing landscape, retailers in the Netherlands have also been implementing a range of supply chain improvements to manage some of the challenges. These include investing in sustainable transport solutions such as cleaner vehicles, quieter equipment, evening/night-time distribution and tractor trailers (as opposed to rigid trucks) that allow greater flexibility & space efficiency. Trucks with a higher pallet capacity and double loads floor are also being trialled.

Furthermore, the challenges of city-centre distribution have given rise to alternatives such as hubs just outside the city centres and distribution with smaller electric vans.

The outlook for the 2010

The Netherlands is a market now waking up to the reality of the changes currently underway. Greater market consolidation will inevitably prevail. With the loss of yet another operator, Super de Boer, future growth will come from a smaller pool of retailers all pursuing the added benefits associated with increased scale and brand recognition.

Schuitema’s new C1000 concept, like the one being trialled in the town of Harderwijk, provides a useful reminder of the need to invest for the future. Its key points of difference are the redesigned C1000 external fascia, new strap line and innovative in-store features – all of which aim to reposition C1000 as the supermarket with ‘market feel’.

So what about Albert Heijn? Success this year will depend on a combination of things, including its ability to respond to the challenge posed by the new tie up between Schuitema and Jumbo and the contribution it makes to the first phase of Ahold’s three year cost reduction programme, with €350 million in savings set to be generated from Ahold’s global businesses by 2012.

Five facts about the Netherlands

There are an estimated 16 million bicycles in the Netherlands The country has over 4,000 km of navigable rivers, canals and lakes It is often termed as a 'land of compromise', as it usually has a coalition government Netherlands is the third largest exporter of agricultural produce after the USA and France One quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level

Everything to play for in the Dutch retail sectorBy just-food.com | 22 April 2004

The problems encountered by Ahold last year left the highly competitive Dutch

supermarket sector wide open. Albert Heijn's rivals worked hard and fast to gain ground,

and a fascinating battle of wills is still in full swing, as CAD-News and Catherine Sleep

report.

The three national players who dominate 80% of the Dutch multiple retail sector are in no mood for

compromise. Ahold is clinging on to market leadership with its two fascias, Albert Heijn and Schuitema,

while SuperUnie is hot on its heels and Laurus is in not-too-distant third place. Since last autumn, these

three rivals have been engaged in a hostile battle launched by Albert Heijn in a bid to regain the 4%

market share and market leadership it forfeited in the summer. After three months of vicious 5-10%

price cuts, the jewel in struggling retail giant Ahold's crown is almost back on top: Albert Heijn is once

again market leader and enjoying a 25% share of the market.

"The situation is not dramatic because in fact prices have simply receded to their level prior to the

introduction of the euro," suggests Robert Flipse, agricultural representative at the French embassy in

the Hague. "But if they continue to fall, which looks likely to be the case at least until the coming

summer, some retailers are going to find life hard, notably Laurus, which is finding this upsurge in

competition very tough."

Laurus in freefall

Two years ago Laurus was the second largest player in the Dutch multiple retail sector, with a market

share of almost 22%. Since then the company has gone into freefall and its market share is currently

just 17%. Its downfall was a strategic gaffe which went by the name of Operation Konmar. In 2001

Laurus decided to bring together its three formats Edah, Super de Boer and Konmar under the single

brand of Konmar and gradually to expand all its outlets to the 2500m2 format of the Konmar stores.

However, "You cannot hope to give a new image and a full supermarket stock list overnight to outlets

of just 800m2," explains Flipse. Moreover, while Konmar was well established in the Hague and the

surrounding area, the format was practically unknown in the rest of the country.

To escape having to file for bankruptcy, a move which looked imminent, Laurus embarked on a

financial restructuring campaign. The first step was the sale of a 37.8% share in its capital to French

retailer Casino, which also has an option to up its stake to 51% in 2008. "Casino will almost certainly

exercise this option, and it's definitely what Laurus wants, as the Dutch group needs Casino's support,"

predicts Flipse.

Keen corner shoppers

The failure of the Konmar format is indicative of the sensitive needs of the convenience store-focused

Dutch retail market. Dutch shoppers are very attached to their corner shop and tend to call in twice or

three times a week, spending in the region of €20 (US$24) per visit. They have little interest in out-of-

town megamarts. As yet the Netherlands boasts not a single hypermarket, the few attempts to

establish one having all ended in failure.

That said, the average sales area of Dutch supermarkets (currently 80m2) has been growing since the

beginning of the 1990s and today almost all new store openings boast a sales area of 2000m2 or

2500m2, along the lines of the XL format launched by Albert Heijn two years ago. For all that, not even

one fiftieth of the Netherlands' 7500 supermarkets are of that size, and the surface area expansion has

more to do with the doubling of the number of SKUs available in stores than with a change in

consumer shopping habits. At the end of the 1980s, supermarkets of 500m2 generally carried just six

or seven thousand product lines.

Aldi, Lidl gaining ground, Superunie poised for success

Although talk of a dramatic breakthrough would be exaggerated, German hard discounters Aldi and

Lidl have both made progress in the Netherlands. Although it has had a presence there since 1975,

Aldi has recently benefited from a subdued Dutch economy to improve its market share to 9%. Equally,

after a rocky start to its Dutch operations five years ago, Lidl has grown its share to 3% by acquiring

from Laurus a stake in the domestic discounter Basismarkt in 2001. This has given the German group a

marginal lift that analysts regard as temporary.

This is where Superunie emerges to rock the boat. The purchasing cooperative which comprises 18

regional groups has gained market share in record time and currently dominates some 24% of the

retail market, just one percentage point behind the market leader Albert Heijn. Superunie overtook

Laurus to take second place in the retail sector and at one point even outstripped Albert Heijn for a

period of several months. This rapid growth, which has since stabilised, is attributable to a number of

acquisitions, most recently that of the Sperwer group in 2002, which meant it gained 4% market share

in one fell swoop.

Growth by acquisition paramount

"The market is both small and dense. A newcomer's only opportunity to gain ground is by acquiring

existing entities, as Casino has done," comments André Normand, deputy director of the French

economic mission to the Netherlands.

In this ever changing landscape, one certainty remains for the time being, namely the global

leadership of Albert Heijn. "The chain has always been at the forefront. It was Albert Heijn that first

started stocking cheese and then wine on its shelves, and it's always been the supermarket which

spearheaded trends that the rest of the market simply followed," recalls Flipse. "It's just that the

company has tended to lose sight a little of its customers during times of economic growth, and of

course it has suffered from the negative image of Ahold in recent times. But Albert Heijn is still the

market leader in every sense of the word."

It remains to be seen how long this will be the case...

The Dutch retail sector

The major Dutch players

1. Albert Heijn (an Ahold subsidiary): 706 outlets, €5.703bn turnover

2. Superunie: 1800 outlets, €6.8bn turnover

3. Laurus: 732 outlets, of which 264 Edah, 105 Konmar and 363 Super de Boer, €5.476bn

turnover

4. Schuitema (an Ahold subsidiary): 450 outlets, €2.871bn turnover

Presence in major cities:

Amsterdam: 50 Albert Heijn (Ahold), 5 Edah (Laurus), 5 Spar (Superunie)

Rotterdam: 12 Edah (Laurus), 9 Super de Boer (Laurus)

The Dutch market

After a 0.75% downturn in GDP in 2003, the Dutch forecasting office expects 2004 to see a modest

return to growth in the region of 1%. This upturn will be linked closely to an anticipated 5.5% growth in

exports, which contributes more than half of Dutch GDP.

With a population of just 16.1 million, the Dutch market is very susceptible to competition, which tends

to drive down prices. 2004 has already got off to a difficult start: while the Netherlands is one of the

keenest defenders of the Stability Pact, it faces the danger of racking up a 3.25% public deficit in its

GDP. Unemployment stood at 5.5% in 2003 but is also expected to increase this year to as high as 7%.

Catherine Sleep translated this article from the French with permission from its authors, French retail

news service CAD.

Worldwide trends in online shopping

Browsing leads to buying. Hard figures from research agencies the world

over confirm it all too clearly: Internet business is booming. A report by the

Centre for Retail Research, commissioned by Kelkoo - one of the world's

leading comparison sites – shows that Internet turnover has increased

much more quickly over the past 10 years than sales through physical

‘brick and mortar’ stores. While the world sags under the weight of the

recession, between 2008 and 2011, online sales in Europe grew by an

average of no less than 67%!

The top three countries that purchase the most on the Internet are the United

Kingdom, Germany and France. Together, these countries are responsible for

71% of all European online retail. But the Netherlands isn't too far behind.

According to recent research by Thuiswinkel.org, total online turnover of products

and services in the Netherlands for 2011 rose by 9.8% to 9 billion euros. This

growth puts the Netherlands on par with Scandinavia as one of the frontrunners.

Seen from a global point of view, there are a few important trends that explain

why offering products and services online is the way of the future:

• The constantly rising use of smartphones and tablets makes the consumer more

mobile and therefore more contactable than ever. This means they’re in more

places and have more opportunities to view advertisements, which can only lead

to direct sales. This way someone waiting for the train who reads a gripping ad

on the platform may become an important customer.

• Progressive technology makes shopping for products or services into an

experience: did you know that there are already apps available that record sizes

via webcam? Or that people can try something on in 3D before buying it? There

are innumerable, easy ways to show or try out a number of items or services.

• Thanks to an increasingly larger supply of safe payment methods and the rise

of efficient shipping companies, shopping on the Internet is a positive

experience for both retailers and consumers. Payment via credit card, iDEAL,

PayPal and the option of tracking the package make modern Internet sales nearly

as accessible as buying from brick and mortar stores.

• Social media such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter are fantastic, super-easy

ways of reaching a wider audience and holding on to a customer base. Almost

literally giving the company a face makes projecting an identity very easy. The

well-known ‘Like me’ means 'Know you’ in an instant for the retailer. Social media

is the ultimate modern word of mouth advertising and it provides knowledge,

control of your target group and publicity for your product or service like no

other medium. An additional advantage of this 'personalisation' is that customer

service is easy to manage via this channel, making doing business online less

anonymous. It is therefore seen as more trustworthy.

Marketing agencies cannot say it often enough: if you're starting a business or you

already have one and you're not yet online, then do so as quickly as possible. Take

advantage of this Internet sales boom. Brick and mortar stores are not set to

disappear, as this is where customers can try out products in various ways.

Especially now, in financially difficult times, people want value for their money.

Make sure your website works well on mobile phones, go for effective web texts

and if you can, set your sights over the border. This will turn clicks into cash!

Creating a functional webshop easier than you think!

www.isatranslations.eu

Top five retail trends for 2012National Retail Federation President Matthew Shay counts down this year’s top opportunities

The retail industry has seen its share of ups and downs over the past five years. And as consumers begin to slowly claw their way back from the depths of the recession, retailers are responding – looking for new ways to grow their businesses and opportunities that will help them leap past the competition. As companies strive to understand the new consumer, we expect a variety of trends to move the industry forward this year. Here's a countdown of the top five:

CONTINUING TO INVEST IN MOBILE The speed with which mobile has transformed retail is staggering. In just a few short years, QR codes, cutting-edge apps, and the ability to search for product information, reviews, or even just store locations – all from a mobile phone – have had an enormous impact. A recent Shop.org survey found that nearly half of retailers have an optimized mobile site or smartphone app, with 16 percent planning to increase their investment in mobile technology

RETAILERS, SOCIAL MEDIA AND MOBILITY

In the book Branded! Bernie Brennan and Lori Schafer show retailers how to get inside customers' heads and highlight superstars of the social world, including:

STARBUCKS, with over 12 million fans on Facebook and the No. 1 social brand.

ZAPPOS, whose culture is its brand, has 1.7 million followers on Twitter.

WET SEAL, an innovator in teen engagement through its Outfitter social network.

MACY'S, using its digital hub to engage customers across all channels.

JCPENNEY, embarking on a digital transformation through open culture.

PIZZA HUT, with its award-winning "killer" iPhone app and ubiquitous Tweetologist.

BEST BUY, with visionary leadership for "The Connected World."Read more.

Though mobile retailing has come a long way, there are still plenty of growth opportunities. Retailers view mobile commerce not as only a sales driver, but also as a way to engage with a specific audience. When it comes to where mobile ranks as a priority for retailers, the NRF Foundation's 2011 Retail Horizons report found 69 percent of retailers identified mobile commerce as a top strategic initiative, up 28 percent from 2010. I have no doubt that when the 2012 report is released, we'll see those numbers continue to grow.

EMBRACING THE EMERGENCE OF MILLENNIALS For a significant portion of consumers, the challenging economy is becoming accepted as something of a norm. Born between 1982 and 2000, Millennials are a generation raised on high-speed Internet, cell phones, digital music and instant messaging. They're massive multi-taskers who simultaneously use Web-based search, social networking and gaming sites, wikis and personal blogs.

Millennials are savvy shoppers who expect more value for their dollar. They're not afraid to spend, but they expect more than a good deal. Retailers this year will be challenged to not only satisfy this generation with price and selection but also find ways to keep them engaged.

MAKING THE BEST OF A TOUGH ECONOMY Troubled times spark innovation. Despite the slow economic recovery, retailers have found ways to make do with less, present their shoppers with savings and promotions, and even create mobile and Web platforms that have successfully engaged a new group of customers.

With consumers once again focusing on necessity purchases, such as gas and food, retailers have been developing ways to create emotional connections with consumers and make discretionary purchases feel like necessities. Apple's iPhone is one of the best examples.

This year, retailers will find ways to differentiate themselves beyond just price. We expect more focus on value – bringing together service, merchandise quality and even selection in the purchasing decision. These types of initiatives demonstrate that retailers are listening to consumers and making the most of the challenges presented by tough economic times.

EXPANDING ABROAD TO FIND NEW MARKETS Adjusting to the new consumer will continue to be a challenge for retailers as US shoppers still weigh needs versus wants more than they did pre-recession – using coupons, comparison shopping online for the best deal, and being extremely value-driven.

Increased competition and tighter spending in the US have sent a rising number of retailers abroad, hoping to grow by moving into markets where shoppers spend more freely. China, Latin America and India have all become very attractive markets for retailers.

A recent Shop.org survey found that nearly half of retailers have an optimized mobile site or smartphone app, with 16 percent planning to increase their investment in mobile technology.

Throughout 2012, retailers will continue to adapt and adjust their brands and operations to fit with different cultures. Through store openings and brand expansion, US retailers are opening their arms to international shoppers like never before. Domestic and international expansion was another strategic initiative for retailers last year, as one-quarter of respondents in our Retail Horizons report said global expansion would be a major focus for their company. This seems to be moving into 2012, as more retailers than last year have begun shipping internationally from their US headquarters. Some retailers,

including Best Buy and Amazon.com, have also created opportunities for international shoppers by offering bilingual websites.

SHRINKING AVERAGE STORE FOOTPRINTS One of the biggest trends is actually, well, small. The combination of changing consumer shopping behaviors and hard-to-pass-up real-estate opportunities has created an opportunity for many traditional stores. Over the past few years, some large retailers have decided to forgo the hundreds of thousands of square feet they are typically known for and instead opened smaller stores – and consumers are responding quite favorably.

Target is now using smaller footprint locations in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. Wal-Mart Express stores are significantly smaller than their typical supercenters. Retailers are adapting to urban settings and optimizing their real estate portfolios, which create an opportunity for businesses to connect with the people in their stores on a daily basis.

In closing I expect many great changes for retail in 2012 and look forward to seeing other trends emerge as creative retailers develop new strategies, fresh methods of engagement and get to know today's new consumers.

Bio: As President and CEO of the National Retail Federation, Matthew Shay is the top executive of the world's largest retail trade association and serves as the chief advocate for an industry with more than 1.6 million US companies.

Schuitema Tests NFC Phones in a C1000 Grocery Store

 

At the checkout counter, a participant can utilize the phone to pay for the entire transaction, by once more presenting

the phone to the NFC interrogator at the point-of-sale terminal, then entering a personal identification number (PIN).

The amount owed is subtracted from the user's Rabobank banking account. 

In the future, van Mierlo says he hopes to test other applications for RFID. In one scenario, the store would place

RFID tags on shelves with ID numbers linked to data about products within the tags' vicinity. Consumers could then

use the phones to read the shelf tags and obtain product information, such as a list of allergenic ingredients.

Eventually, Van Mierlo envisions the participants using the NFC phones to read tags affixed to the shelves of items

they intend to buy, allowing them to obtain a tally of purchased goods by the time they finish shopping. 

Two weeks after the current pilot began, the participants were sent a questionnaire asking for reactions to the

technology. According to van Mierlo, the responses indicated they were happy with the system thus far. 

Full deployment of the technology is not likely until more NFC-enabled mobile phones are in use in the Netherlands,

van Mierlo says, though he expects that to take place relatively soon. "Lots of people will need to have NFC chips in

their phones," he states. "Like having a camera in the phone, in a few years I think we will see more NFC chips." 

Moreover, van Mierlo says, more banks and stores will need to participate. "Merchants will need to have NFC

technology in their PIN pads," he notes, adding that in the interest of spreading the technology, he intends to provide

Schuitema's learnings to any inquiring retailers and banks. "If you can only use this in C1000 stores, people won't be

interested. It is actually not possible to roll out this with only one retailer." 

Schuitema Improves Supermarket Operations with Cisco Network

"Our CiscoWorks solution enables us to manage our network both effectively and proactively—which we couldn't do with our previous network. And, because we can connect users to the applications they need at twice the speed on the end-to-end Cisco network, our customer experience has been very positive."

Mischa Deden, IT Project Manager, Schuitema

Schuitema uses its end-to-end Cisco network to streamline its business operations and maximize network reliability and performance for its independent retailers throughout the Netherlands.

Background

Based in the Netherlands, Schuitema is a holding group that operates a variety of supermarket chains and food distribution companies. The company's most prominent brand, C1000, is the leading and fastest-growing chain of independent supermarket retailers in the country. Schuitema's mission is to deliver retail support for its 500 independent supermarket retailers, enabling them to become as successful as possible in their local markets. The organization provides its retailers a wide range of products, services, and expertise, including delivery of goods, promotional initiatives, human resources and salary administration, financing support, and store remodeling. Schuitema is responsible for its company's real estate, purchasing, IT, logistics, and marketing on both a national and local level, complementing the expertise of its local entrepreneurs.

Challenge

Schuitema has long depended on its data network to link together its retailers, distribution sites, and company headquarters. The company's 9250 employees depend on the network to provide support for core business processes, including supply chain applications, finance tools, and distribution applications. Some of these tools are Web-based and others run primarily on the LAN at Schuitema's main office in Amersfoort.

After experiencing steady growth for a number of years, performance on its key network applications was beginning to suffer and costly network downtime was increasing. Furthermore, its existing Token Ring network could no longer scale to support new applications and additional store locations.

Schuitema sought a solution to improve performance of its most important business tools, providing improved bandwidth throughout the network as well as comprehensive network management. In addition, they wanted a flexible platform that would cost effectively accommodate new services and applications in the future.

"We needed tools that would enable us to easily implement changes on a number of devices at once, troubleshoot, and monitor our network and applications proactively," says Mischa Deden, IT project manager at Schuitema. "We wanted to ensure network availability and optimize end-to-end performance. And the solution would have to be scalable, because we don't want to completely upgrade our network every three years."

Solution

Working closely with Dimension Data, a leading global technology company, Schuitema replaced its existing infrastructure with an end-to-end Cisco® switched network solution. Schuitema had evaluated equipment from a number of vendors, but found that Cisco Systems® was the only company that offered the scalability, breadth of products, and innovation it required for its long-term goals. And Schuitema selected Dimension Data as the systems integrator because of Dimension Data's strong expertise in design, implementation, and service of data, as well as its security and certified learning solutions.

"Cisco offered the support for new services and applications that we needed, and their technology is based on open standards," says Deden. "Cisco is also a healthy company and is the industry's leader for networking technology."

At each of its eight remote distribution centers, Schuitema deployed two Cisco Catalyst® 6509 switches connected using Gigabit Ethernet. The Cisco Catalyst 6509 switches communicate with Schuitema's main office using a Frame Relay WAN and provide highly scalable multilayer switching performance. Schuitema chose Cisco Catalyst switches because their high degree of flexibility helps the organization to add VPN security and other options where needed. Cisco Catalyst 3500 and Cisco Catalyst 3550 series switches further extend intelligent Ethernet connectivity throughout each site, while Cisco 800 Series routers at each retail location deliver ISDN connectivity to the Internet and Schuitema's corporate network.

Migrating from an aging Token Ring infrastructure to an intelligent switched Ethernet network immediately improved the performance of Schuitema's WAN and LANs. However, to maximize its return on investment, the organization needed a comprehensive management solution, as well. To configure, administer, and maintain its WAN, Schuitema deployed the CiscoWorks Routed WAN Management Solution (RWAN). This suite of solution applications gives Schuitema increased visibility into its network behavior and quickly identifies performance bottlenecks that can slow its networked business processes. It provides advanced configuration tools to optimize bandwidth and utilization across critical WAN links in the network. In addition, using the Cisco IOS®Software service assurance agent, Schuitema monitors network performance between its Cisco routers and other devices to perform sophisticated troubleshooting, problem analysis, and notification.

To support administration of local networks and their extensive LAN infrastructure, Schuitema deployed the CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution (LMS) at its distribution centers. CiscoWorks LMS management applications enable Schuitema to manage its growing Cisco network in a structured way. For example, it automatically can track and report on changes in software configuration, enabling administrators to monitor performance proactively and prevent potential problems before they happen.

Specifically within CiscoWorks LMS, Schuitema uses the CiscoWorks Resource Manager Essentials (RME) for Web-based management of its Cisco switches. Using the RME browser interface, network administrators simplify time-consuming administrative tasks, such as device upgrades. In the past, Schuitema's network managers upgraded its network devices manually or with scripts they had written themselves.

"Manual software upgrades used to take about 15 minutes per device," says Deden. "With CiscoWorks RME software distribution, we can simply create an upgrade job and run the upgrade after hours."

Results

Implementing a fully manageable, intelligent switched network has quickly enabled Schuitema to realize a variety of benefits, enhancing performance, productivity, and network availability. For example, using CiscoWorks LMS and RWAN, Schuitema performs configuration and software changes on multiple devices throughout its network efficiently, freeing technicians to spend time on other tasks.

"Manual configuration and software changes that used to take our network managers weeks can now be accomplished in just a day or two," says Deden.

The CiscoWorks RME bug reports save administrative time, enabling Schuitema to quickly locate the cause of network issues with pinpoint accuracy, and to proactively monitor their network to avoid future problems. In the past, locating the source of a network problem was difficult and time consuming, because the company had no overall management applications in place.

"Fault management could be an especially slow process," explains Deden. "In one case, we had to switch off all our PCs and then turn them on one-by-one to locate the problem on our network. Our CiscoWorks solution enables us to manage our network both effectively and proactively—which we couldn't do with our previous network. And, because we can connect users to the applications they need at twice the speed on the end-to-end Cisco network, our customer experience has been very positive."

Frank Vergeer, Schuitema's customer representative at Dimension Data, has found that Cisco's comprehensive solution enables his organization to provide better service offerings to Schuitema and his other clients. "We need to combine advanced hardware and software with a solid management framework to deliver optimum network performance and availability," says Vergeer. "Because Cisco offers a wide range of management offerings, we can deliver a complete architecture solution to our customers."

Next Steps

After completing its LAN and WAN upgrades, Schuitema is now well positioned to explore several new networked applications. The company initiated a pilot program at one of its distribution centers to evaluate voice over IP connectivity, which could further ease network management, reduce toll costs, and set the stage for new productivity-enhancing collaboration and messaging applications. Because the site already has Cisco Catalyst 6509 and Cisco Catalyst 3550 Series switches in place, its intelligent network infrastructure can provide the quality of service necessary for high-quality voice connectivity and business-critical applications.

To support even more robust traffic analysis, Schuitema is installing a Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Network Analysis Module (NAM) on its Cisco Catalyst 6509 switches in its distribution centers. The Cisco NAM enables network managers to gain application-level visibility into network traffic to further improve performance, reduce failures, and enhance troubleshooting.

"Manual configuration and software changes that used to take our network managers weeks can now be accomplished in just a day or two."

Mischa Deden, IT Project Manager, Schuitema

Finally, Schuitema is considering migrating its private Frame Relay WAN to a VPN, enabling its supermarkets to securely access the Internet and company applications over the public network. To efficiently distribute traffic over the VPNs, Schuitema would employ Cisco Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology, a packet-forwarding technology that uses labels to make efficient data forwarding decisions. Migrating to an MPLS VPN will enable Schuitema to take advantage of multicast applications, distributing product promotional and other materials to all its retail sites. With the help of Dimension Data's service offerings, CiscoWorks tools, and its scalable, manageable Cisco network, Schuitema easily can pursue these and many other options in the years to come.

Lidl manages iPads and Mobile Apps Conveniently and Securely With MobileIron

Europe-Wide Implementation of Tablets at the Discount Food Retailer

MUNICH – September 11, 2012 – The discount food retailer Lidl has chosen MobileIron, the leader in security and management for mobile apps, content, and devices, to manage its iPad deployment. Lidl has efficiently automated many administrative business processes using mobile business applications developed especially for the company and is using MobileIron to securely distribute business apps to employees. With its sophisticated app management, MobileIron ensures the security of business apps and their data; it also keeps Lidl's long-term IT administration costs low.

At Lidl, the food retailer based in Neckarsulm, Germany and active throughout Europe, saving time using modern communications technology is at the top of the agenda because it improves quality for the customer. For this reason, Lidl has begun the Lidl Mobile Office project (LIMO). As part of the LIMO project, all sales managers and their superiors will be provided with business iPads. "With an app that has been especially developed for Lidl our sales managers now have access to the latest sales-relevant information, such as placement instructions and training documents, at any time. With the help of a data warehouse app by a company called Microstrategy they are now able to conveniently view sales statistics and key performance indicator analyses such as inventory results. Information can now also be made available to the sales managers through the regional companies and the headquarters with even greater time savings," says Mirko Saul, Manager of the Lidl Mobile Office project, regarding the advantages of implementing the iPad.

Convenience and security by MobileIron"After a comprehensive selection process we chose MobileIron's mobile device management solution to securely and simply manage the tablets," explains Mirko Saul. MobileIron offers Lidl's IT Department all the vital management and security functions including managing network access based on the tablet's security status, managing business apps and their content as well as email communication. In particular, Lidl's project managers were won over by the complete integration of the solution into Lidl's certificate system and the extensive app management. MobileIron guarantees that only authorized Lidl employees have access to the business apps distributed by MobileIron and their contents.

"Lidl's implementation of iPads once again shows that secure app management is a decisive criterion for selecting mobile device management systems," says Christof Baumgartner, Director and Country Manager (DACH) at MobileIron. "Many of our customers roll out hundreds of apps on thousands of mobile devices. The security of the business apps and their content is always the highest priority."

About MobileIronThe leader in Mobile IT, MobileIron has been chosen by thousands of organizations that are transforming their businesses through enterprise mobility. Available as an on-premise or a cloud solution, MobileIron was purpose-built to secure and manage mobile apps, content, and devices for global companies. MobileIron was the first to deliver key innovations such as multi-OS mobile device management (MDM), mobile application management (MAM), and BYOD privacy controls. For more information, please visit www.mobileiron.com.

About LidlLidl is one of the leading food retailers in Germany. The company is now active throughout Europe. In Germany, customer satisfaction is guaranteed by over 35 legally independent regional companies with approximately 3,300 branches and approximately 65,000 employees.