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Epicor’s
Issue 1 2014
Inspired Retailer
Magazine
•Stepping Up
Meeting the challenge of change with a culture
of growth
•The Paper Store
How a premier gift retailer leverages SaaS to drive
revenue and market share
•Your Customers’ New Priorities
Our survey reveals how shoppers’ preferences are
shifting and how retailers must respond
•Rethinking CRM
Why top marketing strategies put the customer first
Table of
Contents
2
Meeting the Challenge
of Change
Stepping Up
Meeting the challenge of change with a culture of growth
4
The Paper Store
Executes a Strategy
for Growth
6
Controlling the Cloud
7
Survey Results: What
Shoppers Want Now
10
Why CIOs Must Serve
the Customer First
12
Insights from EKN
on The Future of
the Store
14
Solution Spotlight:
Epicor Retail
Cross-Commerce
15
Epicor in the News:
Clients, Awards, Plans
and Events
Acknowledgements
Epicor greatly acknowledges Retail
TouchPoints, EKN, Apparel Magazine,
and RIS News for permitting us to use
their material for some of the articles
in this magazine, and RIS News for its
production.
2
D o n ’ t m i s s t h e n e x t i s s u e : w w w. e p i c o r . c o m / I n s p i r e dR e ta i l e r
I
n the business classic Good to Great, author Jim
vices and 24/7 support, as well as specialized solutions
Collins identifies six key traits shared by compafor hardgoods.
nies that have managed to transform good perforFor years, our POS has been used by more softmance into sustained, exceptional performance.
goods and hardgoods retailers in North America than
These companies are driven, Collins and his team
any other. Our client base includes more than 500 top
found, by leaders who are more ambitious for their
retail brands with 100,000 stores. After establishing a
companies than for themselves; the ability to embrace
definitive market presence in North America and AusBy Noel
challenges honestly; rigorous managers with unwavertralia, we are now live in 45 countries and are moving
Goggin,
ing commitment; focusing on the intersection of profit
forward with confidence into key overseas markets,
senior vice
president
drivers, passions and what the company can do best; a
including APAC, LAC, and EMEA. In doing so, we are
and general
deep culture of discipline in both thought and action;
helping clients to grow internationally, enriching our
manager,
and relevant technology accelerators that advance
knowledge, and extending the Epicor suite.
Epicor Retail
specific goals.
Employees are united in thought and practice to
During my two decades in varied senior managethe task of reinforcing our position, by ensuring ofment roles within the software industry, I have seen
ferings remain aligned with retailer goals and needs,
firsthand how these qualities have been applied to
and that they will accelerate performance in the areas
great effect – and ignored at great peril. So, as senior vice
most critical to profitability and overall success. These include:
president and general manager of the retail solutions group
customer transaction, engagement and marketing solutions
within Epicor, I am determined to ensure they become highly
that enable the delivery of seamless service on the sales floor
internalized principles that form a solid framework for evand targeted, highly effective marketing campaigns, to build
erything we do on your behalf. Since joining the company
sales and loyalty at all touch points; omnichannel solutions
four months ago, I have been pleased to discover how deeply
that provide customers enterprise-wide access to offerings
these attributes inform our corporate culture and direct our
and a consistent shopping experience in all channels; planapproach.
ning and merchandising solutions that optimize product
distribution, assortments, sales and margins; and data manAligning With Your Needs
agement and analytics solutions that streamline operations
Epicor recognizes and is well attuned with the challenges
and enable faster, better decisions. In all these ways, Epicor
retailers face. In this age of the consumer, where customers
is responding to the shifting dynamics of retailing with the
are highly connected, informed, and selective, retailers must
industry’s leading technologies, client-focused initiatives, and
fully understand and respond to customer expectations in all
strategic forward planning.
channels – for easy, consistent access to offerings and an engaging, distinctive shopping experience. Our responsibility, in
Leading the Way
turn, is to enable retailers to do all that and more – to not just
As for the leadership component of Collins’ proven formula,
serve but inspire customers in ways that satisfy the demands
I can say without reservation that I truly believe in the capacof the business to reduce costs, improve agility, and continuity of Epicor to serve as the industry’s best solutions provider,
ally grow the bottom line.
and I am 100% invested in that mission. The qualities we have
We are fully dedicated to that task. Directors and managcultivated and continue to develop give tremendous opporers have put their names to it in writing. We are focusing
tunities to grow the company so we may better enable and
resources to bring the industry’s most innovative and effecsupport growth in yours. We are set to build and extend our
tive solutions, to elevate and transform capabilities for rich
strengths to realize our full potential and to help retailers
customer engagement, unified omnichannel operations, modo the same. The competitive demands of the retail business
bility, data analytics, domestic and international expansion,
have never been higher, therefore so too are the professional
leveraging the Cloud, and improving the business in many
standards in our business.
other ways. Our commitment is supported not only by proven
Today, more than at any other time in the retail industry,
technical expertise, but also by depth of experience and re“good” is simply not good enough. Our shared goal is not
tail business expertise that is unmatched in the industry. This
just advancing from good to great, but from great to superb
combination of strategic clarity, experience, and knowledge
for mutual gain.
is particularly important today, when many retailers are strugThis twice-yearly magazine is one expression of that obgling to develop a blueprint for transition within the mobile,
jective and our dedication to achieving it. The articles in this
omnichannel world.
issue – including commentaries on the CIO-customer relationship and customer engagement, a case study on how The PaLeveraging Strong Resources
per Store is leveraging SaaS, and a survey of what matters
We understand our business, our passion, and what we are
to shoppers in store and online – reflect our thoughts and
best at: delivering the industry’s most advanced and complete
priorities for meeting some of today’s key retail challenges. I
solutions to tier one through four softgoods, specialty and
welcome the opportunity to meet with you to learn and disgeneral merchandise retailers, including full professional sercuss yours. retailinfo@epicor.com
3
The Paper Store Executes
a Strategy for Growth
The prem i um gi f t retai l er l everag e s S a a S t o d r i v e i n c r e a s e d r e v e n u e a n d m a r k e t s h a re
T
he Paper Store is a one-stop-shop offering a wide
range of sophisticated gifts, collectibles and fashion
accessories; bath and body products; gourmet foods
and home décor; and books, toys, and games. The
company was started in 1964 and has grown to 40 locations
and $115 million in revenue today.
Despite this success, the retailer has struggled with a variety
of challenges from transaction, inventory, and data management to marketing and customer retention. Starting in 2008,
the company opted to bring in new retail technology to enable
greater profitability and growth.
After exploring many best-in-class solutions, the retailer selected Epicor Retail Software as a Service, an end-to-end suite
of hosted solutions that includes Epicor Retail Store, CRM, Merchandising, Sales Audit, and Loss Prevention. The SaaS offering
delivers the same functionality that Tier one retailers access
with Epicor Retail point solutions, but is deployed and managed in a way that is better suited to the needs of many smalland medium-sized retailers.
“With the invoice matching
and inventory management in Epicor
Retail Merchandising, The Paper Store
saved $275,000 in year one and
$100,000 every year since.”
– Tom Anderson, CEO, The Paper Store
Enriching the POS and Loyalty
4
The Paper Store’s employees and customers realized immediate benefits from a streamlined and comprehensive point-ofsale process, with faster transaction processing, automated
coupon processing, timely sales reporting, and integrated
CRM capabilities. Associates are now able to process gift cards
and merchandise credits quickly and easily – with fewer errors
and related costs. Epicor Retail Store also streamlines store
opening and closing procedures, and Flash Sales reports now
break down sales by the hour – providing valuable insight to
support more efficient labor scheduling.
With CRM, The Paper Store is better able to understand its
customers’ needs and develop targeted marketing campaigns
to reach them, while ensuring loyalty is recognized and rewarded. By integrating the company’s own loyalty program
with the Epicor solutions, The Paper Store is capturing customer data at a rate of 60% and analyzing sales histories to
build targeted campaigns and increase loyalty with personalized outreach, including sending a birthday card to each program member.
Swift Inventory Management Pays Dividends
The Paper Store’s use of Epicor Retail Inventory Management
in the SaaS suite has produced a significant drop in payroll.
The software identifies correct inventory movements for the
several hundred thousand transfers the company performs
annually. The retailer facilitates write offs quickly via the
User Defined Adjustments feature that flows directly to the
company financials. “We’ve used many operations within inventory management to eliminate extensive amounts of employee work,” said Tom Anderson, CEO of The Paper Store.
More accurate receiving has also been achieved through
the combination of Epicor Retail Merchandising invoice
matching and the visibility provided by inventory management, enabling the retailer to save $275,000 in the first year,
and approximately $100,000 in subsequent years by identifying double billing and other errors, as well as uncovering opportunities for invoice discounts.
“We used to just pay the bill – now we can see how much is
at stake and how much we were missing.” Reporting on damaged inventory from vendors has enabled The Paper Store to
return merchandise for credits totaling $200,000 in 2012.
Revealing Reporting
Epicor Retail Sales Audit enables The Paper Store to consolidate and validate data from all transaction points, gain full
visibility into operations, and improve loss prevention. To that
end, the company runs a report that compares total sales transactions, and total returns to flag potential instances of fraud.
“We first saw hundreds of violations per day, now we
T h e Paper S tore
Location: Acton, Mass.
Industry: Cards, gifts
and accessories
Number of Stores: 40
Employees: 1000
Website: www.thepaperstore.com
If we didn’t have Epicor we probably wouldn’t be in business.
It’s not only saved our business, but has given us the ability to grow.
Every day we employ it more and more.
– Tom Anderson, CEO, The Paper Store
have maybe 10 a week,” noted Anderson. “Sometimes mistakes are inadvertent, but can still contribute to losses. For
example, a discount coupon may be erroneously applied to a
whole purchase as opposed to one individual item, so we can
correct those errors and mitigate losses.”
The Paper Store also generates reports that create and
capture sales and service goals and formulate scorecards, so
managers understand performance expectations. “Customized dashboards let employees know where they are in relation to their goals, so they can act accordingly. It’s made our
stores much more focused on customer service and business
performance. We weren’t able to do this before Epicor.”
A Strong Community Connection
“We’ve grown and remained relevant because we change
with the times and the demands of the business, and Epicor
helps us do that,” says Anderson.
The agility and easy configuration inherent to the Epicor
Retail solutions also helps The Paper Store actively participate
in the communities they serve. One example Anderson cited
was their work to raise funds for cancer research through the
Dana Farber Institute. “We sell merchandise in partnership
with vendors that raise funds, such as cancer research bracelets and Christmas cards, which raise more than $200,000. Our
system lets us manage those transactions with ease.”
Sold on SaaS
Since going live on Epicor in 2009, The Paper Store has more
than doubled its revenues. Asked about the influence of Epicor in supporting this impressive growth, Anderson said: “If
we didn’t have Epicor we probably wouldn’t be in business.
It’s not only saved our business, but has given us the ability to
grow. Every day we employ it more and more.”
The Epicor Retail SaaS solution offered The Paper Store
the best of all worlds: a highly integrated suite of best-in-class
retail technology delivered in a cost effective manner that offered streamlined deployment and IT management, and the
ability to scale easily as the company grows.
Anderson says the benefits of the SaaS model are numerous,
but the strongest value proposition is the solution’s complete
integration. “Everything is tied in – it’s pulled every part of our
company together with real data and eliminated guesswork
and made us much tighter operationally and more accurate.”
However, Anderson also credits the Epicor SaaS team for
driving the success. “I’m on a first name basis with everyone
in Montreal (Epicor Retail headquarters),” said Anderson. “I
can go directly to people on the team and get immediate action because they are invested in our business; they are an
extension of our own team. People ask me about my IT department, how do I only have one IT person? I say I don’t; I
have a whole company, a whole team behind me.”
5
Controlling the Cloud
Wit h re m o te retai l so l uti o ns, the r i g h t u p - f r o n t d e c i s i o n s c a n m a x i m i z e y o u r r e wa rd s
and m i ti gate ri sk. C l i f f o rd P e r l m a n , d i r e c t o r o f b u s i n e s s d e v e l o p m e n t f o r
E pi c o r R e ta i l S a a S , e x p l a i n s .
C
loud- or SaaS-based solutions enable smaller retailers to operate with far fewer IT resources, so they
can focus on running the business, not IT. But not
all remotely delivered solutions are created equal.
The best are designed to access the very same solutions that
larger retailers deploy on-site, with the same level and range
of “big retail” functionality, to truly deliver the best of both
worlds.
Maximizing the value of even the best SaaS solution depends on involving business leaders in all aspects and phases of the implementation. It’s important to remember that
Cloud and SaaS solutions are designed to achieve business
goals, and that’s ultimately the purview of the business team,
not the IT staff. A third important factor is training, both for
solution operations and process change. Short-changing that
investment upfront can compromise the solution’s long-term
value and ROI.
Support for All Key Retail Functions
Head office applications are best suited to a remote delivery
model because they are centrally used and therefore easier
to protect with redundant fail-safes. In contrast, store solutions are much harder to run in a pure Cloud environment
if mission-critical functions are 100% dependent on network
health. But again, that’s where system design comes into play.
The Epicor Retail SaaS model leverages the advantages of a
thin-client, network-based system, while still allowing the
stores to be run locally in the event of a network disruption.
So, even if some noncritical store solution functions go offline temporarily, the stores themselves will never be dead
in the water – they can still trade. This is a huge reassurance,
because it enables the retailer to maximize the rewards of the
Cloud while effectively mitigating risks.
Enabling Business Growth
Just as the Cloud is only a method for delivering business
tools to the retailer, growth is nothing more than a function
of how well those tools are used to enable process improvements that drive efficiency, cost reductions, and profitability
– which in turn facilitate growth. A retailer can’t expect that
a Cloud-based or SaaS solution suite will grow the top line by
6
improving how much is sold at POS. However, a system that
is properly designed and used will improve the retailer’s margins and profitability, which makes growth possible.
The premise of the SaaS model is to take away costs from
the business that retailers may not realize are holding them
back. SaaS does this because it frees retailers from the constraints of on-premise IT and opens the business to new opportunities. A second SaaS advantage is its ease and speed
of scalability. When bottom-line growth enables physical
growth, bringing new stores online can be as simple as installing the store hardware and flipping the switch.
The Epicor Retail SaaS model leverages the
advantages of a thin-client, network-based
system, while still allowing the stores to
be run locally in the event of a network
disruption. This enables the retailer to
maximize the rewards of the Cloud while
effectively mitigating risks.
Clearing the Path
Ten years ago, the adoption of remotely accessed retail solutions was limited by retailers’ perceptions of risk. But the
earlier technology barriers to Cloud-based solutions are being
lowered all the time by the development of stronger network
infrastructures.
Today, the barriers have less to do with reliability and
functionality than with the lingering perception that adopting a Cloud solution means giving up control. It’s a cultural
thing. But those perceptions are also changing. Most retailers
understand that even on-premise solutions require external
support. We no longer have to explain to retailers what SaaS
is all about; instead, we can focus on the differentiators and
advantages it offers. That allows them to focus on why SaaS
represents a unique value proposition that most retailers, and
especially SMBs, can now readily embrace.
This article first appeared as an advertorial in the May 2013 issue of RIS News.
What’s Important to Customers
in the Omni-Channel Age?
SURVEY: H o w techno l o gy i s c h a n g i n g t h e c o n s u m e r - r e ta i l e r
rel ati o nshi p and how r e ta i l e r s m u s t r e s p o n d
W
e’re living in an era of unprecedented access
to technology, information and social connections. These capabilities equal power, and
consumers are using this power to approach
shopping with deep knowledge, informed opinions, and high
service expectations.
Retailers have an opportunity to respond to these expectations with the same level of connectivity, instant answers,
and rich engagement that shoppers now command in their
daily lives. But that doesn’t mean the traditional fundamentals of good retailing are irrelevant.
What should you really focus on? What do today’s customers care most about? And what do you need to deliver to
remain competitive and positioned for growth?
To help answer those questions, Epicor commissioned
an online survey conducted by Retail TouchPoints in August
2013, asking consumers to rate the importance of 15 aspects
of the shopping experience on a scale of one to 10 (where
one represented “least important” and 10 represented “most
important”).
The survey found that the priorities of today’s shoppers
vary, and that price is not king. While price and value are important, so is engagement, knowledgeable support, easy access to inventory, cross-channel consistency, recognition and
rewards, and a sense of active participation in and control
over the shopping process.
The Relative Value of Price
Connected consumers can easily access the information required to get the best deal available on the product they are
buying. Many retailers believe this fact has accentuated price
as the central element of a “good deal.”
The survey found that while one-third of respondents
gave top priority to lowest price, just under two-thirds rated the lowest price somewhat to very
important, nearly as many consumers
prized getting a competitive price with
better value. More respondents (69%)
felt a combination of competitive price
and better value was somewhat to very
important than just getting the lowest
price. So it’s clear that low price does not
reign supreme.
A Question of Service
Consumers want
a competitive
price with
good value –
more than just
the lowest price.
More than one-third (36%) of respondents rated competent service a top priority, and the majority (60%) indicated it
is somewhat to very important, proving
that quality service matters to many shoppers. While fewer
people felt that interactive service with a mobile device was
somewhat to very important—50%, compared with 60% who
said competent service was important—it’s also true that few-
7
What aspects of the shopping experience
are most important to today’s consumers?
On a scale of 1 to 10 (least > most important), average of all responses
9
8.5
8.15 8.19
8.04 8.05
8
8.29 8.33 8.36
8.5
7.87 7.87
7.5
6.94
7
6.97
7.22
6.5
6
6
Interactive
shopping
with a
mobile
device
Personal- Personal
ized loyalty service
rewards
Brand
recognition
Good
online
enviornment
Consistent Product
brand
selection
experience
er people have been exposed to mobility and its benefits.
And while consumers value personalization, competent
service was also ranked higher by more respondents than
personal service, i.e. the feeling that the staff knows what
the shopper prefers and is able to meet her individual needs.
Competent service was prioritized by 36% of respondents, vs
26% who favored personal service.
Shoppers have similar attitudes about personalization
when it comes to loyalty program rewards. Just under onequarter indicated these programs are a top priority, while 56%
rated them somewhat to very important.
It stands to reason that the more a retailer is able to make the shopping experience all about the individual customer
and what he or she values, the more that
customer will value the retailer. But as with
mobility, the higher priority given to competent service may in part reflect the fact
that fewer shoppers are routinely exposed
to professional, highly personal service and
are familiar with its advantages.
88%
Recognize the Value in Your Brand
8
Consumers face more shopping choices
than ever before, so it helps retailers and
consumers alike when a brand forges a
strong identity for delivering a well-defined
experience.
Pleasant
physical
store
enviornment
Lowest
price, if
quality is
adequate
Quick
Flexible
product
return
availability options
In-stock
products
Consumers recognize the value of shopping with a brand
they can identify and trust. Nearly one-quarter of survey
respondents (23%) called brand recognition a top priority,
while 64% rated this somewhat to very important. A brand
acts as shorthand for the time-pressed shopper, who can select a store knowing that their expectations and needs will
likely be fulfilled.
That is why it’s important that the experience be the same
despite which channels the customer chooses. When asked
about the importance of being able to get the same products,
pricing, policies, and options across channels, respondents were more likely to feel
strongly about brand consistency than they
did about brand recognition, with half of
the respondents assigning consistent brand
experience a 9 or 10 in importance.
According to Aberdeen’s Omni-Channel
Retailing 2013, The Quest for the Holy Grail,
May 2013, 42% of retail leaders (compared
to 24% of followers), enable a seamless
customer experience across all channels.
“It allows the retailer to market the same
product in every channel, without worrying
about product availability or product information,” notes the study. “Retailers can
use the existence of a seamless experience
as a key marketing differentiator. This one
capability answers the customer demand to
of shoppers said
competent service
was somewhat to
very important,
including 36% who
rated it a top priority.
Competent Competiservice
tive price,
if quality/
value
better
have a true brand experience, rather than a series of channel
experiences.”
The Importance of Product Availability
While many consumers undoubtedly pursue shopping as an
entertainment, typically the path to purchase starts with the
desire for a product. Shoppers will naturally gravitate to retailers they believe will be able to best satisfy that need. To
what extent does that matter and how important might it be
as a competitive differentiator?
The survey results indicated that product selection is not
unimportant to respondents, but it’s also not at the top of the
list: The largest single group (72%) felt it is a somewhat to
very important part of the experience, but the range of products a retailer offers had better be available, no matter what
the channel. In-stock products got the most 10s in the entire
survey, and another 55% said this is somewhat to very important. This proves it is important to almost all shoppers, and
makes direct access to real-time inventory information across
the enterprise a critical element of a retailer’s infrastructure.
Being able to get products quickly may be the next best
thing to having them in-stock; nevertheless, it matters almost
as much to almost as many shoppers. Fewer respondents prioritized quick product availability than in-stock products, but just
as many people said it is somewhat to very important (44%).
Quickly connecting shoppers with products is an important capability for retailers to focus on. Retailers that ignore
the need to satisfy this demand with an acceptable option
for managing out-of-stock products, such as an enterprisewide or cross-channel ordering capability, do so at the risk of
Shoppers’ expectations are higher than
ever – and they may be quicker than ever
to move on to another retailer if you
are not firing on all cylinders to
meet them.
alienating a shopper that is focused on getting the desired
product as soon as possible.
Building a Customer Experience Foundation
Being able to return products at any location is almost as important as having the products in-stock. Some 41% of respondents said this is a top priority, the second largest number of
“10s” in the survey. An additional 50% said it is somewhat
to very important. Retailers without cross-channel returns capability place shoppers’ brand expectations, experience, and
loyalty at risk.
With the exception of interactive service, the majority of
respondents rated the importance of each dimension of cus-
tomer experience included in
the survey at between seven
and 10, on a scale of 10. Consumers appear to feel most
strongly about product selection and availability, followed
closely by flexible returns options and good price and value.
Price remains important, of
course. So after initially asking
about the importance of price,
then drilling down into other
aspects of the shopping experience, the survey took another gut check with respondents
on where price falls in relative
importance.
The survey asked the respondents to rate the extent to
which they agreed with the following statement: Price is
more important than my overall shopping experience. I will
shop more often with a retailer that will offer the best prices
if the overall experience is adequate (i.e. adequate service,
selection, availability, flexibility, environment, consistency,
and rewards).
The average response was a 7.78 on the one to 10 scale
– a score that trails the average for many other aspects of
the shopping experience. That indicates the average shopper places more importance on service, product selection and
availability, flexible returns, a good shopping environment,
and a consistent brand experience than on low price.
#1Priority
In-stock products
was the top priority
for more shoppers
than any other
aspect of the
shopping experience
Recommendations
Shoppers’ expectations are higher than ever — and they may
be quicker than ever to move on to another retailer if you are
not firing on all cylinders to meet them. Retailers must now
approach almost all areas of business from a customer-centric
viewpoint, with the aim of optimizing the customer experience. The survey results reinforce the belief that, to remain
relevant and successful, today’s retailers must enable their
customers to:
• Shop effortlessly with consistent offers and clear information
in-store and online (via POS and Cross-Channel solutions)
• Engage easily and get answers quickly (via mobility)
• Access products and fulfill transactions from any location
andchannel (via Cross-Channel/Cross-Commerce functionality)
• Choose compelling, relevant merchandise (via Planning and
Merchandising)
• Be treated personally and rewarded for their business (via
CRM/loyalty applications).
By viewing and planning all operations that directly or
indirectly touch the customer with reference to the expectations of the customer, retailers can leverage tremendous opportunities for competitive differentiation, customer loyalty
and referrals and, ultimately, sales growth.
Epicor thanks Retail TouchPoints for preparing and executing the survey on which this article is based. For a copy of the complete survey
report, write to retailinfo@epicor.com
9
Retail CIOs
Serve the
Customer
First
The changing role of technology shapes
customer-centric retail operations
I
Q
n preparation for the 2013 NRFtech Technology Leadership Summit, Jennifer Overstreet of the National Retail
Federation spoke with Diane Neaven, senior director of
retail product marketing at Epicor, regarding the changing role of technology in shaping and serving customer-centric retail operations.
How has the CIO-customer relationship
evolved over the last few years? What has
caused this evolution?
Traditionally, CIOs have not performed a customerfacing role, nor have they seen themselves in that role. But
as consumers have become empowered by technology and
expect the same level of connectivity while shopping that
they now enjoy in their daily lives, a greater range of retail
operations and personnel are directly impacting the customer
experience. Since many of today’s biggest business gains are
to be made by improving that experience – and thereby increasing sales, loyalty and social promotion – more CIO and
CTO initiatives must be planned first and foremost with the
consumer in mind.
Q
Many organizations want to serve customers better with cutting-edge technology, but
must first address the technology infrastructure of their organization. How important is
this foundation to gaining customer insights?
Gaining deeper and more useful knowledge of your customers depends on being able to gather and analyze more information such as who they are and what, when and how they
buy. It’s critical for retailers to align their core infrastructure
with customer-facing capabilities and to consider the “weakest link” principle when assessing the potential ROI of any
technology investment intended to improve them.
For example, there’s no point collecting reams of informa-
10
tion on customers and their shopping behaviors if you lack
the capacity to apply it through correct segmentation strategies and meaningful, targeted communications. There are
technology solutions for every challenge and opportunity,
and there are clear advantages to deploying broadly integrated solutions as well as cloud solutions that make it easy
to build a single, scalable infrastructure and to add functionality. Any solution that builds on to an existing estate must be
viewed and planned from both the customer objective down,
and the current infrastructure up.
Q
For all the talk of omnichannel retailing, a lot
of retailers still operate in store vs. Web silos.
What do retailers need to do first from a technology standpoint to gain a holistic view of
the shopping experience and the customer herself?
First, retailers must recognize how critical it is to see the world
as customers see it. Customers view and relate to the retail experience as an opportunity, not an exercise in compromise or
limitation, and they identify with a brand without thinking in
terms of channels. Retailers must move where the customer is
moving and consistently deliver the products and opportunities they want in whatever way works best for them – while
also managing all transactions and learning from customer
“There are technology solutions for every
challenge and opportunity... Any solution
that builds on to an existing estate must
be viewed and planned from both the
customer objective down, and the
current infrastructure up.
choices. Toward that end, selling points must be integrated
within a cohesive customer strategy that positions the customer as the center and driver of the shopping experience,
supporting personalized transactions across the enterprise.
A starting point is to use technology to consolidate all customer touchpoints and drive unified order calculations, promotions and product availability across channels. Back-end
integration with integrated order databases and customer
databases built on a cross-commerce platform is also key to
drive applications and information to any channel, building a
single view of the customer across channels.
Q
Customer behaviors are driving a focus on
mobility in retailing. When it comes to mobile
POS, what works and what doesn’t work?
There’s no point in going mobile just to follow a
trend. As with any technology acquisition, a mobility deployment must proceed from a clearly defined set of objectives,
requirements and roadmap, with measurable KPIs to track
progress against goals and ROI at each stage.
Retailers must decide which aspects of their in-store and
corporate systems, and which functionality and information
they wish to make available via mobile. This should be based
on what really matters to the customer and what will drive
the most business. They should also consider infrastructure
readiness, device security, data security, integration issues, requirements for peripheral hardware such as portable printers
and payment sleeves, and staff training. With this, associates
will know how they work, how the mobile devices work, and
how they should be used to enrich the sales process and customer experience.
Q
NRFtech is all about retail technology leaders
coming together to share ideas and look toward the future. What excites you most about
the future of retail technology?
The value and excitement of NRFtech is how it breaks down
barriers within the retail community by sharing ideas. The value and excitement of technology is, for me, about breaking
down barriers within the retail enterprise. It’s about extending and accelerating the opportunities available to a retailer
to grow his or her business without limitations – to structure
and execute processes; to collect, analyze and leverage information; and to serve and support customers in any way that
makes the most sense for each business.
It’s about being able to run your business purely according
to your strategic vision and business acumen, not just according to what technology permits you to do. That may seem like
a distant ideal, but it’s not. With the development of integrated, cross-channel, and cloud-based solutions, and the drive to
keep pace with the expectations of ever-empowered consumers, we’re moving in that direction and picking up speed.
EKN Research:
The Future of
the Store
Although retail sales continue to grow much faster
online than in a mall, “stores continue to be the centerpiece of a of brick-and-mortar retailers’ business,
and will continue to be the primary revenue driver,”
according to a recent study by EKN. In The Future of
the Store 2013, EKN found that retailers recognize the
ongoing relevance of the physical store and are beginning to take steps to transform it – enhancing the instore experience to better serve the changing expectations of their increasingly omnichannel shoppers.
Among its many other findings, the study reports that:
• 70% of retailers believe they offer a superior in-store
experience compared to competitors, yet the level of
omnichannel integration, adoption of digital initia tives in-store, and maturity of in-store mobility is low.
• Investments in store technologies are relatively flat
(5% CAGR over the next three years); however, they
account for one-third of the IT budget.
• Retailers are already taking initial steps towards
converting stores into an omnichannel hub.
Currently one in three retailers leverage stores as
fulfillment centers for omnichannel orders, this
trend is expected to increase to three in four retai lers by 2015.
• Retailers identify store associate mobility as critical
to delivering an improved in-store experience. How
ever, the current adoption of mobile technologies
is low (25% provide smartphones to store associ ates) and the maturity of functional availability on
store associate mobile devices is lower.
EKN concludes that “retailers need to re-organize
their strategy, people, processes and technology to:
re-imagine stores as a hub for delivering omnichannel
experiences; revitalize stores to deliver unique, beneficial experiences; weave familiar digital experiences
into the physical fabric of the store; and combine human intuition with deep consumer insight to develop
truly personal relationships with customers.”
By building stores of the future around these four
pillars and adopting appropriate changes in people,
processes and technology, retailers will be able to successfully compete against online-only counterparts.
To request a full copy of EKN’s The Future of the Store
Report, write to retailinfo@epicor.com.
11
Rethinking
CRM as a
Customer
Engagement
Tool
An Epicor-sponsored Thought Leadership Report in Apparel Magazine explores how
leading retailers are winning with CRM by put ting the customer first
T
oday’s consumers have never been more empowered by technology, information, social connections, and retail choices. As a result, they are quickly
evolving from passive recipients of retail service
into active influencers of the shopping experience, who approach each retail event with deep knowledge, high expectations, and a desire for control.
This changing environment has placed new demands on
retailers to be highly customer-focused in all areas of their
operations, and especially with customer relationship management (CRM).
Whereas CRM tools have traditionally been leveraged
to create marketing opportunities that directly benefit the
retailer, CRM must now focus first and foremost on serving
and supporting the customer to meet their expectations and
reinforce control.
More Relevant Relationships
Aligning CRM with the needs of the new consumer is partly
about the technology and partly about how it’s used. “I don’t
know how retailers who don’t have CRM can speak to their
customers in a relevant manner,” says Nathalie Belanger, vice
president of e-commerce for Reitmans, a Canadian apparel
retailer with more than 900 stores. “CRM has become es-
12
sential in being able to service the customer and create that
bond between the customer and the brand.”
To serve its tech-enabled, customer-driven marketplace,
Reitmans is currently utilizing CRM in four of its six banners,
but the company’s most advanced personalization is with its
Thyme Maternity brand. “Because we only have our maternity customers for a short time period, it is very important to
be super-targeted with our offers,” Belanger explains.
Using CRM, Thyme collects due date information to optimize the way it communicates with its customer throughout
each stage of her pregnancy. By doing so, the company can
tailor its promotional e-mails to better “speak” to the momto-be based on her current needs. Thyme will shortly begin
customizing customers’ online experience in a similar fashion.
“We plan to feature different products and content on
our Thyme Maternity site based on the customer due date,
connecting with them in a way that is relevant to their current trimester,” Belanger explains.
Reitmans is also leveraging CRM to thrive in this customerdriven atmosphere through more accurate sizing allocations.
“We are using our CRM data to closely examine the customers that shop in certain stores to understand what sizes we
should be allocating where. It has been a great supplement
to our traditional allocation work,” Belanger says. The com-
pany also wants to ensure that its online shoppers are getting
enough sizing information to keep size-specific e-commerce
returns to a minimum.
Connections Across Channels
In addition, Reitmans is using CRM to assist with new customer acquisition. By examining its current customers’ data,
Reitmans can create models of its ideal new customers — and
build offers and programs that are well aligned with their
preferences and identity.
The retailer has ambitious plans for using its CRM tool to
help it engage with, and promote to, customers across a variety of new channels and platforms, which is the key need
for CRM solutions going forward, according to Nikki Baird,
managing partner of Retail System Research (RSR).
“New ways to engage with customers are popping up every day. Just when you think nothing as impactful as Facebook could arise, Pinterest pops up,” Baird explains. “So there
is a great interest among retailers in using CRM to capture information about their customers through all these channels,
and to understand what that information means across all
aspects of their business.”
For Reitmans, that means bringing social media into the
mix in a way that makes sense for the company — and helps
it better engage with and service the customer.
“If one of our customers posts a dress from our website on
her Pinterest page, we want to be able to use that information to understand if there is a great appetite in the marketplace for this product,” Belanger explains. “And if there is,
we want to be able to offer it in our other marketing channels.” While the company is doing some of this cross-channel
promotional work manually (if an item gets a lot of “Likes”
on Reitman’s Facebook page, for instance, the company may
feature it in an e-mail to customers), it is looking to CRM to
scale these efforts, and provide the analytics necessary to turn
this social media data into actionable information.
Comprehensive Platforms Lead the Way
To serve the needs of apparel retailers such as Reitmans, CRM
solutions are morphing into what Guarav Pant, director of
research for Edgell Knowledge Networks, calls customer engagement platforms that bring together context, content,
channel, and insights. “The new CRM solution needs to work
across channels to support the omnichannel customer,” Pant
explains. “The solution should help retailers give customers
the ability to earn, burn, and track rewards across channels
(web, store, mobile, call center).”
From a feature-functionality perspective, this new customer engagement platform will need to enable micro-segmentation and personalization; give retailers the ability to offer
complex promotions; and to integrate these promotional efforts with social activity across all channels, Pant adds. “The
core of this platform would be insights/analytics, which can
be driven either by this new CRM system or using a different
analytics tool.”
Modern CRM solutions also need to offer flexibility in terms
of the type of customer attributes that can be captured, Baird
adds. “We don’t know what the next customer engagement
channel is going to be, so retailers have to be prepared for the
unknown in terms of what information to capture and how
to turn that information into something they can act on,” she
notes.
Taming the unknown, and turning it into a customer relationship benefit, is the key goal of today’s CRM solutions.
“Retailers who don’t have a solution that helps them understand and engage with their customers are driving in the dark
without a map,” Baird says. “CRM these days is both the light
and the map.”
Executive Insight: Sarah Barron,
Product Manager, CRM, Epicor Retail
Technology is changing how today’s consumers approach
shopping in at least three fundamental ways. First and foremost, consumers now expect universal access to a retailer’s
offerings — including CRM benefits — in the channel of their
choice, without surprises or limitations.
Secondly, technology has raised consumers’ expectations
for personalization. When searching for anything online,
shoppers can very quickly click-in on merchandise and offers
that are perfectly aligned with their interests, so they now
also expect offers from retailers that reflect their individual
tastes.
Both of these changes have inspired a third significant
shift affecting CRM: consumers’ expectation that they, not
the retailer, will direct the terms on which they shop and are
prepared to buy. As a result, today’s retail environment requires a different approach to customer engagement — one
that positions CRM squarely as a service to customers, as a
way to deliver derivative advantages to the retailer.
To make this work for both parties, retailers must be able
to collect accurate customer data across all channels, to support detailed segmentation and analytics, and to send relevant
communications in all channels. If you’re someone who buys
jeans, for example, you want to be notified about a new line
of jeans, not a generic promotion that doesn’t speak to your
interests – or of the retailer’s interest in you. Customer-driven
retailers are also tailoring web visits to each customer based
on their interests, purchase history, and likes and dislikes.
Electronic clienteling is also key, so associates can tap
into customer information efficiently and interact more effectively and profitably. But in all ways, the focus has to be
on providing a higher level of service that reflects how today’s consumers now live and shop – service that will engage
them, delight them, and, as a result, keep them coming back.
13
An expanded version of this article first appeared in the August 2013 issue of Apparel Magazine. ©2013. All Rights Reserved. Epicor acknowledges and thanks Apparel for their permission to reprint it.
Epicor Retail
Cross-Commerce Suite
F ul f i l l i ng the pro m i s e o f t r u e o m n i - c h a n n e l r e ta i l i n g
E
picor is pleased to introduce the newest addition to
its award-winning retail technology portfolio – a solution that integrates online shopping with all other
channels to deliver an unprecedented level of performance and efficiency to your business and a superior experience to your customers.
Epicor Retail Cross-Commerce Suite combines an advanced
e-commerce platform, powered by Magento, with the Epicor
Retail Omni-channel Connector, Enterprise Selling, and Warehouse Management Customer Order Fulfillment solutions.
This fully integrated suite enables the unification of information and application silos to simplify retail enterprise management, and supports customers with a consistent brand
experience across all available channels.
Until now, the expansion of channels and touchpoints has
typically required the deployment of separate technology
systems, which compromised operational synergy and crosschannel options. This is inconsistent with the management
needs of competitive retailers and the shopping expectations
of technology-enabled consumers.
Epicor Retail Cross-Commerce solves this challenge by providing:
• A flexible online store with powerful marketing tools and
advanced features and functions.
• The ability to share brick-and-mortar store functions and
logic with online stores for company-wide consistency.
• A single, cross-channel promotions management tool for
item- and transaction-based promotions.
• Rapid delivery of online mobile shopping functionality.
• One view of customers, inventory, and orders.
• Multi-channel fulfillment with inventory management to
save-the-sale and increase customer satisfaction.
• Customer order fulfillment to help manage and fulfill orders
from warehouses and distribution centers in a timely manner.
Cross-Commerce E-commerce Platform provides flexibility
and control over the functionality of a retailer’s online channel, as well as a flexible product catalog, powerful search
capabilities, suggestive selling, cross-channel purchasing and
fulfilling, gift registry, wish lists, mobile commerce, and more.
Omni-Channel Connector harnesses the power of one solution for all transaction functions with shared resources for
pricing, promotions, inventory lookup, discounts, and tax.
14
It also provides promotional event management to create,
manage, and execute both item and transaction-based promotional events across channels, and interfaces to centralized
applications such as CRM.
Enterprise Selling offers a way to prevent lost sales when
the merchandise desired by the customer is not available in
their shopping channel. It enables associates to quickly and
directly find products in different locations; view, monitor,
and manage orders; and report on the operational efficiency
of fulfillment channels.
For more information on Epicor Retail Cross-Commerce Suite, contact us as retailinfo@epicor.com or 1-800-992-9160.
New Clients, More Solutions… Epicor Now Serving China Retailers
We are proud to congratulate and thank the following retailers
for recently acquiring, upgrading or implementing Epicor Retail
solutions to enhance their business operations.
Get to Know Epicor
Epicor Software Corporation provides advanced solutions for
retailers seeking to streamline processes, integrate channels,
leverage intelligence, and inspire customers, to maximize
profitability. We also provide industry-leading ERP solutions for
manufacturers, distributors, and service companies.
The Epicor end-to-end retail suite includes: Store/Mobile
Store, Cross-Channel Selling, Cross-Commerce, CRM/Clienteling,
Merchandising, Planning/Assortment Planning, Sourcing/PLM,
Audit and Operations Management, and Business Intelligence
solutions for softgoods, discount, specialty and general merchandise
retailers, plus integrated solutions for lumber, hardware, auto
parts, gardening, and related hardgoods businesses. The solutions
are backed by comprehensive retail hardware and professional
services with 24/7 support. Used by hundreds of leading multichannel, chain, and independent retailers, from Aéropostale,
Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, and Build-A-Bear Workshop, to
General Nutrition Centers, True Value, and VF Corporation.
Epicor employs more than 1,500 professionals in retail
operations and more than 4,500 company-wide from 60+ locations
in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Epicor Software Corporation
Worldwide Headquarters
4120 Dublin Boulevard
Dublin, CA 94568
Retail: +1.800.992.9160
Australia Office
Level 12, 459 Collins Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Phone: +61 03 8625 1100
Email: info.au@epicor.com
Contact us online: www.epicor.com/retail
retailinfo@epicor.com | twitter.com/Epicor_Retail | www.facebook.com/Epicor
Subscribe to Inspired Retailer at: epicor.com/InspiredRetailer
with Support from CyberM
In partnership with CyberM Information Technology Limited
(CyberM), Epicor now offers retail technology solutions and incountry implementation and support services within China and
the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The launch is part of a multi-year
strategic plan to grow Epicor Retail technology market share and
expand its global footprint in APAC, Latin America and Europe,
Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
Epicor has readied its end-to-end retail technology suite for
deployment in the region, where apparel sales in China alone are
expected to reach $130 billion by 2015 – nearly double the levels in 2001. In addition to double-byte character set support in
the product suite, Epicor has created a new international business
team dedicated to deploying Epicor Retail solutions in new geographies, and hired in-region retail channel managers to facilitate
partner relationships – the first of which will focus on CyberM.
Founded in the early 1990s, CyberM has served more than 300
retailers in Asia including Amway, Kodak, SaSa, and other listed
Hong Kong companies. It is also an established, certified reseller
of Epicor ERP solutions.
Epicor Recognized as the
No. 1 Vendor of POS Software
Global research and advisory firm IHL Group has again ranked Epicor the No. 1 vendor of point-of-sale (POS) software for both specialty soft goods, and hard goods retailers. This is the eigth straight
year Epicor (or its acquired companies) has been ranked the leader
for soft goods and the third straight year for hard goods, based on
number of accounts among the top 250 retailers, number of POS
licenses, and the managed revenue in each market segment.
“Specialty retailers face significant competition from mass merchandisers and are extremely vulnerable to shifting trends,” said
Greg Buzek, founder and president of IHL Group. “Technology is a
significant competitive advantage for these retailers and getting
to single business logic for transactions via traditional POS, mobile,
or e-commerce is a key to success. When it comes to specialty retail, Epicor clearly has the market leadership presence and impact
potential as retailers migrate to omnichannel retailing.”
Epicor is proud of this continuing recognition as a reflection
of market acceptance of our technology and ability to optimize
retail operations.
U pcoming Events
Epicor representatives look forward to meeting you at:
Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition, June 10-13, Chicago
NRF 2014, Jan 12-15, Booth 3501, Javits Convention Center, New York
Retail Asia Expo, June 10-12, Hong Kong
Retail Leaders Forum, March 4-5, Sydney, Australia
NRF Loss Prevention Conference & Expo, June 11-12, Fort Lauderdale, FL
CRMC, June 4-6, Hilton, Chicago
…and many other retail industry events throughout 2014.
This document is for informational purposes only. It is believed to be accurate as of its date of publication, December, 2013. However, Epicor Software Corporation makes no
guarantee, representations or warranties with regard to its contents. This magazine includes descriptions of product functionality that is not presently available. This magazine
also includes certain statements which may constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This magazine is not intended to
obligate Epicor or any other entity to such functionality, release dates, technology, initiatives and plans, but merely to inform the audience of Epicor’s current intentions. Epicor
is a registered trademark of Epicor Software Corporation. All other trademarks acknowledged. Copyright ©2013 Epicor Software Corporation.
15
Epicor Retail
What delivers growth to the world’s
most inspired retail businesses?
The influence and loyalty of the
world’s most inspired shoppers.
Shouldn’t your solutions provider deliver
exactly the same things?
Let’s talk!
800.992.9160 | NRF Booth 3501
retailinfo@epicor.com | Epicor.com/retail
Store/Mobile Store | Omni-Channel | Cross-Commerce | CRM/Clienteling | Audit | LP
Merchandising | Planning/Assortment Planning | Business Intelligence | Sourcing/PLM
Copyright © 2013 Epicor Software Corporation. Epicor, Business Inspired, and the Epicor logo are trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation, registered in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU.
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