Solving together: Improving Operational Efficiency in Retail
As the world eases out of lockdown, retail companies are adapting to new customer purchasing behaviors and needs. The shift to online has caused the creation of new services, but how much of this will stick? And what shopper behaviors will continue?
With change comes an opportunity to reposition patterns and revamp operations. Moving to the cloud offers a way to solve these challenges, and paves the way for greater business agility.
A need for operational efficiency in retail isn’t new, but the pandemic has certainly brought a much stronger focus as the world adjusts to new routines. Addressing challenges to drive operational efficiency requires moving towards becoming a truly connected retailer.
Adapting to Change
Below are three areas that can move us toward a more connected, efficient and safe retail experience.
Boosting online experience and rethinking store operations
E-commerce systems will have to sustain the increase in demand caused by COVID as users continue to purchase online ?— even after lockdown ceases and stores reopen.
We’re seeing accelerated changes in consumer expectations and behavior. Reducing friction and improving omnichannel experiences have now become make or break for everyone from grocery to apparel retailers.
Keeping employees and customers safe requires new in-store capabilities. Short term appointments, adjusting staffing, creating new contactless engagement and more pickup and delivery options are all critical. These new digital experiences create more operational needs ?— meaning more opportunity for optimization.
Ensuring organizational readiness
Responding to this crisis is a massive organizational undertaking. As companies shift towards recovery mode, it will require investment in developing and implementing new processes and tools. Google Cloud can provide solutions to tackle work from home conditions, and can implement training programs to prepare store associates for new policies and procedures.
Ensuring resilient supply chains
Gaps in the supply chain have been exposed. Inventory has been locked up in stores, fulfillment centers are strained and there is lack of visibility and ability to react quickly. We’re working with customers to implement real-time analytics to better predict demand and market trends to capture local needs and understand their real inventory position at all times.
How We Can Help
Google Cloud solutions can help improve operations in ways that drive capital efficiency and create cost reduction and operational improvements.
These times of crises create lasting brand impressions with customers ?— and no one wants to lose customers to more operationally agile competitors. Cost reduction will be key to fund innovation going forward.
It isn’t easy to operate in a world where both consumer behavior and supply chains are rattled, and entire teams have had to go remote. Google Cloud solutions can connect your workforce and drive real-time collaboration. AI can provide customer service or create operational chatbots to streamline store operations, and we have solutions that can help optimize inventory and logistics.
Local Success
Leading retail loyalty rewards program in Brazil, Dotz, doubled its customer base in 2018 when it acquired a competing company. Dotz's IT team warned that rapid growth would generate a significant increase in data and, consequently, in storage, processing and availability. So it made the strategic decision to prepare for this scenario with tech.
A scalable cloud solution would be needed to accompany the company's expansion, guarantee performance and support large volumes of data. Dotz successfully adopted Google Cloud solutions, and the results were noticed as quickly as the growth of the company ?— which today has hundreds of partners and about 300 employees.
Future Forward
As you consider how to weather the road ahead, you may need to make tough decisions about how to allocate resources. For most, it’s not simply about spending less, it’s about knowing which tools work best to optimize operations. We’re here to help you adapt to new business decisions and prepare for whatever comes next.