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Technology plays an important role in supporting the backbone of retail businesses. Typically, in a retail environment, operational and transaction systems, such as Point of Sales (POS) systems are efficient in what they are intended to do - record and retrieve large volumes of transactions and operations. Embedded in the POS is a "treasure trove" of dormant often unused information about what has happened in the business in the last week, last month, last year, etc. Traditional reporting systems present historical information in standard static layouts. These reports can neither be viewed from different perspectives at different times nor can they provide critical insight for retailers in answering questions such as |
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How can inventory levels be optimized |
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What are the most profitable products |
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Who are the most valuable customers |
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A few of the significant trends shaping the retail industry are: |
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Personalization through customization and specialization of products that match the customer's interests |
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Value for money that goes beyond just product pricing - speed and ease of service, convenience, choices etc. |
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Stiff competition due to product explosion, big businesses, internet "border-less" global retailers |
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Retailers, especially in the SMB space, have to innovate around specialization, differentiation and finding profitable, defendable and sustainable niches for them to thrive and grow in such an ever-changing and dynamic industry. However, small retailers do not have a tool to create "Predictive Insights" and "Actionable Intelligence" at an "Affordable Cost" to innovate in the marketplace. |
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