Comment: new opportunities on the internet high street
Rather than levelling the playing field, the internet high street, fuelled by online markets, is more crowded and more complex than bricks and mortar ever was. By Tina Royall, director at Futura Retail Solutions.
For small to mid-tier retailers managing both, and competing effectively, remains a challenge.
Some pioneers are thinking out of the box and seeing online shopping and price comparison sites as an opportunity. They are extending their reach to multiple markets, without opening new stores. How? By integrating the latest technologies they have a single view of real time inventory, with sales and management information all in one place, cutting waste and duplication.
Howleys Toys, a family business with stores in Weymouth and Dorchester, chose to harness Futura’s EPoS and retail management solution. The firm’s director Ian Moore said: “Online shopping, e-commerce and social media present a huge opportunity for a business of our size and a chance to level the playing field.”
Integrating online and in-store business in a single retail system, means increased management control, more accurate stock management and better all-round visibility for Howleys.
Moore added: “We’re replacing many manual procedures and believe the benefits we’ll get in terms of stock management, allocations between store and web, seamless integration with Amazon and online marketplaces via the ChannelAdvisor platform, will be huge for a business of our size.”
Integrating systems using web services allows Howleys Toys to monitor sales, capture customer data, send product information and manage stock, within just one system. Linking to ChannelAdvisor is particularly attractive as it requires only a single inventory feed, without the complexity of multiple manual systems.
Online growth, however, requires other parts of your business to be working seamlessly. That means more pressure on fulfilment, especially the warehouse.
Specialised discount retailer ‘This is it,’ which has stores in the South West of England and fast growth online, is the first to benefit from our new relationship with the Peoplevox warehouse management solution. Again web services are making it possible.
‘This is It’ managing director Marcello Rossi now finds products can be held in multiple locations and new inventory is ready for sale online the second it is scanned in. He said: “This is critical, as in the past it took one to two days to get new stock online.”
For today’s retailer, web services are effectively a conversational two-way link between systems. Delivering robust integration between HO systems, your e-commerce platform and online markets, it also simplifies integration with many third party systems. It is like adding another department – with all of the information you need, so you don’t need to worry about other systems. It’s the future and the key to growth.
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