EVENTS - Omnichannel Futures Conference 2019

Chair's welcome and opening comments
Andrew Warren, Vice President, Cognizant

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Future shopper and technology trends that are driving the retail revolution
Our retail futurist will try and gaze into their crystal ball to try and answer some of the key questions below.

• Are robots about to take over the retail industry?
• Is offering consumers ‘experiences’ the future of shopping?
• What is the future of online retail?
• How are the roles of brands, retailers and media changing?
• Technology of the future - will shopping deliveries be carried out by drones?

Elena Cochero, Futurist, Unruly

RETAIL CASE STUDY: Buster + Punch - from Garage to Global in two years

With a B2C ecommerce website, showroom in London, retail store in Stockholm and over 71 stockists selling their select products across 27 countries, Buster + Punch was ready for its next move to build a physical presence in the United States. In this session, our speaker will discuss:

• How Buster + Punch went from a garage to selling unique items to customers across 84 countries in two years
• How a back-end system revamp was essential to manage this growth and continue delivering the premium service and products their customers expected
• How to get products to customers faster and at a lower cost, all while maintaining the quality and service that have shaped their success to date
• How visibility across their entire global operation has enabled Buster + Punch to precisely forecast product demand and consequently scale its manufacturing and delivery processes to prevent supply bottlenecks

Martin Preen, CEO, Buster + Punch

RETAIL CASE STUDY: AI personalisation - delivering intelligent customer experiences
Certona, a global leader in personalisation solutions, will discuss the evolution of personalised customer experiences with tangible results. In this session, learn how a retailer partnered with Certona, were able to leverage AI to align their new personalisation strategy with business objectives.

Ed Whatmore, Head of eCommerce, Mountain Warehouse
Elias Moubayed, General Manager EMEA, Certona

RETAILER CASE STUDY: Why consumers want retail staff to be brand ambassadors
Effectively target customers online and offer more personalised products and services, we examine why the human touch is just as important as technology. The omnichannel key is consistency across channels with seamless interaction and handoff between channels.

• Why and how your brand must provide omnichannel customer service
• Your store colleagues are customers and consumers too - they know your customers more than your do
• Examining how hard is it for store colleagues to adapt to new omnichannel strategies
• Ensuring a successful brand and introducing new skill sets to your workforce
• Recruitment and retention - finding great people

Lalit Suryawanshi, Enterprise Architect, Wilko

RETAILER MEGA PANEL: The store of the future - merging the physical, digital and human experience
These days, with etailers offering free delivery, endless choice, very competitive pricing, and painless returns policies - all from the comfort of the living room sofa - what’s the point of going to the shops? Stores have to turn themselves into destinations and will have to get much, much smarter at figuring out what customers want.

• How will the role of the physical store change?
• How can brands and retailers partner together to deliver great omnichannel shopper experiences?
• Bringing the brand to life - bridging the gap between what the customers sees online and the overall experience created in store
• Making technology part of the personalised digitally-enhanced store experience
• How to create a personal omnichannel shopping experience which drives customer engagement and loyalty

Gracia Amico, Non-Executive Director, Ruroc
Melanie Goldsmith, Managing Director, Smith & Sinclair
Sayed Gafar, Director of Digital & eCommerce, Velcro  
Bunty Stokes, Managing Director, Sunuva
Trevor Gordon, Senior Director Global Omnichannel Retail, Sodexo
Kathryn Malloch, Head of Customer Experience, Hammerson

RETAILER MEGA PANEL: Digital transformation - are retailers making the most of their channels?
Thanks to the digital age, connecting with your customers has never been easier but most retailers’ have not actually embraced digital transformation, generally because they are traditionally technology laggards. This panel debate will examine how to launch a new digital proposition within both new and established retail organisations.

• Innovate or die - how will retailers find a way to win in the digital age?
• Why digital transformation must be holistic
• Customer centricity in the digital revolution - how you can meet your customers and help them self-serve at every step in their journey?
• Retail’s engagement with consumers via social technology platforms
• Digital technology investment - how to obtain better alignment with consumers’ demands
• Digital Transformation Officer - does every retailer need one?

Keng Ng, Digital eCommerce Director, Mars Wrigley Confectionary UK

Martin Francis, Interim Managing Director, Watches of Switzerland Group
Jose Manrique, Omnichannel Supply Chain Innovation Director, L'Oreal 
Dr Geraint Evans, former Head of Digital, Odeon Cinemas Group
Hilary Large, Sales & Marketing Director, Chill Factore
Jennifer Roebuck, CMO, feelunique

RETAIL STRATEGY SPOTLIGHT:
Case Study 1: Brick-and-mortar stores and eCommerce working better together to enhance customer engagement

• Launching a new ecommerce platform - cementing its commitment to providing customers with a truly omnichannel experience
• Testing new small retail formats to be closer to shoppers - meeting shopping patterns that combine online and physical stores interactions to offer a true omnichannel experience
• Competing more effectively with mobile and online channels - improving in-store conversion rates to create a seamless shopping experience for the customer
• The need to offer brand consistency at each touchpoint / all delivery channels

Anouk de Lange, eCommerce & Marketing Director, National Lighting

Case Study 2: Pureplays - should they focus their energy on eCommerce vs not complicating strategies with physical stores
More pureplay etailers are emerging as clicks-and-bricks style retailers, but so we think this will become the new norm?

• Why the maturing of mCommerce is helping etailers super-charge sales?
• Why some brands, who started life as online-only businesses, have now made the leap from clicks to bricks

Chris O'Reilly, CEO, Presto Classical

EXPERT OPINION:The role of kiosk solutions in the retail evolution

• The art of the possible - how kiosks can help revolutionise retail experience
• Delivering superior customer journeys by combining the best of digital and physical solutions
• Empowering staff by embedding digital automation into the heart of your business

Adrian Thompson, CEO, ImageHolders

For the BBC the digital transformation is the migration from linear (broadcast) to on-demand consumption - which is growing at 18% year on year and with 92% of the UK adult population using the BBC every week this change has significant considerations for scale, reliability, performance and cost. Sam will be talking about:

• New ways of working, ideas and technologies being used in supporting this change
• The launch of BBC Sounds, Voice, scaling for the World Cup and Strictly Come Dancing How consumers behaviours change when people switch to watching content digitally on-demand
• Lessons to be shared and techniques to pick up from those industries that apply into retailers

Sam Hill, Head of Software Engineering, BBC

EXPERT RETAIL OPINION: Improving the payment experience for future generations of shoppers
Mobile wallets will overtake debit cards: are you ready? Here are five ways to fully future proof you payment strategy.

Ben Stagg, Head of Client Management, Barclaycard

EXPERT OPINION: AI technology - an innovation to consider
The future of retail will be about a great omnichannel experience that is both seamless and digital. This presentation will show retailers how to stay competitive in an increasingly technological world.

Richard Ferrar, Head of Marketing, Peak AI

RETAILER CASE STUDY: There’s no ‘omnichannel’ it’s just fulfillment -the ability to offer the customer cross-channel visibility and ordering options
While the retail community continues to think of the various paths to purchase as omnichannel, customers have moved on. It is no longer a novelty to be able to browse online and purchase in-store, customers expect a seamless transition. To offer this, retailers must reframe the way they think about fulfillment. Forward-thinking retailers are eliminating the headaches of internal order fulfillment by combining drop ship vendors with a third-party logistics network.

• Value and convenience - the catalysts for customer adoption of omnichannel services
• Why do omnichannel programmess often lack operational efficiencies and customer focus
• Omnichannel optimisation - departments need to start to coordinate and collaborate
• Technological advancements in improving the efficiency of internal processes, sales and stock handling
• Operating with a single view of its inventory - the ability to manage stock across channels and surface reliable data throughout the organisation

Tim Stevens, Operations & Logistics Manager, Findmeagift.com

Chair's summary and closing remarks