| Good IT Leaders find ways to use the tools that IT | | | | presenting products and then selling them like there's |
| provides along with the skills that their teams have in | | | | no tomorrow. |
| order to help the company move faster and do more. | | | | Following Amazon's lead, IT Leaders need to work |
| Nowhere is this currently more visible than in the world | | | | with their teams to find ways to simplify the online |
| of retail sales... | | | | checkout process and incorporate recommendation |
| Do Retail Stores Even Still Exist? | | | | engines that can help solve customer problems while |
| After the past bruising few years, one might be | | | | up-selling additional products. |
| forgiven for thinking that the world of retail was going | | | | What Can IT Leaders Do To Help Offline Stores? |
| away. Look around and you can probably see | | | | Traditional stores that were not "Internet only" stores |
| countless shuttered stores in your area. However, if | | | | were predicted to be going away now that the |
| you take a moment and look just a bit closer you'll see | | | | Internet has arrived. However, clearly that's not |
| something else: some stores are starting to wake up. | | | | happening. Instead, what's going on is that traditional |
| The global recession drove a lot of firms out of | | | | stores are using IT to reinvent themselves and make |
| business, but the ones that are left are eager to get | | | | the shopping experience more enjoyable for their |
| back to work. | | | | customers. |
| Their products haven't really changed all that much, but | | | | Moving the point-of-sale (POS) terminals to where the |
| they realize that they are going to have to work hard | | | | customers are is one way that IT Leaders and their |
| to change the shopping experience for their | | | | teams can help out the rest of the business. In order to |
| beaten-down customers. Making shopping easy is the | | | | do this a whole series of IT challenges need to be |
| goal and this is where IT Leaders can lend a helping | | | | overcome such as finding ways to wirelessly connect |
| hand. | | | | cash registers to the network and allow credit cards |
| The research firm IDC forecasted that worldwide retail | | | | to be securely processed. |
| IT spending was going to grow by 2.4% from $81B to | | | | Inventory management and its cousin application supply |
| $83 in 2009. On the flip side in the manufacturing | | | | chain management are also prime areas where IT can |
| sector, they forecasted that supply chain management | | | | help traditional retailers to reduce costs and boost |
| spending was going to grow to $3B in 2009. Clearly | | | | profits. Implementing or optimizing these applications |
| retail firms are placing their bets for future growth in | | | | allows a retailer to link their sales forecasts with their |
| the hands of their IT departments. | | | | manufacturing or ordering processes and prevents |
| What Can IT Leaders Do To Help Online Stores? | | | | over / under stocks. |
| Being willing to help the company out is an important | | | | What All Of This Means For You |
| part of being an IT Leader in retail; however, often | | | | If IT Leaders aren't careful they can focus on the |
| times the big question is just where that help is needed. | | | | wrong things. They can spend too much time thinking |
| The first thing to realize is that not all stores are | | | | about how to optimize what IT does, and not enough |
| created equal. Specifically, online stores are different | | | | time thinking about how to make the rest of the |
| from traditional bricks & mortar stores. | | | | business run better. |
| If you work for an online store, then you are going to | | | | Online and offline retailers are different types of firms. |
| want to be using your team's IT talents to find ways to | | | | IT can play a role in helping both types of companies |
| add more features to your web sites. These can | | | | be more successful by helping them to make the |
| include such things as: making purchasing easier to do, | | | | customer's shopping experience more enjoyable. |
| adding customer reviews, or even videos showing | | | | IT lives to serve the rest of the business. This means |
| how to use your products. | | | | that smart IT Leaders know that when it comes to |
| Online stores are lucky (sorta) in that they have a | | | | supporting a retail business, it's how they use IT that's |
| great role model in their industry: Love 'em or hate 'em, | | | | going to be the key to their success. |
| everyone agrees that Amazon does a great job of | | | | |