The Retail challenge
One of the challenges faced by retailers is that over the last twenty years they have implemented disparate systems that have been stitched together. Working on low margins many companies retain software that was purchased more than ten years ago and hesitate to replace systems that are almost robust, and tried and tested. The problem for retailers is that the landscape has been changing so fast that traditional retail models no longer work in some cases.
“Ray” Wang, principal analyst and founder, Constellation Research commenting on this said:“Most retailers have cobbled together a hodge podge of retail solutions architected in the past century, they seek new modern solutions that given them a digital advantage in not only a single item master, but also in taking advantage of cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence.
“Retailers want more than just the latest technology, they want to bring the content, network and technology together to transform their business models.”
Infor believes that they have created a software solution that will deliver, on a SaaS model basis, a solution that customers can implement across the whole infrastructure. Reality is not always so simple however and many retailers have aging hardware that they just don’t have the Capex facilities available to replace within IT budgets. These transformation programs need to be started by the board rather than IT and may sometimes change the fundamental nature of the retailers.These are brave decisions, but a lot of retailers that graced the shopping malls twenty years ago have now disappeared.
Charles Phillips, CEO of Infor made the following statement: “In the 20 years since today’s legacy retail solutions were created, technology and consumer behavior have changed significantly, turning the industry on its head and leaving retailers scrambling to patch together bolt-on applications just to keep pace.”
By partnering with industry leaders, Infor will deliver a next-generation suite that takes advantage of modern, cloud technology to help retailers transform the way they merchandise and serve customers in a digital world.”
Cloudsuite Retail Architected for the modern world
Infor has not only considered the software functionality that will be required but has also delivered it using a platform that is ready for the modern world. The platform will sit on AWS, with secure multi tenancy. With data stored within AWS, it is possible to open this up to the data analytics platforms that Infor and others provide delivering insights for business leaders to make decisions rapidly.These data analytics are being driven by Infor Dynamic Science Labs, this is Infor’s think tank of data scientists, economists and engineers who are producing the next generation of data analytics for Infor solutions.
There is an inference in the release that this platform will be integrated to the Supply chain ecosystem provided by GT Nexus, the supply chain company recently purchased by Infor. It will be interesting to see how deep that integration goes and what advantages Infor can leverage in owning the company. GT Nexus was already integrated with parts of the Infor platform but it will be interesting to see how deep the new software goes.
The software has been created to be open, with API’s allowing other vendors to integrate into the platform. This also allows companies to integration their existing or new applications into the platform. This is a sensible approach that will allow not just the customers to take and integrate the new software suite but also the Infor partners who can deliver micro vertical applications to their channel.
(Next:User experience is at the centre of everything)
