Global prestige omni-channel beauty retailer Sephora has implemented a new distributed Order Management System (OMS) from Fluent Commerce. Sephora chose Fluent Order Management to enhance and meet the experiential needs of today’s omni-channel beauty customers both in-store and online.
The new platform, implemented in partnership with Accenture, has been launched in Australia. It marks the start of a broader rollout across the rest of its markets in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
Sephora says it is the only prestige omni-channel beauty retailer in the world that sells luxurious and emerging beauty brands across categories. This includes skincare, makeup, fragrance, body and hair care.
The omni-channel retailer operates approximately 3,000 online and offline stores in 36 markets worldwide. This includes close to 400 customer touchpoints across the Asia Pacific region with 25 brick-and-mortar stores, sephora.au and the Sephora mobile app in Australia. Sephora opened its first Australian store in Sydney in 2015.
The new platform will provide Sephora with a single view of inventory, enable Click & Collect services. It also gives the retailer the ability to ship-from-store in future, a service already available in New Zealand. Sephora says customers can expect a great experience regardless of the way they choose to shop, either online or in-store. Customers can return products from anywhere with more accurate and faster refunds.
Enhancing consumer experience
Mark O’Keefe, Country Manager at Sephora Australia said, “Sephora is regarded as a beauty trailblazer. Thanks to our unparalleled curation and assortment of prestige products and services. In addition to an interactive shopping environment and constant innovation by our in-house technologists and digital marketers. We believe our new and integrated platform will further enhance our beauty customers’ experience. Both online and in-store, and support our continued growth.”
“The ability to enable Marketplace and enhance consumer experience will be a game changer for Sephora” comments Sudhan Sundaram – Managing Director Strategy and Consulting – Supply chain, Accenture.
Graham Jackson, CEO at Fluent Commerce, said: “We are pleased that Sephora has chosen Fluent Order Management to support its continued growth in the region,” says Graham Jackson, CEO, Fluent Commerce. “Sephora customers will benefit from a proven omni-channel experience used by leading retailers all around the world,” adds Jackson.
Enterprise Times: What this means for business
For the luxury segment in retail, customer experience is everything. Sephora is serious about enhancing customer experience. The new platform will initially be available in Southeast Asia and Oceania. The company plans to extend the platform into other global regions. Sephora is the latest luxury brand to choose Fluent Order Management. Other customers include Breitling, Chanel and Dior.
Similarly, Fluent Commerce appears to be seriously gearing up its solutions to compete against the bigger players in the marketplace. Earlier in the year, the company launched its Fluent Store web app, supported by its order management solution. The company says it was developed in response to client demand. The configurable web app helps retailers increase staff productivity. In addition to reducing training time and order errors, it will increase pick and pack efficiency. It will be really interesting to see what other new components Fluent unveils from its technology roadmap. Furthermore, whether the company decides to go head-to-head with the bigger fishes in the eCommerce pond.
