Rock star omnichannel retailing – the way to great experience

If the modern retail world dictates that exciting customer experiences are a prerequisite for retailers to survive and thrive, then iVend Retail’s newfound status as a Rockstar bodes well for our participation in that environment.

We’re the newest Sage ISV Rockstar, the highest accolade an independent vendor can gain within the business software group’s international marketplace. It is just the latest stage on our journey which has led us to be able to make sweet music with any ERP provider and help deliver rousing retail experiences.

At the dawn of the digital era, retailers were calling for a retail system where POS and ERP operate in flawless harmony, with integrated data, and unparalleled insight into business operations – iVend Retail enables this dream scenario. It’s the key reason more and more ERP providers want to jam with us.

Always Centre Stage

As retail has matured, so have we. The iVend Retail open source retail management solution suite is designed specifically to make ERP POS integrations seamless and not the nightmare previously imagined.

Whether it’s SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage – or any of the other thousands of software systems out there – iVend Retail integrates with all of them. We were born out of the SAP B1 community, meaning any integration in this case is native and seamless, and we’ve been a Microsoft Gold Partner since 2006 – many years before our latest Sage accreditation further highlighted our credentials.

Trends show the wider retail industry is evolving towards an omnichannel model that requires visibility across closely integrated channels, technology that quickly plugs into existing systems, and software packages that bring flexibility to a retailer’s stores, online and head office operations. The major ERP houses have recognised this and they are using us to give their customers what they’re looking for.

Don’t Let The Fans Down

We’ve all been to a concert where the main act has opted not perform their classic hits, and we’re fully aware of our responsibility to give customers what they want – especially now that we’re a retail Rockstar in the Sage ecosystem.

In a previous blog I highlighted research from iVend Retail which shows the varied shopping behaviours of consumers around the world. Although retailers across different markets face unique challenges, the common factor was the notion that a good in-store shopping experience depends on convenience and quick service – if they get that they’re much more likely to make a purchase.

That’s why I’ve started my own mini campaign among the retail technology community called ‘save the sale’. When combined with a retailer’s core ERP system, technology like ours enables great service and multiple new ways of serving shoppers that enhance convenience – such as mobile point of sale and loyalty programme options – which can stop people walking out of stores empty-handed.

Like A Broken Record

It was the retail consultant and former Neiman Marcus and Sears technology exec, Steve Dennis, who recently coined the phrase “physical retail is not dead, boring retail is”, as an impressive retort to the commentators who would have everyone believe no-one wants to shop in a store any more.

There’s no denying that ecommerce’s continued growth means there is likely to be fewer physical retail spaces around, but Dennis is right that it’s a call to arms for retailers to do more with their stores and make them compelling places to visit. People will, and do, use shops if that’s what’s on offer.

We as a technology community can enable that environment through our software development and integrations. I will keep repeating that like a broken record, because I want to see exciting customer experiences in store as much as I know consumers and the retailers themselves do – and, by working together, retail technology companies have got the capability to make it happen.

Do you have retailers as customers? Check out our Global Path to Purchase research which contains essential advice on what today’s shoppers want from their retail experience