Most retailers seek to achieve real-time analysis of shopper, avoid shortages and overstocks with access to real-time ordering, and influence consumer behavior at the moment of decision across channels.
SAP has announced a series of tools that address these retail issues.
Two of the new solutions enable retailers to deploy real-time analytics quickly ― within seven to 12 weeks on average, according to an SAP press release. The SAP Planning for Retail rapid-deployment solution enables real-time, demand-driven forecasting analytics that allow retailers to define corporate budgets several years in advance. It is an out-of-the-box strategy that delivers pinpoint demand and financial forecasting with end-to-end functionality, the release stated. The SAP Shopper Insight rapid-deployment solution helps retail managers quickly access and analyze sales, returns and other transactional data for faster, more calculated decisions based on current customer trends and demand.
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A mobile app that connects an iPhone into the sales and distribution systems of wholesale distributors and consumer product providers, SAP ERP Customer Order Entry enables mobile access to supply orders in real time. The tool is designed to help retailers avoid supply shortages, overstocks and the associated challenges. With the solution, store managers and buyers can view past orders, access item availability, submit new orders, make replenishment requests and pull down detailed, real-time inventory statistics.
SAP Precision Retailing empowers companies to influence consumer behavior at the moment of decision. The cloud-based enterprise solution is designed to deliver personalized offers and suggestions in real-time to consumers across multiple channels, including mobile devices, in-store kiosks and web sites. With this ability, companies have experienced up to a 20% increase in promotional conversion rates, a 15% increase in average basket size, and a 10% increase in the purchase of suggested upsell and cross-sell products, according to the SAP announcement. The personalized offers are created by combining a consumer’s shopping context and location with the associated consumer profile, preference data and purchase history, along with in-store product availability.