Three reasons retailers need to put their heads in the cloud

If the pandemic-induced disruption to retail in 2020 taught retailers anything, it’s that the need to be flexible is crucial not only to business continuity, but to business survival. The uncertainty caused by repeated lockdowns, social distancing and working from home – not to mention Brexit – has had an enormous effect on society as a whole, but the closure of non-essential shops and the rise of ecommerce has had just as big an impact on retail as an industry too.

Clearly there is a need for retailers to be agile, pragmatic and fleet-of-foot, and yet many retailers are still using rigid legacy systems that are already outdated at the point of installation and often lack the resilience needed to operate within the industry today.

Against a backdrop of disruption, Alex MacPherson, Director of Solution Consultancy and Account Management, Manhattan Associates, discusses three reasons retailers should be looking to adopt cloud technology right now, as they begin rebuilding for what comes next.

Encourage innovation

Implementing a cloud-based system promotes business innovation and improves efficiency. Why? Well, with legacy on-premise solutions, organisations are stuck facing numerous time-consuming upgrades in order to get to the newest version of the technology. The only innovation coming into the business will be when the system gets upgraded and even then, companies will have to wait until the next upgrade – which could be years – in order to introduce the newest developments, meaning that companies miss out on improvements which benefit the entire organisation.

At this point, any chance of innovation is lost, leaving retailers behind the pace and a crowd of fed-up customers in their wake. Working in the cloud and with microservices specifically, however, enables retail organisations to continuously innovate, without the roadblocks of constant hardware upgrades, so that new ideas, systems and processes can be implemented rapidly to stay ahead of the curve. By freeing up internal IT capacity – which let’s face it, comes at a premium in most organisations – working in the cloud means that more time can be spent on performing value-add services. Consequently, innovation will flourish, rather than just focusing attention on business-as-usual activities and maintaining vital systems.

Respond quickly to changes and demand

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that the rate of change is even more rapid than we may have ever thought. Being able to adapt and respond to changes in an instant is now no longer a ‘nice to have’ competitive advantage, it’s essential. Organisations that choose to move to the cloud will have the capacity and ability to respond to changing consumer demand and behaviour, rather than becoming stagnant and settled.

When shops shut their doors for the first time in March 2020, the retailers that were able to respond to these changes by adapting their Click and Collect networks, offering curbside pickup, turning their stores into mini distribution centres and collaborating with other local businesses were able to do so because their systems were flexible enough to handle the rapid changes.

Additionally, having the ability to quickly react to trends or seasonality changes; such as fashion retailers who could immediately offer loungewear on a larger scale, instead of office wear, when people were working from home, meant that less stock was being left to face large-scale discounts when stores were able to reopen. From Order Management Systems, to Warehouse Management Systems, retailers with a cloud-based approach were able to add new processes in a matter of hours, meeting customer demand – and customer expectations as a result.

Supporting business continuity


For many, the pandemic saw a halt to normal business practice and the realisation that a high-level of agility was needed in order to respond to industry developments at a supply chain level. Having a system that maintained business continuity was essential at a time when retailers frantically working like mad behind the scenes to maintain ‘normal’ levels of customer service.

Being able to upgrade seamlessly, without having to worry about every upgrade cycle or new IT deployment required enables this level of continuity and agility. At a time when so many other challenges and changes are being faced on a near-daily basis, being able to rely on this level of business continuity is something every retailer can take advantage of.

Conclusion


The drastic changes in the retail industry of the last twelve months have demonstrated how vitally important it is to have a level of flexibility, agility and pragmatism in order to adapt, evolve and survive. In our daily lives we don’t care or even think about what version of an app we use on our smartphones and this consumerization has certainly filtered into enterprise thinking over the last few years too. In an increasingly digital-first world that is constantly advancing, innovation and business continuity are two of the key pillars for all industries – not just retail – and the best way to achieve these goals is to turn to the cloud.

Article written on behalf of https://www.manh.com/

Alex Macphearson

Director of Solution Consultancy and Account Management, Manhattan Associates.

How E-commerce Marketers Can Win Black Friday

Sue Azari • 11th November 2024

As new global eCommerce players expand their influence across both European and US markets, traditional brands are navigating a rapidly shifting landscape. These fast-growing Asian platforms have gained traction by offering ultra-low prices, rapid product turnarounds, heavy investment in paid user acquisition, and leveraging viral social media trends to create demand almost in real-time. This...

Why microgrids are big news

Craig Tropea • 31st October 2024

As the world continues its march towards a greener future, businesses, communities, and individuals alike are all increasingly turning towards renewable energy sources to power their operations. What is most interesting, though, is how many of them are taking the pro-active position of researching, selecting, and implementing their preferred solutions without the assistance of traditional...

Is automation the silver bullet for customer retention?

Carter Busse • 22nd October 2024

CX innovation has accelerated rapidly since 2020, as business and consumer expectations evolved dramatically during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, finding the best way to engage and respond to customers has become a top business priority and a key business challenge. Not only do customers expect the highest standard, but companies are prioritising superb CX to...

Automated Testing Tools and Their Impact on Software Quality

Natalia Yanchii • 09th October 2024

Test automation refers to using specialized software tools and frameworks to automate the execution of test cases, thereby reducing the time and effort required for manual testing. This approach ensures that automation tests run quickly and consistently, allowing development teams to identify and resolve defects more effectively. Test automation provides greater accuracy by eliminating human...

Custom Software Development

Natalia Yanchii • 04th October 2024

There is a wide performance gap between industry-leading companies and other market players. What helps these top businesses outperform their competitors? McKinsey & Company researchers are confident that these are digital technologies and custom software solutions. Nearly 70% of the top performers develop their proprietary products to differentiate themselves from competitors and drive growth. As...

The Impact of Test Automation on Software Quality

Natalia Yanchii • 04th October 2024

Software systems have become highly complex now, with multiple interconnected components, diverse user interfaces, and business logic. To ensure quality, QA engineers thoroughly test these systems through either automated or manual testing. At Testlum, we met many software development teams who were pressured to deliver new features and updates at a faster pace. The manual...