What are uses of IT in Retail?


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USES OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN RETAIL:

1.      For consumer and retail businesses, information technology is recognized as a key driver for revenue growth. The development of new market segments, new products/services, and new customers can be accelerated through IT. In many cases, IT is the innovation—as with digital products, digital features, and digital services.

2.      Information technology networks link retail outlets to product manufacturers, production facilities and vendors. Data and information from POS terminals are shared with manufacturers and vendors to help them predict product replenishment needs, forecast short- and long-term trends and even to predict the need for new products and services. This feeds back to retailers to ensure they keep the products people are buying on their shelves.

3.      Electronic data interchange (EDI) defined as computer-to­-computer transmission of standardized business transitions and it is becoming growing technology of information transfer system from retailer’s computers to supplier’s computer throughout the retail supply chain. EDI was introduced to use by the trucking industry in the early 1970s and since then has been widely adopted by many other business sectors. EDI is highly accurate and very efficient to collect information over the internet and facilitates a company to speed up their transaction and order process. By sharing customer sales figure and forecast EDI can enhanced its planning and control to a lower inventories with timely information. EDI is mainly used to place electronic purchase orders; generating bills of lading/freight bills and invoices; transmitting sales/inventory data, and giving advanced shipping notice

4.      RFID identifies the items using a tag, which is made up of a microchip with a coiled antenna, and a reader with an antenna. A wide range of product information is transmitted when the tag is read by the reader, including the identification of the product, location details, price, and date of manufacturing/transportation/purchase. These features facilitate the information collection and allow more informed and accurate decisions to be made throughout the store. The use of RFID technology in all aspects of the supply chain is important for these reasons

5.      In retail store, loyalty card system is introduced where customer will get rewarded with their shopping. Therefore, data mining plays an important role in retailer, especially in customer relationship management (CRM), allowing retailers to gain knowledge and understanding of consumer behaviour and to segment their customer base and to tailor products and services to the needs and purchasing power of individual groups of customers. DM is a powerful tool for retail SC management, and can be used in the five areas: (1) reducing the level of risk to business by checking the customer’s credit history (2) refining inventory levels to reduce stock out or overstock (3). forecasting customer demand and behaviour by analyzing customers’ performance in the past; (4) improving CRM by providing a deep understanding of customer behaviour and needs and (5) optimizing marketing strategies in which marketing actions are targeted to the potential clients most likely to buy, based on an analysis of customer preferences, customer demographics, market baskets and customer loyalty programmes.

6.      Management of in-store inventory, both in the retail space and the warehouse, is a major area of expense for retailers. Merchandise must be entered into inventory upon arrival at the loading dock, tracked when it is moved to the floor, and removed from inventory when it is sold. In addition, real- time inventory information must be available to store clerks when an item is out of stock on the floor, but is available from the store room or warehouse. Finally, accurate inventory information can reduce out-of stock conditions. In the shipping and receiving area, wireless technology can be used in the form of handheld barcode scanners and entry terminals linked to back-end systems over wireless LAN.

7.      Many retailers use two-way radios or walkie-talkies for voice communication between store associates. A wireless LAN can enable secure voice communication that is free from interference, operates in unlicensed spectrum, and is encrypted to prevent eaves dropping. Popular application software and devices are available today that give a store associate access to store inventory, point of sale, voice communication, instant messaging, and even external data such as inventory at other stores in the region. Voice communication can be “broadcast”, where all employees hear the same thing, or “unicast” where a conversation happens between two employees. Group communication, or “multicast”, is also available which can be used to let groups of managers communicate only amongst each other.

8.      A large number of retailers now offer guest Internet access, either free or paid, as an enticement to keep customers in the store longer. This is particularly popular in bookstore with in-store cafes and in other food service establishments.


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MT UVA BMS

MT UVA- University, Vocational and Affiliated Education for BMS

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