Retail C-Suite still struggling with core digital transformation challenges

The need to fuse online and offline experiences and fulfil anytime-anywhere convenience has retail executives concerned about the maturity of their CX and supply chain capabilities, according to research from JDA Software.

“As consumer expectations increasingly cut across formats, the store shelf has extended from a physical object to the entire supply chain,” says JoAnn Martin, VP, Retail Strategy, JDA. “The C-Suite recognises that expanding fulfilment options to improve customer experiences and support the ‘anywhere shelf’ is critical to survival and growth, but our survey shows their digital supply chain capabilities may be severely underprepared for this change.”

78% of the C-level execs surveyed did not have a real-time view of inventory across channels, and half believed they did not have the right platforms and tools in place to support expanded fulfilment options. In addition, retailers still did not have a single source of truth for their data nor the human capital to derive insights, and 46% did not trust their data.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and edge technologies are viewed as having the widest impact on their business, enabling real-time visibility into inventory and unlocking value from customer data, all driving an elevated customer experience, increased operational efficiency and business agility.

“Digital transformation maturity and keeping up with the next evolution of retail, the Intelligent Enterprise, will require successfully shedding old habits and eschewing channel-centric thinking for a more holistic view of retail,” says Gaurav Pant, Chief Insights Officer at Incisiv, who carried out the survey for JDA Software. “The latest technologies such as cloud, AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) are the key enablers of this transformation.”