Supermarket News recently highlighted five "must-have" technology tools for grocers to manage the downturn. They are labor management, loyalty, price optimization, loss prevention and business intelligence.
"In an economic climate as difficult as the current one -- and with 2010 likely to be challenging as well -- food retailers are leaning on new and traditional technology applications for direction, insight and control," wrote Michael Garry, the trade magazine's technology editor.
Mr. Garry then profiled the latest advances in each technology and its application for food retailers:
Labor Management: Supermarket News noted that Price Chopper Supermarkets for one has made a major investment over the past year in centralized, Web-based labor technology from Logile. Said Greg Zeh, Price Chopper's vice president of information systems, "Labor is a huge part of whether we're profitable or not. Therefore, he added, even during this economy, labor management technology is regarded by Price Chopper as a "corporate A" initiative, meaning it has senior management approval. "There are only so many corporate A's that we fund each year."
Loyalty Systems: With retailers stepping up efforts to gain customers through discounts and other means, it becomes more essential to hold onto core shoppers. Many stores are increasingly looking to card-based loyalty systems to retain customers but the best are reaching them through innovative ways. For instance, under its fuelperks! program, Giant Eagle provides discounts on gasoline.
Price Optimization: Described as "one of the hottest retail technology applications this year," the technology has also become more affordable, including software is being sold in some cases on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) basis. Said Nikki Baird, managing editor at Retail Systems Research, "Price optimization is available to mid-tier and small-tier grocers. It's not just for the big guys anymore."
Business Intelligence: Analyzing revenue drivers and inefficiencies across organizations becomes more critical in economic downturns. Said Shilpa Rao, solutions manager of merchandising in the retail practice of Tata Consultancy Services, "We are seeing an increased number of queries about BI, especially after the economic downturn. They want to leverage BI to understand where their costs are and measure them."
Loss Prevention: Tough times increase the temptation
to steal for both shoppers and store employees. Supermarket News said
video surveillance systems and POS exception have been particularly beneficial
in cutting down the losses. Combining the two -- matching video and data records
-- enables stores to address cashier-related shrink.
Discussion Questions: Of the mentioned technologies (labor management, loyalty, price optimization, business intelligence, loss prevention) which should grocers most focus on to best manage the downturn? Which ones offer the best near-term ROI?
- The Fab Five: Must-Have Technology Applications - Supermarket News (Sub. Required)
- Labor Management: 'Corporate A' Initiative - Supermarket News (Sub. Required)
- Loyalty Systems: Fuel for Thought - Supermarket News (Sub. Required)
- Price Optimization: Uncovering Hidden Trends - Supermarket News (Sub. Required)
- Business Intelligence: Understanding Data - Supermarket News (Sub. Required)
- Loss Prevention: Fixing Operations - Supermarket News (Sub. Required)