UCS Solutions, a unit within the Business Connexion Group, recently held conferences in Johannesburg and Cape Town, themed 'Beyond Retail 2011', which focused on three major trends in the retail sector - mobility, innovation beyond technology, and customer centricity.
Jas Naidu from A&D Spitz, Julie Tomlinson from Sybase SA, and UCS' Chris Shortt discussed the mobility trend and the benefits of 'unplugging', with a specific focus on the retail industry.
Mobility was identified as the key characteristic of the fourth wave of enterprise computing, and in the context of the retail market, it is expected to have a dramatic impact on all involved in the retail process.
For example, it will simplify the shopping process for consumers, and will provide tools and applications that businesses can utilise to differentiate themselves in areas such as shop design, inventory management and point-of-sale initiatives.
A number of factors were singled out as key drivers behind this revolution, including the 19% growth in mobile handset sales; the more than 85% growth in smartphone sales; the ubiquity of photographs, videos and social media; and the introduction of new devices such as tablets, which are changing behaviour patterns and expectations of businesses and consumers.
Richard Vernon from IBM and UCS' Nigel Henderson presented on innovation beyond technology, focusing on topics such as virtualisation, the virtual desktop, cloud computing, and the importance and implications of 'green' technology.
They suggested that consumers will now control where data will be stored; that 'context' will take over from 'search'; and that the CIO could become the chief innovation officer. The common thread was that the retail landscape must evolve to deliver a smarter shopper experience, to create smarter merchandising and supply networks; and to build smarter operations.
Customer centricity was the focus of a presentation by Will Beresford from UK-based Beyond Analysis, an international consumer insight business specialising in putting the 'Substance behind Strategy' to make a material difference to its clients' businesses by utilising data to achieve, find, collate, interpret and unlock the value within it. This session included numerous examples from the company's activities around the world and across several different market sectors.
Barrie Bramley from Tomorrow Today delivered the keynote presentation that concluded the proceedings. He examined the 'T.I.D.E.S' of change; the drivers of disruption that are key to success in the new working world.
T.I.D.E.S translates into technology, institutional change, demography, environment, and the shift in societal values that will dominate the changing definition of tomorrow's workplace.
* Beyond Retail 2011 was held at the Johannesburg Country Club, on 21 September, and at The Table Bay Hotel, in Cape Town, on 29 September.
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