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PMC Events
PMC and Retail Technology joined forces at the Cost Optimisation Summit in London to discuss the cost optimisation challenges facing retailers in today’s economic environment. Huw Thomas COO, PMC hosted the summit, and Ian Edwards, former Deputy MD of Comet Group plc provided the keynote address. The summit enabled a select group to discuss their needs and opinions, and share approaches for getting the most out of existing systems and delivering maximum return on investments.
Delegates included: Paul Forester, IT Director, Monsoon Accessorize; Adrian Fryman, Head of IT Integration at World Duty Free; Tim Howse, Head of IT World Duty Free; Andrew Lyne, IT Director, A.S. Watson Group; David Stead, Finance Director, Dunelm Group and Helen Slaven, VP Retail, Torex.
There was unanimous agreement for the need to optimise costs, get the most out of existing systems and work dynamically with suppliers. Above all, waiting and doing nothing is not an option for effective cost optimisation.
Fujitsu and PMC combine to create a Breakfast Briefing for retailers on Wednesday 4th March 2009 at the Fujitsu Customer Experience Centre in Staines.
Against a backdrop of emerging global recession consumer confidence is at an all-time low. With growing concerns over job security, falling house prices and the rise in basic costs of living, buying behaviours and preferences have changed dramatically:
• Loyalty to specific retailers and FMCG brands has weakened, impacting the results of leading retailers such as Tesco and Marks and Spencer
• Ethical consumerism has hit a stumbling block as consumers refuse to pay premium prices for ‘organic, green and fair-trade’ products
• On-line activity and spending has grown exponentially as consumers head on-line to find best-value.
The financial climate is imploding. Many retailers are taking pro-active cost savings action. Inevitably, many are targeting headcount reductions. However, many are not planning effectively and failing to develop action plans to identify projects that will drive value in the current environment. They are allowing decisions that take Capex allocation out of their hands and let someone else do the planning; often without detailed retail understanding. This will give short term returns but may limit their ability to respond when the economy improves.
Retailers should also look at how they can maximise returns from their IT systems investments and look for creative ways of driving operating savings. However, the responsibility does not simply lie with retailers; technology vendors and service providers must do more to provide the detail behind their customers’ existing solutions to allow them to leverage the best return from their initial investments and look for creative ways to maximise Capex returns and drive down Opex costs.
The chairman, Paul Mason, CEO at PMC, kicked things off by asking: what is social networking? He offered up three definitions: it is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like small rural communities or a neighbourhood subdivision; it is a phenomenon defined by linking people together in some way; it is a group of people who share interests and activities and are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. “What I think is interesting is the use of such words as groups, communities, linking and sharing, and this morning we will look at the relevance of this to retailers,” Mason observed
The time: Wednesday, 26th September 2007. The venue: The Gore Hotel, London.
The aim: To discuss three key questions: What will the multi-channel customer experience of the future look like?; What are the enablers for the multi-channel experience of the future to come together?; What needs to happen to our technology to facilitate the customer experience of the future?
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Paul Mason Consulting Ltd, 30/32 Blacklands Way, Abingdon Business Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 1DY Tel: 01235 521900 Fax: 01235 467599
Email: enquiries@paulmasonconsulting.co.uk
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