Catering for the unique needs of the retail sector

Jon Roberts, Director at Orderwise (Forterro), discusses how the unique technology challenges of the retail sector can be overcome and provides examples of successful ERP implementations in retail businesses.

What specific features does your ERP system offer that cater to the unique needs and challenges of the retail sector?

Most retailers will testify to the challenging times they’ve been operating in over the past five years. COVID-19 accelerated many of the changes that were already underway, and this has led to challenges around order fulfilment, lack of real-time insight into company-wide performance and activity, ineffective stock control, order processing, traceability and customer experience.

There has been a rush to digitalise and modernise operations in line with changing customer expectations, and a retailer now must try and manage multiple consumer demographics, marketplaces, orders, warehouses and stock items, and for all the data generated in the business to be integrated across a variety of platforms. For midmarket retailers, this is a particular challenge, as they can lack the resources to power such Digital Transformation.

Forterro supplies a range of ERP solutions to help, but the one most used by retailers is Orderwise. This provides customers with end-to-end operational and data visibility across different platforms, as well as third-party websites and couriers. This delivers real-time insights on performance, sales, stock levels and communication, which helps maximise sales performance. It can even aid compliance with industry standards by tracking and processing specialised industry information such as serial numbers, batch identifiers, source information and point of origin details.

But crucially, in a retail sector that grows increasingly competitive, it enhances customer service and increases upselling opportunities. You cannot underestimate the importance of customer experience for differentiation, and Orderwise monitors customer behaviours to create automated workflows and alerts for sales targeting to increase profits.

Can you provide examples of successful ERP implementations in retail businesses and describe what measurable benefits they achieved?

We work with many midsized retailers across the UK and Europe. A favourite of mine is Obaby, one of the most in-demand and recognised baby brands in the UK, supplying major retailers such as Argos, Wayfair, The Very Group and JD Williams.

In 2020, they implemented Orderwise as a single, centralised, fully integrated ERP and WMS software solution, able to successfully manage its varying operations without the complications of multiple platforms. Obaby benefitted from company-wide access to accurate, real-time business data that was used to streamline operations and improve customer service.

Outbound orders grew 30% year-on-year, with weekly order processing increasing by 25%. Obaby no longer struggled to forecast and plan accurately, meaning it could approach expansion or any challenges to the business with confidence, based on up-to-date business data.

How does your ERP system integrate with existing retail technologies and platforms, such as POS systems, inventory management software and e-commerce platforms?

ERP doesn’t work in isolation, and many retail customers require integration with various platforms. A smart retailer should connect its website, online stores, sales channels, warehouses, procurement and much more. Without it, a business relies on manual data entry across multiple systems, which is time-consuming and ineffective.

Proper integration across operations gives you the full end-to-end visibility essential in modern retail and e-commerce. The data insight and analysis can help increase margins, automate processes and improve customer service.

Furthermore, we offer the Orderwise Online Store. In a post-pandemic world, online shopping levels have remained high and managing cross-channel customer experiences is challenging. The Orderwise Online Store has a modular approach to features and functionality, integrates all a user’s data and gives customers complete control over the look and feel of their website.

There are also the Orderwise handheld scanners, which can dramatically improve a retailer’s warehouse operation. The Orderwise Mobile WMS app for Android provides high-level functionality to increase efficiency and innovate warehouse operations. It connects to the main Orderwise solution and fully integrates with other platforms. The speed and accuracy it provides in warehouse picking is remarkable – customers have seen picking accuracy levels of almost 100%, enabling up to 40% additional warehouse capacity.

What level of scalability does your ERP system offer to accommodate future growth and changes in retail operations?

Supporting customer growth is always a priority, and our ERP solutions are inherently scalable. The past few years have demonstrated that retail operations are vulnerable to unfolding global events, so the flexibility to scale up or down is vital.

A real-life example of this is agriculture and horticultural product retailer, Sam Turner & Sons. They implemented Orderwise to automate their core processes and help them manage their rapidly growing online retail arm. They experienced substantial growth, increased monthly online orders on average by 2,240 to 15,000 and was able to reduce delivery time from five days to next day.

This increase in e-commerce – facilitated and driven by Orderwise – was a lifeline during the periods of forced shop closure throughout 2020 and 2021. As Orderwise is a fully integrated ERP system that unites all operations into one platform, Sam Turner & Sons could keep momentum despite the challenging times. It was able to manage its growing online retail operations with integrated e-commerce and third-party platform integration, ensuring the company stayed on track and ready for future growth.

How does your ERP system address compliance and regulatory requirements specific to the retail industry, such as data security standards and consumer protection laws?

Orderwise has a comprehensive audit trail which provides the ability to identify when customer/contact data falls outside of a business’s valid retention policies.

This can be referenced against detailed transactional data allowing adherence to return/refund policies with tools such as returns management/CRM/questionnaire logic, and help customer service teams handle queries in the context of both company policies and consumer protection laws.

What ongoing support and training options do you provide to ensure optimal utilisation of the ERP system by a customers’ retail teams?

Any tech implementation is only ever as successful as the levels of engagement from its users. You may have the best ERP solution on the planet, but it will only be effective if people are keen on using it. So, we always do everything we can to ensure this doesn’t happen. We offer a wide range of standard training options, educating users on how to get the most from our solutions.

But where we really differ in this area is with our warehouse simulation tool. This is a popular way for customers (and prospects) to simulate a warehouse environment and test new ways to optimise how they use Orderwise. They have the chance to test new concepts in a dynamic, live warehouse environment, with a team of experts on hand to offer guidance and support every step of the way.”