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Retailers Missing Out on Revenue by Overlooking Customer Conversion Rates

There are plenty of reasons customers enter a retail store, only to walk out empty handed – long checkout lines, out of stock items, no sales associate to help them, etc. Yet, saving those lost sales can be addressed by tracking one simple metric, customer conversion rates.

The customer conversion rate is calculated by dividing sales transactions (number of people who made a purchase) by gross traffic counts (number of people who entered your store). Yet, according to Retail Customer Experience, only 35% of retailers currently track customer conversion rates. That’s pretty low for something that can have such a great impact on sales and is so easy to track. Tracking this information hourly will have the biggest impact. 

Tracking traffic counts has to be done at the door and there are numerous third-party applications that can do this.  With an integrated retail store management system and the right point of sale software, this information becomes a powerful tool. Increasing customer conversion rates is a great source of revenue many retailers overlook.

The truth is, there are an increasing number of people who enter a store, but don’t buy. In today’s consumer-driven market, customers are harder than ever to please. They have a ‘Delivery on Demand’ expectation from retailers and may very well leave if they can’t find what they are looking for, when they are looking for it.  Tracking customer conversion rates may be simple, but what to do with that information can be a challenge. With the right retail store management system, this drop in customer conversion rates can be prevented or improved upon for most retailers. 

But how do retailers leverage integrated system data to achieve higher conversion rates and sales? 

The first key is to understand why people don’t buy so you know what to fix.  Every store is unique, and each store within a chain will have a different customer conversion rate. Observing the customers in your stores is going to give you the best insight into why some customers don’t buy. Are they wandering without ever receiving help?  Are they going straight to their target item and finding it out of stock? Are they abandoning their shopping basket at the sight of long check-out lines? Are they showrooming to test out your products and leaving to buy online?

There are many reasons why a customer doesn’t buy. Observing the patterns within your store will help you isolate the reasons that apply to your chain. Additionally, many companies offer professional services and software to aid you in determining the customer conversion patterns within your stores that can integrate into your retail management system.

After identifying the reasons customer conversion is dropping, you’ll want to take a look at aligning your staff with traffic and train/reward them for converting these customers.  Traffic counts and conversion rates tend to be inversely related because many customers can’t find help in a busy store, or the lines are too long.  Boosting staff for peaks in traffic will ensure more customers can get help and avoid long lines, increasing your customer conversion rate.  Also, if you found that customers were leaving due to out-of-stocks, train your staff to assist customers in obtaining items through other channels within your chain.  A retail store management system, integrated with point of sale software, that can look up inventory online and in other stores and warehouses will get the customer the item they want without additional effort on the customer’s part, meeting their ‘Delivery on Demand’ expectation while increasing your sales.

Driving customer conversion rates in your stores is an extremely effective way to boost sales.  You’ve already worked hard to get these customers in the door – don’t lose them.

-Brenden Jenkins, GM of Retail & eTail Products at NetSuite

A Dozen Reasons for Retailers to Attend SuiteWorld 2013

Retailers today face constant change, with new technologies and customer demands constantly emerging. The advent of mobile commerce, social media, customer behavior tracking and personalization, along with omnichannel shopping present fresh challenges to retailers.

To give NetSuite's retail customers a leg up on the competition, it is presenting an entire track of sessions devoted to retail at SuiteWorld 2013, May 13-16 in San Jose.  Each of these 12 dedicated retail–focused sessions is an excellent reason to attend SuiteWorld alone, nevermind the networking opportunities, keynotes and getting answers to NetSuite questions. They will address key issues such as retail marketing, online customer service, inventory management, sales forecasting, mobile commerce and multichannel selling.  You'll also get to explore the many advanced features of NetSuite’s end-to-end retail management solution. 

A few of the highlights include:

• Omnichannel Shopping — Here retailers learn the secrets to managing and integrating customer channels to create a flexible and seamless omnichannel shopping environment. The session will provide information and strategies for personalizing marketing and enhancing customer service across stores, websites, call centers, mobile, and social platforms while driving growth and revenue.

 

• Business Intelligence Tools for Multi-Channel Retailers —This session teaches retailers how to get real value from their customer data.  It will discuss how to use metrics and real-time analytics for inventory management, supplier evaluations and marketing campaigns.

 

• CRM in an Omnichannel World — Customers come to you over many different channels, including brick and mortar stores, mobile phones, and social media.  Providing them all with consistent high-quality service is a critical challenge.  Retail experts explain how to create a 360-degree profile of your customers and leverage it to provide the best service over every channel. 

 

• Retailing Beyond the Suite — Looking for a specific feature not currently available in your NetSuite retail solution? You may find it among the many third-party tools and applications created by industry vendors and NetSuite partners.  Attend this session and learn about many add-on products, from biometric security devices to retail traffic counters.

Often the best ideas come from your peers. Learn from other successful retailers at the session on Customer Success: Learning from Your Retail Peers. In this open forum, you'll learn the best practices and strategies of other retailers.  And don't forget to attend SuiteWorld's networking events and swap ideas with other conference goers.  

Register now for SuiteWorld and get the inside track on the newest technologies and best practices used by successful retailers. 

-Brenden Jenkins, GM of Retail & eTail Products at NetSuite

Cloud Software Sparks Award-Winning Innovation at Solio, Not Just Savings

For many, turning to cloud software to run their business applications is an economical, agile way to free up resources and potentially get a better handle on operations.

For Better Energy Systems Inc., it helped save the business while also bringing affordable, sustainable energy to people in rural Kenya.

It recently earned Better Energy Systems and its CEO Andy Howe the Individual Achievement-Turnaround Award as part of the 2013 ML100 Awards. The ML100 Awards are known as the most prestigious awards program honoring manufacturing companies that have transformed themselves through the use of information technology. Past ML100 honorees include 3M, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Eaton, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, IBM, L'Oreal USA, Motorola, Nalco, and Raytheon.

The Oakland, CA-based company manufactures Solio energy products, which range from handheld solar chargers for smartphones and tablets to water purifiers to home power systems for emerging markets. Yet, when Howe took over the company as CEO several years ago, he was immediately confronted with a cash shortfall and an urgent need to catch up with R&D, an area where Solio had fallen behind. Howe’s immediate reaction was to focus at once on innovation.

Howe turned to NetSuite’s cloud software to free staff from having to focus on managing servers and software. In turn, NetSuite runs the company’s order to cash, produce to pay, inventory management, eCommerce and other ERP processes, finding efficiencies over the old system. But NetSuite did more than just find efficiencies, it powered innovation.

Solio analyzed customer support cases in NetSuite and found that most support requests were about which tip or connector they needed to connect their Solio charger to a specific camera, phone or other device. Customers were confused and responding took away from Solio core growth and innovation activities

Engineers at the company designed a universal connector that works with both Apple and CTIA-standards based USB-powered devices, providing an all-in-one product that is easy to use. The new product ultimately lowered manufacturing and operating costs while bringing down costs to consumers, boosting customer satisfaction and improving margins.

NetSuite also allowed Solio to focus on another part of its business, bringing Solio products to rural Kenya. Solio has pioneered an innovative “solar as a service” social enterprise in Kenya that enables people to lease a solar appliance in a business model similar to how US consumers do with cable TV equipment. Through the program, Solio products are providing affordable and sustainable energy to households in rural areas with no access to an electrical grid, which may earn just $10 a week and spend half of that on single-use batteries and kerosene to power their home. Run as a business partnership between Solio and local entrepreneurs in Kenya, the program pursues the goal of bringing clean, renewable energy to populations at the base of the economic pyramid.

It’s an example of a NetSuite customer using the solution in innovative and creative ways and it’s a case of a company using cloud software to do more than save on IT costs, it’s transforming the business and maybe, in a small way, the world.

-Andrew Sevillia, Director, Global Customer Marketing References

NetSuite in the Twittersphere: Acquisitions, Media Coverage, and Toolkits

NetSuite has an active and engaged community of followers, customers and fans on Twitter. Today we’re highlighting some of the feedback, comments and shout outs we saw in the last quarter. To keep up to date with the NetSuite Twitter community, be sure to follow us @NetSuite.

NetSuite’s acquisition of Retail Anywhere got some positive reaction at the National Retail Federation 2013 Conference.

Netsuite's purchase of Retail Anywhere shows tech vendors beginning to catch up with the omnichannel aspirations of retailers. #nrf13

— Geoffrey Barraclough (@GeoffreyB) January 14, 2013

NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson’s appearance on Bloomberg West and his thoughts on enterprise software found some fans.

The rise of the enterprise with @netsuite's @zachnelson and @boxhq's @levie on a special @bloombergwest

— Emily Chang (@emilychangtv) January 16, 2013

The volunteer work of NetSuite employees and its commitment to service grabbed the attention of SmartRecruiters.

Congrats @netsuite you've been named among the elite of Facebook Employer Branding for highlighting social good! bit.ly/WWg1n9

— SmartRecruiters (@SmartRecruiters) January 25, 2013

The combination of NetSuite, OzLink and SPS Commerce was a winning formula for Lionel NASCAR Collectibles.

"@netsuite, @ozedge and SPS Commerce are fundamental to our operation." -R.Gemereth VP of IT @lionelnascar #TF13 #TFNY bit.ly/WblDg3

— SPS Commerce (@SPS_Commerce) January 28, 2013

The new NetSuite toolkit also found some fans.

Taking my first look at the new @netsuite #phpToolkit. Way slick, and a huge improvement over previous versions.

— Dave Weiss (@DaveWeissDotNet) January 25, 2013

Some Practice Fusion folks were happy to be part of the NetSuite billboard.

Billboard love! @practicefusion @netsuite #NetSuite twitter.com/PF_Kev/status/…

— Kevin (@PF_Kev) January 31, 2013

10 Tips for Getting the Most Out of SuiteWorld 2013

With a new location, a new slate of sessions and a wealth of new NetSuite partners and customers, SuiteWorld 2013 promises to be the best one yet.

The NetSuite conference is moving from San Francisco to the San Jose Convention Center this year to accommodate the roughly 5,000 attendees expected to be at the show May 13-16. And a show with that kind of turnout with more than 180 breakout sessions requires a little preparation. Here are 10 ways SuiteWorld attendees can ensure they get the most out of the conference.

1. Research.  SuiteWorld offers a wealth of information for getting the most out of your NetSuite deployment with sessions that cover every facet of the suite. Factor in some free time, but be sure to spend the time up front figuring out your business needs and the schedule that makes the most sense for you. Then you’ll be better positioned to come home with actionable information.
2. Go Early. SuiteWorld’s preconference in-depth training workshops offer a deep dive into all areas of the solution for intermediate to advanced NetSuite users, spanning reporting, OneWorld, workflows and more.
3. Take Note of the Keynotes. NetSuite leadership (CEO Zach Nelson, CTO and founder Evan Goldberg, and COO Jim McGeever) will open each day with a keynote session providing entertaining, informative insight into NetSuite’s progress, product roadmap and vision for the future of the cloud.
4. Learn at Lunch. SuiteWorld has three ways to make your lunch more than just a break from the show to scarf down some food.  Tuesday offers a chance to sit down with show sponsors to get answers to your questions about the cloud, integration or simply network. Wednesday offers the chance to meet with the user group community and share best practices across multiple roles. Wednesday also presents the chance to have lunch with SuiteWorld bloggers and NetSuite product experts. Just sit down at the table with the topic you’re interested in.
5. Brainstorm. If the excitement of the show and the energy of progressive companies executing on their vision has you inspired, wander over to the SUITEideas area to whiteboard your ideas and get insight from NetSuite product experts on how to execute on your own vision.
6. Network. There’s perhaps no better way to learn and grow at SuiteWorld than by talking and sharing with fellow customers and partners. In the session rooms, the hallways, the coffee area, it’s a chance not only to learn how to get the most out of your NetSuite implementation, but potentially find the right partner or business opportunity. Better yet, chill out in the SuiteLife lounge where you can rest, recharge and network in comfort.
7. Meet the SuiteGuru. Sit down with our technical experts and get your specific questions about CRM, Ecommerce, ERP, OneWorld, OpenAir, the SuiteCloud platform or Web design answered in 30-minute meetings. But be sure to schedule them, pre-registration is required and seating is limited.
8. Tour the Floor. Wander the show floor, pick up some schwag and find the solution your business needs to accomplish its vision. It’s all on display. When you’re done, wander over to the SuiteStore to pick up your official SuiteWorld gift from customers such as Incipio (iPhone 4 or 5 case), Nakajima (Hello Kitty swag), Philz Coffee (lb of coffee), Liberty Water Bottle (official SW water bottle) or School of Rock (t-shirt). 
9. Get Out. You’ve traveled to San Jose, now take some time to get outside. Take a walk, go out to eat at one of the area’s signature restaurants, soak up Silicon Valley.
10. Get Down.  After all the contacts are made, the questions answered and your mission accomplished, be sure to grab a cold drink and have a suite time at Wednesday night’s SuiteCelebration Gala.

We look forward to seeing you. Be sure to follow @NetSuite and #NSW13 on Twitter to keep up to date on the show. If you’re looking for more inspiration, check out the scene
from last year:

 

For more information on SuiteWorld 2013, please visit: http://www.netsuite.com/portal/press/events/nsw2013/main.shtml

Five Reasons Why eCommerce Provides a Competitive Edge for WD Companies

For most businesses, competing on price is ultimately a losing proposition. Instead, knowledge, selection and turnaround are the hallmarks of the profitable and well-positioned company. For wholesale/distributors, their customers demand a comprehensive, reliable inventory that they can reach whenever it is convenient for them. That means eCommerce.

It’s a realization many have already come to accept. In a survey of wholesale/distribution companies, "improving e-commerce capabilities" beat out the expansion or addition of any other sales channel as a strategy to build revenue over the next 12 months, with over one-third of respondents ready for enhanced eCommerce. Additionally, eCommerce tied with customer relationship management (CRM) in the top spot in response to a question which asked which technologies WD companies would explore in the next 12 months.

Yet, providing real differentiation means more than just static pages of inventory. That's why modern ecommerce platforms are the way forward—major trading relationships are being forged and maintained on powerful, yet user-friendly sites. Here are the five reasons companies are turning to innovative cloud eCommerce solutions to establish and maintain their next competitive advantages:

 

1. Whether they're buying MP3s or machinery, buyers prefer the ease-of-use and accessibility conventions of the eCommerce experience that grew in the B2C space. Rather than cling to old technology with green screens and trading hubs, B2B needs to not only provide B2C features and functionality but also the payment methods and processes of the B2B world like terms and volume discounts.

2. Powerful eCommerce enables you to reach parts of the world you just couldn't reach before. Staying wedded to a regional mindset can hurt your prospects for growth. In many industries, distributors have loosened or even eliminated their old regional exclusivity pacts. Take the example of distributor, Monterey Lighting Solutions which is able to compete with much larger businesses thanks to the flexibility of the cloud. A powerful eCommerce solution helps your business reach buyers wherever they are, without the need to add staff and overhead in satellite offices.

3. The depth and effectiveness of your product catalog is a competitive advantage. Building out your eCommerce experience doesn't mean simply putting up a data sheet and "add to cart" button for every SKU in stock. Modern eCommerce platforms give you the power to merchandise solutions personalized to your customers based on the buyer's profile, buying and viewing history, and even the search terms used to reach your site. This context-sensitive personalization gives companies a chance to demonstrate superior product knowledge and earn loyalty.

4. Organizations need reliable and real-time links between their eCommerce front-end and the equally powerful inventory management, order management, CRM, financials, marketing and reporting systems that power the back office. A stand-alone online store can't deliver thekind of insight to efficiently run and grow business.

5. A single eCommerce system that can facilitate supplier purchases and management as well as sell to end customers means businesses can operate efficiently, speeding delivery times and facilitating orders. As the lines between suppliers and customers blur, having one system to manage them all allows a company to react swiftly to changing business conditions.

We can help transform your business into a modern eCommerce contender. Register at this link for a webinar presentation and live demo of NetSuite SuiteCommerce, the world's only cloud commerce platform to provide a complete, customer-centric eCommerce solution. On Wednesday, February 20 from 10-11 a.m. PT (1-2 p.m. ET) we will have key capabilities on display, all of them closely coupled to the needs of the modern business.

-Ranga Bodla - Director, Industry Marketing, Wholesale Distribution and Manufacturing

FH Canada Combats Global Poverty with NetSuite.org

As the old proverb says, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” That’s the philosophy behind NetSuite.org grantee FH Canada, which strives to help build sustainable, self-sufficient communities around the world, including Bangladesh, Uganda, Haiti, Cambodia, Guatemala and Ethiopia.

As part of FH International, the Canadian branch of the organization (http://www.fhcanada.org/) focuses on aiding local communities in building and managing clean water infrastructure, sustainable farming, effective healthcare and education, and more. The key is giving local communities the knowledge and tools they need to grow and prosper.

With help from a NetSuite.org donation, FH Canada has similarly empowered its business users with self-service tools that have improved the organization’s effectiveness across the board—in fund-raising, donor loyalty, financial accountability and inventory management. Rather than relying on IT, business users take advantage of NetSuite’s intuitive interface and on-demand access to critical information to drive results.

“NetSuite has allowed us to be much more efficient in our fund-raising and focus on our core mission,” said Mark Petzold, IT manager at the organization. “A non-profit agency like ours is most healthy when everything is integrated and works together, and that’s what we’ve gained with NetSuite.”

Previously, FH Canada struggled with a patchwork of disparate, unintegrated applications, including Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) and Goldmine CRM for donor management. Manual data manipulation and poor visibility into fundraising, budgets vs. actuals and operations drained valuable staff time and undermined FH Canada’s effectiveness in aiding the communities it serves.

That all changed when FH Canada engaged with NetSuite.org, the corporate citizenship arm of the company, which provides no-cost and discounted software to qualified charities and social enterprises, to implement NetSuite’s integrated cloud solution for ERP, CRM, inventory management and eCommerce. Selected over the competing Sage Accpac Online application, NetSuite has helped FH Canada:

• Increase fund-raising by 15% to 20% each year since going live in 2005
• Focus staff energies on value-added activities and innovations rather than tedious manual tasks
• Reallocate the expense of four full-time personnel in finance, IT and call center operations who were required with an alternative approach
• Build donor loyalty by giving call center agents a cross-channel view of donor history and activity
• Speed report generation from a week with the previous system to a matter of minutes
• Maintain a low “administrative rate” of just 7.9%—an important metric that prospective donors examine when selecting charities to support

FH Canada also uses NetSuite SuiteCommerce to run its website, enabling fund-raisers at school, church or other community organizations to set up their own projects, from ending violence against women in Peru to promoting health and hygiene in Burundi. “Fund-o-meters” on the website update automatically with NetSuite’s back-end data as donations are made, visually illustrating fundraising goals and status.

Enhanced with custom functionality through a NetSuite.org probono volunteer service project, the interactive FH Canada website is one of many ways that the organization is leveraging NetSuite.org’s grantee benefits to promote collaborative fund-raising and improve its mission fulfillment. Petzold said that any non-profit would be well advised to explore the possibilities for improved effectiveness with NetSuite.org.

“NetSuite is ideally suited to enabling non-profits to run a tight ship,” Petzold said. “It’s certainly paid dividends for us in the long term.”

Learn more about the NetSuite.org program at http://www.netsuite.org/, or on Twitter @NetSuiteOrg.

-David Geilhufe, Program Manager, NetSuite.org

UK: Customer Experience & International Expansion

Editor’s Note: Andy Lloyd, the general manager of NetSuite’s Commerce Products, recently completed a global tour, meeting with NetSuite customers, learning about their markets, their challenges and how they’re solving them. Andy will post insights from his travels from the different regions and markets.

In the UK, as in much of the world, the economy is top of mind.

Consumers are nervous and they are holding their purse strings more closely. That’s made the competition for what little business there is tougher than ever.

As much as competition is about superior products, talented employees and sound planning, more than ever competition demands a firm focus on the customer experience. Fall short of giving your customers the experience they expect and they will walk – or click – over to your competitors. You can’t give your customers a reason to re-evaluate their relationship with you, especially now. You must create the most engaging, responsive, customized consumer experience possible, no matter the channel - website, store or phone.

At NetSuite, we believe a comprehensive application suite can provide the answer. It not only brings down IT costs but can make a business more agile. For example, running eCommerce in the cloud allows businesses to cost-effectively and quickly deploy more advanced capabilities to enhance the customer experience and continuously adjust to changing consumer behavior patterns.

Take Blitz Sport, the UK’s leading retailer of martial arts equipment. Prior to implementing NetSuite, the company had different systems running order management, inventory management and eCommerce. Customers were placing orders for out of stock items, the sort of customer experience that risks sending customers to competitors and a particular challenge for companies in the UK, according to one recent study.

With all the systems integrated under one platform, Blitz Sport was able to adjust to customer demands rapidly. Additionally, with both physical stores and an eCommerce operation, BlitzSport was able to provide a seamless, omnichannel experience for customers with the entire shopping experience working off of the same database of prices, products and promotions.

Competition in the face of a weak economy isn’t just about the customer experience, however. Businesses in the UK have always looked to France, Germany and elsewhere in Europe to extend into new markets, and that hasn’t changed. Ecommerce enables that expansion, with huge upside and less cost than a physical storefront.

Organizations still need to establish physical distribution capabilities, but a web presence optimized to local languages, currencies and consumer tastes is less of a commitment than retail locations with facilities and employees. NetSuite’s SuiteCommerce, lowers those international expansion costs. One instance of a company’s website can be used to support localized content for many different countries.

Companies looking to expand internationally are right to focus on selling the right product to a target customer, developing local distribution and support capabilities, building an eCommerce website and opening for business ready to immediately start processing payments. However, they often then come to the realization that they must file tax returns and monitor compliance to a variety of regulations around their operations. NetSuite’s platform provides the capabilities to handle tax and compliance requirements in each market. 

Again, Blitz Sport was able to take advantage of just such a scenario. The company launched French and German websites that increased international orders tenfold, while still running sales processes through the central UK platform.

These international capabilities, along with order management, inventory management, warehouse management and others, are easy to ramp up as cloud services. They make it easy to take advantage of new geographic markets when your local market is facing more than its fair share of challenges.

 -Andy Lloyd - GM of Commerce Products

eCommerce Down Under: The Convenience Gap in Australia

Editor’s Note: Andy Lloyd, the general manager of NetSuite Commerce Products, recently completed a global tour, meeting with NetSuite customers, learning about their markets, their challenges and how they’re solving them. Andy will post insights from his travels from the different regions and markets.

While Australia’s economy has drawn envy in recent years from other corners of the globe, consumers and businesses down under are becoming increasingly concerned about the cooling economic conditions in Asia.  

That makes eCommerce a potentially vital channel for forward-thinking retailers in Australia. In contrast with the UK, where businesses in all sectors are generally ahead of the curve in eCommerce adoption, established Australian retailers have been skeptical of eCommerce and its value to consumers.

Historically, eCommerce has been viewed as a channel Australians use only if they’re seeking low prices, versus a specialized shopping experience or specialized product or service selections. Even today, the “convenience” light bulb hasn’t switched on for many Australian retailers. Being able to shop from anywhere for products located anywhere is a relatively new concept.

Shoppers in the US are as cost-sensitive as any people on the planet, but they rarely think of “low prices” as the primary consideration when they make purchases online. They are more likely to think “convenience” first. Consumers can purchase just about anything they need online. In fact, some items, which may not necessarily be a pressing that a consumer may take their time seeking out, are ideal candidates for an online purchase.

Take, for instance, a knife sharpener. There’s nothing urgent about the knife sharpener – the knives will still work – but eventually it will be needed and eCommerce provides an opportunity to do now, what I’m likely to delay and may even forget later. The competitive prices online are attractive, but it’s really about the convenience of the 90-second purchase that wins me over to this channel. The need doesn’t linger; I don’t have to remember it; the purchase is made and the need is fulfilled.

Despite the skepticism, a small but growing number of savvy Australian and foreign retailers are moving into this market gap and doing very well. While this online shopping activity is small, it’s accelerating rapidly, according to the National Australia Bank.

One company filling this “convenience gap” is Avago.com.au, the homewares venture of Kitchenware Direct. The firm is working to establish itself as a leading eCommerce brand on the strength of a unique, high-value shopping experience versus positioning itself as a low-cost leader. The company is providing a well curated assortment of products that will appeal to people who want to shop online. In fact, the company plans to expand to 15 ,000 product SKUs within the next 12 months and Avago.com.au manages all customer transactions and interactions in NetSuite, regardless of touchpoint, whether it’s the website, smartphone, social media site or telesales.

Avago.com.au and other online retailers like it are well positioned to fill in the convenience gap when customers start to make the leap.

-Andy Lloyd - GM of Commerce Products

Matrix commerce, the perfect order, NetSuite and Retail Anywhere

For a while now R “Ray” Wang, CEO and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research, has been discussing what he calls matrix commerce, a shift in business focus from the transaction to the engagement process. Here’s how he describes it in a recent research report:

Matrix commerce describes the processes, technologies and business models emerging at the intersection of omni-channel distribution, payment technologies, demand signals, supply chains, frictionless enablers and Big Data to deliver on a buyer’s expectations. Matrix commerce addresses the emerging complexity of meeting perfect orders in a buyer-centric world. Internal organizational silos of yesteryear must be broken down and re-integrated in order to deliver a seamless buyer experience.

The shift can be seen in two recent news announcements. Wang cited matrix commerce Monday when he tweeted out the news that PayPal is extending its payment service to brick and mortar stores. It’s also one reason why NetSuite bought Retail Anywhere.

Matrix commerce is tightly connected to one of his favorite topics, “the perfect order,” which he describes in the same report.

The answer to creating the perfect order, in Wang’s view, is matrix commerce -- a buyer-centric approach. It provides:

• An omnichannel approach that provides the same experience across all channels
• Payment options that allow customers to use digital wallets, point of sale systems and barter networks
• Demand signals, structured and unstructured data to predict and meet demand
• Supply chains that offer logistics, inventory management and distribution network configuration that align with the buyer’s needs
• Frictionless enablers  that get buyers to conversion as seamlessly as possible, removing sale barriers, and
• Big data, to power the analytics and decision making of matrix commerce.

“Achieving perfect orders remains more important than ever as the buyer experience shifts from managing transactions to improving engagement and crafting buyer interactions and experiences,” Wang writes. He adds, “As a result, the ability to transact in any language, use any currency and support any business model is just as important as engagement strategies that focus on cross-channel interactions.”

PayPal’s entry into brick and mortar stores suggests it’s buying into the concept.

So too is NetSuite, which has preaching the importance of omnichannel commerce, and took its efforts to a new level with the addition of Retail Anywhere and its POS system, not to mention a long history with supply chains and inventory management.

Of course, shifting focus from the transaction to the buyer experience takes a lot more than just software; it requires some significant process improvement and a reevaluation of priorities. So how do you get there? Wang offers a list of 10 steps in his report, but it starts and ends with listening, he says.

“Be sure to listen to your customers and refine your strategy based on their feedback,” Wang writes. “Make the necessary changes that customers want, or be left behind.”

-Barney Beal, Content Director/Editor at NetSuite