Implementing A Retail BI Solution

Surprisingly, integrating existing retail systems into a fully integrated platform to support BI is relatively easy for most companies. In most cases, the required systems are in place, they just need a common architecture layer to connect them, and the BI applications.

The key to rapid deployment is engaging an implementation partner who posses both a solid understanding of retail environments and have experience in implementing retail business intelligence solutions.

The focus should be on how to use and share information, rather than how to access it. This knowledge transfer between the implementor and the business is a critical component of the implementation.

A retail business intelligence project should take no more than three to five months, and once complete, all users should rapidly progress beyond basic use to more advanced analytical capability.

Keep it Simple

Business Intelligence in most retail companies is located in spreadsheets and a few disparate repositories. This integration is not necessarily complicated, nor does it require a massive training program.

For instance, one large retailer deployed a BI solution to 1,500 merchants around the world as well as to thousands of suppliers, based upon a one-page training document that had users active within a very short period of time.

Integrated retail BI provides the right data, at the right time, to everyone. Time previously wasted accessing unreliable data, with limited knowledge on how to apply it effectively, is now deployed in collaborative strategic analysis of new threats and opportunities. It is this widely devolved strategic planning process that drives success.

Next: Business Benefits of A Retail BI System

Back To Top