Smart phones and handhelds are changing the retail landscape by supplementing and replacing ‘traditional’ point-and-click shopping. Internet-enabled mobile handsets, mobile Internet devices, and new wireless broadband standards are all making it easier for consumers to shop online while on the move. Consumers and retailers alike are experiencing a two-way dialogue that is unprecedented in any market, and those retailers that are able to communicate with their customers have begun reaping the benefits.
Traditionally Retailers have not, to date, made significant progress towards moving their retail processes onto mobile applications, and thus have missed significant opportunities to increase revenue and marketing avenues. Many retailers have found it difficult to anticipate the ROI for such investments, especially given the complexity and number of these devices and platforms. But select supply chain software companies have also realized that by moving their fulfillment processes onto these mobile devices, they can provide increased ROI, visibility, and functionality to their Retail Customers. Sterling Commerce, an AT&T company, announced in January, 2010 that it has begun utilizing this new mobile device driven commerce capability, (or M-Commerce) with its new applications:
- Sterling Store Associate Mobile
- Sterling TMS Carrier
These new applications support and extend Sterling Commerce’s Selling and Fulfillment Suite by allowing customers more ubiquitous and real-time access to its core product functionalities such as item availability searches, and carrier updates. Sterling does have two other applications more centered around application optimization and monitoring, which we may review in a later blog.
Sterling Store Associate Mobile
The application provides a sales associate with information on product content and inventory availability from their mobile device.
- Find items faster with quick look-up by ID or partial description
- Assist customers with full item details, pictures and price
- Find item availability at nearby stores
- Zoom in and out of selected stores
- Email a store to hold an item for the customer
- Email customer confirming that the item is available and waiting for them to pick up
Sterling TMS Carrier
The Sterling TMS Carrier Mobile enables transportation carriers to respond to shipment tenders issued by shippers through the Sterling Transportation Management System. This application enables carriers to communicate better and faster with shippers by providing real-time access via their mobile device to shipment tender requests issued by shippers. With this application, carriers can immediately respond to shipment tender requests as well as provide real-time shipment status updates to shippers all from their mobile device.
Key Features:
- Allow carriers to respond to tenders directly from their mobile devices in real-time
- Allow carriers to provide their customers with real-time shipment status updates
The Expicient Point Of View
At Expicient we believe that sales and fulfillment processes can all benefit from the opportunities that mobile devices can offer. The market is growing worldwide for smart phones, and as their prices drop below US $100, barriers to entry are minimal. Some experts believe that developing markets will skip right over the PC revolution, and E-Commerce will be completely skipped over for M-Commerce. Broadband internet speeds and powerful computing in small packages will continue driving the M-Commerce revolution, and those retailers that have the best sales and fulfillment software available, will have significant advantage in this market.
Expicient Inc’s fulfillment software experts have the experience and capability to create top-tier mobile applications for multiple platforms and devices. From intelligent E-Commerce wrapper mobile apps, to apps using a phone user’s location to suggest sales items and provide directions, we have the ability and experience to create relevant, appealing, and highly functional applications for all types of retail needs.
Written By:
James M. Brochu -- Consultant, Expicient Inc. http://www.expicient.com/
Email: james.brochu@expicient.com Consider the Environment, Avoid Printing this Blog
1 comment:
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