2 Retail store systems are on the
frontline of the drive to achieve operational excellence—the key to competitive advantage now, and in the future. But in today’s markets there are multiple challenges. Cost pressures are mounting. Intense competition complicates the task of securing customer loyalty and achieving profitable future growth. And compliance requirements, which differ from country to country, are evolving. These challenges require high performing store systems.
Every retailer is, of course, unique—in terms of operating models, customer offerings, and retail IT systems landscapes. Some have store systems that are fit for purpose. Many store systems, however, are fragmented or approaching their end of life. Implementing change is not easy as
store systems are complex to develop, and can require a significant capital investment over multiple years to implement and support.
Retailers face multiple challenges when changing their store systems: meeting bespoke and fast changing business needs, connecting the store systems to other mission-critical head office systems, managing the complex logistics of changing large amounts of store-based hardware, and successfully training what can often be thousands of distributed end users. This makes delivery certainty critically important. And maintaining business continuity is equally important because the data that flows between the store and head office underpins merchandising, supply chain, accounting and payment systems—the heart of the retail business.
Using our experience of complex global store systems implementations, we have developed a comprehensive set of delivery methodologies, assets and skills that focus on three key goals of the retail business:
• Reducing total cost of ownership—
by accelerating successful project delivery and reducing support costs without compromising on quality or availability
• Enabling business growth—by
enhancing the customer experience and providing a platform for innovation going forward • Minimising payment fraud–by
complying with mandatory security standards as they evolve
Our approach encompasses the entire store systems delivery journey and our tools and technologies address specific issues and challenges, from solution design, through project delivery to long-term support (see pages 4 & 5).
For example:
• We work upfront with individual clients to design the solution that is right for them. Using our modular Store Systems Conference Room Pilot Method, for example, our clients are able to accurately identify their precise requirements and optimise the use of off-the-shelf software. (This approach achieves early business buy-in to the chosen IT solution because our clients can clearly see that it will support their end-to-end business processes). We also have extensive experience in picking and partnering with
industry-leading software developers and hardware providers; equally, we have partnered successfully with preferred providers selected by our clients. • Many retailers view attaining
compliance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) and Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) security standards as largely technology-driven. They fail to appreciate the full extent to which it also involves retailer processes, staff and customer interactions—all aligned in a compliant, end-to-end way. Through our dedicated Security Practice, we have helped many clients reduce their fraud risk exposure and make significant savings in fines by achieving compliance. This included helping one global retailer with a relatively low level of security awareness
What we offer
across its global footprint to transform into what the compliance assessor called “the most prepared Level 1 merchant” they had encountered in years. • Testing is a critical step before
deployment yet hugely time-consuming and potentially very expensive—especially if you fail to test properly and must correct the error after implementation across hundreds of separate stores. By leveraging our offshore Store Systems Test Centres of Excellence two leading global fuel retailers were able to test new store systems across multiple countries at a significantly reduced cost. These companies, both of which were confronted with programmes of significant scale and complexity, also made use of our Support and Compliance tool set, a one-stop solution for store systems security, remote access and remote
software distribution that not only helps achieve PCI compliance, but also reduces deployment and support costs by minimising the need for costly store visits.
• The implementation of a store system will impact many end users and many more customers. It is crucially important that the retail business is ready for the change— and end users have received effective training. We have helped a number of clients deliver effective change management solutions from business readiness to end user training. Our Accenture Learning capability specialises in the creation of a range of training solutions from classroom training through to Computer Based Training (CBT) modules, which can significantly reduce the costs of training large numbers of distributed end users.
• And by leveraging Mission Control, which exploits repeatable processes, a powerful tool set and our
unmatched offshore capabilities to coordinate deployment activities across all stores in all countries, many multinational and national clients have achieved and sustained rapid rollouts at previously
unmatched speeds.
Our delivery methodologies, assets and skills have enabled our clients to implement secure and compliant store systems that provide robust platforms to support growth. Our proven approaches allow high quality delivery at speed. And by developing store systems that can be effectively supported from day one we can reduce the total cost of ownership and deliver value to our clients over the long term.
Dramatic results
The following examples illustrate how retailers have made use of a broad range of Accenture store systems tools and assets to deliver particularly dramatic results: 1. Saddled with the task of maintaining multiple different, ageing store systems across its 500+ stores, one large grocery retailer confronted mounting support costs and had little flexibility to change its store systems to support growth initiatives. This client asked Accenture to help build a new store system that would cut support costs and provide a robust, yet flexible, platform in support of future business growth—and to deploy the new system rapidly across all stores. By leveraging Accenture’s proven store systems assets, capabilities and expertise this client successfully implemented a best-in-class store system, which was rolled out rapidly to over 100,000 end users. The new system halved support costs, reduced store closures, improved the in-store customer experience and significantly boosted the speed to market for future business growth initiatives and innovation.
4 Pilot and
Mass
Deployment Programme and Release Management
Change Management and Training Solution Delivery
Support and Compliance Architecture Solution Design Store Systems Support Vendor Management Technical Architecture Integration
Test Management and Execution
The store systems delivery journey
How our delivery methodologies, assets and skills encompass the entire store systems lifecycle.
Area Key Challenges Accenture Assets and Capabilities
• Delivering large-scale, complex, multi-geographic programmes whilst maintaining a consistent approach and quality.
• Ensuring that all parts of the business are ready for the change.
• Development of cost effective training solutions. • Delivery of training to large numbers of distributed
end users.
• Capturing requirements that are clear, consistent, contextual and testable.
• Optimising use of the off-the-shelf software. • Locking down system configuration to reduce the
costs of testing and support.
• Ensuring the solution design supports the end-to-end business process.
Accenture Delivery Suite: a proven and robust delivery methodology and toolset supporting the end to end delivery lifecycle. This methodology has been tailored to support the delivery of multi vendor and multi geography store systems programmes. Store Systems Conference Room Pilot Method: a module based requirements walkthrough using a demonstration of the standard system.
Global Retail Industry Process Model: a transparent and straightforward process architecture designed to drive out waste and inefficiency.
Store Systems Requirements and Design Framework: a business process framework, design templates and requirements super-set ensuring all relevant areas of the business are reviewed.
Accenture Learning: provides end-to-end training solutions from classroom training to eLearning from low costs development locations.
Programme and Release management
Solution Design
Change Management and Training
Area
• Delivering end-to-end payment acceptance that is compliant with industry security standards.
• Reducing the high cost requirements for an engineer to visit a store to resolve solution issues.
• Enabling rapid deployments to high numbers of stores.
• Monitoring and reporting on distributed systems.
• Delivery of robust, repeatable and low cost middleware and integration to mission critical central systems.
• POS testing is an intensive manual effort requiring low cost resource models. • Criticality of capturing defects before they
are deployed into a distributed environment.
• Structuring effective and workable contracts with vendors.
• Proactive management of multi-component, multi-vendor systems delivery.
• High dependency on niche vendors.
• Delivery of high availability mission-critical systems to, often, thousands of distributed sites.
• Balancing cost with future-proofing site operated hardware with a lifespan of 7-10 years.
• Maintaining management control through a fast-paced Store Systems rollout. • Coordination of the many activities being
performed by multiple parties at each store.
• Maintaining a high quality support service for frontline systems at a low cost.
Accenture Alliances: our Commercial team has extensive experience in negotiating and structuring complex application development and support contracts.
Accenture Delivery Methodology: a robust and structured development methodology that supports the proactive management of vendors through the development lifecycle.
Store Systems Test Centres of Excellence: near shore and offshore Store Systems Test Centers of Excellence serving multiple clients allowing the delivery of high quality solutions at a reduced cost.
Accenture Test Methodology and Toolset: a proven standard test methodology and toolset that increases execution effectiveness and improves defect containment including Automation Frameworks, Risk-based Testing, Performance Test Lab, and Reporting Dashboards.
Store Systems Integration Accelerator: a set of tools, architectures and designs based on our experience of store systems integration. Avanade: an Accenture and Microsoft joint venture delivering best in class Microsoft integration capabilities.
Accenture Security Practice: a specialised team of Certified Information Systems Security Professionals (CISSP) specialising in PCI and EMV security standard compliance who have experience in the Retail and Financial services sectors of delivering compliant solutions.
Accenture Support Architecture and Compliance Tools: proving a one-stop solution for the critical store security and support activities including; secure and remote access, remote distribution, consolidation of system audit and event data, support alerting. Store Systems Blueprints: providing technical architecture blueprints and store systems development toolkits for store systems implementations.
Store Systems Hardware RFP toolkit: an out-of-the-box toolkit for conducting a store systems hardware selection procurement and evaluating the responses. Accenture Mission Control: an industrialised toolset and offshore capabilities to manage site countdown and cutover activities during multi-store rollout.
Accenture Application Support: provides tools, processes and capabilities to improve service which have been proven to reduce support cost and improve service performance.
Key Challenges Accenture Assets and Capabilities
Vendor Management
Test Management and Execution
Integration
Support and Compliance Architecture
Technical Architecture
Pilot and Mass Deployment
6
Why Accenture
We can help at every stage of your store systems delivery journey—from strategy creation, through project delivery to long-term service support. That’s because our approach leverages the unmatched strengths of Accenture’s global organisation, the experience and resources of our retail practice and the skills of our store systems delivery specialists.
More than 100 of these specialists are UK-based. All are supported by our Global Delivery Network, which comprises 50 different centres all pursuing a single, repeatable approach; the assets, experience and capabilities that sustain our strengths as systems integrators; and the expertise of more than 3,000 retail professionals worldwide.
Accenture serves the needs of more than 300 retail clients worldwide. If you would like to learn more about how we can work with your organisation to deliver a high-performance retail store system fit for the future please contact:
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