WHAT'S THE STORY
C o m m e rc e C e n t r e
“ENTIRELY NEW JOB COMPETENCIES WILL EMERGE”
Patrick Palombo, Product Owner PSR at Arvato Systems, is convinced that a vibrant city centre is one in which the inventory of the stores is actively integrated into the retailer’s omnichannel strategy at all times.
Flexibility and agility require a backbone: Arvato Systems offers two solutions that help retailers align their product range and service with the needs of the end customer in challenging times. style in progress caught up with Patrick Palombo, Product Business Owner PSR, for a chat. Text: Martina Müllner-Seybold. Photos: Arvato Bertelsmann
As someone who has been involved in e-commerce in Germany since its beginnings, what is your perspective on the “corona year”? Did it really cause a digitisation boost? Definitely. Companies that had previously rejected all state-of-the-art Click & Collect or order management systems have suddenly started implementing solutions at record speed. The awareness that the retail environment will look different tomorrow has finally entrenched itself in their minds. What should modern retailing entail? Could you perhaps describe your vision based on your PSR SaaS solution? According to the vision of our PSR (Planning, Steering, Reporting) application, the future of retail not merely includes a top-down dimension, but also an important bottom-up aspect. To date, procedure has been as follows: a central buyer decides to allocate 1,000 white t-shirts to a certain branch for the summer season. However, for a specific reason – let us assume because a fashion discounter that advertises cheap
white t-shirts has opened next door – this branch already knows during the planning phase that it cannot sell these 1,000 t-shirts at full margin. Our application allows the store in question to correct the initial assignment, meaning that planning is the result of a holistic process rather than taking place exclusively at one level. The fact that these 1,000 t-shirts have so far been allocated solely on the basis of experience or assumptions is surely no longer acceptable in today’s world. Relevant keywords are margin pressure and sustainability… Yes, but you know this industry well. Even in medium-sized and large companies, product range strategy often relies on spreadsheets, which, of course, fail to reflect dynamic developments and do not allow for in-season management. The objective must be to avoid excess stock and, if it does occur, to be able to respond to it quickly. Surely it should also be possible to activate branch inventories for online sales and same-day deliveries? Yes, that is the issue we address with Arvato Aroma, a different SaaS solution that makes medium-sized and larger chain stores omnichannel-capable. I see huge potential in this field. Ultimately, this will create new jobs – or expand existing job profiles and competencies. Salespeople will prepare parcels for shipment, commission couriers, or handle online returns as a matter of course.
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