“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.

Q(UICK)-COMMERCE AND DARK STORES THE FUTURE OF FASHION INDUSTRY 4.0?

Across Europe, on-demand courier services such as Spanish start-up Glovo are investing heavily in so-called “dark stores”. The term describes inner-city warehouses in strategic locations in which goods that need to be delivered quickly can be stored. End consumers who are keen on receiving their online orders even faster are fuelling q-commerce. The urban delivery hubs make same-day or even one-hour express deliveries possible. This business model has already proved very successful for segments such as grocery and food delivery services. Could q-commerce also be the future of the fashion industry? Pinko, for example, entered into a partnership with Glovo in July 2020 and is one of the first companies in Italy to offer fast fashion delivery.

3DELUXE THE FUTURE OF URBAN SPACE

The fascination of urban centres stems from their liveliness and dynamism. Change is the very lifeblood of modern cities. The nascent transformation from a car-dominated city to an intelligent mobility cosmos promises to be one of the most compelling challenges of the coming decades. The 3deluxe design study for a car-free Times Square in New York has recently been adapted to Berlin’s “Friedrichstrasse”, a section of which will remain closed to car traffic until October 2021 as part of a trial run. “Now that it is evident that the car will gradually disappear from the urban landscape, it is time to think about how to redesign the streetscape in the future,” says Dieter Brell, Creative Director of 3deluxe. “Car-reduced cities do not imply a reduction of urban life or mobility; on the contrary, forms of mobility are becoming more diverse and complex and will make our cities more vibrant and people-friendly.” This requires welcoming spaces for the ever-growing group of users of environmentally friendly individual mobility, allowing for harmonious interaction with pedestrians, cyclists, and e-shuttles for the transport of people and goods. To avoid playing off one mode of transport against the other, it is essential to create dynamic mobility zones that combine gentle mobility for city dwellers and visitors with fast express routes for bikers and cars in a respectful coexistence.

Cityscape of the future: interwoven islands and spaces with workout and relaxation areas, playgrounds, urban gardening, green zones, cafés, and charging stations for e-mobility. Dieter Brell, Creative Director of design studio 3deluxe from Wiesbaden, designs organic, urban landscapes for modern mobility.