Retail Industry Framework enables retailers to deliver superior shopping experience in Saudi Arabia

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - 8th June 2010, IBM recognizes the need for a smarter retail system for retailers and manufacturers that allows them to conduct business in an ever-changing smarter planet and get closer to customers. A system that is inter-connected so it can be fed by customer insight at every point in the process; all the way from design to distribution, that is instrumented; so every item of inventory can be tracked and accounted for and is intelligent; so vast amounts of customer data can be analyzed and turned into real value in real time is becoming critical for the successful retailer of the future.

 "An organisation must keep up with the empowered consumers of today's market. In order for them to maintain a long term presence, they must recognise the consumer's needs for accessibility to both products and services as well as information, said Victor Morales, Systems Technology Group Sales Director, IBM MENA. "IBM offer retailers several solutions and smarter systems to allow them to capitalise on their offerings to consumers who know what they want, thus allowing them to maintain a strong relationship with them."

With more than 30 years of point-of-sale (POS) market leadership, IBM and its network of IBM Business Partners around the world provide retailers of all sizes store solutions that can help increase sales and reduce costs. By building intelligence into the entire retail system; retailers, manufacturers and suppliers can better serve the new breed of empowered consumer, whose needs for high value, individual service and low prices will only grow. IBM has developed a wide range of hardware and software, which offer their customers amazing possibilities:

  • Point-of-Sale (POS): IBM's powerful POS systems allow retailers to meet consumer demands for fast, accurate transactions.

  • Self-Service: IBM's expanded family of kiosk and self checkout solutions allow retailers to innovate the customer experience.

  • Peripherals: IBM's Auxiliary devices such as printers, scanners and cash tills, work in conjunction with POS systems  to add more possibilities to the services

  • Software: IBM's end-to-end software solutions offer retailers many possibilities to increase customer satisfaction.

"IBM's retail store solutions are the premier choice for the industry's leading retailers, offering features that allow them to adapt their businesses to their consumers' needs. These products have been designed to increase performance and productivity and cut down on costs," added Morales. "Efficiency and value are what IBM offers retailers with its wide range of products and services, to ensure they improve their services and maintain the loyalty of their customers."

IBM's Retail Industry Framework is designed to help retailers who struggle with systems that aren't integrated and deal with plenty of data within the organization, however find that information is not always accessible when needed. The framework helps retailers save time, lower project costs and mitigate project risk by allowing retailers to implement solutions for delivering a superior shopping experience as well as integrating processes and information, to facilitate deployment of applications and solutions.

The IBM Retail Industry Framework enables Smarter Shopping Solutions for:

•         Store Checkout Solutions

•         Next Generation e-Commerce

•         Single View of the Customer

•         Multi-channel Order Management

•         Consumer Mobile Solutions

•         Kiosk Business Solutions

These solutions were recently showcased by IBM and SBM - General Marketing and Services Representatives of IBM - during the Retail Storage Solutions Forum 2010 which was held in Riyadh for the retail market in Saudi Arabia. IBM experts presented on topics like POS, Self Service and solutions and services as well as exhibiting live demos of the systems, to share insights into IBM's latest strategies, programmes and products for the Kingdom's retail industry.

- Ends -

For more information on IBM, please visit: www.ibm.com
For more information on SBM, please visit: www.sbm.com.sa

© Press Release 2010