B2X Now More of a Consideration in Retail
One of the really fun aspects of my job is the frequency with which I get to interact with retailers. This enables me to have a good view to trends from a very grassroots perspective. While I spend a great deal of my time working with retailers to develop B2C or B2B solutions, I am increasingly seeing an interest in the concept of “B2X”-types of solutions.
A B2X solution is a platform with services that support standard B2B and B2C scenarios within a common framework and set of tools. The advantages here are many:
- A B2X solution enables IT to support a common framework vs a set of separate applications based on sales channel.
- A solution that supports B2X implies a good level of operational integration with key internal systems like financials, product information/catalog, orders, supply chain, etc.
- There is a growing set of evidence from analysts that B2B shoppers have grown to expect more of a consumer buying experience (i.e. product reviews and ratings, rich product imagery, cross-sells/up-sells, personalization, etc).
- Agility in customer facing selling systems enables retailers to more nimbly shift sales channels and strategies as the business dictates.
Expect eCommerce vendors to attempt to merge these worlds more effectively than they do today in response to this opportunity.
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About domc
I am responsible for eCommerce and cross-channel retailing for Microsoft’s Retail Industry Team. In this capacity, I have worked with many global retailers to assess eCommerce and cross-channel retailing strategies and how technology and business processes can be used to accomplish strategic initiatives.
I leverage my background in retail supply chain and consumer experience technology to align retailers’ customer facing application portfolios with the realities of retail enterprise applications and enterprise data paradigms.
Prior to joining Microsoft, I held positions at Oracle Retail, Retek, and Accenture. At Oracle Retail, I was a product manager responsible for supply chain execution systems. While at Retek I held functional architecture responsibilities for Retek’s supply chain execution systems, including integration with other ERP functional areas such as merchandising, financials, order management and point-of-sale. In my role at Accenture, I was responsible for leading custom development and implementation teams for large retail ERP projects, including direct-to-consumer operations. I have been quoted in industry publications and have lectured at a variety of venues.
My retail solutions experience includes verticals such as hypermarket, grocery, specialty, soft lines, C-store and hard lines. This experience included traditional brick-and-mortar as well as multi-channel fulfillment models.
