Read Blogs on Mcirosoft Technology, IBM Services & LS Retail Software Solution

How Can Unified Commerce Be a Game-Changer for Your Business?

We have witnessed a massive shift in the retail industry in the past few decades. We have seen retail stores evolving and expanding their reach via multiple channels. The only way to survive in this industry is to keep customers happy at all costs. Retailers must provide an omnichannel service to the customers and deliver personalized services across all channels. A unified commerce solution implements advanced technologies like IoT or ML and software solutions such as CRM and POS. However, it is still difficult to make them collaborate. Now, with changing times, businesses are making amends with their business processing. They are now inclining more towards using one platform for sales, systems, and applications while collecting data and extracting essential insights. This process is also known as unified commerce, and it is most likely to become the base for all businesses in the future. What is Unified Commerce? Earlier the commerce industry relied on the individual channels of sales. However, now most of them optimize an omnichannel commerce model. Despite having multiple benefits, this model is insufficient to cover every issue that retailers might encounter. Therefore, there is an emerging demand for unified commerce. Unified commerce is a full-fledged software system that enables retailers to: Monitor each function of their business. View product and customer data via all touchpoints in real-time. Analyze data and turn them into actionable insights. Make data-driven and logical decisions. Proffer a personalized customer experience. In simple words, you can get product data, customer insights, back-office management within the same platform. The Major Aspects of a Unified Commerce Given below are the main pillars of unified commerce: Sales, customer, software, and product. Sales Channel Different customers might prefer different channels to reach out to your product. Some might pick your website, third-party applications, or any other medium depending upon their choice. It makes the retailer even more accountable for providing an equally seamless experience across all the touchpoints. Whether browsing or purchasing products online or in-store, buyers must access the same chances: the view, the feel, promotions, and exceptional deals, and everything else must be the same. This is what we call consistency across all the channels. Customer Interactions The users who interact with your business using different channels via different devices must get a seamless shopping experience even from a different channel from the point they paused. For instance, if a buyer puts a product in the cart on your website, the next time they open the app, the cart items must be visible to them. This way they can continue shopping even after shifting to another channel. When you keep tabs on your customer moves via all the channels, you can create personalized recommendations and make customers happy. As a result, your sales go up. Software Systems This concept even implies the integration of different systems on the same platform, such as ERP, CRM, SCM, CSM, POS, mobile apps, and other systems. Unified commerce ensures these systems are fully integrated and deliver impeccable services. Product Information The data addressing your services or products must be accurate and relevant across all the sales channels. Your customers and employees need to access the identical data of your services and products to avoid misunderstanding. Make sure the data is identical at all levels. How Does It Provide a Seamless Shopping Experience? Unified commerce opens doors to several benefits, and seamless customer interactions are one of them. But how does it do it? Given below are the factors that are responsible for providing seamless customer services: Flexibility: It enables more flexibility for the customer. They can start, continue, finish, and cancel a product using their mobile phones or any other device they prefer. The buying journey has never been more flexible. Interaction Recording: The system tracks every customer’s action; what they purchased, what they canceled, and what product they returned. The system tracks every interaction they have with your brand while allowing you to predict their next decisions. Real-time Updates: Completely integrated channels make it possible for a real-time product or service updates while keeping your staff and customers aware of the availability. Personalized Recommendations: Customer monitoring allows you to tailor recommendations for the customer. How does Unified Commerce Benefit Your Business? Apart from providing a seamless experience to the shoppers, this concept benefits your overall business with: Automation: A centralized platform allows automation of most of the time-consuming manual tasks, which results in increased productivity of employees. Effective Management: Unified commerce prevents almost all business barriers while ensuring 100% transparency of processes at all levels. Your staff is aware of all the updates in real-time hence allowing them to make the right decisions centering on delivery, marketing, inventory, and other business processes. You can also get rid of some general retail issues such as overstocking and understocking. Lower Scope of Errors: Automation ensures accuracy of data drives the lower scope of errors as compared to those of manual management of different solutions. In addition, AI and ML-based predictive analysis help you predict and prevent issues. Boost of Sales: All the above benefits mentioned above sum up to the boost of sales. With delighted customers, efficient management, accurate data, logical decisions, and fewer errors you can boost sales. LS Retail is a unified commerce service provider. It delivers a set of tools ensuring impeccable business operations and incredible customer services. Trident Information Systems is a Gold Partner of LS Retail and Microsoft who has served numerous business ventures so far. For further information contact us.

How Can Unified Commerce Be a Game-Changer for Your Business? Read More »

How can Retailers Surpass Competition with Innovation?

Retail POS Solution / Trident

In today’s world, where competition is cutthroat, retailers need to find innovative ideas to stand out in the crowd. With the right technology and creativity, retailers can be ahead in the race. With suitable strategies, retailers can accurately capture a larger sum of customer base. Traditional retail methods come along with various drawbacks such as: Inability to record customer experience. Consumers demand the latest POS experience. Reliability of the same old methods to sell a product and expecting a different result. Stores and eCommerce are still operating in silos. Lack of accurate customer data for launching effective offers. By combining the right technology and strategies, retailers can outshine their competition. Switch to an Integrated POS system Customers need flexibility and freedom to place an order however they want and get it wherever they want: their smartphones have become a walking POS. Traditional POS would only support billing offline and online separately. It would not record customer data further to form effective loyalty programs. An integrated POS does the job. With this technology, even staff efficiency increases, they can serve customers even more effectively, find the product location right away, manage inventory more easily and greet customers with a warmer smile. The customers no longer must stand in the long queues, they can help themselves with the payments and free the space soon. Before creating any loyalty program, the first step is to access the customer data, only then can a retailer classify customers into diverse groups for different deals and offers. Offer Subscription Boxes A subscription box is a marketing tool to enhance brand exposure to the customers. Be its meal kits, books, shaving kit, or wine subscription boxes have transformed the concept of repeat purchases. Surprises excite everyone. Hence, they can be used as a great marketing tool. Consumers adore the experience of convenience and a surprise of a curated selection of new products directly sent to them. According to a recent eCommerce study by McKensy, about 35% of active box subscribers tend to purchase more active subscriptions. Surprise Customers with a Surprise Basket Understand each customer’s preferences and their spending pattern. Offer deals on their favorite products. Mix a few of them and voila! you have a surprise basket for your customers. Distinct baskets for different segments. Not only does this boost customer satisfaction, but also builds recognition for your store. Satisfied customers tend to spread word of mouth contagiously. There is no better promotion than a referral. It is economical and more effective than any other promotional measure. As human beings, we all long for a sense of belonging. If you successfully show your care and affection towards your customers, you are already ahead of the competition. Promote Sustainability by Reselling Customers these days have become more sensitive towards our environment. According to Neilsen, 73% of global consumers are willing to change their consumption habits to reduce environmental impacts. Consumers are now holding retailers accountable for their production tacts. Keeping this new mentality of their customers in mind, retailers have decided to respond by reselling pre-used items. According to the latest Thredup resale reports, the sale of second-hand items has grown 21 times faster than the retail apparel market over the past three years. Now the time has changed, and bargaining is not limited to just students. Even 26% of luxury shoppers are now preferring pre-used luxury items. Allow Apparel on Rent As the trend of ethical consumption grows, the rental market is fueled as well. Consumers nowadays do not prefer to empty their bank accounts and buy expensive clothes to rot in their closets as soon as a trend is over. Apparel rentals give enough flexibility to the buyer to keep up with the trend affordably. Retailers willing to enter the rental market must make sure that they have the right technology that tracks each item; which one is in, and which ones are out. It should be efficient enough to check the state of each product when it is back in the store and identify if it is in the proper shape. Bottom Line Retailers can barely stand up to their strong competitors Without innovation. With better technology, more accurate data, and more efficient strategies, retailers can beef up their business tremendously. LS retail is a unified software specializing in retail matters offering a complete set of tools required to run a retail business. From integrated POS to automatic inventory tracking, you can get everything under one umbrella. Trident Information Systems is a Gold Microsoft Dynamics 365 Partner who has served various business ventures so far. For further information, contact us.

How can Retailers Surpass Competition with Innovation? Read More »

Why Does Your ERP Need a SaaS Upgrade?

Microsoft Dynamics 365 / Trident

As businesses are spending a fortune on building and maintaining an infrastructure for on-premise Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), various other organizations are switching to the cloud. Why? Because of its many benefits. It ensures more security and streamlines processes. Unlike on-premise ERP, where security is more breachable, a SaaS ensures bank-level security, anti-data theft, and data backup. On-premise ERP deployment can pose issues with mobility due to reliability on private networks. A SaaS-based company delivers more flexibility and scales with your business. It usually updates automatically. Minor updates occur without disturbing the organizational ecosystem. While considering massive updates, the service provider sends a notification in advance. However, this is not the case with on-premise ERP; updating the software is tiring and the user’s a headache. How Does SaaS-Based ERP Outshine On-Premises ERP? Considering the crucial information stored in an ERP system, such as company financials, employee data, corporate trade secrets, and so on. Security is the biggest concern when it comes to prospective buyers. Cloud vendors like Microsoft Dynamics 365 have strict standards to secure your data. Additionally, it ensures mobility and sometimes accesses native mobile apps while complimenting the security. Apart from this, other features outshine ERP. Needs Less Initial Capital One of the greatest benefits of SaaS is its cost-efficiency. In an on-premise ERP, the user has to spend a heavy upfront cost on hardware, labor, and training. However, this is not the case with the cloud-based ERP, which uses a SaaS model and eliminates common financial pitfalls. This approach offers various financial advantages as it turns ERP systems from a capital cost into an ongoing operating expense. Thanks to the cost-efficient qualities of this model, the total upfront investment required for its implementation is relatively low. The low implementation cost can be a savior for small businesses that do not have the budget for on-premise ERP and want to scale quickly. Streamlines Deployment Generally, massive ERP disasters occur during the implementation stage when coordination and integration become hard. Different departments struggle to cope with the same, and the IT department is scrambling upon it all. There can even be issues like production hampering due to costs piling up. Cloud ERP Software is designed to tackle these issues right away. They are engineered to be more adaptive, responsive, and easier to implement. Additionally, it takes up to three-six weeks to deploy, unlike on-premise that takes up to twelve weeks. It can be a great asset to small businesses that cannot afford an efficient on-premise ERP deployment. Moreover, every organization acknowledges that having the resources needed is useless unless they are people friendly. Secures Corporate Data When it comes to choosing a suitable ERP, security is the biggest concern. Because of the widespread belief, the cloud does not provide better security than the one on-premise, many businesses still prefer to stick to the on-premise ERP. However, nowadays, many cloud ERPs like Microsoft Dynamics 365, offers a suite of tools that ensure data security no less than an on-premise ERP. Moreover, some even provide additional services such as: Automatic, simultaneous, and system-wide updates that fix security pitfalls without users having to take additional steps. Various backups and failsafe redundant layers. And systems looked after by a dedicated team of cloud safety experts. One of the jobs of an ERP is to deliver interdepartmental corporation; the cloud makes it a lot simpler. A cloud ERP provides cooperation, transparency, and accountability across the organization. It can accomplish all this due to its various features that include: A suite of project management tools that streamline synchronicities and communication. Real-time performance and financial reporting deliver essential insights to decision-makers. Resource management operations to help spot opportunities and eliminate waste. Efficient third-party collaborations with vendors and consultants. Increases security by showing user footprints across the system ensuring easy inventory monitoring. Apart from being an asset to the company’s functionalities, a capacity upgrade provides robust agility as well as visibility. Thus, helping them to respond quickly and make more logical decisions. Updates Faster The software update is one of the significant areas where the cloud ERP system ensures the scope of improvement. Traditional ERP system needs a regular update to fix security threats and boost performance. Upgrading the software can be tedious, arduous, and can demand a lot of IT resources. The situation gets more problematic when incomplete updates are applied. This cannot be the case with cloud ERP systems, as upgrading is the manufacturer’s or the vendor’s responsibility. New Modules, Security patches, and software updates are usually automatically updated – usually in the background. Therefore, allowing employees to carry on with their tasks without any disruptions. Version inconsistencies are not likely to occur, as the service provider can remotely access and update any user’s account. Unlocks the Doors to Mobile Devices The mobile device has been used as an essential business tool. One of the significant ERP benefits that are perfectly suitable for mobile devices is its capacity to provide centralized data throughout the organization but in a decentralized way to remove hurdles to efficiency. It allows the users to access real-time data wherever and whenever they want. Provides real-time updates and facilitates efficient manufacturing operations. Delivers the most up-to-date information to the sales staff to make better decisions. Trident Information Systems is one of the top SaaS providers. With Microsoft’s Gold Partnership, 150+ resources, and two decades of experience, we have served multiple ventures so far. For further information or a demonstration, contact us.

Why Does Your ERP Need a SaaS Upgrade? Read More »

Manage Exceeding Electronics and Handset Demands this Festive Season

Retail POS Solution / Trident

The festive season is near, and customer demands for electronics have already outstripped supply for consumer electronic items. It has become a grave issue for retailers and other industry executives. Demand for the best-selling models coupled with a set of other imported devices is either short on supply or out of stock. The supply crunch amplified due to the Navratri sales (October 12-15) led by online marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart, as well as brick-and-mortar retail stores such as Croma and Reliance Digital. How to Manage this Demand Hustle? The festive season is when retailers are flooded with opportunities and need the right technology and approaches to beat this demand crunch. We have compiled a few suggestions to help you manage overwhelming demands. Predict Demands and Stock up Demand prediction is the first and the most crucial step for managing demand. Understand market trends and keep yourself stocked up. This is how Amazon and Flipkart could stay ahead in the completion. They already forecasted this surge, and the sellers stocked up with higher inventory much earlier. Hence, leading to a better situation for these marketplaces. Supply Chain Management Software like Microsoft Dynamics 365 empowered with AI-based technology extracts market data and creates logical and actionable reports. Integrate Online Ordering Channels Allows customers to reach you the way they want. Whether it is an application, website, or third-party platform, they can reach out to you through any medium. Having all the channels integrated within a unified platform saves retailers from multiple integration complications. This way the buyer gets enough flexibility to choose what they are most comfortable with. Apart from this, retailers can also check on their customer’s activities, for example, they can check out how many customers landed on their website and for how long. calculating their level of interest, the retailer can set a targeted customer base accordingly. Manage Warehouse Efficiently When demands get unpredictable, efficient warehouse space management becomes a must. Plan proper stock positioning and allocation for maximum floor space optimization. Many warehouses ignore the importance of proper racking and stacking. Hence, they end up wasting a lot more space than usual. Adopt proper spacing methods such as extending your racks up vertically, reducing aisle width and racking area, adding half-pallet storage location, and so on. Electronics tend to get outdated pretty quickly, hence discard the obsolete and damaged appliances. Regulate warehouse temperature and keep tabs on the inventory yet to arrive. Make Sure You are Not Short on Inventory After forecasting demand, retailers should ensure they have the right number of stocks available complimenting consumer demands. Track electronics batch and classify inventory with similar traits in batches. For example, keep all the iPhone versions in a single batch and Samsung phones in another. This is called batch tracking, which makes inventory management a lot easier. You can also use a technology that keeps tabs on current inventory and required inventory. Not only does it save your efforts but also streamlines inventory management. Bust Queues with Mobile POS System A team equipped with mobile POS assists customers way better. It accelerates customer experience while tracking the right electronic item in the store. It even streamlines the payment process; customers can pay faster and even help themselves if other staff members are busy with others. Consumers do not have to wait in long queues. Apart from consumers, it also manages suppliers and ensures complete security. A mobile POS is more than just billing software. Mobile POS is different from a fixed POS system. It is easy to carry and more convenient for both consumers and the seller. Ensure Timely Delivery When demands are rushing, and so is the time, accelerate the delivery process. Retailers have to be extra careful during the festive crunch. The profit rates are high, and so is the competition, which makes customers demand faster delivery. Track vehicles and the shortest route possible while ensuring the product reaches its destination unharmed. Also, it is advisable to allow a seamless returning process if the customer is not satisfied with the product. This leads to a sense of security among the customers. Many marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart follow the same policy. They allow customers to return a product if they feel like it. Bottom Line The festive season brings joy, business, and stress for retailers altogether. With overwhelming demands and shortage of supply complimenting the urge for quality needs a solid supply chain management. Demand forecasting, omnichannel, warehouse management, and prompt delivery are the aspects. A unified supply chain management service provider like Trident Information Systems. It has been a Microsoft Gold Partner since 2003 and has dealt with such demand scrunches gracefully. For further information or a demonstration, contact us.

Manage Exceeding Electronics and Handset Demands this Festive Season Read More »

Why Your Retail Business Needs to Embrace Omnichannel

Retail ERP Software / Trident

A lot of things in the retail industry have changed so far. Stores have extended their boundaries from brick and mortar to other online mediums such as websites, applications, third-party platforms, etc. Digital invasion plays a critical role in bringing this industry to the next level With cutthroat competition at every corner, retailers are bound to get the latest technology such as a unified commerce solution complimenting their strategies to survive the market dynamics. With the promise of providing customers with what they want at their decided time, retailers are burning their candles at both ends. How does Omnichannel work? The integration of all the touchpoints or integration of different shipping methods available to a consumer while providing a seamless shopping journey is what Omnichannel does. For Instance, a customer browses your website looking for a shirt, but instead of buying it right away, he puts it in the cart. Then he casually browses Facebook and stumbles upon your ad, clicks on it, and gets a coupon. He then comes back to your website and purchases the same shirt using your code. After making the final payment, he decides to pick it up from the brick-and-mortar store. Why is Omnichannel Important for Your Business? Omnichannel is an essential approach that addresses customer experience on each channel – mobile, desktop browser, retail, podcast, social media, and so on. It also tracks the transition of customers on each channel while reading their purchasing patterns. Seamless Shopping Experience Omni means “in all ways or places,” nothing can more perfectly define the purpose of omnichannel marketing than this term. The customer can now shop anytime, anywhere. When they travel through the metro, they can purchase before reaching their destination. While computing to work, they can buy a T-shirt. When too busy to make purchases, they can ask Alexa or amazon devices to do it on their behalf. It has become that easy. This is one of the most obvious reasons why omnichannel is important. Advertisers have to stay a step ahead of the customers and ensure you deliver the product they want. Robust Business Analysis Omnichannel gives a complete analysis of the effectiveness of their campaigns while assisting retailers with making more logical decisions. Gone are the days when business owners had to look through each channel individually, organize individual spreadsheets, make manual analysis of the successful campaigns and the ones who demand improvements. An omnichannel solution like LS Retail gives a 360-degree view of your business and reads each customer interaction, understanding their preference and purchasing pattern. These analyses are crucial for setting up new strategies or modifying current ones. Personalization Recent studies have shown that 90% of consumers find non-personalized emails and messages from a brand annoying. Whereas 65% of millennials expect their favorite brands to send them messages especially designed for them. Therefore, we can conclude that personalization is no longer a luxury to survive but a necessity for brands. It might seem a bit complicated to customize offers for each buyer. However, with omnichannel, retailers can access each of their customer behaviors and classify them into distinct groups or customize offers individually. The process is no longer lofty, and brands can fully benefit from the same. Effective Synergy Among Departments This is not uncommon for various organizations to have a division in sales and marketing teams, and how crucial it is to maintain coordination. Omnichannel makes it even easier for different departments to propel synergy. When implemented, omnichannel ensures every step of the customer journey replicates the message, tone, and product offerings. If a consumer dials a customer representative, they must already know about purchases made by the consumer. With the proper coordination, sales teams can personalize emails, they can drive an urge for the products and their alternatives. Be it a customer representative call, billboard, or an ad, the tone is the same. To sum it up, we can conclude that omnichannel ensures unity and better coordination among different departments and boosts overall effectiveness. Cost-Effective Advertisements Nothing can frustrate an advertiser more than a wasted ad. Omnichannel scans data through each channel and takes over the guesswork. LS Retail data analysis tool ensures you are reaching the targeted audience. It addresses different channels for different advertisements according to customer engagement. You do not have to wait for the pre-paid campaigns any longer. Embrace the omnichannel and shift your investment to better-performing tactics and channels. The retail industry can tremendously benefit from omnichannel services like the one from LS Retail. It integrated each touchpoint while guaranteeing a seamless shopping journey to the customer. Trident Information Systems is a Gold LS Retail Partner and has served several businesses excellently. Contact us for further information.

Why Your Retail Business Needs to Embrace Omnichannel Read More »

Factors Leading to Food Quality Compromises While Manufacturing

Microsoft Dynamics 365 / Trident

You need to work faster and more carefully while complying with the quality standards during manufacturing food products. Food manufacturing needs more attention than any other industry. Since people consume the products directly, manufacturers need to take extra care of hygiene. Many factors could lead to food quality compromises. A unified software such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Food and Beverages can provide great assistance. It helps manage all your vendors and ensures the freshness of raw material. It also ensures hygiene-standard compliance while balancing production with demands. Factors affecting the food quality might include: Personnel hygiene Foreign particle invasion Lack of fresh raw material availability Disbalance in production and demand Equipment used Poor refrigeration Poor Food Hygiene Many factors could contribute to poor food quality. Purchasing inferior quality or stale food negatively influences the ultimate product. Apart from this, storing in inappropriate conditions, cooking more than what is needed, and letting it sit in unfavorable environments can cause further quality problems. Manufacturers should mind storing raw and cooked food together as well. If the food is contaminated at any point: from production to consumption, the quality is compromised, of course, depending on the conditions, PH levels, and humidity level of the place they are kept at. Therefore, proper warehouse management is necessary. Dynamics 365 for food manufacturing delivers a suite for excellent warehouse management, so the manufacturers can appropriately classify assorted products while discarding expired material. Foreign Particle Invasion There are chances that the food might get some foreign particles involved such as small animals, dust particles, stones, insects, etc. such contamination needs thorough checking. Human eyes might sometimes fail to see them. Hence, automatic defect detection is required. There are several cases in the world where people sue a company for delivering products with such contaminations. Such particles can do severe damage to the food quality, human health, and your organization’s reputation. Trident Information Systems offers one such service called Intelligent Machine Vision System, which can detect FMCG product’s defects, foreign particles, the right spectrum of color while ensuring excellent quality of material crossing through the conveyor belt. Inability to Balance Demand and Production Sometimes, the manufacturers face a demand rise by surprise, whereas, and sometimes, it is the opposite. When demand rises, all of a sudden, a manufacturer might compromise on the raw material quality to produce more in a brief time. However, when the scenario is opposite, manufacturers might produce more than the demand, and a lot of it goes to waste. Since FMCG products are perishable, they need to be consumed immediately. If not consumed for long, they become unusable. Demand forecasting is an essential part of commencing manufacturing. Lack of accurate demand prediction can lead to situations where the manufacturer compromises with the food quality. Microsoft Dynamics excels in demand forecasting. Accompanied by its BI technology, manufacturers can easily forecast demands to avoid wastage and keep up with the quality standards. Personal Hygiene of Food Handlers Hygiene is the top priority when the world is struck by Covid-19. Especially in FMCG production, where human hygiene can greatly impact the end product. The food-handling personnel should assume proper hygiene and should not have any disease. They should also undergo regular medical checkups and get their temperatures checked before entering the factory. Their hands should be sanitized and must ensure appropriate food handling behavior. They should always have their caps, masks, aprons, and gloves on while treating food. The equipment they use must be sanitized after every interval. An automatic Vision Quality Analysis can be effective, like Trident’s Intelligent Vision System detects if every person wears the PPE they are assigned. It also detects cross contaminations and other detects. Poor Refrigeration The temperature plays a huge role in FMCG manufacturing. The products, whether raw or end, need appropriate refrigeration to last long. Poor refrigeration can give shelter to several bacteria and viruses leading to food poisoning. Therefore, it is essential to manage temperature for storage, preservation, transportation, and distribution of frozen, chilled, or food-grade materials. If not done properly, it can end up ruining your whole production, inviting several harmful bacteria, fungus, viruses, and so on. While manufacturing, the producer needs to take care of the hygiene of his staff and food while preventing any foreign particle invasion. It is necessary to balance production and demand. Otherwise, it can lead to excess or insufficient food produced, compromising the quality in both cases. Personal hygiene of the food handler and appropriate refrigeration are also extremely important for maintaining food quality. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Food and Beverages, offers everything a manufacturer needs to keep up with the food quality. Trident Information Systems is a Gold Microsoft Dynamics 365 Partner, who additionally delivers Intelligent Machine Vision System for manufacturing defect detection and PPE detection. For further information, contact us.

Factors Leading to Food Quality Compromises While Manufacturing Read More »

6 Mistakes that lead to Wrong ERP Implementation and Loss of Time

Supplychain management ERP / Trident

When businesses think of an ERP, the first thing popping up on their head is “how much is this going to hurt?” Indeed, it is one of the most important and massive projects of a business. If implemented properly, it is capable of upgrading each of your business aspects. Otherwise, you may run into trouble. ERP is a disruptive, tedious, and huge yet beneficial project. Hence, you need to be very careful while implementing it. Given below are some of the stats of ERP implementation to help you understand how important it is to implement it the right way: Businesses can reduce up to 20% of their operational and administrative costs. 64% of ERP projects go over budget. ERP projects that might consume more time count up to 74% 94% of businesses see an improvement in their business aspects with an ERP implementation. Avoid These Common Mistakes While Implementing An ERP ERP implementation is a big deal and thus needs to be done impeccably. Proper planning and setting backups to avoid issues can help greatly while reducing the implementation time. Given below are some of the common mistakes businesses commit during this time: # 1 Not Defining Plan and Goals ERP implementation is more than just smashing the install button. It needs serious involvement and research. One of the common mistakes businesses make during this implementation is not defining the plans and goals of the company. Which may ultimately lead to confusion and added costs. Probably, you might miss some features your business really needs. Hence, it is advisable to sit with your team and discuss where your business needs assistance so that the implementation team can prepare an appropriate solution specifically designed for your organization. A detailed plan will ensure your implementation team is on the same page and works with maximum coordination. Defining a roadmap simplifies the implementation into actionable aspects while ensuring the credibility of your team. #2 Showing Insufficient Commitment As already discussed, an ERP implementation is a long and tedious project that demands incredible involvement. It might take up to 6 months to 2 years. It is recommended to plan for athletes one year of implementation to test and iron out the kinks. If you cannot commit to a one-year dedication, you probably want to find faster project facilitation. Otherwise, do not go for the implementation at all until you decide to dedicate yourself to this. #3 Not Choosing the Right Implementation Partner It is a foolish mistake that many organizations make, but what drives them? Insufficient dedication, lack of research, and making decisions in haste. Ideally, businesses should look up to at least four industrial references. Identify their credibility while contacting their customers if possible and ask for their reviews. Iron out their kinks with other businesses. It is the most essential step which cannot be taken casually. Make sure you check the track records and experience. Without a good implementation partner, even if you successfully carry out the first two steps, your ERP cannot be as effective as it should be. Implementation partners such as Trident Information systems is backed with more than 150 technical resources and 22+ years of experience so far. #4 Not Setting up a Proper Budget One thing that business leaders fail to recognize is the importance of setting a budget. They are often unaware of how expensive the ERP implementation and employee training is going to be. With the urge to “spend less, get more” business leaders often fall into the web of challenges. Such challenges might lead to project disruptions or even failures. Hence, it is crucial to know the costs of every aspect of the implementation and set a proper budget. #5 Not Disclosing Crucial Business Aspects Not being honest enough with your implementation partner is another foolish mistake a business leader can make. Again, with the desire to “spend less, get more” they may resent disclosing some crucial business aspects and run into implementation troubles. The implementation team customizes solutions according to your business needs. Without knowing everything in detail, they cannot provide the right solution. Which may hamper your business operation, and you may end up dissatisfied with the results. Trident Information Systems carries out thorough research on your business and customizes a solid plan that perfectly suits your requirements. #6 Not Planning a Post-Launch Maintenance Forgetting about post-launch maintenance is a risky affair. Take it as a living organism. What do living organisms do? They grow, evolve, and improve, the same goes for ERP implementation. Create a plan for the early stages of post-implementation maintenance and improvement stages. Assign a team to gather data on how effectively employees are complementing the software. Your employees are your greatest asset. Listen to their queries and improve the overall ERP performance. Make sure your implementation partner also provides post-implementation support 24/7, while ensuring 100% continuity of the ERP. Trident carries out thorough research on your business and customizes a suitable solution for your business. It also offers complete 24/7 post-implementation support. Backed with a robust record of accomplishment, Trident Information Systems is someone you can blindly count on. For further queries, contact us.

6 Mistakes that lead to Wrong ERP Implementation and Loss of Time Read More »

Why is it Important to Understand Trends and Customer Behavior in Retail?

Retail POS Solution / Trident

Fulfilling human desires is a never-ending process. With the magnitude of requirement diversities, it gets even harder. 2020 has been a crazy year for all. It influenced people’s mindsets and needs. For example, People became even more hygiene conscious and decided to ditch certain products. This pattern influenced retailers to a great extent. Since a market is full of diverse people with diverse needs and desires, it becomes quite tough to bring out a product that fits everyone. But before launching a product or making modifications to the existing ones, it becomes essential to understand a customer. A retailer cannot just randomly pick certain products and expect them to buy them. To run a successful retail business, retailers need to understand market trends and customer behavior. Retailers can connect customer data in many ways, such as – holding a market survey, going through their feedback, or simply using an AI-based technology like LS Retail which automatically collects customer data from various sources and formats and turns it into a visionary report. Using such technology is more effective, accurate, time-saving, and cuts manual work. What is Consumer Behavior, and Why is it Important? Customer behavior drives trends. It is the frame of mind depicted by the consumer while buying, consuming, or discarding a product. Several factors influence customer behavior which revolves around looking for a product, evaluating its dynamics, and eventually consuming it. Then comes the post-purchase behavior, which depicts the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of a consumer. A consumer goes through various steps before buying a product. Understanding consumer behavior can identify how you can drive them to buy your products more. Analyzing their pattern and modifying your operations can increase the chances of your product being bought rise. It is the most important aspect of a business because it addresses factors that influence customers’ buying behavior. By understanding their patterns, retailers can differentiate between the needle and the obsolete products. Understanding consumer behavior and trends can also help marketers present their products in a way that catches their eyes and motivates them to buy a product. It is a key to reaching and engaging customers while convincing them to make purchases from them An ideal consumer behavior analysis reveals: What are the mindsets of various consumers on different alternatives (products, brands, etc.) What are the factors driving them to choose from the alternatives, and clarify their patterns? What is consumer behavior while researching and shopping? How their environment influences their purchasing decisions (friends, family, media, etc.) Collecting customer data to understand their pattern and market trends sure seems like a complicated task. However, it is not if you do it the right way. There is certain Unified software such as LS Retail, which integrates data from different sources and creates a report depicting current market trends and factors driving customer’ buying behavior. How Does Understanding Customer Behavior and Trends Benefit Your Business? Understanding what drives customers to buy a product can make a whole lot of difference: Boosts sales Improves Product Helps with More Effective Deals and offers Develops an Emotional Bond Promotes Referral Promotion Increase in Sales with Better Strategies Once you crack the algorithm driving customers to make purchases, you can use it for your product as well. If there is a specific feature in a product that catches their eye, see if you can offer a similar thing. Is it the packaging that draws them in? What is the emotional value of the product to the buyer? Keeping these factors in mind and adopting relevant strategies can help a retailer boost sales. Helps Identifying Trending Products Understanding why a buyer would rather purchase from your competition than from you can help you access the essentials you are missing. You may also make improvements to the product. Maybe they want the product you have but from a different brand, identify what is trending and keep it in your store. LS Retail with its AI technology accumulates market data springing from several sources and addresses what is trending. Effective Loyalty Programs Retailers can classify customers in different segments according to their preferences and purchasing patterns while creating attractive deals and offers that are most likely to catch their interest. This way they can offer, buy 1 get 1 free offer and deals like buying two packets of chips at 20% discount. Loyalty programs have been one of the most efficient ways to boost sales even before the arrival of advanced technologies like LS Retails which makes the process even more seamless. Develops an Emotional Bond Letting customers know you understand and take care of their needs helps develop an emotional bond between the customer and the retailer. Humans live for the sense of belongingness, and it does the trick perfectly. Free Promotion Connecting with your customers on an emotional level encourages them to purchase more from you and refer their friends and family while boosting referral promotion. Referral promotion is the most effective and cost-efficient promotional method amongst all the promotions. People tend to believe word of mouth from their relatives and friends more than any media or paid promotional approach. Conclusion Markets are full of diverse people, with unique needs and requirements. To keep almost everyone happy, retailers must understand their purchasing behavior and market trends. Identifying the factors that drive their buying decisions can be done effectively with LS Retail, a unified software solution that targets every business need. Trident Information Systems is one of its Gold Implementation Partners. Contact us for further information or a demo.

Why is it Important to Understand Trends and Customer Behavior in Retail? Read More »

6 Benefits of Food Delivery POS Integration for Restaurants

Retail ERP Software / Trident

Time has changed, now many tasks which were done manually earlier are handed over to technology. It did face some resentment at the beginning. However, the time quickly arrived when restaurant owners started using it to its maximum capacity. POS integration is one such technology. Due to its flexibility and convenience, it helps restaurants give up various monotonous manual tasks and engages staff with more productive activities, such as serving each customer with more enthusiasm, elaborating about dishes more extensively, providing suggestions, etc. It also helps cope with the shortage of labor, allowing staff to work with their maximum potential. Earlier, a non-integrated POS was just a billing software with no other features. It was always at data loss risk while not being as convenient as a smarter POS. An integrated POS comes with multiple benefits fashioning an easier and smoother working environment. Accurate Business Reports Every business needs accurate reports on what is going on. This is how it identifies how much improvement is needed ahead. One of its greatest advantages includes its efficiency to manage different business aspects centrally such as sales, credit, stock, and inventory within a single platform while creating accurate reports on the same. It can also store a great deal of data. These records are digitally captured and displayed way faster than the traditional cash register. In addition, this system can put out the exact anytime from the extensive inventory, especially while devoting any error. Better Customer Experience Fluent order receiving, seamless payments, menu variations, reduced wait times, and a lot more are included in the integrated POS system. With this technology, customers are empowered to communicate directly with the chef about what they want and how they would like to have their meals. Everything that was once done manually has been passed on to automation. Therefore, accelerating better customer experience. Smoother Operations An integrated POS is more than a billing software. It connects the front office with the back while reducing manual efforts. Now, the waiters can save time by manually going to the kitchen, finding the right counter, and delivering orders. This task is now done through an advanced platform. Both chefs and waiters can avoid confusions, and work in a more harmonious environment. With monotonous tasks being automated, the staff has enough time to serve each customer more efficiently. Wait Time Reduction A restaurant might have different food prep areas: there are separate counters for drinks, the main course, and appetizers. An integrated POS allows customers to pay orders from different areas at once. Apart from this, nobody likes to wait in long queues after having a fantastic meal. An integrated POS busts queues and ensures customers can pay and leave faster. It does not leave any scope for traffic at the reception. Improved Customer Relationships This system improves customer relationships, allows restaurants to change their menus fast, reduces wait times, and allows safe payment methods like debit, credit, cash, etc. Hence, allowing better and faster customer services. Everything is quicker and better, eventually improving customer relationships with a restaurant. It notes down customer activities and lets restaurants suggest meals they might like. More Effective loyalty Programs An integrated POS generates reports on every transaction that happens. It also stores customer data including what they had and how frequently they have the same or similar dish. It is smart enough to read customers and allow decision-makers to make more effective loyalty programs. They can classify different customers based on their frequency, likes, dislikes, and other relevant traits. They can then create relevant strategies meal deals, offers, and discounts. Happy hours can also be planned for everyone based on customer data. An integrated POS is a lot different than a traditional POS system. A traditional system would barely receive bills and is always at the risk of data loss. Whereas, a smart POS system integrates everything right from the front and straight to the back office making operations smoother and faster. LS Retail offers POS services and lavishes your business with various benefits making your restaurant more efficient. Trident Information Systems is an LS Retail Gold Partner. For further information contact us.

6 Benefits of Food Delivery POS Integration for Restaurants Read More »

Why Good After Sales Services Enhance your Customer Services & Sales Both

Retail POS Solution / Trident

Your job is not done as soon as you sell a product. In contrast, it starts from there! Many businesses use after-sales services as an effective promotional tool. This way, they can gain customer trust and drive the spread of word of mouth. Many organizations optimize after-sales services to build stronger bonds with their customers while encouraging them to come hopping back to you. After-sales services start right when you sell a product, it includes what you do at the Point of Sale and how you follow up with your customers afterward. Repairing products on warranty or an easy product return policy are some extended services. There are many ways you can upgrade these services: Allow Seamless Payment Mediums: Nobody likes to stand in long queues. Instead, people demand faster transactions. A cloud-based POS can help streamline the operation while ensuring customer satisfaction. They can even help themselves with payments if no store staff is available to help them out. Get in Touch with Your Customers After 1-2 Weeks: Contacting your customers after 1-2 Weeks post-sales can give you some essential feedback you can use to enhance your overall services. Ask how their experience was with these services and how they would rate it. Apart from this, it helps generate a stronger relationship between a company and its clients. They feel being recognized and build more confidence in the services. Maintain Communications: Keep in regular touch with customers through newsletters, articles, videos, webinars, and guides. Keep them updated about your new product or service launch. If you give them every information they need, they are not likely to fall for your competitions. Personalize Notifications: If you feel your customer is satisfied with your products or services and other sales are happening soon, you can send them personalized emails or messages informing them about the same. Additionally, you can personally suggest what they can get out of it. Ask for Recommendations: Ask your customers for their recommendations. Let them explain what else they expect from your business and what features are just not for them. Let them share their ideas of ideal services and, if possible, customize the same for them. This is one of the methods to make your customers feel recognized. Apart from collecting customer data like this, you can also use AI-based technology like LS Retail that extracts data from various sources and presents reports on customers’ activities and preferences. This is a much easier and more accurate method. How After-Sales Services Enhance Your Business After-sales services are one of the most important aspects of a business. They define what your business is, and how seriously you take your customers. This is what makes or breaks your business. If done right, and implemented the correct strategies, it can ensure the following benefits: Overall Product/Service Improvement Referral Promotion Sales Enhancement Loyal Customer Improves your Services/Products Getting essential feedback from customers on your product can address where you lack. Pay attention to it and enhance your overall services. You can also introduce new services complementing the old ones or custom make packages for classified customers. This way, you can keep innovating and evolving. ERP Solutions like LS Retail sets a platform where your business has comprehensively made reports driving better decisions. Apart from this, your constant improvement depicts your business receptivity. Expressing your customers how your business could improve due to their valuable feedback generates a sense of recognition while subconsciously binding them to your company. Boosts Referral Promotion A happy customer recommends a service to their family and friends. It has been observed that people tend to believe Word of Mouth more than any promotional measure. You do not even have to spend a thousand dollars on other promotional techniques when all you have to do is keep your customers happy and let them do the rest for you. This is where the power of multiplication shows up. People also tend to post about products and services on their social media for free exposing you to a greater set of audiences. Enhances Sales Improved services plus referral promotions are equal to sales boost. Marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart provide seamless after-sales services. From allowing a variety of payment methods (debit, credit, cash, GPay) to replacing or returning a product to dealing with customer grievances it supports everything. A unified solution like LS Retail handles every aspect of after-sales services, integrates multiple tasks, and saves time while enhancing sales. Builds a Stronger Bond with Customers Good after-sales services make customers feel cared for while developing good relationships. Tracking customer activities and classifying them in diverse groups for suitable deals ensures a sense of belongingness and warmth among customers. Emotions are what drive people to purchase more than their needs. Hence, maintaining an emotional touch with customers ensures their loyalty. There are various methods to collect their data. However, the easiest way is to get an AI-based technology like LS Retail to automatically extract data from various sources and turn them into actionable reports depicting customer behavior and preferences. After-sales services are an effective marketing tool. Apart from boosting sales and building customers’ confidence, it ensures a healthy bond between a business and the customer. There are certain services like the one LS Retail offers, which takes care of all the after-sales services. Trident Information Systems is a Gold LS Retail Partner who has served various businesses so far. For further information or queries, contact us.

Why Good After Sales Services Enhance your Customer Services & Sales Both Read More »