Retail Process Transparency

Business process transparency is important to ensure clear understanding of the process and just as importantly the requirements and steps supporting the process.  In fact transparency, in my opinion, may be the single most important factor in defining a robust business process model that can be accepted by all partners interacting and supporting the model.  We are at a juncture in the retail marketplace where the business process retailers embrace to support the market must be redefined with the participation of the other partners supporting the business process.  This collaboration across partners in defining a transparent business process model is critical in gaining the acceptance and most importantly the participation of the partners across the retail market network.

There is a great deal of evidence showing the retail disruption has also disrupted the retail business process model.  It is now time to evaluate and redefine the business process model to account for the disruption across the market and the partners. It is especially important to start with a review of the recent process additions many retailers incorporated to support consumer demands through acquisitions.  The challenge retailed to the acquisition model that has been used to gain traction is the lack of transparency across the business process model.  This is a key reason to perform this exercise; it requires a thoughtful and transparent evaluation that includes the partners in the market to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

This evaluation must include the processes from the end-to-end market and partners supporting the features and functionality in order to identify a transparent business process model to move ahead into the future of increased change.  Retailers can no longer survive by taking disconnected steps and addressing demands in a disconnected one-off manner.  Consumers are demanding and building a marketplace that includes retailers, other consumers, carriers and manufacturers in a cohesive and transparent process that will support their demands at the time.   Consumers are continuously building and breaking apart relationships and capabilities based on their lifestyle needs at the time.  Retailers must now change their culture to follow these same practices with their end to end partners in order for them to maintain their place in the consumer view.

Retailers have traditionally followed the trends, for the most part in a reactionary model.  It is important in these times for retailers to change their methods to focus on a flexible and transparent business process that takes into account lessons learned and direction.  There is no way that a retailer will be able to clearly define how their business will change in three years, however, it is extremely important for these retailers to define the framework that will help them to support the changing demands over the next three years.

And now for the audience participation portion of the show…

ECommerce will have wide ranging impacts on both the retail and manufacturing sectors.  How can you focus these abilities to improve the consumer's experience?  Improving the consumer’s experience will require a re-evaluation of the sales channels, the manufacturing channels and practices and the supply chain channels and practices from the raw materials to the consumers’ homes.  In order to ensure and maintain success in this new reality you must harness the tools and capabilities in many new areas.  How can you support these continuously changing requirements?