2021/07/27 09:31:14

Retailers in the pandemic: the rapid development of online services and self-service systems

During the pandemic, retailers faced the need to correctly prioritize digitalization. Their efforts were mainly aimed at developing online services for customers. However, much faster information technologies they began to introduce in some other areas. TAdviser turned to major retailers and learned how the pandemic affected their digitalization. The material is included in the TAdviser review "Information Technology in Retail."

X5 Group

The company X5 Group during the pandemic had several priority areas of digitalization, TAdviser told the company. Among them is the introduction of solutions for customer security. We are talking about self-service systems. To date, the company has installed 8 thousand self-service cash desks, several thousand more will be installed in 2021. At a number of self-service cash desks of our own development X5, a pay with a look service is integrated. In general, he works in 150 supermarkets "Crossroads."

The company was also involved in the implementation of a safe shopping system. It allows you to make purchases without risking using a mobile phone without cash desks and queues. Now 1.2 thousand stores are connected to the system, in 2021 even more will be connected. In addition, the company worked on the creation of fully automated stores. The first Pyaterochka# Raid opened in October 2020, in 2021 it is planned to launch several such stores in large cities.

Another priority of the company was the development of online services. For example, express delivery. It has expanded and continues to expand geographically.

It is noteworthy that the level of digitalization in the X5 Group is estimated using its own analytical tool - an indicator of digital maturity. His company expects not only for itself, but also for the industry and the world market. All organizations are compared by elements of digital maturity: retail and E-commerce in 33 critical business processes, the rest - in 12 key enlarged business blocks. In 2020, the X5 indicator amounted to 42%, by 2023 the company plans to increase it to 50%. U, retailers USA according to X5, it is 55-65%. Global digital players have about 80%. "

"Alphabet of Taste"

In the ABC of Taste, the main priority both before and after the pandemic was the development of digital and innovative services and remote trade. According to TAdviser in the company, during the pandemic, she also launched a number of fundamentally new technological projects, pilots and experiments. For example - cash-free service in partnership with the Russian startup Briskly and a store without cash registers and sellers Take & Go in cooperation with Sberbank and Visa.

"VkusVill"

For VkusVilla, at the beginning of the pandemic, the main task was to integrate delivery into its application, which previously served as a loyalty card.

The capacity of VkusVill Express was not designed for such volumes. We needed to come up with the most scalable solution. If we talk about the IT component, this is certainly a very important element in the system. But the main point at that time was to think through the technology itself. In other words, it was necessary to understand how we wanted to collect orders so that it was quickly and easily scalable. Which model to choose, how couriers will pick up orders, what order allocation technology to come up with. And for these goals and tasks, IT development was connected. What happened allowed you to completely restart the delivery process in just 2 months, and then scale it on our system, "TAdviser told VkusVille.

The company also added that during the pandemic period they continued to develop, and CRM chat bots telephony. Since the end of 2020, VkusVill began to open its own darkstores, in particular, to be able to offer customers access to all its services and in the online store.

"Ribbon"

The efforts of the IT team at Lenta were aimed at creating digital jobs, developing electronic document management and creating services for customers. In 2020, Lenta launched three large projects: the Click & collect service, the Tape online delivery service and the solution for navigation in the store based on signal transmission through visible light. LiFi In addition, the company continued to develop independent payment services.

These are self-service cash desks and Tape Scan technology. They are safer in terms of limiting social contacts and saving time to visit the store, which has become relevant in the pandemic. Today, self-service cash desks appear in every new store that opens Lenta, regardless of its format - from Mini Ribbon to the hypermarket. At the moment, stores in 51 cities are equipped with cash self-service technology, and in 16 of them customers can use the Lenta-Scan technology, TAdviser was informed in Lenta.

The publication also drew the attention of the company to the development of its personalized digital channels of interaction with the buyer. In 2020, the retailer launched the mobile applications Lenta-magazine and Lenta-app. They talk about the assortment, promotions and promos, as well as on the basis of ML make personal offers to users.

Difficulties during the pandemic arose due to the need to quickly implement solutions, while working in a remote format, - noted in "Ribbon."

"Ashan"

Ashan Retail Russia took a course on digitalization in 2020 and plans to invest more than 20 billion rubles in online business in the next few years. During the pandemic, according to TAdviser in the company, one of the priority areas of its activities was the development of e-commerce.

The online store has auchan.ru existed since 2012, however, until the spring of last year, only non-food products and products with a long shelf life were presented in it, delivery was carried out from its own e-commerce warehouse. For three months, we managed to replenish the range with fresh goods, update the site, and also introduce delivery directly from hypermarkets. Now we deliver products from all ASHAN stores, "TAdviser told Ashan Retail Russia.

Also in 2020, as part of a global strategy to automate business processes, the company's stores were provided with a single corporate solution that allows you to simplify your work with orders, significantly reduce the cost of supporting IT, as well as increase personnel efficiency. All retailer hypermarkets have already switched to the new system, and by the end of summer 2021 supermarkets will also switch. In addition, the first full self-service cash desks appeared in the company's hypermarkets. In the future, they will be installed in all retailer stores. Another important innovation is the CRM Customer Relationship Management platform. It automates the processes of processing orders and cases, communication with customers.

The company continued to automate transport logistics. In 2020, the retailer began testing TMS transport management systems. They automatically generate optimal logistics routes, taking into account the time windows of acceptance in stores, the required number of pallets, and the capacity of transport. During testing, the employee monitors the logic of the system and makes adjustments if necessary. When the test is complete, the system will be fully automatic. By the end of 2021, all distribution centers for hypermarkets, as well as the company's meat processing plant in the Tambov region, will be connected to it. In 2022, distribution centers for supermarkets will be transferred to the system.

Wildberries

During the pandemic, Wildberries hired several thousand couriers and employees of distribution centers, IT specialists. This helped the retailer to handle mobile applications for finding and hiring employees that he specifically developed for this purpose. The priority for the company in the pandemic was also the digitalization of business processes for sellers.

We have simplified registration on our remote trading portal for up to 5 minutes, as well as fully automated document flow. The optimization of these processes allowed us to reduce the size of the trade commission, which now starts from 1-5% depending on the category of goods, "TAdviser told Wildberries.

Ozon

The technical director of OzonAnton Stepanenko in a conversation with TAdviser noted that the main focus of the retailer in was the development of all services related to delivery.

The Ozon Tech team, Ozon IT, implemented many projects of various scales aimed at improving the purchasing experience and automating the delivery processes, primarily courier. The automation processes of the logistics infrastructure as a whole have accelerated, "Anton Stepanenko told TAdviser.

"M.Video-Eldorado"

For M.Video-Eldorado, the transition to the technological platform of OneRetail was a priority in the pandemic. In it, the company combined all the stores: both offline and online.

The technological stack OneRetail allows us to identify the customer on the first contact in any sales channel, and create the best experience for him at each stage of the path leading to purchase. The OneRetail architecture is based on a mobile platform with integrated seller and customer applications. They provide seamless access to information relevant to each client - from a potentially interesting assortment and promotional actions to delivery options, financing a purchase on credit, etc., explained TAdviser in M.Video-Eldorado.

The company also added that in 2020 it decided to develop inside all products for the development of the OneRetail platform and ensuring competitive advantages.

This approach requires increased internal development resources and competencies - we doubled the number of IT professionals and increased the share of our own development costs. In 2021, it will grow to 50% compared to 23% in 2020, in the medium term we plan to bring this indicator to about 70%. At the same time, we try to effectively approach the infrastructure, where it is effective, rebuild to microservices, refuse to purchase "iron" in favor of dynamic clouds, "M.Video-Eldorado noted.

During the pandemic, according to the company, it switched from the implementation of individual IT projects to the development of products by individual teams. They are formed at the level of M.Video and Eldorado brands and key business functions, including the commercial block, logistics, finance, IT, etc.

The product team consists of representatives of business departments and employees of the IT directorate (business analysts, developers, data scientists, etc.). Finally, the group develops as a data driven company and we strive to integrate data analysis into decision making at all levels. Machine Learning should become an integral part of the work of product teams and technology services, and the tools for working with data should be widely used in key functions of the business and back office, "M.Video-Eldorado is convinced.

Also during the pandemic, the company ensured the stable operation of the platform - this had to be done amid an explosive increase in the number of transactions in mobile applications and websites. In addition, the retailer launched and developed digital services that improve customer experience. For example, video consultations and contactless payment methods.

Retailers in the pandemic: the rapid development of online services and self-service systems

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