TAdviser: IT Retail Day 2025

Artificial intelligence will not replace IT specialists

Alexey Voropaev, Director of the Information Systems Development Directorate of the operational unit, Megafon Retail, presented several implementations of artificial intelligence in the company in different directions: Foot print, AI director and others.

Alexey Voropaev, Director of the Information Systems Development Directorate of the Operational Unit, Megafon Retail

The Foot print solution allows you to model and define locations by cabin. All data is loaded into the system not only for open, but also for closed outlets. Here the likelihood of customer flow is estimated due to the presence of other salons nearby, the preference for opening a new store on its own or with the involvement of partners. The speaker stressed that the model is quite accurate, mandatory for use in preparing the opening of a new point.

The implemented bot "AI Director" manages employees. For example, he warns that an employee may not receive a bonus because he is not working well, or motivates him to increase productivity by reporting that a colleague at another point in a similar profile earns more. It can even be tough and say that you will continue to work badly - I will fire. AI Director has been working for six months, but, according to Alexei Voropaev, "does not bring much money."

The company has additionally introduced an AI assistant for searching for information, but no one uses it, since it is easier for an employee to find information on his own in the wiki system. In addition, when using the assistant, the seller ceases to look like an expert in the eyes of the buyer.

In addition, Megafon Retail has implemented a system for planning staff hours. A partner solution is piloted for the purpose of smart pricing. This tests the hypothesis that flexible pricing will generate additional revenue.

The main supporter of futuristic forecasts about the complete replacement of "IT specialists" with artificial intelligence is personnel officers, - joked Alexey Voropaev. - No man - no problem. But I am sure that artificial intelligence will not replace IT specialists. However, he can and does do some simple things in the IT field.

To and from the clouds

Effective management IT infrastructure and resources requires transparency, clear prioritization, "he said. - This allows you to optimize costs and focus on the most important areas of development. Cloud is the foundation of today's IT infrastructure, and seamless application integration is important.

Evgeny Isaev, Head of IT, Trussardi

Now the Russian retail business is faced with problems of a limited budget, with rising prices, difficulty in finding specialists. Adds headaches and outdated infrastructure, and the need for quick and effective solutions due to the rapid development of technology.

In order to use IT effectively, it is necessary, firstly, to allocate budgets for IT as a separate position. Then analyze the processes and identify those that affect profit. Third, it would be good to identify the departments that are key in terms of profit.

Technically, the speaker recommended the use of cloud technologies, since they reduce costs, ensure business scalability and access from anywhere in the world. According to Yevgeny Isaev, IT outsourcing is preferable to support the implemented IT systems. In practical terms, automation of document flow, marketing, as well as cybersecurity are required, which in Russian conditions is not a luxury, but a necessity.

Stanislav Gotz, Director of the Department of Business Applications and Platforms, Lamoda, spoke about the import substitution of the financial circuit of the ERP system. He recalled the background of the project: at the beginning of 2022, the company was in the process of migrating to Dynamic365, but after known events, the ERP system in the Microsoft cloud could be disabled by the vendor at any time, which would paralyze the business.

Stanislav Gotz, Director of Business Applications and Platforms, Lamoda

At the first stage of the project, migration to the cloud was stopped here and a foreign system was installed on its site. Then they decided to further use the western operating loop, and to implement import substitution in terms of financial and registration accounting, for which the 1C: Holding Management system was chosen.

At the beginning of 2022, we were in the process of migrating to a new major release - the cloud version of Dynamic365, when it suddenly became clear that this decision was rash, and something needed to be done, "the speaker says. - At the same time, operational and commodity accounting will remain on the basis of the foreign system, but in the inner circuit.

Stanislav Gotz paid great attention to minimizing the risks associated with the project. To reduce such risks, the company connected a third-party contractor and a team of architects to implement the review and quality check. They attracted an additional consultant from the Big Four to check the project solution in the field of accounting and tax accounting. It was necessary not only to prioritize all changes and automation, but also to maximize the distribution of business processes across systems, without overloading integration.

The speaker advised to pay attention to the involvement of the team, to take into account the complexity of the NSI migration. It is mandatory to carry out preliminary load testing and provide a single window for working with users.

Everything rests on culture

Artem Gavrilenko, Strategy Implementation Director, Azbuka Vkusa, presented the key stages of digital transformation of retail using the example of his company, which has 170 stores (goods turnover - about 100 billion units), more than 1.5 million loyal buyers and its own e-commerce, logistics, production, as well as IT.

Artem Gavrilenko, Strategy Implementation Director, ABC of Taste

The stages of the company's digital transformation fit on three steps:

1. "We don't need it," commodity experts predict better, only IT specialists need improvements. The method of passing this stage is the formal execution of the project.
2. After the formal implementation of the project, there is a feeling that IT is long and expensive, but it is no longer possible to blame only IT specialists for everything. Output - end-to-end prioritization.
3. Digital transformation: product approach, transparency and systematization of the entire company, mutual responsibility.

The speaker described the current stage of digital transformation as a partnership between IT and business, when it comes to the understanding that IT is new opportunities. The strategic goal here is to make IT a consultant and move to a data-driven business. Now Azbuka Vkusa is at the stage of adjusting the competence center for the use of ML models.

Everything rests on culture: if people do not believe that you are able to benefit, then at least be killed, they will continue to use antediluvian tools, - Artem Gavrilenko is sure. - As a result of the transformation, we came to understand that IT is a new opportunity, and IT specialists are not those who are to blame for the fact that reports do not converge. IT has become a driver of positive changes and the application of a truly product approach.

Igor Tatarenko, director of the Master Date department of the RusClimat trade and production holding - an enterprise with 18 production sites and an annual turnover of 200 billion rubles - proclaimed a new reality. According to him, now, if the product is absent in the applications of the smartphone, then reaching buyers is very difficult.

Igor Tatarenko, Director of the Department "Master Date," "RusClimat"

The speaker noted that every time information about the product is transmitted, it is necessarily distorted, including on marketplaces, since only sellers, and not manufacturers of goods, have the right to enter and adjust data. There is no master card from the vendor in online sales. There is no check of the correctness of the category placement, nor a full-fledged data moderation.

As a result, a huge number of returns from marketplaces significantly complicate the logistics of sales, increase the cost of sales themselves, and modern IT systems that could solve this problem are not presented on the market today. "When choosing goods, people simply stopped accessing the wide Internet. They poke exclusively on the buttons in the phone, - said Igor Tatarenko. - The most important thing now is how the purchase decision is made. And it is accepted on the basis of information about the product. And this information, according to the law, should be as complete and reliable as possible, but in practice everything is far from so. "

Elena Tevanyan, Head of Machine Learning in Operations, Cooper. Tech, shared her experience using machine learning at Cooper. The speaker outlined the specifics of the work here. In order for customers to receive orders, we need collectors and couriers who go through the following cycle: they fall into the attraction funnel, go through onboarding, book shifts in the mobile application, and work.

Elena Tevanyan, Head of Machine Learning in Operations, "Cooper. Tech"

To estimate the required number of collectors, machine learning predicts the number of orders over the monthly horizon. Then the number of orders is transferred to the number of couriers according to a certain formula - this is how they receive a "supply hours." Helene Tevanyan described in detail exactly how work is being done with this indicator: how many hours are available, where and how to get the missing, how to distribute the hours between shifts.

The speaker also shared the practice of using machine learning to motivate couriers, to manage customer expectations, as well as to predict delivery time and manage the load on the service. The conclusions she drew are simple. Machine learning is a tool, not a panacea, for all diseases of the business.

Machine learning is a great tool. There are three areas in which you can expect good results: forecasts, smart automation with the delegation of some questions to the machine and personalization, explains Helene Tevanyan.

It is important to close in time

Today, our company supports more than two thousand stores, more than 50 thousand applications are processed monthly, - said the second speaker.

Ilya Grigoriev, COO, Zerobit

During his speech, Ilya Grigoriev listed the key barriers to opening new stores:

• complex coordination of a large number of contractors;
• IT department congestion, lack of resources;
• heterogeneous equipment, associated technical risks;
• logistics delays, delivery delays.

He stressed that it is important not only to quickly open the store, but also to quickly close it, since any delay is also associated with financial losses (freezing of IT assets, operating costs, logistics costs, etc.). If this process is not debugged, not standardized, then the retailer's losses can be very large.

Ilya Grigoriev listed the capabilities of Zerobit Fast Retail - a ready-made solution for IT support of retail at all stages of the life cycle: from opening to dismantling. This solution includes four services: 24-hour support, opening a new store in three days, closing in one evening, as well as flexible scaling and adaptation to peak loads. Then the speaker spoke more about each of the listed services.

Sergey Romashin shared the experience of using the services of Zerobit, noting the following advantages of cooperation with this company. It can be very operational in difficult conditions. For example, during the lockdown, the company quickly organized the closure of six stores, ensuring that all procedures were clearly followed.

Sergey Romashin, Chief information officer, SuitcasePRO

Zerobit provides application management through ITSM. Thus, optimized processes and remote solutions to most incidents minimize the need for engineers to leave, providing high quality IT services. In addition, she supports changes. So, after Samsonite left, the Zerobit team not only helped close part of the stores, but also prepared the sites for the launch of a new brand (the network resumed work under the SuitcasePRO brand) and ensured the operational opening of stores again.

We have been cooperating with Zerobit since 2020. During this time, we jointly opened 15 objects, and closed 17, - added Sergey Romashin. - Competent management made it possible to reduce the cost of servicing the retail network, reduce the time for eliminating incidents.

Dmitry Samarin, head of the department in the client product, Yandex Lavka, spoke about how the logistical problems of delivery and storage of goods ordered "by click" were solved, when the order can be stored in the nearest Lavka.

Dmitry Samarin, Head of Customer Product, Yandex Lavka

More than half of orders here are food, and the main problem is to find space for storing goods. The speaker recalled that when delivered "by click," parcels from Yandex Market come to the nearest room where the goods are stored (in the so-called "darkstor"). This delivery model was launched in 2020, and gained special popularity by 2024. That's where the problem arose: The shops stopped accommodating parcels ordered on the marketplace. The solution was the developed internal mechanics, according to which partner couriers call from darkstor to the nearest point of issue of orders.

Economic efficiency increases with the growth of the average check, says Dmitry Samarin. - And now we have learned to increase the check for half of all parcels transported by us.

Anatoly Zubkov, Field Manager, Department of Architecture and Data Management Methodology, Kh5 Tech, and Ruslan Tskhovrebadze, Leading Data Architect, Data Architecture Department, Kh5 Tech, spoke together at the conference.

Anatoly Zubkov, Field Manager, Department of Architecture and Data Management Methodology, Kh5 Tech

Speakers outlined the challenges of the data platform for the future. The platform does not cope with the amount of data. Scaling is too expensive. The centralized refinement process has accumulated a large list of tasks, and it is simply impossible to ensure the wide availability of analytical data.

In the future, data platform users are expected to multiply, so the flow of tasks for refinement will become impossible for processing in a centralized process. The availability of near-real-time processing will become a basic need. "We plan to multiply the amount of data in the next three years. The number of users is expected at the level of 50 thousand, and the number of data transactions will double, - Ruslan Tskhovrebadze calls specific figures. "In order to cope with this, the platform must be more flexible and scalable."

Ruslan Tskhovrebadze, Leading Data Architect, Data Architecture Department, Kh5 Tech

In this regard, it was decided to reformat the existing decision. Divide the data platform into a low-cost storage layer and a scalable container computing layer. For extensibility and interchangeability, use components with open interfaces.

As a result of reformatting, we will receive tools to increase resources as needed, we will be able to increase the capitalization of our current resources, as well as solve such a problem as scattering data across different repositories, "Anatoly Zubkov added to his colleague. - This will allow you to display new interfaces at the press of a button, increase the transparency of data acquisition, reduce the cost.

The organizational plan provides for the division of the team into data hubs, the provision of greater freedom for the teams, and supervision of distortions arising during the distributed development process.

Attackers move from monetization to destruction

Yulia Yugoman, Director of IT Support Solutions Development, X5 Group, has identified multiple attacks on IT equipment to steal data, forcing the company to engage in data protection and security. She told how this was implemented - through segmentation of the network of retail facilities.

Julia Yugoman, Director, IT Support Solutions Development, X5 Group

The main goals of segmentation are, firstly, security itself. Segmentation allows you to isolate different groups of devices from each other (for example, guests are separated from corporate devices, which reduces the risk of unauthorized access and attacks). Second, segmentation provides performance - segmenting the network helps manage traffic more efficiently and minimize latency, which is especially important in environments with more devices.

In addition, it is needed for manageability and flexibility. Segmentation allows you to more easily manage access policies and settings to simplify administration, identify problems through localization. In addition, it allows you to add new device types through isolated segments without compromising the availability of the entire network.

Solution Description:

• network settings of store equipment have been changed to distinguish the network availability of various segments: updating equipment and prefixes, solving problems with network connectivity, upgrading active network equipment using tools from NetBox, upgrading server and cash registers using scripts on Linux;
• configuration of active network equipment by dividing one segment into virtual domains, configuration application was carried out using plugins from NetBox;
• for servers and cash registers, automation code was used, the main changes concerned the adaptation of the network subsystem to the new architecture and the standardization of addressing.

{{quote 'The purpose of attacks on IT equipment in the retail network was to steal data, and there were even attempts to attack through the scales, "recalls Yulia Yugoman. - And according to the results of the project there was not a single incident for 2024. At the same time, we did not install a single additional vendor solution, did not change anything but one router. Now the situation is monitored by only six people. }}

Alexey Kasyanov, Deputy Technical Director, Positive Technologies, listed current challenges: for example, attacks through vulnerabilities. 30% of attacks occur on holidays. He also named the main reasons for the hacks. Among them are the lack of focus on effective security, on protecting specific key business processes, the lack of a process component, the impossibility of ensuring information security in 24/7 mode, a shortage of specialists. The paradigm shift in cybercriminals also affects. They are moving from monetization to banal destructive activity.

Alexey Kasyanov, Deputy Technical Director, Positive Technologies

Recalling the growth of revenue from the top ten retailers in the segment of consumer goods by 25% in 2024, Alexey Kasyanov listed the main trends in retail trade:

• automation at all levels,
• Omnicanality and new ways to improve customer experience,
• digital developments,
• import substitution,
• changing the partner landscape.

The speaker paid attention to the information security of retail trade, outlining key trends in its provision. He suggested focusing on business risks, having all the necessary IPSs, developing secure development, using automation and machine learning in monitoring and responding to threats. A small gap appeared in the personnel issue: you can notice the emergence of new young experts with great ambitions.

Information security issues are very relevant, first of all, to ensure business continuity, he is sure. - Over the past few years, information security incidents have moved to the plane of publications of the largest news agencies.

Vladimir Orlov, product sales support specialist, Cyberprotect, in his report spoke about the capabilities of the Cyber ​ ​ backup product, as well as the licensing procedure and the specifics of protecting various resources.

Vladimir Orlov, Product Sales Support Specialist, Cyberprotect

The speaker explained to the audience what the backup system looks like, which involves centralizing deployment, updating, management, monitoring, protecting backups and systems in real time, managing the load on the infrastructure and much more.

Vladimir Orlov spoke about the architecture of the Cyber ​ ​ Backup product, its built-in tools, action and audit logs, the role model of administration, options for protecting virtualization systems and other features of using the product to create a full-fledged effective backup system. The latest version of the product - "Cyber ​ ​ Backup 17.2" - is certified by the FSTEC, the speaker noted.

Our philosophy is as follows: the solution should be for everyone, that is, it should provide the minimum entry threshold and the maximum degree of protection, - said Vladimir Orlov.

Demand for automation

The demand for automation of warehouse operations has been growing in Russia for the third year in a row, he says. - At the same time, only 25% of vendors specialize in WMS systems. Until recently, there was no solution ready for implementation. Each implementation was a custom development with a cost ranging from 5 million to 50 million. And we take only 5 thousand rubles for renting a server. The rest - depending on the number of goods and orders. At the same time, we do not have fees for integration and implementation. The system is more focused on medium and large businesses.

Dmitry Fatov, Executive Director, Route Ai Ti

The speaker outlined his vision for the development of the Russian warehouse solutions market. In the next five years, the high capacity potential of the WMS market will remain, while demand will exceed supply. In general, a typical WMS implementation project is complex, long, expensive due to the lack of a multifunctional circulation version that meets all customer needs.

Dmitry Fatov expressed his conviction that any company needs a specialized warehouse solution, because everyone needs to accelerate logistics processes. Legislation is changing, employee costs are rising, and the complexity of warehouse processes is increasing. Companies want to reduce their dependence on personnel, increase transparency of processes, get away from foreign software and reduce the cost of supporting and developing the current system. The speaker spoke directly about the Maya WMS system, which has been in development for 15 years. Initially, it was created for its own large warehouse business. In the process of evolution, a modern WMS system was obtained that meets all the requirements of business and legislation.

The system has long been operating at existing enterprises of medium and large businesses. This is a cloud solution, each client is allocated its own server with a separate database. There is a web user interface and a powerful API for integration with any ERP solution. From the moment of ordering to the readiness of the cloud infrastructure for work, it takes only three days. In conclusion, the speaker gave examples of calculating the payment for using the solution and invited to visit the warehouses where Maya WMS is already working.

Zaur Abutalimov, CEO, Ivideon spoke about smart video surveillance based on the Ivideon cloud platform, which helps to manage the quality of service, customer loyalty and profitability of offline business.

Zaur Abutalimov, CEO, Ivideon

Smart video monitoring through analytics provides an understanding of behavioral trends and needs, will allow you to collect the following knowledge: the presence of goods on the shelf, a black list of customers who commit thefts, a queue at the checkout, the appearance of a regular buyer on the trading floor, the number of customers.

It is possible to organize a through video surveillance funnel: from the visitor to the buyer. The first camera registers incoming visitors. The second assesses the traffic of visitors and the popularity of shopping areas. The third analyzes the residence time in different zones, while the fourth camera provides data communication with CRM and conversion calculation.

Zaur Abutalimov noted that for the successful introduction of smart video surveillance, it is necessary:

• Establish business KPIs
• Define processes that affect KPIs
• Prepare infrastructure and equipment
• perform data synchronization - data loading and analysis should be presented in one dashboard;
• obtaining honest conclusions, assessing the results of how control of checklists influenced the established KPIs;
• implementation of changes.

The speaker stressed that Ivideon is a single cloud platform for businesses of any size and any industry that can be connected as quickly as possible. Including it is possible to connect to video cameras already installed in the trading floor.

Today, using smart video surveillance, you can digitize offline business, - said Zaur Abutalimov. - By hanging up just a few video cameras, you can almost instantly get metrics that were previously only available for online business: the number, age of the buyer, attendance at different shopping areas. Based on the estimates obtained, you can optimize the commodity display, conversion from visitors to buyers, understand the reasons for the low income of individual points, and much more.

Artur Markarian, Product Director, SmartMerch, said that the global goal of this company is to create a single entry point into its information system so that any employee can find any information. In addition, he spoke about the chatbot SM Pulse.

Arthur Markarian, Product Director, SmartMerch

The background of its own development was this. Together with the client, they launched a service in the format of a pilot project based on large language models and solutions present on the market. During the project, three key problems of AI solutions were revealed. First, we need classification, combining text and mathematical apparatus. Secondly, I would like to exclude abstractions one hundred percent. Thirdly, there is a lack of mathematical apparatus, while 80% of user questions require calculations.

Attempts to solve these problems with tools from the market were unsuccessful, complains Arthur Markarian, and then the SM Pulse chatbot was developed. Its advantages are mathematical calculations of any complexity, automatic segmentation of questions, a corporate search engine, as well as a database and a knowledge base in one answer.

We have been engaged in data analytics in the field of FMCG for eight years, "says the speaker. - We started with one product based on computer vision in order to recognize goods on the shelf, that is, we automated merchandising. Now in our line there are already nine products, including work with production lines and sites.

During the break and at the end of the conference, the participants talked informally, and also had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the solutions and services of IT suppliers at the stands deployed in the event hall.