Transformative technology helping you meet the changing demands of the customer
Seasons change. Fashion and fads change. Customer buying habits change. Retailers have always found a way to evolve and adapt. In today’s multi-faceted, ever changing retail world, even more focus is being placed on implementing the right omnichannel strategy, reducing shrinkage, increasing cost optimisation, enhancing security, and of course maximising the customer experience.
Whisper it quietly, but technology is constantly evolving too and is already playing a crucial role in helping retailers navigate whatever challenges are thrown at the industry. And you know, technology might just be the new black!
Proud to serve the world’s largest retailers
Computacenter has a long and established presence in the retail sector. We work with many leading retail brands to leverage technology to deliver innovative new retail experiences, both online and in-store. As a VAR with the largest service capability and the best international capability in the world, we have an extensive track record of helping our retail customers achieve commercial optimisations, and comprehensive services that can support their technology purchasing requirements.
In these exceptionally challenging times, we have developed a suite of six retail-specific technology solutions that we believe will not just help you survive in the short-term, but evolve and thrive in the long-term.
1. Captivate the consumer in-store to boost sales
Computacenter can help drive the in-store consumer experience with a range of technologies and support services to help you win the battle of the high street.
Whether a user of technology, or a consumer, at Computacenter we always put people at the heart of our approach. For the in-store retail environment, the journey starts before the customer enters the store. From engaging and enticing digital signage, to interactive in-store tech and the point of sale experience; we can provide advice, sourcing, installation and support for in-store technology, encompassing:
- Best ever WIFI solutions
- Digital signage
- Smart shelf labelling
- Self-service returns solutions
- Mobile technology
- Customer journey solutions
- EPOS solutions
- Secure lockers
- Store security
- Smart Buildings to enhance customer experience
- Visual Analytics
- Data Analytics to assess most popular shop areas
- AI-led customer engagement and sales-enablement processes
2. Equip staff and shop floor with the latest tech to provide an unbeatable customer experience
We recognise the power of the Human Touch in building brand loyalty and customer service and it is critical that customer-facing staff are equipped with technology that enables them to support and service customers effectively, removing friction from the in-store experience.
We apply our people-centric approach in order to effectively enable retail staff with the technology needed both to enhance their engagement and productivity, as well as providing the experiences that consumers now demand from in-store staff. We advise, source, install and support employee technology including:
- Scanners and handheld multi-functional devices
- Mobile, laptop, tablet and desktop devices
- Mobile point of sale
- Virtual desktops
- Printers
- Wearable cameras
- Barcode scanners
- Access to video analytics for customer safety/monitoring
3. Store Deployment partner – aggregate your pain points
From the largest of store new builds from changes and moves within an existing store, Computacenter’s engineering and project managers are ready to work as an extension of our customers teams to design, test, build and deploy in a retail environments in all its formats. Our processes are truly global, and we can offer a unique single owner solution to our international customers, as well as a depth of expertise within Europe and North America that can handle either a complete outsource of project change to delivering components to upgrade, rewire, transform and install equipment on time and to the right quality, respecting the unique challenges a retail environment provides.
Computacenter has leverages our global integration centres and project offices to offer;
Fulfillment & Management
- One marketplace
- Managed standards
- Managed inventory
- Release management
Imaging & Configuration
- Imaging and kitting
- Burn in and asset tagging
- Rack builds
- 1:1 configurations
- Store/branch
Depot & Disposition
- Advanced exchange
- Triage/repairs
- Inventory/storage
- IT asset disposal
Logistics & Coordination
- Refresh and migrations
- Advanced user profiling
- Logistics coordination
- Project team interlock, communication, reporting and control
4. Protect margins, reduce stock loss and enhance customer convenience by managing in-store shrinkage
Shrinkage is a significant issue affecting all types of retailers. Aside from the financial impact in terms of stock loss – in 2023 UK retailers lost £7.9bn to stock theft alone – shrinkage generates additional cost from monitoring, managing and resolving security issues. From lost management time through to IT systems, each incident investigated can cost thousands.
We understand the issues in trying to prevent losses and maximising security. We can advise, source, install and support employee technology including:
- CCTV and surveillance systems
- Body worn camera systems
- Mobile communication devices
- RFID and security tracking
- Facial recognition software
- Secure lockers
5. Sourcing solutions to optimise your supply chain, address margin squeeze and keep costs low to compete effectively and gain customer loyalty
Effective sourcing sits at the heart of an effective retail strategy, however retail procurement functions are often over-worked and under resourced. As squeezed product margins and consumer confidence continue to dampen the market, it is critical that the procurement function supports the business as best as it can.
Computacenter works in partnership with customer procurement teams and provides support on all aspects of technology procurement including:
- Procurement process support including Tail Spend
- Business case and TCO services
- Hardware market reviews and product benchmarking, including components
- Software renewal, management and license utilisation
- Spend aggregation services
6. Stay one step ahead of changing market dynamics, consumer buying behaviour, and your competition with store-in-a-box
The ability to stand up, change, or decommission physical locations quickly and efficiently with cost certainty is crucial to support the speed of change required. Computacenter’s Store-in-a-Box offering helps retailers deploy, implement and manage their technology solutions to support their retail operations all in one monthly charge and includes:
- Core infrastructure
- Colleague technology
- POS technology
- Packaged solutions for bespoke requirements
- Lifecycle and circular services
- Value-added and managed services
- User support services
- Financial and commercial services
