Managing Tech In Retail: How Renovotec, Honeywell & SOTI Are Helping

According to the latest retail report from SOTI, the key challenge for retailers in 2023 will be merging the instore and online experience for customers, ensuring a smooth buying experience.

Retail is suffering sales issues with several external factors impacting growth. Delivery charges are soaring, thanks to the increases in oil prices, as well as the ongoing disruption in the transport and logistics services industry which have barely improved since the pandemic and a decline in heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers. Given these high transportation costs, retailers have been forced to change suppliers and reorganise their supply chains.

Using Technology to Drive Change

Despite these external factors impacting the sector, retailers can focus on improving digital processes and encourage innovation to smooth out the cracks. For example, ensuring accurate stock availability, and communicating with customers their order process and status, as well preventing delays in order payments and processing.

The SOTI report highlights these actions are negatively impacting the customer experience and forcing them to shop elsewhere, impacting retailer’s customer loyalty. This is a key issue for any business whilst the UK economy manages through turbulent economic times.

“The relationships between customers, vendors and brands are undergoing a comprehensive revolution through the digitalisation of communication alongside omnichannel growth. Shopping is becoming an interactive high-tech experience, whilst more traditional retail technology is also developing rapidly” says Richard Gilliard, CEO, Renovotec.

Productivity and Experience are Aligned.

This year’s National Retail Federation event in New York saw SOTI and Honeywell discussing how technology can improve store associate productivity to enhance customers’ shopping experience. In fact, one of Honeywell’s latest mobile devices, the CT30 XP, can help manage an entire store’s operations, whilst Honeywell Smart Pay, offers a smooth retail experience through contactless payment. Retail now has its own digital eco system, which needs careful alignment and constant technological progress to remain current:

“Retail responsibilities are broadening, and workers across the retail supply chain need access to digital technologies to help do their jobs efficiently. Today, we support our retail customers with fit for purpose solutions across retail environments, from transportation and logistics to in-store and point of sale.” Says Mark Berry, senior sales manager for Honeywell.

Faki Saadi, Director of Sales, UK, Ireland and France, SOTI continues “Businesses are increasingly demanding tighter integration and analytics to improve their device performance. The slightest upgrade or tweak to applications, can result in significant increases in productivity, and that is why we are collaborating with Honeywell and Renovotec to drive performance advancements in the right areas, on the right devices”.

The Rise of Omnichannel is Creating Device Complexity

In 2022, SOTI reported that 45% of shoppers would rather shop online than instore. Moving one year forward, that figure remains stable at 46%. However, although the strength of e-commerce is still present, the research confirms a consistent leaning towards hybrid shopping and not the complete shift towards online that was originally expected.

When you put this in terms of what processes a business has – and equally the devices it deployed 3 years ago and may need instead today, there are elements of some products now not being fit for purpose. Renovotec is a keen advocate of minimising e-waste and ensuring that customers have a strategy over several years which Renovotec can align to their device and technology landscape.

“Many of our customers are now in much larger facilities now than they were two years ago. They have a wider range of devices, and this also places more demands on the device and wifi network and the data they collate and manage. Customers need to know this is all reliable and constantly captured, secure and future proofed for smooth operations as well as compliance purposes. ” Says Richard Gilliard, CEO of Renovotec.

Changes such as enabling the Microsoft Walkie Talkie application, workers can experience instant push-to-talk communications on Honeywell’s enterprise-grade mobile computers like the CT30 XP, CT45 XP and ScanPal EDA52.

The synergy between the three partners gives customers peace of mind that despite the changes externally in the economy which are forcing changes to daily operations, the devices used, it is the lack of downtime experienced that ensures a smooth experience for staff and for retail customers.

“Maintaining productivity and stability during an economic crisis is an ongoing challenge. However, by being able to identify and resolve issues with devices remotely, you can reduce the time required to fix problems, mitigate dips in performance, and minimise downtime.” Says Faki Saadi, Director of Sales UK, Ireland, and France at SOTI.

“As mobile workers are being challenged to know more at a moment’s notice than ever before, the combination of Honeywell’s rugged, versatile mobile computers with push-to-talk communications gives workers access to the answers they need by connecting with each other to coordinate the right outcomes”. Concludes Mark Berry, sales manager for Honeywell.

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For more information download the SOTI Research Report here: