| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Luke Lonergan

Page history last edited by Luke Lonergan 6 years, 11 months ago

How Cloud Computing Can Benefit the Retail Industry

 

No industry exemplifies the maxim ‘Change is constant’ better than the retail industry. However, while an increasing number of industries are shifting to cloud computing and benefiting from the advantages it offers, the retail industry seems to be lagging behind. This is baffling at first when one considers that cloud computing can help collect and analyze enormous amounts of sales related data and also help in real-time management of inventory. When one examines this in greater detail though, it becomes obvious that this is because small and medium sized retail operations simply lack the resources to collect and analyze such data.

 

Sales and Cloud Computing

Huge amounts of data are generated from points of sale in the retail industry. For example, loyalty cards and discount coupons are one way of collecting such data. Since smaller retail businesses don’t have resources to use this data, they can turn to cloud providers. These providers will not only collect the data from various sources ranging from supply chains to independent cash registers, but also store the data for retailers. As long as the retailers can access the internet, they will be able to access this data, no matter where they are.

The providers don’t stop with collection and storage. They can also track how products have performed and compare this to previous years’ data. They can even look at the seasonal trends for different products, categories and brands, monitor all their performances and provide the analyses to the retailers. The best part is that one cloud provider can service many retailers at once.

By doing this cloud providers can help retailers identify and comprehend trends and patterns within larger databases. They can create analytical models that can improve the retailers’ decision-making a hundredfold. Using these models, retailers can accurately predict customer behavior and create the appropriate marketing strategies.

 

Inventory Management and Cloud Computing

Cloud providers can also help retailers with inventory management. At the moment, retailers don’t manage inventory; it is the manufacturers who do so. With cloud computing in the picture this will no longer be necessary. Cloud providers can help retailers with logistics and reduce issues such as overages and stock outs. Utilizing the huge amounts of data at their disposal, cloud providers can use analytical models to forecast customer behavior and advise retailers accordingly about the inventory required. Using these forecasts, retailers can create supply chains to ensure that they have the amount of product they need where they need it.

 

Luke Lonergan is a resident of San Carlos, CA, United States. He has completed his post graduate degree from Stanford University. He is a founder of Didera, a database clustering company. In 2000 he served as CEO and Chairman. Luke Lonergan’s background includes 16 years of management experience in computing technology ranging from innovations in big data, cloud computing to advances in medical imaging systems.


 

Luke Lonergan is a resident of San Carlos, CA, United States. He has completed his post graduate degree from Stanford University. He is a founder of Didera, a database clustering company. In 2000 he served as CEO and Chairman. Luke Lonergan’s background includes 16 years of management experience in computing technology ranging from innovations in big data, cloud computing to advances in medical imaging systems.

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.