In the Media

Connecting Customers to all Retail Channels

Sunday Business Post, August 2015

The relationship between customers and retailers is changing.  With customers connecting and purchasing through various different channels – web, mobile and in-store – businesses are increasingly finding that the technologies they use need to be linked and integrated to avoid the inefficiency created by using fragmented and outdated systems. That integrated or ‘omni-channel’ approach brings all the information the retailer needs into one place to drive sales and efficiency.

As much as it is about value, retailing is becoming about the experience and doing things that are going bring people into the bricks and mortar stores. “For instance, we’re working on RFID shelves – so you can pick up an item and put it on the shelf and all the information about the item will come up; all the reviews, price comparisons etc – retailing is going to become more of an experience, and the ICT will have to follow,” Peacock said.

Catching up with New Spending Habits

Sunday Business Post, July 2015

As shopping habits change, so too do customer expectations, but are our businesses doing enough to keep up with the demands of the customer? Gavin Peacock, chief executive of TRC Solutions, explains the importance of a solid online shopping structure for both businesses and consumers. “A retailer’s success or failure lies in the customer experience they deliver. With the rise of smartphones and tablets, online shopping and online browsing has exploded in recent years. The kind of consumer this has produced is one that not only wants but expects a consistent, personalised customer experience no matter what channel they use to interact with a brand – in store, on their website, via an app on a smartphone,” he said.

“Recent reports have shown that 87 percent of consumers see the ability to purchase from a retailer from different channels as important. To remain competitive, retailers need to introduce Omni-Channel strategies within their organisation. Omni-Channel takes Multi-Channel and puts a layer of customer service on top whereby customers’ experience is the same across all the interaction points, as are promotions and pricing. Consistency is the key.”

Dig out the value from your company’s data

Sunday Business Post, July 2015

The rapidly growing volumes of data generated by businesses have spurred IT firms into finding more efficient and effective ways to leverage that data and use it to help drive business strategy.  Businesses need to be able to intelligently and easily mine data. “If they neglect the learnings that big data can deliver they run a serious risk of missing opportunities and with the continued globalisation of commerce, Irish businesses will find themselves losing out to international competitors,” he said.

For some small businesses, the advantages of using big data to drive decision-making are not clearly understood – but even the smallest businesses are generating data through adopting mobile and eCommerce strategies. “Many businesses do not realise the value in the data they produce.

How the Internet of Things is Reshaping Retail

Sunday Business Post, May 2015

Speaking about an everyday use of its SAP Business One IoT platform, Gavin Peacock, chief executive, TRC Solutions said, “Practically, it means we can tell whether or not in the dressing rooms of a retailer’s store, a lot of garments have been tried on, but still left in the dressing rooms ready to be put back on the shelf.

“We could even tell because of the footfall counters, that there are not many people in the store; it may be going through a lull. So, using our intelligent systems a task can be sent out via email, text, or dashboard to a store, prompting them to carry out a task such as removing excess garments from a fitting room and putting them back on display.”

Staying Ahead of the ERP Curve

Sunday Business Post, April 2015

To keep up with an ever-changing business environment, ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems need to be forward-thinking and responsive to customer needs. The Business One mobile application offers real-time dashboards and reports that staff can see on the move. A ‘sales catalogue’ function on Business One allows staff to use their phone or tablet to showcase products with pictures, videos, technical information and the ability to click and buy.

“It really empowers sales teams to deliver a truly interactive sales pitch when out visiting potential customers,” Peacock said. Given the low-cost pricing structures, quick start-up times and the fact that no permanent IT department is needed to run them, Peacock said the migration to the cloud was understandable. An added benefit is that it frees up existing staff to work on improving other IT-related problems across the business. The whole idea, Peacock said, is to capitalise on the internet of things’ – the concept whereby devices and objects share data over a network without requiring human interaction.

Analytics Shopping

Sunday Business Post, March 2015

With over 20 years of experience delivering point-of-sale and business management software to retail, TRC Solutions is well positioned to assess the part that analytics plays in a sector that was badly hit by the recession. “Analytics has become the differentiator,” said chief executive Gavin Peacock. “If there’s no intelligent analytics coming out of the data that is collected, there is no way that management can make informed decisions.”

He made the point that there are hundred of thousands of “data points” in retail, more than almost any other sector because of the nature of the business. These data points are stock keeping units, each one accounted for on the overall merchandising plan. Being able to identify fast moving items is the key to profitability. “A store is like a monopoly board where Mayfair and Park Lane are the most visited aisles and the Old Kent Road gets less footfall. You need to put the highest margin best sellers at the biggest traffic points,” said Peacock.

Keep it Together

Sunday Business Post, January 2015

Progressive SMEs are looking to invest in smarter and more comprehensive systems today. “Businesses today are far more strategic in their IT investments.

Today our clients range from about say 15 staff and €2 to €3 million turnover to several hundred users and maybe €0.25 billion sales. What we are seeing is that they are looking both for the obvious smart efficiencies, like best possible mobile working and for that strategic path to their future expansion.”  In this context Business One has some unique advantages, said Peacock. “It is the same software solution whether used on-premise, from a data centre, or in a cloud of some type. The enterprise can move seamlessly between them all when it needs to.

A Horizon-to-Horizon View of the Enterprise

Sunday Business Post, April 2016

Few software vendors are as well known as SAP. What may be less well known is that SAP’s ERP solutions aren’t all aimed at massive enterprises. SAP Business One is one such example. “Business One is suitable for all sectors, bar heavy manufacturing. It’s particularly suitable for light manufacturing,” said Gavin Peacock, group chief executive of TRC Solutions. “The sweet spots for us are financial services companies, retail, and so on – anybody who is looking to put e-commerce into their business.”