RETAIL INDUSTRY

Implication of Implementing Various Information Technologies in the Retail Industry

Abstract

In the presence of a constantly changing business environment, where customers require best quality products, competition is growing, information technology is widespread and the markets are pressurized to maintain their competitiveness by bringing a change in the apparel industry structure. Global supply chains have been altered and restructured involving the changes in the operational, organizational, technological and external operations of the organization. The global industry is on a verge of a drastic change where companies are putting in their best to utilize the concepts of information technology in the retail businesses. Here, mass customization concepts, the concepts of Just-In-Time Inventory and quality assurance and management are considered as paradigms for yielding the optimal outputs. The systems thus, are carried forward by information technology with customers as the inception and the end of the supply chain. The market is totally customer oriented and today's customers demand for a technology aspect in the products they buy and from where they buy. Research, up gradation and development has remained the top most priority of the companies today. Companies in the retail industry make sure that beside design and production; they are customer-oriented and provide quality products to their users in a technological way. The following paper identifies the concepts in operations management, the implications of information technology in the retail industry, how retails utilize the technology concepts to maintain their strategic position in the market and the challenges faced by the operations management department in the face of growing fierce competition.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction1

Discussion1

Implications of Information Technology1

Need for Information Technology in Retail Business2

Competition3

Globalization3

Organizational changes3

Technology4

Technologies Used4

RFID benefits5

Importance of Data Mining5

Stock of Merchandise5

Data collection6

Efficient Operations6

Improves communication6

Integrating Technology Systems7

Balancing needs with the organizational capabilities8

The Challenges8

Organizational Changes10

High Initial Costs10

Inaccurate Perceptions10

Integration11

Changing Consumer Expectations11

Conclusion11

References13

Implication of Implementing Various Information Technologies in the Retail Industry

Introduction

The growing competition is one of the biggest challenges that are faced by companies today in a complex work environment. There is a need for the retailers to expand and enhance their operations and most importantly the supply chains to maintain a competitive advantage over others and ensure their survival in the face of the complicated business environment (Abbeloos, 2009, pp. 1672-1673). The retailers, specifically the fashion apparel retailers, are aware of the importance of the concepts of information technology and have been investing into the technological aspects for achieving the business aims and objectives. However, adoption of information technology is not enough; companies need to change all the aspects of the business from operational aspects to organizational aspects in order to maintain a strong position in the presence of growing fierce competition (Anonymous, 2002, pp. 387). This is the point where technologies such as ERP and Collaborative Planning come into action. The following paper is aimed at having a critical look into the technologies used by the businesses in integration with the retail aspects and operations management which is responsible for improving the overall operations and the challenges that are faced by the retailers in the dynamic ...