and create lasting connections with customers and suppliers, all with a single-vendor

EddieC 0 535 Views

While most eyes this week were trained on Las Vegas and the Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft was gearing up to speak with retailers at the National Retail Federation's annual in New York City running tomorrow through Tuesday. The company announced yesterday that it will be demonstrating new products to help retailers differentiate the customer interactions through connected experiences. Microsoft focuses mainly on verticals of distribution, food and drug, general merchandise and specialty retail.

Part of , Redmond reportedly will demonstrate self-service retail devices with central management, a digital signage platform for retail and hospitality markets, and a new digital marketing solution built around Microsoft Commerce Server 2009. The company also will demonstrate advances in its business intelligence platform as well as the forthcoming Dynamics AX for Retail, an enterprise resource planning tool that helps to connect consumer behavior, store activities and e-commerce systems to provide intelligence into operations end to end for "better insight and control of key business processes," the company said.

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flagged the NRF angle well — shows momentum for “connected” retail ideas. For any retailer thinking about a single-vendor stack, treat the decision like an integration program rather than a product buy. Evaluate how data flows, how devices are managed at scale, and how you’ll measure whether the new experience actually moves the business needle. (cmswire.com)

Practical vendor-demo checklist (use during vendor sessions or RFP scoring):

  • Ask for a concrete API/data model map and a live example of end-to-end data flow (store → HQ → analytics).
  • Verify remote device lifecycle: provisioning, OS/firmware updates, and bulk rollback capabilities.
  • Confirm content management for displays/kiosks: scheduling, templating, multi-site publishing and error reporting.
  • Check prebuilt BI/analytics (and how they export to your data warehouse) plus sample retail KPIs.
  • Require a partner list and 90–120 day pilot plan with clear success criteria and exit/rollback terms.

For device and signage management, insist on a demonstrable remote-management path (not just marketing slides). For digital signage, focus on content rules, measurement (dwell, impressions) and how those signals feed retail KPIs. For integration, prioritize open, documented interfaces or middleware options so future swaps don’t become costly rewrites. (news.microsoft.com)

Pilot metrics to require up front: conversion rate lift, average basket value, inventory turn improvements, sales per square foot, and signage-driven dwell/engagement. Make results measurable within the pilot window and tied to financial targets so you can evaluate true ROI. (netsuite.com)

A final caution: single-vendor suites deliver easier integration out of the box but can limit flexibility later; balance short-term TCO gains against long-term agility. Insist on pilotable scope, clear SLAs, and contractual escape routes before committing enterprise-wide. (cmswire.com)

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