Retail Technology TrendsEmbracing Change as an ISV Andy Bell

Or…How to Teach an Old Dog…

Or…How to Teach an Old Dog…New Tricks!

“We provide advice, software and services to multi-store retailers.”

Our solutions encompass:

• Merchandise, store & assortment planning• Purchasing & replenishment• Inventory management• Promotion planning and execution• Point of Sale/Store operations• Mobile assisted selling• Customer Loyalty• Omni-channel integration• Business Intelligence• Giftcard management

WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO

• Established 1968 as Data Group in NZ• Acquired March 2007 by 3Q Holdings Ltd• Part of the Island Pacific Group of Companies• 25+ Years Retail Experience • 190+ Technical Staff• Offices in Sydney, Auckland, Brisbane, Los Angeles, San

Diego, Boston, London, Newbury, Kuala Lumpur, Chennai• Partners in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Macau

ADVANCERETAIL COMPANY PROFILE

You Have Probably Interacted With Our Software…

Hundreds of Thousands of People Do Every Day…

If you have shopped here…

Or here…

Or here…

Or here…

Or here…

Then you have interacted with our software

We hope the experience was a good one

Because Retail Software is Mission Critical!

First Release of AdvanceRetail Product in 1998We embraced new technology…

Also at around the same time…

Some of the features introduced by Amazon to the Retail world1995 – Online Book Store1997 – One Click Ordering1998 – Adds Music & DVD, Acquires IMDB.com2000 – Adds Marketplace2002 – Launches Amazon Web Services2005 – Amazon Prime2007 – Kindle eReader Device2009 – Kindle App for iOS/Android2010 – Starts Amazon TV Studios2012 – Adds Amazon Book Publishing2014 – Opens 3D Printed Product Store2015 – Begins Movie Production201? – Adds Drone Delivery…

Sales1995: $511,000Q1 2015: $22.7 Billion

Data insights in Retail

Sometimes That’s Too Much Information!

AdvanceRetail Core Products• Point of Sale• Back Office / Head Office• Inventory Buying Management• Price & Promotions Module

AdvanceRetail Core Products• C#.NET / VB.NET• MS Visual Studio• MS SQL Server• WCF

Then Came NRF January 2011• Largest Retail Technology Show in the World• 33,000 Attendees• Island Pacific 15+ Years Exhibitor• 2010: Wall to Wall PC Solutions • 2011: Here Comes the iPad to Retail Solutions

PC iPad Fixed Mobile In Store Omni Channel

The Need For Change – Toe in the Water• Disruptive Technology• Required Change in Mind Set• New Development Languages• New Development Environments• New Development Patterns

The Need For Change – Toe in the Water• Disruptive Technology• Required Change in Mind Set• New Development Languages• New Development Environments• New Development Patterns

Gift Registry iOS Application• Companion Application• Mobile Interface Design• Used Titanium Framework• JavaScript to iOS Native App• MVC

Sales Monitor Application• Providing Real-time Sales Reporting• Companion Reporting Application• Sencha Touch Library• Java Script• WCF Web Service Framework• REST Web Services (REST Proxy)

Making the Transition – Knee Deep in Mud• C# and JavaScript Similar Constructs• Whole New API to Learn • IntelliSense is So Good – You Miss It• Separation of Sencha Touch and ExtJS was

a real pain (Welcome ExtJS 6)• You Need to Know MVC (and MVVM) • Visual Studio IDE is Feature Rich (and one

of the best IDEs around)• Sencha Architect…is not as Rich (Welcome

ExtJS6 & New Architect)• Source Control Becomes Hard(er) Again

(Lack of Integration with Architect Painful)• Slower to Code Compared to Visual Studio

Making the Transition – Knee Deep in Mud• One of the Hardest Things was Learning

the Eventing Model and How to use Controls & Properties

• .NET Spoils You with Very Rich Controls and API – Less Features Available

• Steep Learning Curves to Climb for HTML5 & CSS3

• Keep App Size Small (Performance & Code Management) and Keep Development Iterative

Making the Transition – Knee Deep in Mud• UI Design Changes (Mouse vs Touch)• Desktop (Buttons Hyperlinks)• Mobile (Form Factor, Touch Controls)• Simpler User Interfaces / Declutter UI• Intuitive User Controls

Making the Transition – Knee Deep in Mud• UI Design Changes (Mouse vs Touch)• Desktop (Buttons Hyperlinks)• Mobile (Form Factor, Touch Controls)• Simpler User Interfaces / Declutter UI• Intuitive User Controls

Making the Transition – Knee Deep in Mud• Google “Best HTML5 Framework”

• Sencha Touch Scores High

Sencha Touch and Sencha Chart Controls• Delivered Excellent UI for iOS• HTML5 Gives Device Independence• Removing Management of Native Apps (but access

to device features & peripherals can be harder)• Supports Product Strategy of Cloud Platform Sencha Architect • Delivered Excellent Desktop Application UI• Enforced App Development Models

Making the Transition – There’s Help• Web Resources / Blogs• W3 Skills• Stack Overflow• Sencha Forums & Online Documentation• Common Open Source Libraries (e.g.

Display Text as Currency)• The Kitchen Sink is Your Friend• Encourage Play / Give devices to Staff

Committed – Wade into the Water• Major Companion Applications• Web Order Pick List• Master Data Manager (MDM)

Committed – Wade into the WaterArchitecture to Support HTML5 Apps

Pick List Application - Demo• HTML5 Application• Sencha Architect• Manages Customer Web Order

fulfilment – pick list, stock, dispatch

Wading Through Options• Not All HTML5 Frameworks Created

Equal!• Island Pacific SmartStore Mobile POS

Application uses Titanium Framework (access to device level features like barcode scanner).

• AdvanceRetail Provides Integration Gateway (C# / .NET / WCF)

• AdvanceRetail Provides Reporting (HTML5 & Sencha)

Wading Through Options• You Say “Apache”, I Say “IIS”• You Say “JSON”, I Say “XML”• You Say “REST”, I Say “SOAP” …But That’s OK!

All In – Jump Into Mixed App World• Buying Promotions Applications• Head Office Allocation Tool – WinForm• Branch Review App – HTML5 Sencha• Demo

Easy As – Embracing Change• SmartBI Business Intelligence Solution• MS SQL Server Data Warehouse• MS Excel / VB Script Dashboards• HTML5 Sencha Desktop & Mobile Reports

Easy As – Embracing Change• SmartBI Business Intelligence Solution• MS SQL Server Data Warehouse• MS Excel / VB Script Dashboards• HTML5 Sencha Desktop & Mobile Reports

Easy As – Embracing Change• SmartBI Business Intelligence Solution• MS SQL Server Data Warehouse• MS Excel / VB Script Dashboards• HTML5 Sencha Desktop & Mobile Reports Demo

Looking Forward To• Moving to ExtJS 6 Framework• Convergence of Touch & Desktop Controls• Adding PivotGrid to HTML5 Apps• Adding New Charts & Dashboards

Retail Technology is Always Evolving

The Pace of Change Was Slow

First merchantsWriting tablets

Earliest forms of money

Cowrie shell currencyFirst coins Abacus

Trajans Market

Chain Store

Cash Register

Computer

Barcode

EFTPOS

World Wide Web?

Not All Predictions & Innovations Were Successful

The Pace of Change Has Accelerated

1940 1940 1947 1954 1961 1968 1975 1982 1989 1996 2003 2010 2020Today

3DEA Printing Store

Omni-channel Retail

Big Data

Apple iPhone

Amazon Kindle

Apple Mobile POS

Multi-channel Retail

Apple Store

eBayAmazon.com

First eBook Reader

Worldwide Web

Thermal Receipt PrinterEFTPOS

Electronic Shelf Label

3D PrintingLoyalty Card

BarcodeBankcard

RFIDInternetCredit

Card

First Computer

Who Knows Where It Will Lead?

But It Will Be An Interesting Journey!

Thank You3DPrintedDress