Oracle Media Resource

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Tough, but necessary - In selecting an e-commerce platform, e-retailers grit their way through what can be a long, hard, even scary, slog. Oracle Commerce customers Elaine Turner and Rock Creek included.

The retailer chose Oracle Retail Xstore (formerly Oracle's MICROS Xstore), which allows for a wide range of customizations without code changes or help from the vendor. LIDS also rolled out Oracle Retail Order Broker (formerly Oracle's MICROS Locate), which allows stores to view each other's inventory in real time and also streamlines shipment. Indeed, Havlik states that e-commerce reaped almost instant rewards as a result of the Order Broker implementation. "As many as 800 stores became available online, and customers found that capability right away - the orders started piling in," Havlik says. "We literally doubled the amount of available UPCs for a customer to order."

If customers aren't confident the item is in stock or available for delivery by a certain date, a single click will take them to a competitor. How can any retailer win under these circumstances?

If customers aren't confident the item is in stock or available for delivery by a certain date, a single click will take them to a competitor. How can any retailer win under these circumstances?

Available in PDF form only.

Available in PDF form only.

The emergence of constant customer connectivity, as well as cloud platforms that eliminate the need for centralized physical infrastructure, have radically changed retailing. The enterprise is now a distributed, virtual environment where retailers are constantly receiving, analyzing and reacting to real-time customer experience data in order to deliver an optimal omnichannel experience. Core solutions still play a vital role, but are now also configured around serving the real-time needs of the customer. Jill (Puleri) Standish, senior VP and general manager of Oracle Retail, recently spoke with Chain Store Age about how retailers can best leverage cloud-based, leading-edge technologies to thrive in this new environment.

...With memories of the 2015 holiday season still fresh, Re/code caught up with Mike Webster, Oracle's senior VP and head of its retail and hospitality business. Webster runs Oracle's retail strategy, sales, service and support operations, and has been around the retail industry for 28 years.