Whilst we can’t reveal the finer details of the day, the most recent Merret user session allowed us to gain feedback on a number of features that have either been developed, or are on the roadmap for development. We wanted to share what we can with you.
The first of the discussions focused on CRM. The retailers discussed the level of detail that would be valuable to them, alongside how they could integrate and feed data into their CRM systems. The capturing of customer data is an essential element of the omnichannel mix, to build the relationship and encourage further purchases across channels. Whilst this is easy with e-commerce transactions, it becomes more of a challenge in store – particularly when the speed of the transaction and minimising queue times is crucial.
The omnichannel retail discussions continued. The multitude of channels and the functionality required in each continues to grow. With this growing trend in mind, Merret users are experiencing real benefits from the stock management approach. Merret treats all stock – regardless of channel – as one central stock pool as Multichannel is at the heart of the solution. Discussions were held around how Merret’s intelligent sourcing is in place to allocate the stock from the most efficient route whether this be from a store, a warehouse, or distribution centre.
There are growing requirements around ‘click and collect’ functionality, as such Merret is allowing customers to order from the store, and collect from the same store, or collect from a more convenient store at a different location, or have their items delivered to a home address.
The global trading of many retailers adds in further complexities to the supply chain, yet discussions were held around the territory functionality that lies within Merret. This handles multi-currency, multi-country trading - this also comes into effect with timed and zonal pricing offers. So as a promotion goes live at 18:00 in the UK, this allows pricing to go live at the equivalent time in Australia, or USA to ensure pricing is accurately reflected within multiple time zones.
Future requirements were discussed. Two of the latest developments are:
- The ability to use Merret on a tablet in store and, further to this, transact. This allows clients to gain product updates, make sales, and look up product all from the central stock pool via Merret in store.
- Notification system for Buyers and Merchandisers – a development coming to Merret that carries out alerts to Buyers and Merchandisers regarding product information. They are then able to make critical product decisions around allocation, or re-distribution to ensure stocking levels reach optimum levels.
These are just some of the new functional developments in Merret, but developing these with our users offers so much value to the users and teams building the functionality and development of the system. We look forward to sharing more soon, and if you would like to discuss anything mentioned above please do contact us.