FUELING THE NEXT RETAIL FRONTIER

4 ways Honeywell can empower your retail future.

ACCELERATING CHANGE IN MIDDLE EAST RETAIL

The last two years have seen unprecedented acceleration and disruption for retailers in the Middle East, most of whom have embraced a business transformation journey to meet the challenges of the ever-changing market environment and customer demands. For instance, according to RetailME, more than three quarters (84%) of UAE retailers expect to grow by 20% or more in 2022.

However, having achieved growth during this challenging time, retailers now need to maintain momentum to reach new, ambitious milestones and business models – especially as a rapidly-changing retail landscape threatens to outpace them. Deep strategic data-driven insights and bespoke solutions are at the heart of matching this acceleration and delivering unceasing innovation.

It’s a time in which Middle East retailers need to be able to embrace change as a permanent and continuous fact of life. It’s a time of great opportunity; a time to set sights on the next retail frontier.

In the pages that follow, we highlight the four areas where Honeywell can support you and your colleagues as you adapt to continual change in retail:

  1. Innovation and Automation
  2. Strategic Transformation
  3. Customer Demand
  4. Workforce Experience

“In the past years, the MENA region has witnessed growth in the retail sector. Particularly, retailers in the Gulf Cooperation Council region have benefited from a favorable macroeconomic environment. Grocery, apparel, electronics, and other retail segments have achieved profits and returns above the global industry average.”

– ‘Retail sector in the Middle East and North Africa’, Statista, May 2022.

  1. FOCUS ON INNOVATION AND AUTOMATION

“68% of regional CEOs put operational efficiencies at the top of their list of planned activities to drive profitability in the next 12 months.”

– ‘Navigating the New Retail Reality’, PwC, 2022

As the events of the last two years have all too clearly underlined, retailers right now are operating with fewer employees in an increasingly competitive market. As a result, they are having to learn, unlearn and reset their retail operations. And all of this against a backdrop of ceaseless customer demand for better service, experience and added innovation. Yet it’s not always simple to source the right technology while maintaining a seamless customer or employee experience.

“Honeywell innovations have, over the decades, helped retailers achieve significant improvements in efficiency, speed, and accuracy in their operations. Today, Honeywell is a $40 billion company continuously using its experience and new learning to develop technologies that benefit all retailers and help them stay ahead. Right now, we’re perfectly positioned to help Middle East retailers adapt to change and respond to increasing demand for new services.”

– Karen Bomber, VP Global Marketing, Honeywell

STAYING FOCUSED ON 4 LONG-TERM GOALS

  1. DO YOU WANT TO ACCESS THE LATEST RETAIL TECHNOLOGY?

Our focus on innovation is creating services that improve speed, agility, and retail recovery. Our Operational Intelligence solution turns raw data into predictable patterns so you can see what’s really happening in your stores, warehouses, and delivery vehicles. Our state-of-the-art bar-code scanning capabilities coupled with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are putting retail operations back on the front foot.

2. LOOKING TO ESTABLISH A MORE CONNECTED APPROACH TO APPLYING TECHNOLOGY TO YOUR OPERATIONS?

We help retailers move away from disconnected, single workflow operations. With expertise across the retail value chain, we can start to connect any disparate elements within your organization to give you more visibility and much greater control.

3. DO YOU NEED TO REGAIN CONTROL OF YOUR MOBILE DEVICES

Too many mobile devices in retail operations don’t perform to expectations – or they’re being improperly maintained – all of which, impacts on business productivity and profitability. Honeywell’s Operational Intelligence delivers one unified cloud-based platform from which to monitor all your valuable IT assets and device performance metrics. The platform’s intuitive user interface also delivers actionable insights that bridge the gap commonly missed by Asset Management or Mobile Device Management solutions.

4. PREFER TO WORK WITH A PARTNER THAT SUPPORTS YOUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE?

Some of the world’s leading retail brands call on our expertise to stay focused on delivering major initiatives, innovation, and strategic objectives. We believe “The Future is What We Make It”. By working together we can help turn your toughest challenges into a solution that creates a more engaging, efficient and effective customer experience.

STAYING FOCUSED ON 4 LONG-TERM GOALS

There’s a lot for retailers to think about right now, from supply chain challenges to workforce fluidity, and being able to cope with surging online demand. The current global situation has only accelerated the need for digital and operational transformation. Retailers who adapt quickly can position themselves to onboard and adopt new technologies ahead of the competition.

With so much uncertainty, one of the biggest challenges is rapidly integrating new technology and ensuring technology teams can support users. There is an almost constant need to implement technologies that can actively enhance customer experiences and improve operational efficiencies.

Honeywell can help you modernize crucial elements of your supply chain and store operations so that they’re future ready. From a seamless supply chain and in-store experience, to the online customer journey and beyond, Honeywell Solutions will support your vision for continual adaptation.

“Digital technology is playing a greater role in reshaping retail strategy in the [Middle East] region, and while having a digital presence has become important, particularly since the pandemic, retailers are increasingly considering the importance that the role of digital plays in reshaping in-store experiences.

– ‘Reshaping the Role of Physical Retail in the Middle East’, Euromonitor International, February 2022.

STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATION STARTS WITH GETTING CONNECTED

Over the course of recent global events, the retail sector has experienced a surge in home deliveries, click-and-collect, and curbside pick-up. Research from Deloitte suggests that these are likely to be permanent and lasting changes to how people shop. To manage this, your workforce needs to be equipped with the means to fulfil different orders frictionlessly, particularly as store associates are now required to do more logistics-related tasks.

Deloitte’s report ‘The Click and Collect Consumer’ estimated the expected long-lasting expansion in these two areas, based on benchmarking with pre-pandemic levels.

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