During the month of April, two events took place where key players in the Romanian retail industry discussed the current state of retail, trends and challenges, the general business situation, and what the future of retail will look like.
The first event, named Retail Revolution, took place on April 11th and was organized by “Biz Magazine,” while the second, called reTAG, occurred on April 17th and was organized by Business Mark, a company specialized in B2B events.
ELIAN Solutions, as a top implementer of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP system and also a developer of a customized solution for retail & distribution, was represented at these events, directly interested in taking the “pulse” of the industry and finding out the hottest topics in retail. Continuing, without claiming to exhaust all the topics discussed, we will try to outline the most important subjects that were addressed during these two events.
State of Retail Sales
Naturally, discussions were held on how sales are going in Romanian retail, what the volumes are like, how the structure of Romanians’ daily shopping basket has changed, etc. It’s clear that the ongoing price increases, primarily due to the geopolitical situation but also other factors, have induced a cautious buyer behavior, who leans towards the lowest-priced products. However, overall, retailers have shown optimism, especially since many of them have managed either to maintain their sales volume or even increase it. However, the current context of wars and political instability prompts them to have moderate optimism, particularly because supply chains have been disrupted by the crisis in the Middle East.
Digital Transformation
For many retailers, especially smaller players, the 2020 pandemic was the trigger for digital transformation, forcing them to heavily invest in online sales channels. Following the end of the Covid-induced crisis, there was a return to offline sales, but the online channel remains very important and holds growth potential, especially when compared with more mature markets.
However, digital transformation involves not just a company’s sales activity but all its operations: procurement, inventory management, finance, service. A complete digital transformation requires an ERP system, like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, which integrates all functional areas of a company into a single database.
Moreover, it was emphasized that digital transformation is an ongoing process, as new software tools continuously emerge to assist businesses. Therefore, it’s necessary to implement information systems that can easily communicate with one another.
Sustainability
Sustainability was another broadly discussed topic. Retailers are starting to take this matter very seriously, not just because many consumers have become sensitive to the economic activities’ impact on the environment, but also due to the fact that, according to European directives, detailed sustainability reporting will be required. For now, not all companies are obligated to report, but only the large ones; however, in a few years, all companies will be required to make such reports. Perhaps that’s why, starting with this month’s product version, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central includes a module dedicated to sustainability activities and reporting.
Artificial Intelligence
I’ve saved this topic for last not because it was the least discussed, but on the contrary. Applications based on artificial intelligence are already being used by retailers, especially to analyze consumer behavior and to optimize the purchasing process with product suggestions. Promising perspectives are particularly in the customization of offers to consumers. Retailers, especially those with consumer loyalty apps, have access to a huge volume of data and, in principle, knowing the purchase history, it is possible to know with a certain degree of probability when a consumer will buy (down to the day and hour) and what they will buy, meaning very relevant personalized offers can be created.
Of course, there was also discussion about the more general impact that artificial intelligence will have on businesses, but the truth is that at the moment, too many predictions cannot be made. The field is very new and dynamic, we are witnessing a revolution in this domain, and quite likely, there will soon be dramatic changes in how business is conducted.
Elian Solutions is part of the Bittnet Group, active for over 15 years as an implementer of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP system. With a team of over 70 employees and a portfolio of over 250 clients – many of them working in retail and distribution, Elian is an important player on ERP implementation market.