TRENDING
TRENDING
“ Our mission is to guide and consult retailers which system, software or service solutions facilitate new consumer journeys and make their stores more relevant for shoppers.”
on solutions which have a proven track record and a level of reference stability, he shared. There is a need for proof points of perfection and quality, before retailers outside Asia are ready to deploy a brandnew solution throughout the enterprise. So, it is a completely different approach that makes Asian retailers early adopters of in-store technology.”
Brewer went on to say vendors have to be thoughtful and clear about the markets that they can serve to achieve a win-win situation with clients.“ We do carefully evaluate our solutions portfolio to always stay on top of technology, and at the same time provide a balanced economic return for both business partners,” he explained.
As some Asian markets are increasingly headed towards a cashless system, Brewer acknowledged that countries in the region are adopting mobile payments at different rates and for different reasons, and he assured that Diebold Nixdorf has the assets to implement and process cashless transactions“ as-a-service”.
“ Exciting for us is that all kinds of cashless transactions are part of a broader digital consumer experience. So, if we can link payment with loyalty schemes and enable efficient up- and cross-selling, the level of customer engagement raises immediately and drives the stickiness for that particular retailer,” he commented.
The enthusiasm around retail in Asia is unlike the rest of the world, in his opinion, and there is also an eagerness to have a proper customer relationship. While online retail is growing, there is a parallel need for human service and assistance in bricksand-mortar stores, which is never going to disappear, he added.“ Shoppers like to be in an environment where they can touch, feel, and taste the merchandise before buying. So it is not a surprise that physical stores are still having a strong position and will remain equally important in future.”
Push for in-store technology
For retailers that are looking to invest further in technology, Brewer’ s advice is to have a grounded business and digital
Mark S. Brewer:‘ Retail is in my core’
PRIOR to joining Diebold Nixdorf, Mark S. Brewer served as global vice president, Enterprise and Cloud Applications at DXC Technology.
Before that, he spent many years in leadership roles at IBM, including being group general manager, Global Technology Services, for IBM Australia; vice president, North America retail, consumer packaged goods, travel and transportation industries; managing director Retail Industries, North America; and various solution and sales leadership roles in IBM Europe.
While overseeing IBM’ s retail industry business, Brewer received many accolades strategy, as well as thorough understanding of consumer journeys.“ The foundation of success is that retailers understand the benefits of technology and how it translates into business results.
“ To a certain extent, organisations are struggling to decide what technology they should invest in next, because they are not sure what the benefits would be. Ultimately, for companies like ours, our mission is to guide and consult retailers which system, software or service solutions facilitate new consumer journeys and make their stores more relevant for shoppers. This enables sustainable success.”
Looking towards the future, Brewer said it is important for retailers to have a business model and an agile and scalable IT platform that allows flexible responses to market conditions.
“ As retailers develop their business plans for the coming years, they need to be proactive and anticipate the changes in their eco-system. Companies that are always agile and aspire to be one step ahead of their competitors, are hedging successfully against disruptors that send traditional businesses into a tailspin.”
With reference to his long experience in the retail IT business, Brewer concluded:“ Who would have thought that radiofrequency identification( RFID) would be close to affordable in 10 years? Who would have thought that Amazon would actually ever own their open stores? Who would have thought that China would be almost cashless as a society?
“ What all of these changes are telling us is that we never know what the next disruption or disruptor will be— but we can be sure that changes in the retail industry will never be this slow again.” ra
for delivering year-on-year revenue growth for a revenue portfolio of about US $ 4 billion, as well as positive outcomes in gaining new business, fostering strategic relationships and building effective operations.
“ Retail is in my core and I really enjoy large teams working on global complex problems,” he smiled.
Brewer is based at the company’ s headquarters facility in North Canton, Ohio, USA. He is a native of the UK and currently resides in Northern Virginia. He holds a bachelor’ s degree, with honours, in Systems Design and Mathematics from the University West of England, Bristol, UK. ra
14 Retail Asia June / July 2018