New version of Oracle Retail suite rolled out

By Digital News Asia January 13, 2014

Improves customer experience with end-to-end functionality
New suite also helps retailers take advantage of mobile

New version of Oracle Retail suite rolled out ORACLE Corporation has introduced Oracle Retail version 14, claiming that its enhanced suite of retail solutions would enable relevant customer engagements across various touchpoints.

The new solutions also help improve efficiency from inventory and reduce the total cost of ownership, the company said in a statement.

“In the global retail industry, we have seen a shift of capital from building and refurbishing stores to digital commerce and creating new and differentiated customer interactions,” Mike Webster (pic), senior vice president and general manager at Oracle Retail.

“Retailers are focused on enabling the whole retail enterprise to deliver commerce anywhere,” he added.

New operational and planning processes in Oracle Retail version 14 allow customers to buy, pick up or return items via any channel, and equip retailers to be able to fulfill demand without channel constraints using built-in functionality.

The new features also allow customers to purchase items no matter where inventory resides, with online store-level inventory visibility, real-time inventory lookup for items in another store, support for orders and ‘take-with’ items in the same transaction. They also support returning purchases from any channel.

In addition, the new suite helps retailers take advantage of mobile, Oracle said. It delivers enhanced support for most devices and helps mobilise store associates with mobile Point of Sales (POS), tablet POS, assisted selling tools and better visibility to promotions, merchandising and store dashboards.

New analytics and visualisations included with the latest release will also help to answer retailers’ most commonly asked questions, such as ‘Where are my most beneficial customers located and shopping, and what are their top purchases?’ Oracle said.

“Oracle Retail version 14 is our largest release in terms of functionality and manpower invested in development,” said Webster.

“This release aligns with industry investments, has a sharp focus on quality and lowers the total cost of ownership for retailers.

“It further differentiates Oracle when the retailer is choosing a point solution and in situations where the retailer is transforming multiple business operations to enable a more effective customer experience,” he claimed.