Business Intelligence (BI)

Retailers are focused on getting leaner.   That’s according to a new study by Accenture, in which 88% of retailers said they were focused on cost reduction to free up funds necessary to reinvest in growth initiatives.  As for where they are those cost savings, the top three areas were expanding into new geographies (cited by 60%), digital technologies (54%) and enhancing customer experiences (52%).  

Ace Hardware Corp. is helping independent members of its retail cooperative manage increasingly complex labor regulations.   The hardware chain is leveraging the cloud-based Kronos Workforce Central suite of workforce management solutions. In addition to better management of rising labor law compliance requirements, Ace expects the deployment to also enable improvement of store productivity and increase of associate engagement.  

The Pokemon Go app has exploded in popularity since its July 5 release in the U.S. 

Walmart’s Lifelong Learning Program is getting a boost from a new partnership with educational technology and services company Cengage Learning.  

Stater Bros. Markets is decreasing electricity output this summer.   The San Bernadino, California-based regional supermarket chain is voluntarily reducing lighting energy use by 50% in all 168 Stater Bros. locations during the summer months. This reduction will decrease electricity use by 425,000 kWh per month, which is the equivalent of powering 470 homes per month. It also reduces the possibility of rotating outages during the summer.  

Nordstrom has taken another step to reduce complexity in its supply chain and improve its shipping of online orders.    The retailer has bought a minority stake in DS Co., a software company that links inventory management between retailers and suppliers, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company, based in Utah, offers a cloud-based service, called Dsco, which makes it easier for suppliers to directly ship orders placed through their retail partners.   

Payment processing platform Worldpay isn’t naming names, but appears to be owning up to playing a major role in the Etsy transactional outage.   Since July 1, what Etsy has described as a third-party payments processing issue has stalled thousands or even millions of online transactions. In a running thread on the online marketplace’s “Bugs” community forum, some users have been posting that their delayed orders have gone through, but others still complain of inability to process payments.  

The Walmart Pay mobile digital payment service only began formal rollout in May 2016, but has already reached an impressive goal.   Initially announced in December 2015, Walmart Pay is now available of all of Walmart’s more than 4,600 U.S. stores. Available through the Walmart app for iOS and Android devices, Walmart Pay works at all checkout lanes, and with any credit, debit, pre-paid or Walmart gift card.  

Supervalu Inc. will serve as primary wholesaler for Indianapolis-based Marsh Supermarkets.   Supervalu has entered into a long-term supply agreement with, and will also provide some professional services to Marsh, which operates approximately 70 Marsh Supermarkets and O’Malia Food Markets stores across Indiana and Ohio. Marsh also operates 38 pharmacy locations.  

A 30-year industry veteran is taking day-to-day control of the Oracle Retail global business unit.   Oracle has appointed Ray Carlin as senior VP and general manager, Oracle Retail. Carlin will be responsible for leading the Oracle Retail global business unit and report to Mike Webster, Oracle’s senior VP and general manager, retail and hospitality.