Retail Technology Trends & Embracing Change as an ISV discusses some of the emerging trends in the field of retail technology and showcases how AdvanceRetail Technology Ltd has evolved from using pure Microsoft based technology solutions to embracing a heterogeneous technology solution stack that includes HTML5 JavaScript frameworks from Sencha

4. “We provide advice, software and services to
multi-store retailers.”
Our solutions encompass:
• Merchandise, store & assortment planning
• Purchasing & replenishment
• Inventory management
• Promotion planning and execution
• Point of Sale/Store operations
• Mobile assisted selling
• Customer Loyalty
• Omni-channel integration
• Business Intelligence
• Giftcard management
WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO

5. • Established 1968 as Data Group in NZ
• Acquired March 2007 by 3Q Holdings Ltd
• Part of the Island Pacific Group of Companies
• 25+ Years Retail Experience
• 190+ Technical Staff
• Offices in Sydney, Auckland, Brisbane, Los Angeles, San
Diego, Boston, London, Newbury, Kuala Lumpur, Chennai
• Partners in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Macau
ADVANCERETAIL COMPANY PROFILE

6. You Have Probably Interacted With Our Software…
Hundreds of Thousands of People Do Every Day…

15. First Release of AdvanceRetail Product in 1998
We embraced new technology…

16. Also at around the same time…

17. Some of the features introduced by Amazon to the Retail world
1995 – Online Book Store
1997 – One Click Ordering
1998 – Adds Music & DVD, Acquires IMDB.com
2000 – Adds Marketplace
2002 – Launches Amazon Web Services
2005 – Amazon Prime
2007 – Kindle eReader Device
2009 – Kindle App for iOS/Android
2010 – Starts Amazon TV Studios
2012 – Adds Amazon Book Publishing
2014 – Opens 3D Printed Product Store
2015 – Begins Movie Production
201? – Adds Drone Delivery…

18. Sales
1995: $511,000
Q1 2015: $22.7 Billion

19. Data insights in Retail

20. Sometimes That’s Too Much Information!

21. AdvanceRetail Core Products
• Point of Sale
• Back Office / Head Office
• Inventory Buying Management
• Price & Promotions Module

22. AdvanceRetail Core Products
• C#.NET / VB.NET
• MS Visual Studio
• MS SQL Server
• WCF

23. Then Came NRF January 2011
• Largest Retail Technology Show in the World
• 33,000 Attendees
• Island Pacific 15+ Years Exhibitor
• 2010: Wall to Wall PC Solutions
• 2011: Here Comes the iPad to Retail Solutions
PC  iPad Fixed  Mobile
In Store  Omni Channel

24. The Need For Change – Toe in the Water
• Disruptive Technology
• Required Change in Mind Set
• New Development Languages
• New Development Environments
• New Development Patterns

25. The Need For Change – Toe in the Water
• Disruptive Technology
• Required Change in Mind Set
• New Development Languages
• New Development Environments
• New Development Patterns
Gift Registry iOS Application
• Companion Application
• Mobile Interface Design
• Used Titanium Framework
• JavaScript to iOS Native App
• MVC

26. Sales Monitor Application
• Providing Real-time Sales Reporting
• Companion Reporting Application
• Sencha Touch Library
• Java Script
• WCF Web Service Framework
• REST Web Services (REST Proxy)

27. Making the Transition – Knee Deep in Mud
• C# and JavaScript Similar Constructs
• Whole New API to Learn
• IntelliSense is So Good – You Miss It
• Separation of Sencha Touch and ExtJS was
a real pain (Welcome ExtJS 6)
• You Need to Know MVC (and MVVM)
• Visual Studio IDE is Feature Rich (and one
of the best IDEs around)
• Sencha Architect…is not as Rich (Welcome
ExtJS6 & New Architect)
• Source Control Becomes Hard(er) Again
(Lack of Integration with Architect Painful)
• Slower to Code Compared to Visual Studio

28. Making the Transition – Knee Deep in Mud
• One of the Hardest Things was Learning
the Eventing Model and How to use
Controls & Properties
• .NET Spoils You with Very Rich Controls
and API – Less Features Available
• Steep Learning Curves to Climb for
HTML5 & CSS3
• Keep App Size Small (Performance &
Code Management) and Keep
Development Iterative

29. Making the Transition – Knee Deep in Mud
• UI Design Changes (Mouse vs Touch)
• Desktop (Buttons  Hyperlinks)
• Mobile (Form Factor, Touch Controls)
• Simpler User Interfaces / Declutter UI
• Intuitive User Controls

30. Making the Transition – Knee Deep in Mud
• UI Design Changes (Mouse vs Touch)
• Desktop (Buttons  Hyperlinks)
• Mobile (Form Factor, Touch Controls)
• Simpler User Interfaces / Declutter UI
• Intuitive User Controls

31. Making the Transition – Knee Deep in Mud
• Google “Best HTML5 Framework”
• Sencha Touch Scores High
Sencha Touch and Sencha Chart Controls
• Delivered Excellent UI for iOS
• HTML5 Gives Device Independence
• Removing Management of Native Apps (but access
to device features & peripherals can be harder)
• Supports Product Strategy of Cloud Platform
Sencha Architect
• Delivered Excellent Desktop Application UI
• Enforced App Development Models

32. Making the Transition – There’s Help
• Web Resources / Blogs
• W3 Skills
• Stack Overflow
• Sencha Forums & Online Documentation
• Common Open Source Libraries (e.g.
Display Text as Currency)
• The Kitchen Sink is Your Friend
• Encourage Play / Give devices to Staff

33. Committed – Wade into the Water
• Major Companion Applications
• Web Order Pick List
• Master Data Manager (MDM)

34. Committed – Wade into the Water
Architecture to Support HTML5 Apps

35. Pick List Application - Demo
• HTML5 Application
• Sencha Architect
• Manages Customer Web Order
fulfilment – pick list, stock, dispatch

36. Wading Through Options
• Not All HTML5 Frameworks Created
Equal!
• Island Pacific SmartStore Mobile POS
Application uses Titanium Framework
(access to device level features like
barcode scanner).
• AdvanceRetail Provides Integration
Gateway (C# / .NET / WCF)
• AdvanceRetail Provides Reporting
(HTML5 & Sencha)

37. Wading Through Options
• You Say “Apache”, I Say “IIS”
• You Say “JSON”, I Say “XML”
• You Say “REST”, I Say “SOAP”
…But That’s OK!

38. All In – Jump Into Mixed App World
• Buying Promotions Applications
• Head Office Allocation Tool – WinForm
• Branch Review App – HTML5 Sencha
• Demo

39. Easy As – Embracing Change
• SmartBI Business Intelligence Solution
• MS SQL Server Data Warehouse
• MS Excel / VB Script Dashboards
• HTML5 Sencha Desktop & Mobile Reports

40. Easy As – Embracing Change
• SmartBI Business Intelligence Solution
• MS SQL Server Data Warehouse
• MS Excel / VB Script Dashboards
• HTML5 Sencha Desktop & Mobile Reports

41. Easy As – Embracing Change
• SmartBI Business Intelligence Solution
• MS SQL Server Data Warehouse
• MS Excel / VB Script Dashboards
• HTML5 Sencha Desktop & Mobile Reports
Demo

42. Looking Forward To
• Moving to ExtJS 6 Framework
• Convergence of Touch & Desktop Controls
• Adding PivotGrid to HTML5 Apps
• Adding New Charts & Dashboards

43. Retail Technology is Always Evolving

44. The Pace of Change Was Slow
First merchants
Writing tablets
Earliest forms
of money
Cowrie shell currency
First coins Abacus
Trajans Market
Chain Store
Cash Register
Computer
Barcode
EFTPOS
World Wide Web

45. Not All Predictions & Innovations Were Successful

46. The Pace of Change Has Accelerated
1940 1940 1947 1954 1961 1968 1975 1982 1989 1996 2003 2010 2020
Today
3DEA Printing Store
Omni-channel Retail
Big Data
Apple iPhone
Amazon Kindle
Apple Mobile POS
Multi-channel Retail
Apple Store
eBay
Amazon.com
First eBook Reader
Worldwide
Web
Thermal Receipt Printer
EFTPOS
Electronic Shelf Label
3D Printing
Loyalty Card
Barcode
Bankcard
RFID
InternetCredit
Card
First
Computer

47. Who Knows Where It Will Lead?

48. But It Will Be An Interesting Journey!
Thank You
3D
Printed
Dress