For the world’s retailers, the journey towards omni-channel is unstoppable. A consistent customer experience across channels enabling customers to buy what they want, when they want it with completely streamlined and error-free processes—simply hasn’t happened yet. While it is very difficult to determine how long it will take to arrive at the “omni-channel dream,” it is possible to identify specific points, or milestones, along the journey. And here are three that we consider to be particularly important.

1. 3 |
Milestones on the Omni-
Channel Journey

2. 4 |
Consumer Expectations
Retailer Reality
Consistency across channels
Buy what I want, when I want, where I want
Acquire and return when I want, where I want
Complex processes
Error free
Easy
Error prone
Human intervention
Margin erosion
ProblemsStock balance
Site capacity
Delivering the promise

3. 5 |
THE JOURNEY TO OMNI-CHANNEL
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
PREVIOUS MILESTONES
Transactional Website
Implement
Ecommerce Platform
Mcommerce
Launch
Mobile App
Cross-channel
Launch
Click & Collect

4. 6 |
THE JOURNEY TO OMNI-CHANNEL
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
THE NEXT MILESTONES
Time
IncreasingValue&ROI
Plan for the Peak
Maximise Resource
Return
Conduct you
Orchestra

5. 10 |
Plan for the Peak

6. 11 |
PLAN FOR THE PEAK
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.

7. 12 |
WEBSITE SPEED IS AN ISSUE
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
DURING NORMAL TRADING
http://www.salecycle.com/cart-abandonment-stats/
Recent surveys
put cart abandonment at
http://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate
and is increasing
year-on-year
75%
Baymard Institute
http://www.shopify.co.uk/blog/8484093-why-online-retailers-are-losing-67-45-of-sales-
and-what-to-do-about-it
Website crashed.
Process was taking too long
https://econsultancy.com/blog/11274-67-of-consumers-cite-slow-websites-as-
the-main-cause-of-basket-abandonment/
67%
of consumers cite
slow websites
as the main cause of
basket abandonment
Econsultancy / Brandperfect
If you are converting at 1.5%
and you can reduce cart
abandonment rate by
http://www.webstrategiesinc.com/articles/online-marketing-reducing-shopping-
cart-abandonment-rates
Webstrategies
25%(from 50% to 37.5%)
your conversion rate
increases from 1.5%
to nearly 1.9%

8. 13 |
PLAN FOR THE PEAK
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
POSSIBLE TACTICS
RISK
HIGH
COST
AND LIMITED
BENEFIT
QUESTIONABLE
LONG
TAKES
TOO
Add
additional
hardware
Cross
X
fingers
Upgrade
commerce
platform
Implement
Queuing
System

9. 14 |
PLAN FOR THE PEAK
 Proven, risk free
 Ultra fast deployment
 Speed, scale and stability
 Support for web and mobile sites
 Minimal complexity
 Cost effectivity
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

10. 16 |
PLAN FOR THE PEAK
ECOMMERCE ACCELERATION
Ecommerce Acceleration
Eliminate the largest cause of
basket/cart abandonment and
avoid site availability issues
during peak trading periods in
your online sales channels.
Deployed in days, Ecommerce
Acceleration utilises tried and
tested technology in order to
move data closer to where it is
used.
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.

11. 17 |
PLAN FOR THE PEAK
 Proven, risk free
 Ultra fast deployment
 Speed, scale and stability
 Support for web and mobile sites
 Minimal complexity
 Cost effectivity
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
• De facto standard for enterprise Java
• In use by 1000+ customers globally
• Deploy in less than 2 weeks
• Accelerate speed by 100x
• Scales to the largest demand peaks
• Designed for use by Java applications
• In use with leading commerce platforms
• Reduces number of webservers required to run site
• Enables hardware reduction
• Proven low total cost of ownership

12. 20 |
Maximise Resource Return

13. 21 |
MAXIMISE RESOURCE RETURN
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
“If you cannot measure it,
you cannot manage it.”
Attributed to Peter Drucker and W. Edwards Deming

14. 22 |
MAXIMISE RESOURCE RETURN
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
RETAILERS AND CONSUMERS AGREE: VISIBILITY IS CRUCIAL
http://www.information-age.com/it-management/strategy-and-
innovation/123457982/retailers-struggle-meet-omnichannel-expectations
71%consumers
expect to be able
to do an online
in-store inventory check
…only 32%
retailers offer this
Information Age
10%
Additional
revenue
http://www.webstrategiesinc.com/articles/online-marketing-reducing-shopping-
cart-abandonment-rates
RIS News - Real-Time Inventory Visibility: Cross-Channel Integration Boosts Revenue
could be gained from
tight cross-channel integration…
across a single view
of items, orders,
inventory and customers
of retailers
see a lot of value
in inventory visibility
http://www.rsrresearch.com/2013/12/11/supply-chain-execution-2014-making-
omni-channel-profitable/
…only 45%
believe they have a
lot of visibility
93%
RSR Research - Supply Chain Execution: Making Omni-Channel Profitable

15. 23 |
MAXIMISE RESOURCE RETURN
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
RETAILERS AND CONSUMERS AGREE: VISIBILITY IS CRUCIAL
One North American
retailerwas forced to cancel online customer
orders late in the holiday season due
to overwhelming demand.
The company had the needed
inventory but couldn’t get to it
due to lack of visibility.
Accenture - Seamless Inventory Management: Seizing the Opportunities with
Cross-Channel Inventory Management
http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-Seamless-
Inventory-Management.pdf
Complete inventory visibility
helps retailers
optimize
product distribution
to allow ordering, pick-up and
delivery from any channel
Retail Touchpoints - 6 Retailers Tap Inventory Solutions To Deliver Omni-Channel Success
http://www.retailtouchpoints.com/cross-channel-strategies/3345-6-retailers-tap-inventory-
solutions-to-deliver-omnichannel-success
Shoppers
want to check
inventory
on their mobiles
http://www.webstrategiesinc.com/articles/online-marketing-reducing-shopping-
cart-abandonment-rates
Accenture

16. 25 |
MAXIMISE YOU RESOURCE RETURN
REAL-TIME INVENTORY VISIBILITY
Real-time Inventory Visibility
Enable clear understanding
of inventory position for
Every Product, Every
Location, Right now.
Essential insight for online
sales, head office, channel &
store managers to inform &
enable opportunity driven
re-deployment.
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.

17. 27 |
Conduct Your Orchestra

18. 29 |
MILESTONES ON THE OMNI-CHANNEL JOURNEY
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
CONDUCT YOUR ORCHESTRA
http://www.scdigest.com/ONTARGET/14-10-07-1.php?cid=8562
94% of retail
decision makers
said their companies face
significant barriers to operating a
joined up ‘omni-channel’ business
http://www.information-age.com/it-management/strategy-and-
innovation/123457982/retailers-struggle-meet-omnichannel-expectations (2014)
http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Newsroom/News-releases/news-ey-growth-in-omni-
channel-risks-diluting-consumer-products-and-retail-sector-profit (2015)
81% of respondents
believe their Supply chain
is not fit for purpose
Omni-channel growth
will dilute margins unless
the supply chain changes

19. 30 |
MILESTONES ON THE OMNI-CHANNEL JOURNEY
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
CONDUCT YOUR ORCHESTRA
Almost a third of British
online shoppers experience problems
with their orders over peak periods.
http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240237757/Retailers-need-to-plan-for-online-peaks-and-troughs
‘Siloed legacy IT
is a significant barrier to meeting the
challenge of omni-channel’
http://www.information-age.com/it-management/strategy-and-innovation/123457982/retailers-struggle-meet-omnichannel-expectations
Information Age
‘Our click and collect
is designed for 250 orders per store per day.
We are struggling - in many stores
we are getting 600 orders a day’
Major omni-channel retailer
To succeed in omni-channel retailing,
brands must have really good front-end technology…
…but it is useless unless the back-end fulfilment technology
is re-engineered to cope with peaks
in consumer demand.
http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240237932/Retail-technology-useless-without-back-end-support-says-John-Lewis
Paul Coby – CIO John Lewis

20. 31 |
CONDUCT YOUR ORCHESTRA
 Clear adaptable process design
 Multi-party connectivity
 Super fast response times
 Scalable process orchestration
 Automated monitoring and correction
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
A SHOPPING LIST FOR SUCCESS
• Allow evolutionary improvement
over time as needs change
• Connect my systems as well as
my suppliers and service providers
• To react to consumer requests
• Deal with normal as well as peak demand
• Detect and fix any problems

21. 33 |
CONDUCT YOUR ORCHSETRA
OMNI-CHANNEL ORCHESTRATION
Omni-Channel Orchestration
Growth in omni-channel risks
diluting margins due to the
process complexity & volumes.
Omni-channel orchestration
is designed specifically to
orchestrate the process of
delivering against a customer
order irrespective of where the
order is taken and how it is to
be fulfilled.
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
24

22. 34 |
CONDUCT YOUR ORCHESTRA
 Clear adaptable process design
 Multi-party connectivity
 Super fast response times
 Scalable process orchestration
 Automated monitoring and correction
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
A SHOPPING LIST FOR SUCCESS

23. 37 |
THE JOURNEY TO OMNI-CHANNEL
© 2015 Software AG. All rights reserved.
THE NEXT MILESTONES
Time
IncreasingValue&ROI
Plan for the Peak
Maximise Resource
Return
Conduct you
Orchestra

24. 39 |
http://www.softwareag.com/omnichannel