If your organization is like most brick-and-mortar retailers you will have felt a significant shift in the last five years brought on by the financial crisis. Many organizations have moved their focus from square foot expansion to maximizing square foot performance; achieved in some cases by shrinking the store footprint. As you might expect technology is playing an increasingly critical role in helping retailers maximize performance. One such technology is mobile data collection, focused on task management and capturing store conditions.

If you’ve been involved in planning and executing retail programs (particularly merchandising, fixture set-up and communication) you’ll know first hand that success hinges on first understanding the conditions that exist in stores. This is followed by tailoring a plan and clearly communicating the expectations (easy to follow playbook) as a means of keeping store personnel and 3rd party teams on track. Until recently visibility to conditions and proof of performance have been difficult to capture and share efficiently. Mobile data collection and task management software have changed all of that.

Devices, Network Access & Project Deployment

The availability of Wi-Fi networks coupled with the widespread use of smartphones and tablets are making the practical implications of using mobile data collection technology very compelling. Add cloud-based programs like Site-Specs, which focuses on capturing data and photos as well as providing detailed reporting on fieldwork, and the business case becomes easy to rationalize. With efficient project deployment across field teams (internal & external) digitized retail field data capture and task management becomes a practical choice.

Multi-Function Platforms Drives Collaboration

When everything from store maintenance inspections to asset audits and merchandising compliance can be managed from one platform, sharing and collaboration among cross function teams increases dramatically. It’s the kind thing that moves a “nice to have” tool to a business-critical application.