09.00 Registration

09.30 Opening remarks from the chair

09.40 Utilising technology to deliver an outstanding customer experience and enhance productivity
Martin Schofield, IT and logistics director, Harvey Nichols

10.20 Streamlining the operational process to manage your company’s cost base
Peter Schofield, IT service and operations director, The Carphone Warehouse

10.50 EDS examines how outsourcing can drive retailer agility and efficiency
Sion Roberts, EMEA industry leader, Consumer Industries and Retail, EDS

11.20 Morning refreshments

11.50 Creating a relationship between IT and your organisation’s business model
Tom Scott, head of IT Service, Somerfield

12.20 Using technology to revolutionise your business intelligence strategy
Björn Weber, retail technology analyst, Planet Retail

12.50 Lunch

13.50 Exploring environmentally friendly IT options
Mike Yorwerth, group technology and architecture director, Tesco Stores

14.20 Synchronising the IT process to ensure a collaborative retailing relationship
Roy Ford, IT controller, Spar (UK)

14.50 Afternoon refreshments

15.15 On-stage interview focusing on the future trends in retail technology
Martin Raymond, strategy and insight director, The Future Laboratory

15.55 Closing remarks from the chair

16.00 End of conference

Subtle technology

You will never see a kiosk in Harvey Nichols, says its IT and logistics director Martin Schofield, but that does not mean it is not using technology to address customer needs and increase loyalty.

Rather, the luxury department store retailer is using technology to allow staff to offer better service within the store. “It is about subtle use of technology to empower the shopfloor with details about customers, stock availability and products,” he says.

One of the latest projects has focused on the introduction of a customer relationship management system at each till point. A good proportion of sales can now be linked to individual customers. Each till also has real-time stock information and sales data is near real-time. This is more important, says Schofield, when you might carry only a couple of an expensive product line.

Martin Schofield will speak at the Retail Technology conference on June 25.

Managing change

The people aspect of IT initiatives is often one of the most difficult to manage.

When Roy Ford wants to introduce changes to systems and business processes at Spar, he has an extra hurdle to jump.

As a symbol retailer, he can create store solutions and recommend them to Spar retailers, but he cannot force them to accept them. So change management and providing hard evidence of the value of technology is key to his role.

Spar is developing a new EPoS system and is also encouraging its retailers to upgrade their communications lines to broadband. But Ford says that, with tight margins, Spar’s retailers ask why they should do it, especially when they have technology in store that already services them adequately.

Ford is going to have to demonstrate why Spar’s retailers should change their infrastructure and applications, so is exploring how to add value around the core EPoS system. “It will become a management tool,” he says. “They could use a Voice over Internet Protocol [VoIP] phone and they could also move their card authorisation to the broadband infrastructure.”

Spar is also taking an increasing interest in contactless payment – another technology that he hopes could have a demonstrable impact on margins. Ford believes that retailers will be interested if they can reduce merchant services fees by taking it up.

Roy Ford is speaking at the Retail Technology conference on June 25.