10 WORKFORCEMANAGEMENT
EFFECTIVE LABOUR COST CONTROL A
s usual, this year’s Retail Technology workforce management (WFM) feature focuses on those practical implementations that shed light on what retailers are actually doing with WFM technology. But the vendors supplying them all observed that the trend towards demand- driven systems integration and delivery were gaining in popularity. Barney Quinn, WorkPlace Systems chief
executive recently told Retail Technology: “There’s still a big cost focus in the UK, but our cloud-based solution has really taken off globally.” Highlighting the need to enable more fl exible management of staffi ng levels, Quinn cited an example of WorkPlace functionality that allows staff to bid for shifts. “Our approach to managing staff through employee engagement can also help streamline communications instore and at head offi ce, as well as help with compliance,” he said.
Andrew Manos, cloud services director
at WFM provider and this year’s feature sponsor Kronos, recently echoed the positive outlook for cloud-based WFM. “The incredible demand we are seeing for cloud services comes as no surprise. Smart organisations want to achieve cost savings by accelerating ROI [return on investment], reducing IT burdens, and ensuring that the applications are running optimally at all times.”
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems provider SAP recently embarked on a new WFM go-to-market strategy that challenges the best-of-breed approach. Andrew Jones, retail solution expert for SAP in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region argued that the SAP software could promote more successful labour scheduling to meet demands more accurately and cost effectively by exploiting existing ERP, as well as time and attendance, data. “Working in
NetWeaver [SAP’s integration middleware] our solution pulls all information required for other areas of SAP data, from replenishment to point-of-sale data.” Mark Smith, chief executive and research
offi cer at Ventana Research, commented: “Our research is fi nding that organisations want to have access to the latest applications for workforce management but are challenged with budget, resources, and time across business and IT to implement the software within the company. “We are seeing a signifi cant increase in the demand to host and outsource solutions like workforce management so businesses can adopt and use the new technology much more rapidly,” Smith added, urging the evaluation of vendors that provide the ability to manage WFM systems, for not only the time and money that can be saved, but also to reduce the risk of not implementing them as effi ciently or reliably.
www.retailtechnology.co.uk
“Retail Technology for the multichannel age”
Lynn Neil
For full online opportunities and weekly newsletter please contact: Tel: +44 208 123 5040
RETAIL TECHNOLOGY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012 email:
lneil@bpl-business.com
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