The Retailer Autumn Edition 2021

THE RE TA I L ER

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THE 4 GOLDEN RULES FOR PAIN-FREE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION

Steve Dennis Director Spike

S peed up your projects with these simple rules. Accelerate change and deliver real value to your customers. During the pandemic, retailers became increasingly reliant on technology. According to Experian Economics, online retail sales rose from 12% to 34% of total retail spend in the past year [1]. Technology is now a key differentiator, sep - arating the haves from the have-nots. The successful from the struggling. Fortunately, most companies see this, and they want to do something about it. Retailers are already ramping up project activity and investment. For some it’s a last throwof the dice. For others it’s a chance to surge further ahead. While change is undoubtedly the way forward, anyone implementing new solutions must be cautious. In their CHAOS 2020 report, The Standish Group reports that only 35% were successfully completed on time and budget [2]. Thankfully, Spike has helped many retailers successfully deliver change projects. The most successful of which share 4 key principles.

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Spike’s 4 Golden Rules As you know, software is more complex than ever. Integrated systems, multiple front ends and peak trading pressures are just a fewof the technical challenges you face. Implementing a new solution can be daunting. But it doesn’t need to be. Change projects are a journey. No two journeys are ever quite the same, and neither are projects. There will be detours and roadworks along the way. But they’re all manageable, with the right approach. Our 4 golden ruleswill help you reach your goal as quickly as possible. 1. Start Early, Move Fast Retailers face different pressures than other sectors. For one thing, there’s acute seasonality and fixed timeframes; other sectors can slip their projects by weeks or months without much impact, most retailers can’t. Your projects need to move quickly from concept to reality. You can’t afford to lose time. We also have unique supply chain pressures and cost sensitivity. More now than ever. Your projects need to ease these pressures, not increase them. You need to get quickly get past the technology and start realising results. You’re only going to do this if you start early and push all the way through into project completion. We’ve seen many projects start offwith a bang but run out of momentum as things progress. Often barely limping over the line. Almost always, this is due to poor preparation. To prevent delays, you must make sure all involved parties are ready: • Operations staff know what’s coming • You’ve got tools and environments in place • Your training team is onboard • Every team must know their roles, responsibilities, and timelines • To maintain project momentum, you need to line everything up ahead of time.

Spike prevent the anguish associated with digital change. Our qual- ity-first culture helps you enjoy a painless end-to- end transformation.”

2. Keep Your Scope Tight Scope creep is the bane of software projects. Nothing will scupper your chances of success quite like it. You start off building a simple ecommerce site. Within a few weeks you’re building an omnichannel solution. Nobody’s quite sure how you got there. For a project to succeed it needs to be realis- tic and contained. Build a solid base. Get the fundamentals right first and add to it later. Keep your scope focussed on the minimum viable product. Don’t give into the temptation to addmore. Be firm, evenwhen the board start asking. Remind them of the Pareto principle. Build 20% of your dream solution, get 80% of the real-world benefits. 3. Clear the Runway, Land with Confidence First and foremost, you need to develop a high-quality solution. One that: • Meet your business goals • Functions as expected • Performs correctly under all load conditions • Provides an excellent experience BCG research states “70% of digital transfor- mations fall short of their objectives, often with profound consequences” [3]. High quality software is only possible with efficient and effective software testing. This is where we directly help retailers.

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You start off building a simple ecommerce site. Within a few weeks you’re building an omnichannel solution. Nobody’s quite sure how you got there.”