There has never been a more exciting time to be at the intersection of retail and technology, according to Shelley Bransten, Microsoft’s vice president for worldwide retail and the consumer goods industry.

In a blog post, she said that technology was enabling retailers to reimagine every aspect of the value chain, from delivering amazing customer experiences and empowering employees with data and rich insights to optimised operations and helping to identify and develop revenue opportunities.

“Our goal at Microsoft is to empower every organisation on the planet to achieve more by providing you with the tools to digitally and culturally transform your business,” she said.

To enable an intelligent future, she said that companies should focus on four transformational scenarios:

• Know customers and create exciting customer-first experiences. Successful retail starts and ends with the customer. It really is a simple value equation – no customers mean no sales. Customers expect more today than ever before, and those expectations are growing. Intelligent tools will help retailers know their customers better and deliver highly personalised experiences that will build lifelong brand loyalty.
• Empower employees to deliver the best customer experiences possible. They are one of the most valuable assets but oftentimes are the last to be reached by technology. Highly engaged employees are 87 per cent less likely to leave an organisation than their unengaged counterparts. Arm employees with the right tools to empower them to deliver great customer service.
• Deliver intelligent supply chain as the clock speed of retail is getting faster and faster. The break between when demand is created and where demand is fulfilled has met. And organisations still have difficulty getting visibility of their inventory. More than 70 per cent of chief supply chain officers believe by 2020 the supply chain will be a key driver of better customer service for their organisations. The power of putting data in the right places to deliver an intelligent supply chain means companies can get closer and closer to that customer and create great experiences.
• Reimagine retail and reinvent the operating model to unlock new opportunities. While there’s no crystal ball to gaze into to predict what customers will demand next, there is work that retailers can do today to equip their business with technology that will allow them to anticipate and adapt to future market shifts and disruptions.

“It’s this framework that has helped us establish strategic partnerships with some of the world’s most complex, innovative and leading retailers from across the globe including Marks & Spencer, Loblaws and Natuzzi,” she said. “As your trusted technology partner, it is our goal to partner with you to build your future technology pipeline so you can reimagine retail and continue to grow your business in years to come.”

At next week’s NRF Big Show in New York, Microsoft will be organising tours to its store on Fifth Avenue to see its technology in a real-world retail environment. And its CEO Satya Nadella will deliver the opening keynote at the event, sharing his thoughts on the future of retail and how technology can help.