BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - May 8, 2008) - Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (
NYSE:
HHS),
surveyed 220 retail enterprises between February and March 2008 to
determine the current state of cross-channel technology and process
integration. Recent Aberdeen research indicates that only 30% of
cross-channel retailers (e.g., direct sales, stores & Internet, Internet &
call center, or a combination) have attained some level of cross-channel
integration across their inventory, order management, fulfillment, and
customer processes such as consistent pricing, product information,
promotions, and loyalty initiatives. All of the above processes contribute
towards a new customer acquisition and customer retention in the web,
catalog, and store channels.
"Our data shows that the reasons for the lack of integration include
channel conflicts -- lack of channel flexibility, legacy systems impeding
multi-channel process integration, and lack of agile customer and process
management tools for cross-channel productivity, communication, and
resolution," says Sahir Anand, senior analyst and chief author of the
multi-channel benchmark report.
The report has detailed the Best-in-Class approach to integration. For
instance, Best-in-Class retailers' focus on creating a roadmap for
multi-channel integration compared to Average and Laggard companies. More
than half (53%) of the Best-in-Class are currently focused on developing an
integrated brand identity amongst their customer base as a core strategy.
"These companies are 30% more likely than laggard organizations to follow a
strategy that is based on brand integration rather than a channel-specific
focus on customer processes. The channel-specific focus has so far
dominated multi-channel selling. However, Best-in-Class are gradually
creating an overall focus on the brand," says Anand. The research reveals
that designing the process and system strategy for multi-channel
integration is a significant decision for any retailer from a web site,
call center, end-to-end order management, or customer fulfillment
standpoint. The business case for improving, or introducing, a unified
cross-channel strategy involve factors such as customer value, business
targets, investments to change or improve existing multi-channel
technology, operating costs, and internal skill sets.
Despite the challenges, Aberdeen has recommended that Average and Laggard
retailers can improve by developing a single process to uniformly update
product and pricing information across channels, an integrated view of
inventory and customer fulfillment, a knowledge and performance management
culture that focuses on cross-channel analytics for attaining integration,
and execute coordinated promotions across all channels of operations.
A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part to the
following underwriters: Epicor, Sigma Micro, and VCommerce. To obtain a
complimentary copy, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=4725.
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market
intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more
than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely
positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating
demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment
analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets,
corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in
context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's
analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of
Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement -
Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role
Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit
Aberdeen
http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more
about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to
http://www.harte-hanks.com.
© 2008 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
260 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110-3112
Telephone: (617) 723-7890
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Sahir Anand
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(617) 854-5271
Sahir.Anand@aberdeen.com