SAP HANA Ensuring Holidays Go On Without a Hitch

Retail has never been more challenging. Ever-expanding product lines, increasingly complex supply chains and the spread of omnichannel have all pushed logistics to the forefront of importance for many companies entering the holiday season.

With more pressure being placed on the back-end of many of these businesses, infrastructures like SAP HANA are helping many organizations find success and weather the storm.

Flipping the market on its head
The logistics disasters of the past few years have been well documented. Surges in online shopping are contributing to growing problems feeding supply chain frustration. Every industry expert can recall the trials and misfortunes of the world's largest shipping providers over the past few years, and online shipping is fueling their misfortunes.

Adobe Digital Insights reported that just over $11 billion was spent online between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday in 2015, and that number is only expected to rise this year. The increasing complications brought on by free and timely delivery, as well as sprawling inventories, have led many retail businesses to rethink how they manage everything in their logistics chain, from the warehouse to transportation.

Furthermore, omnichannel provides a new wrinkle to the market, as consumers expect to see an item in their digital cart in the brick-and-mortar as well. Does your company feel lucky enough to guess which way the customer will lean and exactly how they'll purchase it?

Luck shouldn't be a part of the equation, and SAP HANA makes sure of that with its Consumer Activity Repository. Consumer behavior is a key driver in logistics innovation, as the decisions customers make directly impact the day-to-day operability of a business, which is why the in-memory data platform is giving retail organizations the tools to leverage the powerful analytics application.

SAP HANA Consumer Activity Repository allows retailers to take back control over their supply chain.

Promoting functionality in chaos
While the holiday season certainly bodes well for the retail industry, it also brings with it one of the more mind numbing logistical challenges ever seen. Being able to streamline inventory management and quell any issues in the supply chain is key, and its what the Consumer Activity Repository aims to do.

Predictive analytics is used in nearly every industry in some capacity, though it may have the most value in retail. Organizations are able to centralize previously siloed applications in an effort to get an omniscient view of operations at large. Its analytics functionality then takes the guessing out of managing supply by helping businesses accurately predict which items need to be stocked at certain levels based on a number of factors, like internal sales data, ongoing discounts and promotions as well inventory turnover statistics.

According to SAP HANA, the Consumer Activity Repository isn't yet complete. Over the next few years the provider hopes third-party services will develop applications specifically geared toward helping retail companies manage the complexities that involve the supply chain, as well as numerous other official HANA services.

Besides inventory administration, SAP HANA also allows warehouse managers make the most out of their conventional facilities by creating automated workflows that maximize all resources in an effort to cut overhead and operating costs, while improving inbound and outbound processes.

At the transportation end, SAP HANA can be leveraged to predict disturbances in the life-cycle, both the known and unexpected, in an effort to actively monitor that portion of the supply chain. This type of visibility into global freight activity, which stretches from procurement to sales distribution, is unheralded in an industry that has struggled to maintain high functionality within the context of digital trends.

Retail stores looking to find success this holiday season shouldn't be worried about which product is the hot ticket item, but rather focus on the bigger picture. SAP HANA gives organizations the tools they need to move forward in an increasingly digital marketplace.