Many information systems claim to be agile, so much so that it has become an overused term that inaccurately describes most systems. Making these systems easier and more cost-effective to change in response to changing circumstances is crucial in today’s world of rapidly changing industries. While a growing number of technologies claim to help organizations become more agile or to help them develop information systems that are more agile, many systems are still costly and difficult to change.
Decision Management Systems are agile because they can be easily and quickly changed to respond to evolving needs. These agile Decision Management Systems also improve process effectiveness and are compliant as well.
How Decision Management Systems Show Agility In The Retail Industry
Retailers typically sell hundreds or thousands of products to a large group of customers through several stores and shops across the globe. Loyalty programs are a regular and effective way to retain old customers and keep new ones. Every year, millions of transactions are recorded for these loyalty programs.
Loyalty programs usually operate by offering constant promotions, exclusive discounts and other special offers. However, many traditional information systems make it difficult for companies to bring the promotions to their target market at a quick pace. They tend to be rigid and require that offers be done in a specific format. IT departments can also take several weeks to deploy these offers as well. Issues also crop up once the offers are deployed because in-store staff can have difficulties with keeping track of the constantly changing offers. Overlapping and multiple discounts that customers are eligible for also contribute to the added complexity of the loyalty programs.
Decision Management Systems can simplify this process. Using the customer’s profile and sales history with the current transaction, the systems make sure that all of the valid promotions and rewards are given automatically. The system also determines the pricing for the cashiers within the point-of-sale terminal, saving time and avoiding human error. With this data, customer relationship-boosting cross-sell offers are presented to the customer while the products are being checked out. All the current special offers, eligibility rules and other important data are kept and managed in a user-friendly format that allows easy changes and deployment.
With this new system, many retailers see a sharp boost in efficiency and effectiveness with their loyalty programs. This flexible system also allows organizations to customize offers for specific customers as well. By being able to improve loyalty programs and enhance the customer experience, seeing a rise in revenue is not uncommon for those who have deployed Decision Management Systems.