George Lawrie

We’ve all learned about the advantages of software-defined infrastructure. We don’t think twice about network or desktop virtualization. But what about using software to define and remotely manage store infrastructure and applications? Think about the rise of pop-up stores or the rapid proliferation of store banners as retailers shapeshift in anticipation of customer trends. The […]

Department stores can enjoy a bright future — but to do so, they must change to survive and thrive in the face of fierce competition from brands’ direct-to-consumer initiatives. Synchronizing supply and demand to sell inventory at full price is one issue. But the department store’s bright future depends on enticing customers through the doors […]

NRF 2019 attracted more than 800 exhibitors that demonstrated to more than 37,000 attendees. If last year’s theme was (Alexa’s) voice, this year’s show was all about computer vision driving: Frictionless retail. Computer vision specialist Scandit, with clients such as Sephora and Louis Vuitton, showed that any retailer can offer a grab-and-go experience like Amazon […]

Forrester readers sometimes ask me if machine learning can really have any relevance to retail. We start by discussing their current approach to demand management. How do they determine the assortment and depth and breadth for each store cluster, or even for each store? Depending On Sales History Alone To Plan Assortment Depth And Breadth […]

Whose Customer Is This? All of us shop online and in stores. We are customers both of a retail brand’s eCommerce organization and of its store organization. Sometimes we buy online but, when we just can’t wait, collect in-store. Sometimes we return unwanted online purchases in the store, crossing an invisible border between the world […]

We’ve just published the all-new “The Forrester Wave™: Point Of Service, Q3 2018” report — and it turns out that brands and retailers have a lot to choose from to deliver the best experience for their customers. Whose Customer Is This? As a retailer that must provide your customers with great experiences, your expectations for your […]

Each Order Is Special To An Empowered Customer You’ve heard a lot of buzz about AI and blockchain reshaping logistics. Age-of-the-customer empowerment means that companies must use every means to close the gap between customer-facing and back-office applications. Today’s hub-and-spoke supply chains deliver low-cost bulk distribution. But to an empowered customer, each order has special […]

The National Retail Federation’s Big Show attracted tens of thousands of attendees . Far from resigning themselves to conquest by market places they are determined to make the right investments to thrive and survive. Three years ago we found retail CIOs most concerned about innovation and security https://www.forrester.com/report/The+Retail+CIO+Agenda+2015+Secure+And+Innovate/-/E-RES121188 At the NRF show in 2018 it […]

McGarrigle, Chairman of the World Retail Congress, makes his keynote opening address. © World Retail Congress     If you follow me on Twitter or if you attended WRC at the beautiful Cavalieri hotel in Rome  you’ll know that I had the privilege to moderate a panel of distinguished retailers to discuss the subject of […]

Many of your peers with heavy enterprise investment in SAP, are thinking about the business case for HANA.  In this research we looked at different HANA use cases and at early efforts to learn how to run an enterprise by predicting, in real time, the direction of a stream of granular observations, rather than by […]

Following some work for a client in oil field services around the most appropriate ERP solution, I’ve had some questions about the impact of IFRS on accounting for exploration and evaluation (E&E). In a nutshell, IFRS offers some opportunities for energy firms or joint ventures to capitalize E&E costs that they might have expensed under […]

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Do you ever wonder how your business applications portfolio stacks up against your peers? We conducted a series of interviews to understand how firms measure applications portfolio coverage of their business units and business models, end-user use of applications, and business value. We’re inviting application leaders to take a 10 to 15 minute survey anonymously […]

Application development and delivery (AD&D) professionals in retail must contend with established categories of packaged apps for store operations, eCommerce, supply chain, and loyalty. But most packages hail from the pre-digital disruption era of mono-channel retail — store or eCommerce.  AD&D pros must chart an application upgrade and integration course that delivers omni-channel consumer experiences […]

I’ve just been shopping for furniture.  On the one hand, I saw highly prescriptive, standardized, catalog-type collections that fit well together but which are rather boring and maybe don’t make the best of my ramshackle old house. On the other hand, I visited a lot of junk shops with interesting but incompatible pieces, ranging from […]

Digital disruption brings new competitors, new products, new services, and new types of customer relationships into focus. As firms adapt their product market channel strategies to new threats and opportunities, they look to transform their operating models: centralizing, decentralizing, and federating treasury, procurement, finance, IT, and even product development and customer relationships. App development and […]

I was intrigued to read in StorefrontBacktalk about Target’s plans to reduce its spending on IT. Apparently, investors warmed to the message, but most of our readers tell us that it’s not how much you spend, but how well you spend it that really determines whether investors see a good return on IT investment. In […]

New Mountain Capital, the owner of Red Prairie, the demand sensing and supply chain execution software vendor, announced last week that it would fully acquire supply chain planning vendor JDA. The merger will result in a supply-chain planning and execution solution provider with more than $1 billion in revenue with 87 of the world’s top […]

Some of my readers know that I worked in my career before Forrester in product management and business development at MSA, SSA, and Mapics, all now part of Infor. When people ask if I “follow Infor,” I’m inclined to reply that Infor follows me. I attended an “Infor on the road” event last week to […]