The retail industry is experiencing a massive change, making it uniquely challenging, but also presents great opportunities to those who effectively leverage partnerships and technology. The primacy of omnichannel retail, as well as new retail POS, digital marketing, inventory management, and CRM technologies, means that we have a lot to keep an eye on at RCS.
To that end, we recently hosted a VAR program launch in downtown Fort Collins, CO, featuring retail technology consultant Dick Calio of R.J. Calio Consulting, and our newest partner Cegid, among several other presenters and partners.
“When I look at retail, it’s very much where distribution and manufacturing were ten years ago,” Calio notes, pointing to past trends such as offshore manufacturing, increased reliance on 3rd party logistics (3PL) providers, and the phasing out of partnerships.
“The reason a lot of those [manufacturing and distribution] partnerships went away is because the customers didn’t just need help selling something. They needed someone to help them make strategic business decisions,” states Calio.
Retail Control Systems and Cegid are partnering to leverage each other’s strengths, bringing high-end retailers an option ideally suited to many of their needs. What are some of the solutions this new partnership brings to the table?
Business partners are not anonymous resellers but a key component of the successful global team.
– Arnaud Coste, Director of Channel Partnerships at Cegid Group
Successful partnerships are almost by definition relational, not transactional, which is why RCS and Cegid are carrying out an enablement program and building a community to ensure the smooth adoption of Cegid’s services as it expands its presence in North America. We’re combining not just financial resources and intellectual property, but people and ideas. Because local compliance issues can be dizzying for retailers that do business in multiple jurisdictions, having that local knowledge is key.
Q&A:
- What advantages does having RCS host Cegid confer on retailers?
RCS has been in the retail business for over 30 years, so we know which of our customers are starting to outgrow their current point-of-sale system. We know what potential customers would likely be a good fit for Cegid. As an industry expert, we’re also comfortable telling customers if Cegid (or any other system, for that matter) isn’t right for their needs.
An occasional challenge with cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) and retail intelligence solutions, regardless of the provider, is that they tend to have organizational restrictions. By having RCS host and giving us a large degree of self-direction, Cegid expects to be able to rise above many of those challenges. The result will be a more responsive, agile unified commerce platform for retailers.
- What are some key characteristics of retailers who would most benefit from using Cegid?
Cegid is a high-end business solution for multi-location businesses. High-end clothing retailers and other retailers with 15 – 100 stores stand to benefit the most from using it.
A unified commerce platform, Cegid is very sophisticated with a lot of 3rd party integrations and omnichannel capabilities. We offer virtually every omnichannel purchasing, customer service, tracking, and delivery option out there, so you’ll never miss a sale. The shopping experience is consistent across channels with a pleasant user experience (UX).
- What are the top three or so concerns retailers might have when exploring Cegid as an option?
- Although the cost is not exorbitant, Cegid is most likely not in the budget for single-location stores.
- Cegid is very robust and can do a lot, which can be daunting. For that reason, RCS is creating hardware and software bundles with everything you need and nothing you don’t. We also offer individualized, ongoing assistance to all our clients, especially when they’re bringing new solutions on board.
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- How will Cegid and RCS leverage one another’s unique capabilities to benefit retailers?
Cegid is a well-respected award-winning point-of-sale solution in Europe, but doesn’t have a large presence in the U.S. RCS knows the U.S. market and has been the top reseller for NCR Counterpoint for over 20 years.
In sum, RCS brings local knowledge, experience, and relationships to the table; Cegid brings a ton of new, scalable technology and know-how. This can help businesses promote an innovative brand image, improve the customer experience and scale more effectively than they would otherwise be capable of doing.
Request a Cegid Demo Today!
About Cegid:
Cegid has been around for 63 years and currently operates in 30 countries on five continents. It has been highly ranked by research and advisory companies including Gartner, Forrester, and IDC. Cegid’s customizable, advanced omnichannel retail and inventory management solutions are ideally suited to high-end retailers and those with more than 15 locations.
About RCS:
Retail Control Systems was founded in 1987 by Dave Albert, a native of Madawaska, Maine, the most Northeastern town in the United States. After more than three decades of serving retailers, RCS remains a family-owned company. We’ve helped hundreds of retailers find and implement point of sale, inventory, CRM, ecommerce, digital marketing, and other solutions.
