IBM is truly striving to evolve with the demands and expectations of the consumer. Earlier this month, Sr. Solutions Manager Heather Maryo and I had the opportunity to attend the Smarter Commerce Global Summit. With the theme Buy Sell Market Service, IBM recognizes that consumers aren't merely going online and purchasing products. People are conducting extensive research, reading reviews and detailed descriptions. They're liking and discussing items on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. It's undeniable that people are constantly connected, and that the buying cycle really never begins or ends anymore. In light of this fact, there are two things that online retailers should be focused on: mobile and social.
While neither mobile nor social initiatives are groundbreakingly new ideas, they're now garnering the attention they're due in the enterprise eCommerce realm. A few points of unexpected significance: the venue featured a massive screen. Instead of showcasing the day's itinerary or static IBM branding, it was complete with real-time images and tweets of the event. There were so many great thoughts and commentary being shared, that every day of the summit, #IBMSCGS was a nationally trending topic. It's no surprise that speakers instructed attendees not to turn their phones off, but only to silence them.
With mobile and social in mind, IBM really stressed to attendees that Smarter Commerce touches every aspect of the retail business; it allows businesses to gain insight from every sales channel, discover what exactly customers are liking and where they're going on a site after they've made a purchase. It really does provide a bird's eye view of the buying cycle, making it easier to optimize the supply chain and procurement procedures, target market segments, cross and up-sell and anticipate consumer interactions.
Not only was it a great learning experience, but we were equally excited to debut our own Smarter Commerce offering which allows JD Edwards customers to seamlessly integrate with WebSphere Commerce with a focus on bringing the principles of B2C retailing to B2B organizations, and network with great folks such as Dominic Brown of CyberSource, Andre Mileti of Amplience and Jeremy de Freitas of Heiler Software Corp.
If you too were in attendance at IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit in Orlando, 2012, let us know what you thought! Have questions about IBM, eCommerce, our Smarter Commerce solution or Briteskies? Feel free to drop us a comment or contact us!
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