The Record - Issue 18: Autumn 2020

167  R E TA I L & HOS P I TA L I T Y to provide district managers with detailed dash- boards showing where employees are working, and which stores need extra resources to con- tinue serving customers efficiently. Other retailers have implemented Microsoft Teams to enable their employees to communi- cate and collaborate with their colleagues, exter- nal partners and customers. For example, Chip Bergh, CEO of US-based clothing company Levi Strauss, uses Teams to host daily meet- ings with his leadership team, as well as to hold bi-weekly ‘Chips & Beer’ events with employees. Meanwhile, Italy’s Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona winery has adopted the platform to host virtual meetings and wine tastings with distributors, critics and consumers worldwide. “Retailers are equipping their employees with the tools and resources they need to be able to continue working productively – whether they are working in store or at home,” says Chaudhry. “We expect to see the tools of the trade evolving. For instance, we expect that retailers will place always-on, connected devices in the hands of all their employees, rather than just information workers like they did pre-pandemic.” According to Chaudhry, platforms such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 have been particularly popular with retailers looking to optimise their online sales experience and personalise cus- tomer engagements. “Solutions like those offered by Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Commerce, Supply Chain Management, HR and Finance are designed to be flexible and work with the enterprise resource planning strategy that retailers implemented before, during and after the immediate effects of Covid-19,” explains Chaudhry. “Dynamics 365 Commerce in particular enables retailers to engage with customers across various channels – giving customers the option to purchase when, how and where they want – via any device.” Technology from Microsoft and its extensive network of partners has also helped retailers to rapidly roll out new customer services, such as online ordering, home delivery, click and collect, and contactless payments. Sporting goods retailer Decathlon, for example, has implemented MishiPay’s Scan & Go mobile self-checkout solution at 81 stores in Germany. Now, shoppers scan and pay for products via their smartphone, minimising the need for them to interact with cashiers and POS devices. The solution also frees up employees to assist with value-added tasks elsewhere in the store. “We expect many of these new services are likely to become long-term or permanent,” says Partners like MishiPay have used Microsoft technology to develop mobile apps where customers can scan and pay for products via their own smartphones when in store