By Aimee Chanthadavong
Women’s fashion retailer Specialty Fashion Group is in the midst of transforming its international communication line between its 900 stores.
The owner of brands, including Millers, Katies, Crossroads, Autograph and City Chic, will be implementing Google’s cloud technology into its systems to enable faster and smoother communication with their dispersed staff locally and internationally.
Google’s cloud technology, which will be fully integrated later this year, will help minimise existing constraints, such as congested servers and paper communication, Specialty’s CIO Viren Shah told RetailBiz.
“One of the mains aspects and benefits of this new infrasture is the speed will be much faster. The second piece is everyone uses Gmail so we wouldn’t have to teach and train and whole perspective of the administration and IT process will also just become easier. Also, device dependency will go away because it’ll be an internet-based solution so all that will be needed is connection to the internet,” he said.
Shah, however, noted while training will be minimal; change management will be involved in the process.
“There’s always a portion of change management because it’s different to what we do today. We have to build a new framework, which can cause delays and concerns, especially when you’re out to 900 stores so change management will become a bit of an issue. Personally though, that’s probably the bigger piece of the puzzle that we’ll have to deal with,” he said.
Other retailers that have adopted Google’s cloud service include Woolworths, Dick Smith and Shoes of Prey.