Myer is embarking on a “huge store technology transformation” over the next 18 months that will see it modernise its mobile device fleet and deploy four new software applications for staff to use.
General manager of retail operations Gary Stones revealed the program of work in a video published by handheld computer maker Zebra Technologies to social media this week.
Stones said the program of works would cover upgrades to Myer’s point-of-sale systems, as well as to a mobility device fleet used by “over 10,000 team members”.
“It’s a significant investment for Myer … that will ultimately flow through to benefits for our customers,” Stones said in the video.
“It’s critical we get this right. It’s an investment we’re making over the next 12-18 months with some 3600 mobility devices that will be rolled out to over 10,000 team members.
“It’s not just about the devices - we’ll also be rolling out four brand new applications that our team members will be using to do activities such as stocktake, price marking, electronic receiving and dispatch, and also all of our fulfilment activities in our stores.”
The retailer is set to deploy a new fleet of smartphone-like Zebra TC57X mobile computers.
It is also “looking to deploy” Zebra’s workforce connect platform “which will enable push-to-talk radio functionality and enable our team members to be able to communicate with each other on-the-fly,” Stones said.
“In addition to that, we’re also looking at the TC57X mobility device to be able to replace our telephony solution for our team members as well.”
Stones said the retailer also wanted to establish technology foundations that would enable it to adopt different in-store transactional models down the track.
“We’re looking to be able to position ourselves so that when the time is right, we can use our mobility devices to expand into m-commerce and mobile point-of-sale functionality down the track,” Stones said.
Until then, Stones said Myer is working to a strategy that is intended to make the work of retail staff easier - “reducing the amount of time that team members are spending on support activities, [so they can] spend more time with customer-facing activities and putting our customers first.”
The store technology transformation comes only a month after the retailer said it is also investing to “supercharge” its online operations as well.
