IBM launches solutions for retail sector

NEW DELHI: Leading IT firm IBM on Tuesday launched a new retail oriented solution -- Store Integration Framework (SIF) -- to help Indian retailers boost their sales and minimise losses due to theft.

SIF includes three solutions such as 'IBM Digital Video Surveillance (DVS)', an integrated multi-channel retailing solution and 'IBM any place kiosk solution', which would help retailers address issues related to security, channel integration and customer management.
   
"With increasing competition, companies are actively looking for IT solutions that will allow them to focus on strategic and innovative business models, IBM India South Asia Director (Solutions) KS Raghunandan said.
   
The retail industry loses nearly $50 billion annually to fraud, theft and administrative errors globally which could be saved using such solutions, he added.

IBM DVS connects digital surveillance video with point of sales systems, inventory, customer and employee data which gives retailers the ability to search and analyse store activity, view and record live action and trigger alerts to loss prevention staff when anomalies are detected.

"In order to address the various issues and hurdles faced by our industry today, there is a pressing need for innovative and practical solutions to further accelerate growth in the retail industry,"  Retailers Association of India (RAI) CEO Gibson G Vedamani said.