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• Cognizant 20-20 Insights




Leveraging Social Media to Optimize
Sourcing-to-Shelf Processes
As Facebook, Twitter and other social tools go mainstream, retailers must
tap these rich pools of consumer-generated data to make more strategic
buying, stocking and selling decisions.


      Executive Summary                                     Thus, we believe retailers should take this existing
                                                            dialog one step further and actively involve them
      Based on a survey of more than 2,000 shoppers,    1
                                                            in the product design and development process.
      we identified 10 megatrends transforming the
      retail industry. One trend we unearthed was the
                                                            Retail Challenges and Opportunities in
      convergence of social media and product devel-
                                                            ‘Source to Shelf’
      opment.
                                                            Before we analyze how these trends can benefit
      Retailers are learning to deal with a generation of   retailers, we need to understand how the “source-
      consumers who not only demand instant gratifi-        to-shelf” process has historically worked for
      cation but are also among the biggest consumers       retailers and where the gaps lie between customer
      and generators of information. Moreover, they         expectations and retailer operations.
      expect retailers to leverage all available infor-
      mation about them. For these consumers,               Retailers have typically had to work around long
      product value and quality are not achieved by         lead times, seasonal fluctuations and an inability
      detailed planning and product development in          to react to customer demand within the selling
      silos. Instead, they prefer doing business with       season. From a sourcing perspective, retail
      companies that are transparent and allow them         buyers endured these challenges, along with their
      to actively participate in the product design and     colleagues in the sourcing and product develop-
      development (PDD) process.                            ment functions. Today, however, buyers can incor-
                                                            porate historical trends, customer insights and
      This white paper analyzes how retailers can           future consumer demands surfaced by social
      leverage social media across the entire value         media analytics into the company’s buying plan.
      chain, from sourcing through arrival on the shelf.    Following creation of this buying plan, buyers
      Shoppers are already connecting with retailers        generate initial orders and wait for products to
      and their products in innovative ways by interact-    reach distribution centers and ultimately stores,
      ing on Facebook, sharing user-generated content,      hoping that their instincts map with shopper
      creating viral videos, blogging and tweeting.         buying behavior.




      cognizant 20-20 insights | january 2013
Traditional Buying Process


                    Historical                Focus Group                  Strategic
                    Analysis                 Studies/Trends                 Intent



                  Buying Plan &             Virtual Sample
                  Intent to Buy           Range & Buyer Edits              Buy Trip



                                               Sampling &               Final Inwards &
                   Commit Buys               Final Approvals          Shipments to Stores



Figure 1


Buying Process Challenges                              •	 Retailers are missing a potential opportunity
A typical product development lifecycle is                  to creatively engage with consumers, resulting
depicted in Figure 1. This process inherently               in the loss of a collaborative brand-building
challenges retailers to be relevant to consumers.           opportunity.
The challenges of the buying process include the
following:                                             Getting it Right: A Proposed Approach
                                                       to Leverage Social Media
•	 Insufficient data for a proper look forward:        Considering the challenges with the traditional
    >> Within fashion and other short lifecycle        approach of product design, development and
       categories, the design and/or use of prod-      promotions, the opportunities offered by social
       ucts can vary significantly from one season     media can provide a handsome payoff. Social
       to the next. While product attributes have      media can help retailers combat many of the
       yielded some success in forecasting de-         aforementioned challenges, since it provides an
       mand, it is still a challenging endeavor.       instant way of connecting with consumers. Figure
                                                       2 (next page) offers a basic construct that can
   >> The buying decision (what to buy and how         help retail buying and planning organizations
       many to buy) is made based on historical
                                                       more effectively leverage social media.
       analysis and future forecasts, while accom-
       modating long lead times for imported mer-      Getting Started with Social Media
       chandise.
                                                       Social media clearly helps retailers connect the
   >> Consumer      engagement through focus           dots of customer input and feedback on product
       groups and surveys is largely not reflective    creation. However, the most difficult decision is
       of their current demands and needs.             determining the right time and method to begin
                                                       leveraging social media and setting proper expec-
   >> These    challenges relegate the process to
                                                       tations with consumers on how ongoing conversa-
       more of a push system. The retailer com-
       mits in advance to what to sell and pushes it   tions will be translated into an improved shopping
       to the customer, then waits for the consum-     experience. Hence, while a social presence is
       er’s reaction before sending some more          almost mandatory for retailers these days, it is
       their way. When initial feedback is not posi-   important to ensure this additional channel is
       tive, the items are instantly marked down,      fully leveraged for business benefits. Here’s a
       leading to a reactionary cycle of events.       basic checklist:

•	 Thedegree of uncertainty over consumer              •	 Continuous     social conversations: Retailers
  acceptance of a product is quite high:                    must engage consumers all year round in
                                                            PDD and promotional conversations. Sporadic
   >> More importantly, the current process also            attempts to seek input will very quickly lose
       negates retailers’ ability to truly react to         relevance with the customer. Social conversa-
       consumer feedback in the current season.


                        cognizant 20-20 insights        2
A Phased Approach to Leveraging Social Media in PDD and Promotions




                                                                            3
                                                  2                         Becoming
                                                                            a social
                                                      Building              enterprise
                                                      actionable
                                                      social data
                            1
                                Beginning to
                                leverage social
                                media



Figure 2



  tions are an ongoing exercise, unlike the tradi-                      to see for themselves the value created from
  tional means of customer engagement, which                            their inputs. This will motivate them to engage
  are typically sequenced and pre-planned.                              with the brand over the long term.


                                                                                 Threadless.com has opened its entire
                                                                                 product design and development
           The top 250 Internet retailers are                                    process to crowdsourcing. Its Web
           on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.2                                   site ensures consumers can score/
           And 64% of the Interbrand Top 100                                     submit designs, participate in design
           retailers are on Google+.3                                            challenges and win awards. The entire
                                                                                 process is clearly communicated to
                                                                                 consumers online.

•	 Continuity   of physical and virtual experi-
  ences: It is important for in-store experiences               •	 Scalability: As the number of consumers who
  to flow freely into social conversations and the                      participate in the PDD process and promotions
  online experience. Retailers should leverage                          increases, it is important to keep in mind that
  existing social media channels like Shopkick,                         this form of customer engagement must be
  Facebook, Foursquare and Pinterest to enable                          consistent and scalable. A scalable approach
  this in a much faster way than starting from                          will ensure long-term creative collaboration.
  the ground up. These channels should also
  be seamlessly integrated with the retailer’s
                                                                                 Walmart has embarked on creating
  existing Web sites in order to ensure continuity
                                                                                 store-specific Facebook pages in order
  of the customer experience across media and                                    to better engage consumers and track
  channels.                                                                      the company’s huge fan following.
                                                                                 This ensures that its Facebook
                                                                                 engagement is scalable beyond its
           Charming Charlie, a boutique fashion                                  current reach and effect.4
           retailer, encourages conversations
           around in-store experiences and
           Pinterest contests on its Facebook page.
                                                                Build Actionable Social Data
                                                                Most retailers embark on the social journey with
                                                                a basic listening page on any of the existing
•	 Mechanisms for customer engagement: It is                    social media brands such as Facebook and
  very important for retailers to have a process
                                                                Twitter. However, even as these pages gather
  designed to solicit PDD input from consumers
                                                                customer feedback and interaction, engagement
  and to incorporate their input into their
                                                                sustenance is threatened if the retailer is not
  internal PDD process. Transparency is another
                                                                perceived as acting on this information. Hence,
  key requirement. Consumers should be able


                       cognizant 20-20 insights                     3
it is important for retailers to have a definitive           can be tested and measured. The value of
framework for the data they want to collect and              social sourcing can only be measured through
specific insights that they want to derive from              inclusion of the relevant data in the product
this data.                                                   development cycle.
Typically, retailers that have been successful           Build a Social Enterprise
in disseminating social data take the following          Involving the customer socially in business
actions:                                                 functions such as PDD and retail promotions
                                                         inherently demands that the enterprise be more
•	 Define   specific business objectives. Are
                                                         socially affable. This involves the following:
  you looking to improve an existing product or
  create a new one? Have consumers expressed
  a desire for a different product configuration         •	 Social    collaboration in regular business
                                                             operations. Clearly, customer input should be
  then what you currently offer (e.g., available
                                                             solicited all along the value chain of sourcing-
  in plus sizes or a new color palette)? You
                                                             to-shelf. However, it is important for retailers
  will need to consult with key stakeholders
                                                             to reverse-engineer their working terms with
  throughout the product development and mer-
                                                             vendors as well, to enable them to incorpo-
  chandising process in order to establish and
                                                             rate social feedback. This increases flexibility
  prioritize these objectives. Without identify-
                                                             across the supply chain and makes it collab-
  ing specific business objectives, you may find
                                                             orative. Many times, while a retailer is not in a
  yourself chasing a lot of “potential” solutions
                                                             position to act on customer feedback, vendors
  that appear to have value but instead result in
                                                             can make necessary changes to product design
  a waste of time and resources.
                                                             and course-correct prior to shipping out the
•	 Search across several social platforms and                merchandise. Buyers can even ask consumers
  look to extract only relevant data. Your                   to rate new product offerings before bringing
  business objectives will define what you should            new vendors onboard, thereby reducing the
  gain in the social ecosystem. By using sophisti-           risk of having to wait for consumer reaction to
  cated text analytics tools and creating targeted           ascertain the product’s potential.
  search streams across Facebook, Twitter and
  other social platforms, you will eliminate
  irrelevant chatter and noise and drill down to                     Walmart recently introduced the
  the sentiment that corresponds to your overall                     Orabrush brand of toothbrush, based
  goal of deriving value from social media. In                       on its popularity on YouTube and a
  addition, don’t limit your search to your own                      Facebook ad campaign targeted at
                                                                     the Walmart buyer. Walmart also ran
  social platform; apply the same qualifications
                                                                     a “Get on the Shelf” contest, whereby
  and rigor to the publically available informa-                     consumers were allowed to select the
  tion from your competitors’ social networks.                       products they wanted stocked in their
                                                                     neighborhood Walmart.


            BestBuy, Krogers, Chico’s, Kia and
            many other retailers are embarking on        •	 Empower employees to act. Social media, by
            investments related to social sentiment          its very nature, is instantaneous and trans-
            analysis. The findings are then integrated       parent. Hence, it is important that retailers
            into their merchandising processes to            empower employees to immediately act on
            ensure consumer sentiment is accounted           information flows. This will mean changing
            for in their product offerings.
                                                             internal operations, workflows and approval
                                                             mechanisms within the business in order to
                                                             truly leverage the social medium. The hidden
•	 Once you’ve obtained the data and prioritized             challenge is identifying experienced employees
  the outcomes that align with your business                 who are ”socially” comfortable. Additional
  objectives, the next step is to identify which             training and focus will be required to create
  outcomes should be incorporated into your                  this social workforce, and technology can
  existing product development process. While                be leveraged for managing and monitoring.
  it may be disruptive to your organization’s                Retailers that are moving into the social
  current workflow, it is imperative that the                construct are now creating new roles, such as
  results be included as part of PDD so that it              sentiment analysts, social corporate responsi-




                          cognizant 20-20 insights       4
Using Social Data in PDD Processes


                                   Crowdsourcing Team           Social Help Force          Sentiment Analysts
           Social Enterprise




                                                                Create New Product

                                 Historical         Product        Product           Product        Selling &
                                 Analysis           Concept        Sampling          Design        Promotion

                                                              Improve Existing Product


             Social Data

                                  Customer Data               Product Data                Experience Data
                                  • Demographic               • Features                  • Shopping Experience
                                  • Psychographic             • Pricing                   • Product Experience
                                  • Geographic                • Other Attributes          • Feedback & Comments



Figure 3


  bility personnel and crowdsourcing teams, all                      •	 Creation  of a social data construct that will
  of which will engage in PDD processes.                                 enable the new PDD processes.

                                                                     Either can be leveraged in both new product
            BestBuy has a dedicated “Twelpforce”                     creation, as well as enhancement.
            of individuals who are empowered to
            act on problems that consumers tweet                     However, both avenues are fraught with
            about. This team consists of roughly                     challenges in working through the familiar
            2,600 employees whose job is to resolve                  working processes within PDD. We propose the
            customer issues using Twitter as a                       following immediate actions to mitigate risks
            medium of conversation.
                                                                     while integrating the social medium within PDD:


If retailers can embrace all of the above in their                   •	 Embark   on including social media in PDD
                                                                         processes by means of a pilot, using a subset
social media strategies, we believe they can be
                                                                         of products (one brand/season) to actively
more successful in their social sourcing-to-shelf
                                                                         engage shoppers in the PDD process.
journey. There are many nuances in this journey
that will be specific to the retailer. Thorough con-                 •	 Set up existing/new social media forums to:
sideration of the customizations required will be
critical to success.
                                                                        >> Get started with a product line that is gen-
                                                                              erated by these shopper engagements.

Looking Ahead                                                            >> Build actionable social data.
Clearly, social media has the potential to radically                     >> Identify the new “social enterprise/teams”
improve product design and development and                                    needed to sustain interactions with these
its impact across the entire retail value chain. As                           shoppers in the PDD processes.
indicated in Figure 3, a retailer that is embarking
on including social data in this function can
                                                                     •	 During   and after the duration of the pilot,
                                                                         measure and analyze the impact on sales,
anticipate a two-fold change in its product design                       margin and customer connect changes affected
development cycle:                                                       by the use of social media, and benchmark
                                                                         these against past results.
•	 Creation of organizations that leverage social
  media in the PDD process lifecycle.




                               cognizant 20-20 insights              5
•	 Discuss    results and potential for future           We expect the results from these early pilots to
     expansion with your merchandising and               be compelling and that most retailers will drive
     marketing teams.                                    significant growth from improved use of social
                                                         media in their sourcing-to-shelf processes.




Footnotes
1	
     “Changing Consumers & Technology: Ten Megatrends Transforming the Retail Landscape,” Cognizant
     Technology Solutions, November 2010, http://www.cognizant.com/retail/sitedocument/ten-megatrends-
     transforming-retail.pdf.
2	
     “Top 250 Internet Retailers on Social Media,” Campalyst Blog, May 2012, http://blog.campalyst.
     com/2012/05/15/top-250-internet-retailers-on-social-media-q1-2012-infographic/.
3	
     Adam Schoenfeld, “Google+ Month 6 Adoption and Engagement Report,” Simply Measured, May 8,
     2012, http://simplymeasured.com/r/google-plus-month-6-brand-adoption-and-engagement-report/.
4	
     Brennon Slattery, “Wal-Mart Makes Big Facebook Push: Offers ‘Rollback’ Price Alerts,” PC World, October
     2011, http://www.pcworld.com/article/241713/walmart_launches_local_deals_facebook_page.html.



References
•	 George Guildford, “Four Ways Brands Can Use Social Media in New Product Launches,” Social Media
     Today, February 2011, http://socialmediatoday.com/george-guildford/268906/four-ways-brands-can-
     utilise-social-media-maximise-launch-new-products?ref=node_other_posts_by.

•	 Jamie Mahoney and Marcos Corminas, “Accelerating Speed to Market for Proprietary Retail Brands,”
     Auxis, August 2009, http://www.auxis.com/about_us/experts/pdf/accelerating_speed_to_market_
     for_proprietary_retail_brands.pdf.

•	 Katy Daniells, “Diesel’s Real Life ‘Likes’ via QR Codes,” Digital Buzz blog, June 2011,
     http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/diesels-real-life-likes-via-qr-codes/.

•	 Artemis Berry, “How Under Armour and Warby Parker Win with Social Media,” blog.shop.org, March
     2012, http://blog.shop.org/2012/03/01/how-under-armour-and-warby-parker-win-with-social-media/.

•	 Emil Protalinski, “Facebook Contest: Around the World in 80 Clicks,” ZDNet, March 2012,
     http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/facebook-contest-around-the-world-in-80-clicks/10028.

•	 Richard Spiegel, “Three Ways to Benefit from Social Media Crowdsourcing,” Social Media Examiner,
     June 2011, http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/3-ways-to-do-social-media-crowdsourcing/.

•	 Michael Marchionda, “Crowdsourcing Spreading like Wildfire with Social Media,” Prescient Digital
     Media, http://www.prescientdigital.com/articles/web-2.0/crowdsourcing-spreading-like-wildfire-with-
     social-media/.

•	 “Top Internet Retailers’ Facebook Presence Dwarfs Other SocNets,” Prescient Digital Media, May
     2012, http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/top-internet-retailers-facebook-presence-dwarfs-
     other-socnets-22081/.




                         cognizant 20-20 insights         6
About the Authors
PJ Walker is a Senior Manager with Cognizant Business Consulting’s Multichannel Business Practice.
She has over 15 years of digital marketing, e-commerce and social analytics expertise across retail,
consumer goods and travel and hospitality verticals. PJ has a B.A. from Emory University in Atlanta, GA.
She can be reached at Parthy.Walker@cognizant.com.

Mahalakshmi Rajagopalan is a Manager with Cognizant Business Consulting’s Retail Practice. She has
over seven years of experience in product/retail merchandising, retail marketing and operations. She
has a master’s degree in apparel marketing and merchandising from the National Institute of Fashion
Technology, India. She can be reached at Mahalakshmi.Rajagopalan@cognizant.com.

Rachit Anand is a Consultant with Cognizant Business Consulting’s Retail Practice. He has three-plus
years of experience in the IT industry across ERP, consulting and business analysis. He has an MBA
in operations and IT from the National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai, India. He can be
reached at Rachit.Anand@cognizant.com.

Sampath Jagannathan is a Consultant with Cognizant Business Consulting’s Retail Practice. He has six
years of experience in ERP, procurement, inventory management, vendor collaboration and e-commerce.
He has an MBA in retail supply chain management from Sam Walton College of Business. He can be
reached at Sampath.Jagannathan@Cognizant.com.




About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process out-
sourcing services, dedicated to helping the world’s leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in
Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry
and business process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the future of work. With over 50
delivery centers worldwide and approximately 150,400 employees as of September 30, 2012, Cognizant is a member of
the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing
and fastest growing companies in the world. Visit us online at www.cognizant.com or follow us on Twitter: Cognizant.


                                         World Headquarters                  European Headquarters                 India Operations Headquarters
                                         500 Frank W. Burr Blvd.             1 Kingdom Street                      #5/535, Old Mahabalipuram Road
                                         Teaneck, NJ 07666 USA               Paddington Central                    Okkiyam Pettai, Thoraipakkam
                                         Phone: +1 201 801 0233              London W2 6BD                         Chennai, 600 096 India
                                         Fax: +1 201 801 0243                Phone: +44 (0) 20 7297 7600           Phone: +91 (0) 44 4209 6000
                                         Toll Free: +1 888 937 3277          Fax: +44 (0) 20 7121 0102             Fax: +91 (0) 44 4209 6060
                                         Email: inquiry@cognizant.com        Email: infouk@cognizant.com           Email: inquiryindia@cognizant.com


©
­­ Copyright 2013, Cognizant. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission from Cognizant. The information contained herein is
subject to change without notice. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

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Leveraging Social Media to Optimize Sourcing-to-Shelf Processes

  • 1. • Cognizant 20-20 Insights Leveraging Social Media to Optimize Sourcing-to-Shelf Processes As Facebook, Twitter and other social tools go mainstream, retailers must tap these rich pools of consumer-generated data to make more strategic buying, stocking and selling decisions. Executive Summary Thus, we believe retailers should take this existing dialog one step further and actively involve them Based on a survey of more than 2,000 shoppers, 1 in the product design and development process. we identified 10 megatrends transforming the retail industry. One trend we unearthed was the Retail Challenges and Opportunities in convergence of social media and product devel- ‘Source to Shelf’ opment. Before we analyze how these trends can benefit Retailers are learning to deal with a generation of retailers, we need to understand how the “source- consumers who not only demand instant gratifi- to-shelf” process has historically worked for cation but are also among the biggest consumers retailers and where the gaps lie between customer and generators of information. Moreover, they expectations and retailer operations. expect retailers to leverage all available infor- mation about them. For these consumers, Retailers have typically had to work around long product value and quality are not achieved by lead times, seasonal fluctuations and an inability detailed planning and product development in to react to customer demand within the selling silos. Instead, they prefer doing business with season. From a sourcing perspective, retail companies that are transparent and allow them buyers endured these challenges, along with their to actively participate in the product design and colleagues in the sourcing and product develop- development (PDD) process. ment functions. Today, however, buyers can incor- porate historical trends, customer insights and This white paper analyzes how retailers can future consumer demands surfaced by social leverage social media across the entire value media analytics into the company’s buying plan. chain, from sourcing through arrival on the shelf. Following creation of this buying plan, buyers Shoppers are already connecting with retailers generate initial orders and wait for products to and their products in innovative ways by interact- reach distribution centers and ultimately stores, ing on Facebook, sharing user-generated content, hoping that their instincts map with shopper creating viral videos, blogging and tweeting. buying behavior. cognizant 20-20 insights | january 2013
  • 2. Traditional Buying Process Historical Focus Group Strategic Analysis Studies/Trends Intent Buying Plan & Virtual Sample Intent to Buy Range & Buyer Edits Buy Trip Sampling & Final Inwards & Commit Buys Final Approvals Shipments to Stores Figure 1 Buying Process Challenges • Retailers are missing a potential opportunity A typical product development lifecycle is to creatively engage with consumers, resulting depicted in Figure 1. This process inherently in the loss of a collaborative brand-building challenges retailers to be relevant to consumers. opportunity. The challenges of the buying process include the following: Getting it Right: A Proposed Approach to Leverage Social Media • Insufficient data for a proper look forward: Considering the challenges with the traditional >> Within fashion and other short lifecycle approach of product design, development and categories, the design and/or use of prod- promotions, the opportunities offered by social ucts can vary significantly from one season media can provide a handsome payoff. Social to the next. While product attributes have media can help retailers combat many of the yielded some success in forecasting de- aforementioned challenges, since it provides an mand, it is still a challenging endeavor. instant way of connecting with consumers. Figure 2 (next page) offers a basic construct that can >> The buying decision (what to buy and how help retail buying and planning organizations many to buy) is made based on historical more effectively leverage social media. analysis and future forecasts, while accom- modating long lead times for imported mer- Getting Started with Social Media chandise. Social media clearly helps retailers connect the >> Consumer engagement through focus dots of customer input and feedback on product groups and surveys is largely not reflective creation. However, the most difficult decision is of their current demands and needs. determining the right time and method to begin leveraging social media and setting proper expec- >> These challenges relegate the process to tations with consumers on how ongoing conversa- more of a push system. The retailer com- mits in advance to what to sell and pushes it tions will be translated into an improved shopping to the customer, then waits for the consum- experience. Hence, while a social presence is er’s reaction before sending some more almost mandatory for retailers these days, it is their way. When initial feedback is not posi- important to ensure this additional channel is tive, the items are instantly marked down, fully leveraged for business benefits. Here’s a leading to a reactionary cycle of events. basic checklist: • Thedegree of uncertainty over consumer • Continuous social conversations: Retailers acceptance of a product is quite high: must engage consumers all year round in PDD and promotional conversations. Sporadic >> More importantly, the current process also attempts to seek input will very quickly lose negates retailers’ ability to truly react to relevance with the customer. Social conversa- consumer feedback in the current season. cognizant 20-20 insights 2
  • 3. A Phased Approach to Leveraging Social Media in PDD and Promotions 3 2 Becoming a social Building enterprise actionable social data 1 Beginning to leverage social media Figure 2 tions are an ongoing exercise, unlike the tradi- to see for themselves the value created from tional means of customer engagement, which their inputs. This will motivate them to engage are typically sequenced and pre-planned. with the brand over the long term. Threadless.com has opened its entire product design and development The top 250 Internet retailers are process to crowdsourcing. Its Web on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.2 site ensures consumers can score/ And 64% of the Interbrand Top 100 submit designs, participate in design retailers are on Google+.3 challenges and win awards. The entire process is clearly communicated to consumers online. • Continuity of physical and virtual experi- ences: It is important for in-store experiences • Scalability: As the number of consumers who to flow freely into social conversations and the participate in the PDD process and promotions online experience. Retailers should leverage increases, it is important to keep in mind that existing social media channels like Shopkick, this form of customer engagement must be Facebook, Foursquare and Pinterest to enable consistent and scalable. A scalable approach this in a much faster way than starting from will ensure long-term creative collaboration. the ground up. These channels should also be seamlessly integrated with the retailer’s Walmart has embarked on creating existing Web sites in order to ensure continuity store-specific Facebook pages in order of the customer experience across media and to better engage consumers and track channels. the company’s huge fan following. This ensures that its Facebook engagement is scalable beyond its Charming Charlie, a boutique fashion current reach and effect.4 retailer, encourages conversations around in-store experiences and Pinterest contests on its Facebook page. Build Actionable Social Data Most retailers embark on the social journey with a basic listening page on any of the existing • Mechanisms for customer engagement: It is social media brands such as Facebook and very important for retailers to have a process Twitter. However, even as these pages gather designed to solicit PDD input from consumers customer feedback and interaction, engagement and to incorporate their input into their sustenance is threatened if the retailer is not internal PDD process. Transparency is another perceived as acting on this information. Hence, key requirement. Consumers should be able cognizant 20-20 insights 3
  • 4. it is important for retailers to have a definitive can be tested and measured. The value of framework for the data they want to collect and social sourcing can only be measured through specific insights that they want to derive from inclusion of the relevant data in the product this data. development cycle. Typically, retailers that have been successful Build a Social Enterprise in disseminating social data take the following Involving the customer socially in business actions: functions such as PDD and retail promotions inherently demands that the enterprise be more • Define specific business objectives. Are socially affable. This involves the following: you looking to improve an existing product or create a new one? Have consumers expressed a desire for a different product configuration • Social collaboration in regular business operations. Clearly, customer input should be then what you currently offer (e.g., available solicited all along the value chain of sourcing- in plus sizes or a new color palette)? You to-shelf. However, it is important for retailers will need to consult with key stakeholders to reverse-engineer their working terms with throughout the product development and mer- vendors as well, to enable them to incorpo- chandising process in order to establish and rate social feedback. This increases flexibility prioritize these objectives. Without identify- across the supply chain and makes it collab- ing specific business objectives, you may find orative. Many times, while a retailer is not in a yourself chasing a lot of “potential” solutions position to act on customer feedback, vendors that appear to have value but instead result in can make necessary changes to product design a waste of time and resources. and course-correct prior to shipping out the • Search across several social platforms and merchandise. Buyers can even ask consumers look to extract only relevant data. Your to rate new product offerings before bringing business objectives will define what you should new vendors onboard, thereby reducing the gain in the social ecosystem. By using sophisti- risk of having to wait for consumer reaction to cated text analytics tools and creating targeted ascertain the product’s potential. search streams across Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms, you will eliminate irrelevant chatter and noise and drill down to Walmart recently introduced the the sentiment that corresponds to your overall Orabrush brand of toothbrush, based goal of deriving value from social media. In on its popularity on YouTube and a addition, don’t limit your search to your own Facebook ad campaign targeted at the Walmart buyer. Walmart also ran social platform; apply the same qualifications a “Get on the Shelf” contest, whereby and rigor to the publically available informa- consumers were allowed to select the tion from your competitors’ social networks. products they wanted stocked in their neighborhood Walmart. BestBuy, Krogers, Chico’s, Kia and many other retailers are embarking on • Empower employees to act. Social media, by investments related to social sentiment its very nature, is instantaneous and trans- analysis. The findings are then integrated parent. Hence, it is important that retailers into their merchandising processes to empower employees to immediately act on ensure consumer sentiment is accounted information flows. This will mean changing for in their product offerings. internal operations, workflows and approval mechanisms within the business in order to truly leverage the social medium. The hidden • Once you’ve obtained the data and prioritized challenge is identifying experienced employees the outcomes that align with your business who are ”socially” comfortable. Additional objectives, the next step is to identify which training and focus will be required to create outcomes should be incorporated into your this social workforce, and technology can existing product development process. While be leveraged for managing and monitoring. it may be disruptive to your organization’s Retailers that are moving into the social current workflow, it is imperative that the construct are now creating new roles, such as results be included as part of PDD so that it sentiment analysts, social corporate responsi- cognizant 20-20 insights 4
  • 5. Using Social Data in PDD Processes Crowdsourcing Team Social Help Force Sentiment Analysts Social Enterprise Create New Product Historical Product Product Product Selling & Analysis Concept Sampling Design Promotion Improve Existing Product Social Data Customer Data Product Data Experience Data • Demographic • Features • Shopping Experience • Psychographic • Pricing • Product Experience • Geographic • Other Attributes • Feedback & Comments Figure 3 bility personnel and crowdsourcing teams, all • Creation of a social data construct that will of which will engage in PDD processes. enable the new PDD processes. Either can be leveraged in both new product BestBuy has a dedicated “Twelpforce” creation, as well as enhancement. of individuals who are empowered to act on problems that consumers tweet However, both avenues are fraught with about. This team consists of roughly challenges in working through the familiar 2,600 employees whose job is to resolve working processes within PDD. We propose the customer issues using Twitter as a following immediate actions to mitigate risks medium of conversation. while integrating the social medium within PDD: If retailers can embrace all of the above in their • Embark on including social media in PDD processes by means of a pilot, using a subset social media strategies, we believe they can be of products (one brand/season) to actively more successful in their social sourcing-to-shelf engage shoppers in the PDD process. journey. There are many nuances in this journey that will be specific to the retailer. Thorough con- • Set up existing/new social media forums to: sideration of the customizations required will be critical to success. >> Get started with a product line that is gen- erated by these shopper engagements. Looking Ahead >> Build actionable social data. Clearly, social media has the potential to radically >> Identify the new “social enterprise/teams” improve product design and development and needed to sustain interactions with these its impact across the entire retail value chain. As shoppers in the PDD processes. indicated in Figure 3, a retailer that is embarking on including social data in this function can • During and after the duration of the pilot, measure and analyze the impact on sales, anticipate a two-fold change in its product design margin and customer connect changes affected development cycle: by the use of social media, and benchmark these against past results. • Creation of organizations that leverage social media in the PDD process lifecycle. cognizant 20-20 insights 5
  • 6. • Discuss results and potential for future We expect the results from these early pilots to expansion with your merchandising and be compelling and that most retailers will drive marketing teams. significant growth from improved use of social media in their sourcing-to-shelf processes. Footnotes 1 “Changing Consumers & Technology: Ten Megatrends Transforming the Retail Landscape,” Cognizant Technology Solutions, November 2010, http://www.cognizant.com/retail/sitedocument/ten-megatrends- transforming-retail.pdf. 2 “Top 250 Internet Retailers on Social Media,” Campalyst Blog, May 2012, http://blog.campalyst. com/2012/05/15/top-250-internet-retailers-on-social-media-q1-2012-infographic/. 3 Adam Schoenfeld, “Google+ Month 6 Adoption and Engagement Report,” Simply Measured, May 8, 2012, http://simplymeasured.com/r/google-plus-month-6-brand-adoption-and-engagement-report/. 4 Brennon Slattery, “Wal-Mart Makes Big Facebook Push: Offers ‘Rollback’ Price Alerts,” PC World, October 2011, http://www.pcworld.com/article/241713/walmart_launches_local_deals_facebook_page.html. References • George Guildford, “Four Ways Brands Can Use Social Media in New Product Launches,” Social Media Today, February 2011, http://socialmediatoday.com/george-guildford/268906/four-ways-brands-can- utilise-social-media-maximise-launch-new-products?ref=node_other_posts_by. • Jamie Mahoney and Marcos Corminas, “Accelerating Speed to Market for Proprietary Retail Brands,” Auxis, August 2009, http://www.auxis.com/about_us/experts/pdf/accelerating_speed_to_market_ for_proprietary_retail_brands.pdf. • Katy Daniells, “Diesel’s Real Life ‘Likes’ via QR Codes,” Digital Buzz blog, June 2011, http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/diesels-real-life-likes-via-qr-codes/. • Artemis Berry, “How Under Armour and Warby Parker Win with Social Media,” blog.shop.org, March 2012, http://blog.shop.org/2012/03/01/how-under-armour-and-warby-parker-win-with-social-media/. • Emil Protalinski, “Facebook Contest: Around the World in 80 Clicks,” ZDNet, March 2012, http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/facebook-contest-around-the-world-in-80-clicks/10028. • Richard Spiegel, “Three Ways to Benefit from Social Media Crowdsourcing,” Social Media Examiner, June 2011, http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/3-ways-to-do-social-media-crowdsourcing/. • Michael Marchionda, “Crowdsourcing Spreading like Wildfire with Social Media,” Prescient Digital Media, http://www.prescientdigital.com/articles/web-2.0/crowdsourcing-spreading-like-wildfire-with- social-media/. • “Top Internet Retailers’ Facebook Presence Dwarfs Other SocNets,” Prescient Digital Media, May 2012, http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/top-internet-retailers-facebook-presence-dwarfs- other-socnets-22081/. cognizant 20-20 insights 6
  • 7. About the Authors PJ Walker is a Senior Manager with Cognizant Business Consulting’s Multichannel Business Practice. She has over 15 years of digital marketing, e-commerce and social analytics expertise across retail, consumer goods and travel and hospitality verticals. PJ has a B.A. from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. She can be reached at Parthy.Walker@cognizant.com. Mahalakshmi Rajagopalan is a Manager with Cognizant Business Consulting’s Retail Practice. She has over seven years of experience in product/retail merchandising, retail marketing and operations. She has a master’s degree in apparel marketing and merchandising from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, India. She can be reached at Mahalakshmi.Rajagopalan@cognizant.com. Rachit Anand is a Consultant with Cognizant Business Consulting’s Retail Practice. He has three-plus years of experience in the IT industry across ERP, consulting and business analysis. He has an MBA in operations and IT from the National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai, India. He can be reached at Rachit.Anand@cognizant.com. Sampath Jagannathan is a Consultant with Cognizant Business Consulting’s Retail Practice. He has six years of experience in ERP, procurement, inventory management, vendor collaboration and e-commerce. He has an MBA in retail supply chain management from Sam Walton College of Business. He can be reached at Sampath.Jagannathan@Cognizant.com. About Cognizant Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process out- sourcing services, dedicated to helping the world’s leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry and business process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the future of work. With over 50 delivery centers worldwide and approximately 150,400 employees as of September 30, 2012, Cognizant is a member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing and fastest growing companies in the world. Visit us online at www.cognizant.com or follow us on Twitter: Cognizant. World Headquarters European Headquarters India Operations Headquarters 500 Frank W. Burr Blvd. 1 Kingdom Street #5/535, Old Mahabalipuram Road Teaneck, NJ 07666 USA Paddington Central Okkiyam Pettai, Thoraipakkam Phone: +1 201 801 0233 London W2 6BD Chennai, 600 096 India Fax: +1 201 801 0243 Phone: +44 (0) 20 7297 7600 Phone: +91 (0) 44 4209 6000 Toll Free: +1 888 937 3277 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7121 0102 Fax: +91 (0) 44 4209 6060 Email: inquiry@cognizant.com Email: infouk@cognizant.com Email: inquiryindia@cognizant.com © ­­ Copyright 2013, Cognizant. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission from Cognizant. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.