Why Partner With a Retail Consulting Firm When Developing an IT Strategy Plan?

If you’re looking for a way to increase speed and agility and maximize profits at your retail business, consider implementing a long-term, enterprise-wide IT strategy plan. Your IT infrastructure needs to efficiently support core business functions to encourage overall success and growth. Having an IT strategy plan in place will help your company define direction and remain focused on long-term goals and the smaller steps needed to achieve those objectives, even when faced with unexpected challenges.

Once you’ve decided to develop a strategic plan, you’ll need to determine exactly who will be involved in the planning process. While some retailers create internal strategic planning departments, it’s often a better idea to partner with an outside retail consulting firm. Third-party consultants have the freedom to provide unbiased opinions, which can result in a stronger plan that will better serve your business.

Plus, these consultants often possess the training and experience needed to effectively analyze your company’s IT needs and recommend appropriate solutions. When creating your IT strategy plan, you’ll need to realistically assess your company’s current IT infrastructure and determine the actual functional capabilities of legacy systems. For instance, you’ll need to know whether existing systems can handle omnichannel distribution and support mobile devices, and if not, whether they’ll need to be simply upgraded or entirely replaced. Experienced retail consultants will be invaluable in this process. And, once your IT strategy plan is in place, a retail consulting firm can help you select the best solutions for your company’s needs, plan for systems migration/integration, install and deploy the solutions, and train employees.

Choose RPE for Your Retail IT Needs

RPE is one of the top retail consulting firms in North America. We’ve been providing retail business consulting services since 1999, and our IT solutions experts will draw on their extensive knowledge and experience to help you develop a strategic plan for success. We’ve partnered with some of the industry’s top hardware and software providers — including IBM, Blue Yonder, and many others — so we can provide you with tailored solutions that will serve your company’s specific needs. If you’d like to know more about our retail consulting firm and how we can contribute to your company’s IT strategy plan, contact RPE today.