Special Report: Big opportunity in store lifecycle management for Wincor Nixdorf
Tesco is among the first customers of Wincor Nixdorf to take its newly-created Store Lifecycle Management (SLM) solution that effectively involves the supermarket outsourcing the kitting-out of all technology and IT services into its new stores across the whole of Europe.By Glynn Davis in Germany
The service involves Wincor Nixdorf drop-shipping all in-store technology, cabling, hardware, and even the weighing scales into Tesco stores ahead of their opening. Thomas Goerke, director of total store services at Wincor Nixdorf, says: “It’s an end-to-end solution that goes from installing standard tills to also [installing] the networks and back-office servers. Its full-scope also means it includes new release management, which we handle on a global scale.”
This does not only involve the handling of Wincor Nixdorf technology and services, according to Goerke, who adds: “We are fully aware that a minority of IT equipment is from Wincor. So this [SLM] service is a big thing because we include the management of external providers’ equipment.”
Although the agreement with Tesco is limited to the solution being applied to its European business it is understood that there could be a roll-out to other parts of the group including Asia in the future. Commenting on the deal James McNulty, head of IT procurement at Tesco, states: “We started on a journey with Wincor Nixdorf when they started looking after our IT equipment in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. We added Turkey last year and are very pleasedto now award them a contract to include the UK and Republic of Ireland.”
The development of the SLM proposition is a recognition by Wincor Nixdorf of the increasing globalisation of many of its international customers – including Carrefour and Ikea .Whereas they have to date bought much of their technology and in-store IT infrastructures on a local level there is a growing move to standardise this across their entire businesses and to have it procured and managed centrally.
Wincor Nixforf now believes that the offering of such a service represents a growing area of opportunity for the IT firm. Reinhard Rabensteain, chief technology officer at Wincor Nixdorf, says: “We work with global retail chains and there is a need for stores with more standardised processes and structures. Two or three years ago no analysts would have said there is growth in global store lifecycle management. But today the idea is to standardise the services, and to have standard formats.”
He adds that this also extends to global retailers having the desire to use the same KPIs and to implement global pricing. Rabensteain suggests that this will all combine to helping them achieve operational efficiency and reduce complexity while also driving down costs and generating more revenues.
