Japanese giant invests in omni-channel customer service

Fast Retailing plans to improve the level of its services by strengthening in-house supply chain and customer relationship management systems and infrastructure “for fast and flexible response,” while connecting physical and digital stores. As part of the venture, Accenture will help Fast Retailing to build a platform for collecting the actionable customer insights that could enable a more personalized shopping experience. The technolgoy will be developed as a cloud-based infrastructure, aiming at connecting customer, employee, and suppliers in near real-time. “Entirely digitized operations significantly reduce the lead time from product planning to sales, while operating in the cloud provides access to a range of information and technologies,” says Fast Retailing. Now the two companies are set to “explore ways to deliver a customized experience for individual customers and deeper engagement across all retail channels.” The partnership might evolve into a joint venture between the companies in the future.