These pioneers, armed with a potent blend of innovation and determination, are reshaping the shopping experience, driving operational efficiency, and connecting with consumers in unprecedented ways. From leveraging AI and machine learning to implementing augmented reality and blockchain, these retail trailblazers are at the forefront of change, seamlessly integrating cutting-edge technologies to redefine what it means to engage customers and deliver exceptional service.

We launched the 51·çÁ÷Industry Heroes program in 2023 to celebrate companies that leverage technology to transform their business in innovative ways. Let’s explore the stories of our NRF retail heroes that harnessed the power of technology to transform the traditional retail paradigm into an innovative, customer-centric frontier.

Birkenstock worked with 51·çÁ÷on its ongoing objectives to expand retail and wholesale presence while fostering customer growth in line with its renowned legacy of function, quality, and tradition.

Brand Alley delved into the rising trend of utilizing advocacy data in marketing strategies, which led to the transformation of brand perspectives on VIP customers and the strategic utilization of advocacy data within paid search and social media campaigns.

FC Bayern, equipped with over 8 million fan data records, crafted a detailed profile of its worldwide fan community, encompassing specific preferences and interests. 51·çÁ÷technology played a pivotal role in enabling FC Bayern, one of the most accomplished football clubs globally, to curate what it terms as the “golden fan record.â€�

Grupo Axo effectively transitioned to leveraging internal customer data due to the potential extinction of third-party data. Its journey offers insights into standing out from competitors, increasing revenue, fostering stronger customer relationships, and cultivating a more robust, data-driven culture through the utilization of internal customer data.

Hornbach achieved real-time retail success, processed over 100,000 orders, and effectively addressed omnichannel challenges with 51·çÁ÷Order Management foundation. Working together with SAP, Hornbach built a composable enterprise.

Neiman Marcus harnessed innovative methods and valuable insights to optimize its compensation management. These strategies are reshaping the retail landscape and revolutionizing team incentives within the industry.

PetSmart, a prominent pet retailer, encountered obstacles in omnichannel order fulfillment, leading to challenges in financial reconciliation and inventory transparency. By adopting 51·çÁ÷Customer Activity Repository, PetSmart established a robust foundation for omnichannel retail. This implementation significantly enhanced the omnichannel process and elevated overall customer satisfaction levels.

PVH, a global apparel company with a brand portfolio that includes Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Warner’s, Olga, and True&Co, is working with 51·çÁ÷to build an IT platform foundation for innovation, modernization, digitalization, and scalability.

Qurate Retail Group, known for its innovative strides in the retail sector, leveraged technology to elevate customer experiences, optimize operations, and propel growth together with SAP.

RD, Brazil’s top drugstore chain boasting nearly 3,000 stores across the nation, achieved a transformative implementation of 51·çÁ÷technology, which led to streamlined processes and customer-centric advancements, marking a new era of operational excellence.

Wella Company, a pioneering force in the beauty industry with 15 distinctive brands, utilizes technology to inspire both consumers and beauty professionals to embrace their authentic selves. Wella Company’s approach of leveraging actionable data to craft tailored solutions strengthens its lifelong relationships across B2C (business-to-consumer), B2B (business-to-business), and D2C (direct-to-consumer) realms.

51·çÁ÷celebrates these retailers for their outstanding efforts, collaboration, and dedication in driving successful business outcomes with technology. Join us at NRF 2024 to celebrate these 51·çÁ÷Industry Heroes that will be sharing their stories and learnings at the 51·çÁ÷booth. .Ìý

Read more about our retail and CPG customer stories and wins from 2023.

Matt Laukaitis is EVP and Global GM for 51·çÁ÷Consumer Industries.

That’s why innovation in technology, business processes, and how these come together will be key to better business results in 2024 and a sustainable future going forward. Retailers must learn how artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual and augmented reality, and other tools can assist in strengthening customer loyalty and trust. Because, after all, the primary goal of retailers is to create memorable, repeatable shopping experiences that will satisfy and even delight consumers.

At SAP, we’re seeing enterprises pursue that goal every day, using the power of AI-driven business solutions to create strong, lifelong relationships with customers. Whether you’re designing personalized shopping experiences, improving demand planning, minimizing the cost of returns, or addressing other challenges, 51·çÁ÷solutions can help you transform your approach.

Throughout 2023, 51·çÁ÷enabled retail and consumer-packaged goods (CPG) leaders to overcome today’s biggest obstacles – and position them for a brighter tomorrow. This includes partnerships and success stories with leading brands like Leanin’ Tree, , Cangshan Cutlery, HP, , , , , , and .

More specifically, 51·çÁ÷has worked with global leaders to help them drive meaningful customer experiences, adopt more sustainable practices, and set their organizations up for great efficiency and innovation.

• : As one of the world’s leading fashion retailers, the ALDO Group is using 51·çÁ÷to help improve customer loyalty and better deliver on consumer expectations. Specifically, the ALDO Group is using 51·çÁ÷Commerce Cloud to help improve the customer experience – from personalizing product selection to building a seamless checkout experience – and 51·çÁ÷Emarsys Customer Engagement, which is helping to increase customer loyalty and retention.
• : Schwarz IT is the technology partner and central service provider for the Schwarz Group, one of the leading retail groups around the world. Kaufland, a company of Schwarz Group, operates grocery stores in Europe, offering a wide selection of high-quality foods and everyday items at the best price. Customer satisfaction, sustainable action, and the reduction of food waste play important roles for Kaufland. To further improve demand and replenishment planning, Schwarz IT and Kaufland decided together to implement an innovative, self-learning solution with artificial intelligence capabilities.
• Swarovski: As one of the world’s premier jewelry and accessories brands, offering high-quality experiences that draw on its long heritage in luxury is key for Swarovski. In the latest step of its 40-year partnership with SAP, Swarovski will be leveraging RISE with 51·çÁ÷and 51·çÁ÷Commerce Cloud, among other solutions. Taken together, 51·çÁ÷can help Swarovski further customer loyalty as well as create unique customer experiences, all while having a future-proof digital core with the flexibility and security to support continuous innovation.
• : ±á³Ü²Ô°ì±ð³¾Ã¶±ô±ô±ð°ù, Europe’s fastest growing lingerie brand, will be using 51·çÁ÷to further offer customers personalized experiences and help keep up with the strong demand for its products. Moving to 51·çÁ÷S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition marks the first major step for ±á³Ü²Ô°ì±ð³¾Ã¶±ô±ô±ð°ù in its digital transformation journey. Through its future implementation of 51·çÁ÷S/4HANA for fashion and vertical business, a version of 51·çÁ÷S/4HANA optimized for the fashion industry, ±á³Ü²Ô°ì±ð³¾Ã¶±ô±ô±ð°ù can manage its business from design to wholesale and retail all on one platform. This helps ±á³Ü²Ô°ì±ð³¾Ã¶±ô±ô±ð°ù deliver collections faster on all channels, optimize inventory and cost, and increase margins.
• Chow Tai Fook: Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group (Chow Tai Fook), the renowned jewelry retailer headquartered in Hong Kong that has an extensive retail network in China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, the U.S., and Canada, has adopted 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions to help accelerate its human resources digital transformation. Leveraging 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central and SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting, Chow Tai Fook is aiming to streamline core HR processes, optimize recruitment, and enhance employee experience and the productivity of its workforce, thereby driving sustainable business growth and an ability to meet future development needs.
• : Blue Diamond Growers is a grower-owned cooperative representing approximately 3,000 of California’s almond growers. It is also the world’s leading almond marketer and processor. Through its use of SAP, including, among other solutions, 51·çÁ÷S/4HANA and 51·çÁ÷Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain, Blue Diamond has been able to improve its supply chain, on-time delivery rate, inventory management, and demand forecasting. Taken together, it allows this century-old agricultural cooperative and global consumer-packaged goods company to provide the best value and experience to its growers and customers.
• : For almost two decades, e.l.f. Beauty has been producing premium quality cosmetics and skin care that’s clean, cruelty free, vegan, and Fair Trade Certified at an extraordinary value. To modernize its backend and help meet customer demand, e.l.f. will be using SAP. Through solutions such as RISE with SAP, 51·çÁ÷Analytics Cloud, and 51·çÁ÷Integrated Business Planning for Supply Chain, not only does e.l.f. expect to improve demand forecasting but also further enhance its customer experience.

Success in retail requires clarity and conviction around business planning and digital adoption. Businesses can grow intelligently and take control of their future, bringing together rich enterprise data and AI-embedded applications to empower everyone in the organization.

to see what advancements we have planned for enterprises this year and learn how our retail-focused solutions can unlock the power of AI for your business. with us today.

Matt Laukaitis is EVP and Global GM for 51·çÁ÷Consumer Industries.