One of more common, traditional approaches to establishing price differentiation comes in the form of rule-based systems, or rule engines. They implement predefined pricing rules in a prescribed pattern. These systems often set item prices exclusively based on competitor prices, which the system’s rules are set to exceed or undercut by a certain percentage. This works just as statically as it sounds, but it works reliably.
The thing is, retailers using rule engines end up with two glaring blind spots in their pricing models:
- They never find out if they can step out of the shadow of their competitors.
- They give away considerable profit potential, turnover, gross profit and, ultimately, market share.
This is because rule-based systems don’t offer the ability to intelligently adapt to changes in the business environment. With rule-based solutions, you will only ever take a reactive role in competition, as you’re unable to actively shape prices yourself. Thus, this process often results in price-up or price-down spirals, because retailers basically only underbid or outbid each other. A consistent price development, which the customer can also understand, is therefore not feasible.
The increasing scale of product ranges and the increasing speed of the market also pose new challenges for pricing, requiring you to be increasingly dynamic in order to maintain competitiveness and reinforce your own long-term position in the market. The solution comes in the form of intelligent algorithms that price your entire product range within seconds, as they automatically take into account all general conditions and achieve the KPIs you can specify with pinpoint accuracy.
How does this work? How can an algorithm know what your goals are and, more importantly, how does it know what it has to do to achieve them?
It all comes down to realizing the promise of “reinforcement learning” – not only one of the most powerful AI procedures, but also the most common form of learning for humans and other highly developed species. Any artificial system becomes a real AI only when its programmed intelligence can be further developed independent of human intervention through reinforcement learning. What impact can this have on your business? Reach out to connect with our experts.
Dynamic Pricing is the proven “corner store” principle – rethought for the digital age.
Small corner stores always used a somewhat volatile pricing policy based on experience and gut feeling. For example, close to closing, they generally offered bread or fresh products at a discount in order for the retailer to sell out. But at least three things have changed massively since then:
- he scale of assortments in combination with the complexity of influencing factors that have to be taken into account for the pricing process.
- The level of price transparency has risen enormously, as customers are now able to compare every product price, at any time, online.
- The speed of market and demand changes has never been as fast as it is now.
Dynamic Pricing enables you as a retailer to react to these massive changes quickly and effectively. Through algorithmically optimized pricing, you are able to establish market-driven prices based on supply and demand, guarantee sustainable price changes and avoid disastrous price spirals and price distortions.
Dynamic Pricing – aka dynamic price optimization – means that you can regularly adjust product prices to correspond to the current market and current demand. AI-driven software observes all contextual conditions that are relevant for the market environment and for a retailer’s entire product range. It allows you to include factors such as demand for each of item, your current stock levels and competitor approach into consideration.
Then, based on the findings and established business goals and pricing parameters, such as margin, sales, market control and more, the AI software delivers optimized price recommendations, and executes price changes, automatically or semi-automatically. If you would like to see Dynamic Pricing in action, reach out to us for a demo.
Given the current situation with the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s important to us that you know we have taken numerous measures to ensure your health, the health of our employees and the smooth operation of our customers' stores.
We are diligently following the recommendations of global government and health authorities in order to guarantee that there is as little disruption to your business as possible. We are committed to ensuring the regular operation and support for the systems we supply, and to protecting the important infrastructure you operate. Even in this unique situation, we will continue to deliver the quality service and commitment you are used to.
To minimize the risk of infection, our employees are working from home if at all possible. In those areas where this is not possible, we are taking all the necessary precautions to maintain their health and safety, as well as the continuity of our operations. Please understand that we will no longer be able to hold on-site meetings at your premises until further notice and that we will therefore use video conferences for meetings whenever possible. We ask for your understanding in this.
If you have any questions or need support, please connect with your primary GK contacts, and we will answer you as soon as possible. We are convinced that we will get through this together with you.
GK Software, the international market leader for store solutions, today announced the completion of Custom Data Processing Inc.’s (CDP) certification for online eWIC payments. This will help retailers, including Smart & Final, provide faster, more convenient and secure online eWIC payment processes.
After Oct. 1, 2020, The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) will require retailers to provide electronic access to benefits. Called eWIC, the program served nearly seven million participants per month in 2018. The electronic mandate is designed to modernize and remove friction from the checkout process and eliminate paper certificates. As the program transitions to electronic payments, vendors are able to simplify the process, driving efficiency for both retailers and users.
The eWIC certification recognizes that GK Software’s Integrated ECR System is capable of managing payments through one unified processor, making transactions at the point of sale faster and easier to operate. With online eWIC, the transaction is completed in real time through the POS terminal and WIC Authority network processor.
“As retailers look to update their payments to comply with eWIC regulations, this is the perfect time to evaluate their current features to ensure their infrastructure is future-proof across the enterprise,” said Michael Jaszczyk, CEO, GK Software USA. “This is the latest example of the need for retailers to regularly evaluate how they can improve the customer experience and drive loyalty through technology and use platforms that deliver high levels of business agility and scalability.”
GK Software’s online eWIC certification with CDP includes the following states: AK, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, HI, IA, ID, KS, KY, MA, MN, NE, NV, OR, SD, WA, WI, WV.
GK Software will be demonstrating this enormous flexibility and the expansion opportunities, which the world’s leading cloud platform, cloud4retail, offers in conjunction with artificial intelligence, at the EuroShop retail trade fair on booth G42 in hall 6. cloud4retail brings together the leading solutions for large retailers with international operations through its OmniPOS, Mobile Consumer Assistant and AIR (Artificial Intelligence for Retail) components. cloud4retail provides essential services like a shopping basket, price calculations or loyalty & promotions, within its open platform. It is possible to supplement the overall solution with additional functions directly from the OmniPOS standard software or as micro-services, which are simple and quick to implement and can come from a variety of different sources. The open platform enables retailers to test new concepts very quickly by using various enhancement opportunities – ranging from APIs to HTML-based app enablement – without having to change the software core in the process. This means that innovative solutions for item detection with the help of cameras or even intelligent shelves can be integrated quickly and tested in practice, for example. The classic cashier-operated checkout plays less and less of a role in these scenarios, but all the checkout functions still have to be made available as a top-quality service. Whether you need a frictionless store, self-scanning with smartphones or mobile applications on each possible device – the cloud4retail platform integrates all the touch points in an all-embracing, end-to-end IT concept.
GK is inviting programmers to a hackathon at the EuroShop fair to demonstrate its product; this will enable users to test how easy it is to develop new functions on the basis of the cloud4retail platform. One example of how to quickly introduce new concepts will be a fashion pop-up store on the GK booth; this will demonstrate how innovative concepts can be quickly handled by open services architecture in order to inspire customers as well as seamlessly network all the channels and formats.
The issue of cloud services is one of the most important items on the agenda for the retail sector. cloud4retail has already been fully designed for use in a cloud and SAP is already selling it. GK Software will be presenting the new cloud services at the EuroShop fair; as a result of them, it is even possible for very large, international organisations to use the OmniPOS leading enterprise solution in a cloud. All the options, ranging from private to hybrid and even a multi-tenant cloud, are feasible here in order to satisfy what retailers of different sizes require.
Another major issue at the EuroShop fair will be the topic of artificial intelligence. The major focus will be on consistent, individualised services for all the channels as well as automated, dynamic pricing on the basis of machine learning. Artificial intelligence forms an integral part of cloud4retail on the basis of AIR platform (the Artificial Intelligence for Retail). AIR makes available the tools and additional means for specific solutions to meet precise retail requirements like dynamic pricing or personalisation.
GK Software SE will also be presenting the latest version of its mobile merchandise management solution at the EuroShop fair. It provides all the merchandise management processes in a store directly out of a cloud on an extremely modern technological basis; this is available as an end-to-end service, online and offline, on different mobile devices and with a direct link to the central systems.
Another major topic this year will be the issue of fiscalisation. Deutsche Fiskal, a subsidiary of GK Software, will be presenting its Fiskal Cloud solution on the GK booth; it enables retailers to meet the challenges of the German “Kassensicherungsverordnung” (Cash Register Security rules) by using a low-cost and future-proof cloud solution.
GK Software today announced a technology partnership with Kronos Incorporated to embed the next-generation Workforce Dimensions suite into GK’s OmniPOS platform. This partnership enables frontline retail employees to access the revolutionary workforce management solution from Kronos at every point of sale terminal and all GK OmniPOS touchpoints. This intuitive, frictionless interface establishes a more flexible and productive workplace environment that empowers employees and promotes more efficient and profitable store operations at organizations that deploy both solutions.
GK Software's cloud-enabled, agile OmniPOS platform has been identified as the most robust POS platform by Forrester and is one of the fastest-growing POS platforms worldwide. Workforce Dimensions is the first intelligent workforce management solution. The cloud-native suite leverages artificial intelligence to provide unprecedented real-time insights, recommendations, and analytics.
“By partnering with the established leader in workforce management applications for hourly employees, we are creating a unique opportunity for retailers to leverage a single, centralized platform to manage the full scope of their store operations,” said Michael Jaszczyk, CEO, GK Software USA. “Our focus on eliminating the friction associated with the checkout process perfectly aligns with the Kronos ethos of doing the same for workforce empowerment. Together, we can offer the most robust, simplified experience for store managers, associates and customers – a requirement for success in modern retail.”
The integration of Workforce Dimensions into GK’s robust, cloud-enabled OmniPOS platform will allow employees to significantly reduce the time and complexity associated with managing administrative workforce processes. Now, they will have the ability to clock in and out, view their schedules, request and accept shift changes, manage time off and more, right at the point of sale. This increased flexibility will improve store efficiency, reduce administrative work, support real-time data-driven workforce optimization and improve the employee experience.
“Our technology partnership with GK is yet another example of the new era of efficiency for modern store operations,” said Michael May, senior director, Workforce Dimensions Technology Partner Network, Kronos. “We designed Workforce Dimensions from the ground up to easily integrate with and embed inside of workplace applications where employees already spend most of their day. This creates a more engaging workplace experience while allowing them to remain focused on customer service and driving the business forward.”
According to RBR's Global POS Software 2019 study, GK Software continued its impressive worldwide growth by improving its market position from June 2018 through June 2019. RBR found that GK Software deployed more new POS installations during that time than any other vendor within its grocery/drugstore and general merchandise target market.
The report analyzed global coverage of point of sale applications for more than 75 suppliers across six regions, and identified GK Software as the second-most popular provider for new installations across all segments globally. Additionally, GK Software ranks sixth globally for total POS installations. The study evaluated the number of POS installations at retailers with more than 1,000 POS devices from June 2018 through June 2019.
In Europe, GK Software was responsible for more new deployments than any competitor across all sectors, claiming 30 percent of all new rollouts. Counting total installations, GK Software is the definitive market leader in Central and Eastern Europe and is second in Europe as a whole.
In support of its global expansion strategy, GK Software also installed its market-leading POS solutions (The Forrester Wave™: Point Of Service, Q3 2018) in new geographies, launching rollouts for large customers with stores in the U.S., Mexico, India and the Asia-Pacific region.
RBR is a strategic research and consulting firm with three decades of experience in banking and retail automation, cards and payments. It assists its clients by providing independent advice and intelligence through published reports, consulting, newsletters and events.
- Turnover grew by 6.5 percent – and by 9.3 percent in the core business
- EBITDA of EUR 2.61 million after nine months
Based on these developments, the Management Board still assumes that the Company will continue to increase its turnover compared to the previous year and achieve the profits forecast for the year 2019. However, it would point out that this will only be possible if individual sales successes actually materialise during the current financial year. The medium-term forecast up to 2020 is being maintained without any changes.
The nine-month report is being published at 25th of November at the following addresses:
German: https://investor.gk-software.com/de/veroeffentlichungen/financial-reports?task=download&cid=710
English: https://investor.gk-software.com/en/publications/financial-reports?task=download&cid=711
As a significant contributor to food waste, many grocers want to do better and create a more sustainable future that also improves the bottom line.
This eBook explores why and how grocers can use AI-based pricing solutions to reduce food waste while also padding margins and stimulating growth. We’ll also explain the requirements for successfully using dynamic pricing to achieve a wide variety of benefits, including:
- Increased efficiency through process automation
- Optimized sales, turnover and earnings through value-added pricing
- A positive price image through strategic pricing
- Automatic consideration of complex interdependencies
- Simulation and testing of new pricing strategies
