Oliver Guy
Senior Director, Industry Solutions at Software AG
With significant experience in Digital Transformation and technology strategy, Oliver advises organizations seeking to compete more effectively. Working with the biggest names in retail and consumer goods across the globe for 25 years, he has provided deep experience in supply chain, omni-channel strategy, operations and optimization. This enables a broad and creative perspective on how data drives value through optimization and transformation. Prior to Software AG, Oliver held senior consulting and advisory positions in Europe and Asia.
Recent posts
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App & Data Integration -
IoT
Returns is all About Data – is There Enough?
It’s amazing how seemingly crazy ideas come to you when you least expect it - as happened to me a few weeks ago while reacting to a Tweet from retail analyst Andrew Busby. Andrew had commented on the news that ASOS, one of the largest UK online fashion retailers, had changed its returns policy. It was effectively reserving the right to look at the… -
IoT
What does Freedom as a Service mean to Retailers?
Retailers have long been constrained, rather than empowered, by technology and data. This is why I feel Software AG’s new tagline, Freedom as a Service, beautifully encapsulates what we do for retailers around the world. I recall around 10 years ago when the term omni-channel retail was just emerging. Retailers were expressing their frustrations to me about differentiating themselves from their… -
App & Data Integration
Retail “Body Parts” Work Together to Survive
And, like in the human body, all the retail parts have to work together to stay alive. Amazingly, the human part of the retail equation – employees - is the hardest part to manage. If you ask any retailer what the most important part of his business is, he is likely to answer “my employees.” This is because employees are… -
News
Thoughts on the M&S deal with Ocado
M&S paid dearly for this option, but it will clearly have been evaluated against the cost of doing nothing. The £750m price tag paid by M&S was compounded when shares dropped 10% on the news that dividends would be diluted. The deal, which includes M&S groceries from Ocado and Ocado groceries from M&S, is yet another example of the growth of… -
IoT
US Online Grocery Market Expected to Boom
Most people still get into their cars and drive to the supermarket for their weekly food run. A recent report from Bain & Company suggests that things are about to change. “Online grocery in the US is on the cusp of a major increase in consumer adoption, with e-commerce penetration expected to at least triple in the next decade,” it said. Currently,… -
News
The NRF Big Show Lived up to its Name
Whoever said retail was a dying industry? From the level of activity, intensity and conversation at NRF’s Big Show this year, I still feel that retail is far from dying. This was my eighth NRF (in the last 11 years) and it was the busiest I have ever seen it – in terms of both number of customers AND number… -
News
NRF 2019: Kiabi Focuses on the Customer
Customer focus is the touchstone by which retailers measure their commitment to digital transformation. The customer experience, from search to purchase, has to be seamless – be it in store or online. This is why retail today is all about collaboration; brick and mortar companies need non-traditional solutions, online retailers need offline solutions. We need to work together. This philosophy… -
IoT
Retail: This is the Year of Generation Z
In 2019, Generation Z (those born between 1995 and 2009) will become the largest demographic group on the planet. Gen Z will comprise 32% of the global population of 7.7 billion in 2019, nudging ahead of millennials, who will account for a 31.5%. “So what?” I hear you ask. Generation Z has some very specific expectations when it comes to customer experience…
