IT in Retail

There have been many advances in technology for the retail industry. Due to all of the advances, the National Retail Federation created an organization focused primarily on IT. This organization is called the Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS). ARTS was established in 1993. According to their website, ARTS is a retailer-driven membership organization dedicated to creating an open environment where both retailers and technology vendors work together to create international retail technology standards.

In the organizations 17 year history, ARTS has developed four standards of significance: the Retail Data Model, Unified Point of Service (UnifiedPOS), ARTS XML schemas to integrate applications within the retail enterprise, and standard Requests for Proposal (RFP's) to guide retailer selection of applications and provide a development guide for vendors. The Retail Data Model was created to allow retailers to select applications from vendors whose applications were developed using the Model. The UnifiedPOS is a device interface standard that allows retailers to add new devices to sales floor terminals with minimal, if any, program changes. ARTS XML schemas greatly reduce the time and cost of integrating applications. Standard RFP's developed by a committee of retailers, vendors and consultant from previously used retail RFP's greatly reduce the cost of developed RFP's and ensure the retailer review all the potential application features and functions to select the "right" application for their business.

Since the IT industry is growing more and more everyday, ARTS is their to help retailers adapt to the new technology being introduced. Now retailers do not have to worry how their company will be able to "catch up with the times."

IS in a Retailing Industry

IS 215 has made me think a lot about how technology eliminates jobs and literally creates hundreds of new ones at the same time. I was in Meijer the other day and I realized how many less people work in a grocery store thanks to the development of the robot scanners and checkout systems. Does anyone remember the days where the front of Meijer was 30 aisles of just checkouts? Does anyone remember having a man or woman scan and check your items while another man or woman was bagging them for you at the end of the checkout line? Technology has reduced labor forces of industries that once required hundreds of workers. Technology has allowed us to move from one method to an entirely different and more efficient one.

In terms of jobs being eliminated and created I have thought about it in terms of a change in industry options as well. Think about how many less check out people and baggers Meijer now has but how many more computer service people and machine experts they now employ. One door closed so that a new one could open. Meijer has to keep their computerized scanners in top shape so that they can service people 24hrs a day and in order for them to do that, they must hire people to observe and maintain the equipment.

Think about what may happen if RFID tags become a technology of the very very near future. People will be hired to build the wiring and chips that make the tags what they are, then people will be hired to build the scanners that read the tags, then people will be hired to sell the new technology, and then other people will be hired to repair the scanners and tags if necessary. The possibilities are endless but my point is that technological updates literally close and open job markets simultaneously. This thought literally came to me as I was operating a machine to check out my groceries as opposed to a person doing it for me.

A thought like this has made me wonder just how dominant an industry like Information Technology could become...