ASB MAGAZINE: Billabong announced last month that it had decided to ditch its deal with NetSuite following technical implementation issues. Instead, the company has broken up the core components of its omni-channel overhaul and handed the pieces to separate software providers. Billabong where light on detail about its new Omni Channel partners, despite identifying this as integral to the companies seven-point turn-around strategy. The contract termination with NetSuite saw Billabong book an $11.7 million impairment charge.
However, in a joint statement issued this week, Billabong revealed it has appointed Salesforce as the provider of its e-commerce and digital marketing platforms, and Aptos for point-of-sale and order management and loyalty.
At its full-year 2017 results, Billabong revealed it had restructured its omni-channel overhaul into pieces that would be served by “multiple out of the box best in breed global platforms”.
“Proven” systems integrators will be used to “bring these building blocks together”, it said.
“The selection of the new partners was based on one overriding principle – delivering the best possible omni channel experience for customers with certainty and speed,” Billabong said in financial filings.
“[We] emphasised that omni was not just e-commerce, but the ability for customers to shop the way they wanted to shop – in stores and online, retail and wholesale, across all channels with richness of content and a personalised experience.
“Each of the major partners is a leader in their field, but importantly they have worked together extensively on similar implementations.”
CEO Neil Fiske said it was “not appropriate at this time” to provide detail of the circumstances that led to the NetSuite contract cancellation. He said the experience of its new partners, as well as the work already done – such as middleware integration and website redesigns – meant it expected to move quickly into deployment.
It is using Australia as the test case for the first deployment of the new global platforms; the first of the new e-commerce websites, Surf Dive ‘n’ Ski, is scheduled to launch before the end of this year.
“The new solution is expected to lower implementation risk and improve certainty of delivery for the balance of the project,” Billabong said.
This week it was announced that Billabong had selected the Aptos Singular Commerce platform which the company plans to deploy include Aptos Store for point of sale, Customer Relationship Management, Enterprise Order Management, Merchandising, and Audit and Operations Management — all in the cloud.
According to the statement; “With Aptos’ market-leading solutions, Billabong will be able to blend its physical and digital retail channels and support orchestration of complex omni-channel journeys through a single view of customers, inventory, orders and more,
“With Aptos’ Singular Commerce platform and end-to-end cloud solutions, Billabong will integrate every part of its retail enterprise to enable a seamless customer experiences — no matter where, when or how its customers shop.”
“Aptos’ global presence, leading cloud-based technology, and professional services and implementation team were important considerations in our selection process,” said Michael Yerkes, SVP, Global Operations of Billabong International Limited.
“Getting retail innovation and omni-channel transformation right is critical, requiring proven technology solutions, a rigorous implementation discipline, and a spirit of collaboration and partnership,” said Noel Goggin, Aptos CEO and culture leader.
“We’re excited to walk this path with Billabong, with the shared understanding that retail reinvention is a journey. Aptos’ global resources will ensure we’re there every step of the way to accelerate growth and speed-to-value, in lock-step with Billabong’s strategic vision and customer expectations.”
VIA PRESS RELEASE
