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HCL Technologies RII case study

HCL Technologies reduces inventory shrinkage and retailer costs while optimizing operations with Real-time In-store Insights on Microsoft Azure.

In-store retailers want to better understand consumer behavior

Retailers lack visibility into in-store consumer behavior, customer satisfaction, inventory needs, marketing campaign effectiveness, and appropriate staffing levels.

Real-time insights for on-premises monitoring with Azure IoT and AI

HCL’s Real-time In-store Insights (RII) solution uses radar sensors to collect and process data on Azure, identifying trends in occupancy, footfall, congestion, shopper-to-staff ratios, conversion ratios, and more, helping to optimize operations.

Improve revenue, lower costs, and maximize customer traffic

By processing real-time and historical data on Azure, RII reduces inventory shrinkage up to 15 percent, labor costs up to 20 percent, and marketing costs up to 20 percent. Merchandise planning and optimization lead to increased revenue and additional savings.

A global technology company helping businesses innovate

HCL Technologies products, services, and engineering are built on four decades of innovation. Through its integrated strategy built around the Internet of Things (IoT), automation, analysis, and the cloud, HCL helps enterprises reimagine their businesses. HCL clients include 250 of the Fortune 500 and 650 of the Global 2000.

“For over 30 years, the HCL-Microsoft partnership has been vital in creating innovation for our customers. The partnership has enabled modern enterprises with an industry-leading transformation agenda,” said Sukamal Banerjee, Corporate Vice President, and Head, IoT WoRKS, HCL Technologies.

The partnership is based on a robust 360-degree relationship anchored along three core pillars of Azure IoT solution development and asset creation, joint go-to-market and customer engagement, and the IoT COLLAB center at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington campus. In all engagements and solutions, HCL brings deep expertise from its Microsoft Gold-level competencies in Azure cloud platform and data analytics, its extensive use of various Azure services, and its Azure IoT Certified Consultants.

RII increases on-premises operational savings and revenue using Microsoft Azure

HCL’s Real-time In-store Insights (RII) solution leverages Microsoft Azure and Azure Edge services to process real-time and historical data collected on premises using IoT radar sensors. Azure-based AI models and distributed computing process real-time and historical footfall patterns with high precision. RII produces real-time insights on web-based heat maps that show space utilization and congestion points. Predictive analytics drive businesses decisions, allowing retailers to make changes to inventory, marketing, and staffing for each location. By implementing RII, retailers can ensure smooth business operations.

“Our joint commitment with Microsoft has enabled the creation of an offering, Real-time In-store Insights, that is relevant to the current situation and truly unique. The RII solution can help us all get back to business in these unprecedented times and benefit both our customers and industry overall,” said Sukamal Banerjee.

Applicable across multiple industries, customers can quickly implement RII with low IT requirements and rapidly gain insights, often in less than two weeks after deployment, depending on the space covered. RII provides advanced analytics, predictive workforce planning, and improved marketing to help retailers realize operational benefits.

RII also reduces inventory shrinkage up to 15 percent, labor costs up to 20 percent, and marketing costs up to 20 percent. Merchandise planning and optimization lead to as much as a 4 percent increase in revenue, while reducing inventory and procurement costs by as much as 3 percent.

“For over 30 years, the HCL-Microsoft partnership has been vital in creating innovation for our customers. The partnership has enabled modern enterprises with an industry-leading transformation agenda.”

—Sukamal Banerjee, Corporate Vice President, and Head, IoT WoRKS, HCL Technologies

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