Unefi
Redefining the Optimization of Retail at the Store Level

In today’s ever-evolving consumer-driven marketplace, brick and mortar retailers are on a constant lookout for ways to remain competitive. As a result, strategic merchandising and optimized retail operations at the store level have become more crucial than ever. Retailers, however, often find it challenging to create memorable consumer in-store experiences, while simultaneously driving operational efficiencies to positively impact store performance. Acknowledging those challenges facing the retail industry, Unefi - a leading retail management solution provider developed its retail management software platform.

“We really focus on empowering retailers with an enhanced way to communicate with their stores and empowering them with a store-specific profiling and predictive modeling tool that allows them to optimize localized merchandising in an impactful way,” says Sam Vise, the co-founder and CEO of Unefi. The ability to offer intelligent merchandising while increasing revenue and driving cost savings has made the retail management software platform stand out among its competitors.

Unefi’s platform is the culmination of its longstanding experience in the in-store communications business. For the last 15 years, Unefi has seen the good and the bad when it comes to marketing execution, fixtures management, and in-store branding and communication. Leveraging this knowledge, Unefi developed the platform as an end-to-end retail management solution, or to integrate with SAP, JDA or Oracle to create an holistic view of store-specific planograms for all in-store promotions, product placements, and digital signage. The software also provides other benefits such as print management, workforce management, and stock-keeping unit (SKU) optimization. What’s more? The platform seamlessly integrates with third-party business intelligence (BI) tools such as Tableau, QlikView, SAP and Microsoft, to streamline data and insights. It captures the data in one place, along with planograms, store audit information, and behavior insights on shopper traffic patterns and customer engagement.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, retailers’ interest in Unefi’s platform has only grown. “Retailers are operating in a different world now, and we’ve seen a spike in interest from companies that have realized they need digital tools to succeed – tools such as ours that allows them to track what’s selling and what’s not, and plan in a more informed way,” explains Vise.
As a result, the benefits of Unefi’s retail management software platform are resonating across industries as diverse as banking, hard goods, soft goods, telecommunications, and cosmetics.

Among the diverse pool of Unefi’s retail clients is a large number of telecommunications companies from across the globe who have turned to Unefi as a comprehensive solution to achieve more than what a traditional retail merchandising software has to offer. In late 2019, Unefi secured a contract with a national U.S. wireless telecommunications company following an extensive RFP process, ultimately choosing the platform for its ability to drive innovation and increase speed-to-market as it looked to strengthen localized marketing across its more than 5,000 stores.

The platform’s ability to increase cost savings is an important factor for Unefi’s clients, many of whom have switched to the platform from a competitor. They cite the cost-effectiveness of the tool and labor-related savings for their decision to switch solution providers, including an average reduction of approximately 20-30 percent in non-selling hours, 7 percent top-line growth through localized product execution and communication, 30 percent bottom-line improvements, and an increase in top-line revenue of 7-12 percent.

In looking at the competitive landscape, what really sets Unefi’s retail management software platform apart from the competition is the simplicity of the tool and the leadership team’s focus on maximizing value to drive ROI for clients. “We’re constantly innovating and pushing the boundaries, always with a focus on driving cost efficiencies for retailers while unlocking the potential of their retail locations,” says Vise.

Notably, Unefi prides itself on actively listening to its clients, and the company is eager to continue working with retailers that have unique offerings and are interested in localizing their communication with customers. With a priority placed on anticipating client needs, Unefi recently launched new workforce management and SKU optimization modules. “Through innovation, client service, and placing a priority on helping our clients save money and increase revenue through operational and marketing efficiencies, our goal is to help retailers get ahead in today’s new normal,” concludes Vise.