Workload automation is becoming essential for retailers to streamline operations and drive growth. This in-depth guide will explore the top 21 ways workload automation boosts retail performance.
1. Faster and More Reliable ETL Pipelines
Merging datasets from myriad retail systems is complicated. Manually coding and maintaining ETL (extract-transform-load) pipelines takes considerable effort.
With workload automation platforms like Control-M, retailers can configure connectors to automatically pull data from point-of-sale systems, online stores, supply chain applications, and more on preset schedules. WLA tools then clean, transform, and integrate this data for unified access.
Benefits include:
- 90% less time spent on manual ETL coding and upkeep
- 50-70% faster access to integrated datasets
- Significantly better data quality through automated data cleaning
- ETL maintenance costs reduced by up to 65%
- Highly reliable pipelines minimize delays in analytics projects
For one leading fashion retailer, implementing Control-M reduced ETL pipeline errors by 92% while cutting ETL management overhead by 68%.
Infographic: Workload automation platforms like Control-M provide self-service ETL automation
2. Faster Periodic Reporting
To steer the business, retail executives rely on insightful reports around sales, inventory, customer segmentation, competitor analysis, and other KPIs. However, long manual hours go into gathering relevant data across systems and spreadsheets to compile these reports.
Purpose-built workload automation solutions like Automic provide pre-configured modules to trigger and generate reports automatically. After the initial setup, WLA tools can:
- Initiate report creation workflows on preferred schedules
- Pull necessary data from enterprise systems via API connectors
- Apply calculations and transformations
- Output reports in desired formats like PDF or structured data for dashboards
Top benefits include:
- Sales analysis reports ready in 10-15 minutes rather than 2-3 hours
- 95% less analyst time spent on repetitive report creation
- Dashboards updated in near real-time to support quicker decisions
For a major retailer, automating 50 daily reporting workflows with Control-M cut reporting costs by over 80%.
3. Integrating SAP ERP, BW, and CRM
SAP applications like ERP, Business Warehouse, and CRM are vital for retailers. However, manually integrating them using rigid timers leads to delays.
Workload automation platforms like Stonebranch Universal Automation Center can schedule SAP batch jobs based on completion events. This event-driven approach automatically kicks off downstream SAP processes when upstream jobs succeed.
Key SAP integration benefits include:
- No more rigid timers introducing gaps
- Faster processing by removing idle wait times
- 45% quicker month-end closing through automated system reconciliation
- Higher agility in updating planning and forecasts
Pre-built SAP connectors minimize integration hassles. Automation also relieves IT teams from constant monitoring.
Automating SAP system workflows with workload automation
4. Flexible Orchestration Across Systems
Modern retailers deal with a hodgepodge of systems like inventory management, warehouse automation, payment gateways, delivery APIs, and more. Manually orchestrating processes across these systems can be challenging.
Workload automation solutions like Control-M provide an orchestration layer for scheduling and managing jobs across platforms. Configurable connectors and workflows allow building patterns like:
- POS sale → Fetch inventory → Run replenishment algorithm → Place supplier order → Confirm delivery ETA
Benefits include:
- 90% less engineering time spent on custom integration
- Optimized orchestration minimizes delays between interdependent steps
- Accelerated workflows for supply chain, promotions, order delivery, and more
With workload automation, retailers can seamlessly coordinate processes spanning legacy and modern environments.
5. Central Monitoring and Management
Retail organizations run hundreds of jobs daily across core platforms – POS, inventory, supply chain, CRM, data warehouse, etc. Tracking the status of so many distributed jobs becomes unwieldy.
Workload automation solutions like Automic provide centralized visibility into all jobs across platforms through a unified dashboard. This allows monitoring overall workload health, identifying failures, and resolving issues quicker.
Key benefits:
- 68% faster anomaly detection through data-driven alerts
- 57% less downtime by preventing cascading outages
- Up to $200,000 in savings from four hours of avoided downtime (Nucleus Research)
With workload automation, technical teams minimize firefighting and focus on innovation.
Unified visibility into workload health with workload automation
6. Audit Compliance Automation
Public retailers must comply with stringent audits around financial controls, data security, risk management, and more. Workload automation tools can automatically run required checks daily or weekly and generate audit reports.
For example, Control-M can schedule and execute tasks like:
- Weekly unused user ID reviews
- Monthly privilege certification
- Quarterly policy attestation
- Daily PII scans
- Nightly failed login capture
Such automation reduces audit preparation by over 80%. Compliance teams also gain peace of mind from scheduled automation.
7. Lower Server Management Overhead
Retail organizations run hundreds of servers across stores and data centers. Keeping them all updated through manual processes often leads to oversights.
Workload automation tools like Stonebranch Optimize automate routine yet critical server management tasks across any environment – mainframe, distributed, virtual, cloud, containers, etc. This includes:
- Installing nightly OS and database patches
- Cycling VMs for maintenance
- Checking disk space usage
- Refreshing test environments
- Initiating failovers
Automating mundane server tasks reduces chances of disruption while freeing up technical teams. One major retailer reduced server management overhead by 72% using Stonebranch.
8. Predictive Auto-Scaling
During peak sale events, retailers must dynamically scale up ecommerce infrastructure to manage spikes in traffic. Workload automation tools analyze historical patterns to forecast demand surges. The forecast is then used to automatically provision the optimum level of cloud infrastructure.
For example, Control-M can:
- Analyze website traffic during previous holiday sales
- Forecast upcoming load
- Trigger adding extra cloud servers, databases, CDN capacity
- Schedule scaling down capacity once the sale ends
Benefits include:
- Optimized infrastructure costs by adding only necessary capacity
- Automated provisioning reduces web team workload
- No missing out on revenue from site outages
Predictive auto-scaling ensures ecommerce stability while minimizing cloud waste.
9. Optimized Omnichannel Order Fulfillment
To enable buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), retailers must coordinate complex workflows across channels. Workload automation can schedule and orchestrate each step.
For example, on a BOPIS order:
- Customer buys online → Control-M invokes inventory check → Available? Reserve item → Send pickup email/text → On pickup, release item
Such end-to-end automation delivers up to 70% faster order fulfillment with minimal errors. Customers enjoy a streamlined omnichannel experience.
10. Chatbot Training Automation
Conversational AI chatbots allow retailers to engage customers and automate support. However, training chatbots requires large volumes of data.
Workload automation tools like Automic can automate:
- Identifying high-value customer support chats/emails
- Extracting conversations into training data sets
- Exporting data to conversational AI platforms
- Scheduling model retraining to keep improving
This automation helps refresh chatbots with new training data daily. Higher-performing chatbots deliver over 80% resolution rates and boost customer satisfaction.
11. Automated Invoice Processing
Retailers receive thousands of supplier invoices weekly that must be matched to purchase orders and posted in accounting systems. Without automation, AP teams suffer through painful manual processing.
WLA solutions like Automic offer pre-built automation for:
- Fetching invoices and purchase orders
- Validating invoices against POs
- Routing valid invoices for posting
- Managing exceptions like mismatches
Multiple retailers have achieved 60-80% faster invoice processing with under 2% error rates using Automic. AP costs have declined by over 30% after automation.
12. Automated Promotion Planning
Designing effective promotions is crucial but analytically intensive for retailers. By applying metrics and models, workload automation can optimize promotion planning.
Control-M‘s Promotion Workbench, for example, automates:
- Analyzing past promotions and sales
- Identifying winning products/categories
- Forecasting cannibalization
- Simulating promotion scenarios
- Designing optimized promotions
Data-driven automation delivers 12-18% higher ROI from promotions by picking ideal products, prices, and channels.
Optimizing promotions through workload automation
13. Automated New Store Opening
Opening new brick-and-mortar stores involves numerous workflows – hiring, training, inventory allocation, merchandising, system setup, and more. Workload automation can coordinate the required steps.
For example, Control-M can:
- Trigger hiring process after lease signing
- Begin store layout design
- Schedule employee onboarding to finish before opening
- Initiate inventory allocation based on merchandising plan
- Complete POS system setup
- Confirm employee attendance on day one
Such automation delivers up to 30% faster rollout of new stores by orchestrating required workflows.
14. AI-Powered Forecasting & Replenishment
Traditional forecasting and replenishment approaches require significant manual analysis. Workload automation incorporates external data like weather and deep learning algorithms to make the processes AI-powered.
Benefits include:
- 6-12 month forecasts at product and location levels
- Inventory optimization minimizing waste and stockouts
- Automated purchase orders based on forecasts
- 37% better demand planning accuracy (Vendavo)
Data-driven automation enhances margins through optimized inventory planning.
15. Automated Planogram Optimization
Planograms ensure effective product placement and merchandising in stores. But designing high-performing planograms typically involves extensive A/B testing.
Workload automation tools like Blue Yonder automate planogram optimization by:
- Analyzing store sales data
- Identifying top selling categories, brands, items
- Simulating planogram layout scenarios
- Picking optimal layouts based on metrics
- Triggering planogram printing and distribution
Top retailers have achieved 9% higher sales through automated planogram optimization. Store ops teams also spend less time on layout design.
16. Preventive Maintenance Scheduling
With thousands of assets like refrigeration systems, HVAC units, and lighting across locations, preventive maintenance is a massive challenge. Automating maintenance planning addresses this.
For example, Control-M can:
- Register warranty details for new equipment
- Define optimal maintenance frequency
- Schedule maintenance visits automatically
- Initiate work orders and assign technicians
- Track asset performance and adjust maintenance plans
Leading retailers have cut equipment downtime by over 30% through preventive maintenance automation. Customer satisfaction has also risen from well-maintained stores.
17. Automated Seasonal Ramp-Up/Down
Retailers must optimize staffing, inventory, marketing, and operations around peak seasons like holidays and major sales. Workload automation can ramp-up and wind-down resources based on projections.
For example:
- 8 weeks before Black Friday – start seasonal hiring
- 6 weeks before – increase inventory orders
- 4 weeks before – launch holiday marketing campaign
- Week after – cancel temporary labor, return excess inventory
Automation reduces the frenzy around seasonal transitions for more consistent performance.
18. Automated Planogram Compliance Monitoring
Ensuring planograms are executed consistently across chain stores is difficult with manual spot-checks. Computer vision automation can address this.
For instance, Trax’s shelf monitoring robots:
- Capture images of store shelves with cameras
- Analyze images to identify missing/misplaced items
- Score planogram compliance
- Escalate low compliance stores for further inspection
Regular automated monitoring improves planogram consistency and boosts sales 3-5%. It also lowers the effort of store audits.
19. Automated Fraud Detection
Curbing fraud is top priority for retailers to avoid losses. Workload automation enables real-time detection by monitoring for anomalies.
Common automated fraud checks include:
- Spike in sales of gift cards
- Peak in purchases followed by steep returns
- Suspicious credit/debit card usage patterns
- Duplicate accounts with same payment method
Real-time monitoring slashes fraud response time to minutes rather than weeks. Losses can be prevented before ballooning.
20. Supply Chain Disruption Response
Global disruptions can drastically impact retail supply chains. Workload automation enables nimble responses by re-aligning ordering, delivery, and inventory processes.
For instance, during COVID lockdowns:
- Demand prediction algorithms were re-tuned for essentials
- Procurement was re-routed from disrupted geographies
- Delivery schedules were optimized for ship-from-store
Such agility minimizes customer impact and protects revenue during disruptions.
21. Enhanced Cybersecurity
Workload automation strengthens cybersecurity across critical retail systems – POS, ecommerce, data warehouse, supply chain etc.
It provides:
- Role-based access control
- Encryption for data in motion and at rest
- Automated compliance monitoring
- System patching and hardening
- Audit logs and reports
Leading WLA tools help retailers achieve and maintain compliance with standards like PCI DSS, SOX, and GDPR.
Global retailers like Walmart, Nike, Starbucks, and Target leverage workload automation to optimize operations. Some examples:
- H&M automated over 10,000 jobs with Automic resulting in $8 million in annual savings.
- Lowe‘s reduced batch job work by 91% using Control-M with 50% lower IT costs.
- Best Buy cut server management time by 76% with Stonebranch.
- Workload automation is crucial for retailers to harness explosive data growth and orchestrate complex systems.
- It streamlines everything from ETL pipelines to inventory planning to fraud detection.
- Top benefits range from 30-90% cost reductions to massive labor savings to millions in extra revenue.
- With pre-built connectors and workflows, WLA solutions maximize ROI and are easy to implement.
For expert guidance on building a business case or seeing a demo of leading workload automation platforms, set up a quick consultation.
