Emerging Technologies in Business

Student Name: Zheng Yuang

Student Number: 30047846

Introduction to Carrefour

• Carrefour originated from France, it is an international retailer that is the worlds second-largest and the largest in Europe, and it is a leader in the industry. There are four kinds of stores in Carrefour, including hypermarkets, discount and convenience. Europe, Latin America and Asia are operated in three main markets.

The Internet for Carrefour

• Carrefour has various kinds of management modes in e-commerce, for example, Ooshop was built enable Carrefour to sell food products online from 1999, customers can shop online to choose many goods with home delivery. CarrefourOnline.com sells non-food online in France from 2006 such as DVDs, games, software and more. Customers can use Visa card or MasterCard or credit card to make payment in Internet.

Carrefour Website

E-Commerce of Carrefour

Carrefour has built up e-commerce website, it is B2C.

Customers can buy goods from Carrefour Online Shop.

Online Store website:

http://www.carrefour.com.sg/brand-carrefour.html

Carrefour online shopping in Singapore

Internet benefits Carrefour a lot in the term of e-commerce

• Firstly, Carrefour introduces another channel to market that also advance competitive market.

• Secondly, with advance communication, Carrefour can email requirements, brochures, and quotations, purchase orders to partners, supplier and customers all over the world with seconds that is much more efficient and responsive.

Internet benefits Carrefour a lot in the term of e-commerce

• Thirdly, Carrefour reduces the cost of order processing. Through online sale, the cost of sale is lower than traditional sale.

• Fourthly, it can also improve company management and staff work efficiency.

• Finally, e-commerce also can improve business information management, employees and managers can work at off-office to access internal internet to update and download company internal information such as price list, job reports and time sheets that is easy to work and improve the efficiency

Internet benefits Carrefour a lot in the term of e-commerce

• Finally, e-commerce also can improve business information management, employees and managers can work at off-office to access internal internet to update and download company internal information such as price list, job reports and time sheets that is easy to work and improve the efficiency

• About Carrefour Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzA-Cfr0DVI

Hardware Technology

In Carrefour management system and sale system, IBM is partner of Carrefour that provides main hardware to Carrefour, include IBM System x servers that is data storage, IBM SurePos terminals that is main computer server.

Hardware Technology

• Carrefour input devices and output devices is from Dell products, for example, Dell electronic cash register, keyboard and mouse, Dell LCD, point of sale machines and so on. For a global company, this hardware is basal equipment. In the supermarket, electronic cash register and touch LCD and point of sale machines is used in customers’ checkout and products check in. In company office, normal keyboard and mouse and LCD is used in storage business information as customers, employees, supplier and goods information.

Software Technology

IBM provides main software technology to Carrefour, such as IBM DB2, IBM Supermarket Application, IBM Global Business Services, IBM Global Technology and IBM Global Finance.

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Carrefour to Install Data Management Software

• Carrefour will use the Retail INFORMATION MANAGEMENT and Business Suite software from San Bruno, Calif.-based Soft Solutions to handle data from these markets, which represent over more than 85 percent of Carrefour revenues and more than 92 percent of the company's earnings. When completed, the project will consolidate over 50 information sources into a "single version of the truth" for all of Carrefour's business operations at both the group and operating company levels.

Carrefour technology revs up distribution system

Carrefour, one of a handful at the forefront of technological innovation--particularly as it relates to supply chain management. Indeed, no retailer anywhere has come farther faster in developing, testing and adopting concepts designed at once to speed, simplify and enhance the flow of product and information, while increasing productivity and reducing costs. Among the key Carrefour initiatives are:

• Reducing global inventory levels. One day saved in terms of worldwide inventory for Carrefour represents $183 million. In order to realize such savings, the retailer has asked key suppliers to help manage inventory.

• Developing closer, more interdependent relations with key suppliers. Says Jean-Marie Picard, Carrefour's chief of supply chain management in Europe: "We've identified 30 suppliers that account for 65% to 70% of our business.

Carrefour technology revs up distribution system

Carrefour technology revs up distribution system

• Reducing the number of Carrefour distribution centers. Carrefour currently operates 140 DCs across Europe. Of these, 20 are located in Spain. The target: to reduce the Spanish number to 12 by stepping up efforts to utilize such time- and labor-saving efficiencies as cross docking.

• Using voice picking to increase productivity and reduce errors in the retailer's warehouse order-picking operation. Voice picking has replaced a picking list with a radio frequency (RFID) communications network enabling an order picker equipped with a belt mounted portable device and head set to communicate with a warehouse management system that in essence talks the picker through the picking operation.

Carrefour technology revs up distribution system

• Using RFID technology to track and verify quantities of each logistics unit (pallet, case, box) shipped by Carrefour's suppliers in the Far East to Carrefour distribution facilities in Europe. Here, Carrefour employs the new RFID technology to verify the information suppliers provide on the contents of each unit by replacing the traditional bar code with a radio-activated label and utilizing the expanded data it provides

Carrefour Store

Carrefour future

• In the future, Carrefour should be expanded on E-commerce influence.

• Carrefour need to increase more Online Store sites.

• Carrefour 3D video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti0SQXjXv94

Conclusion

Carrefour uses technologies in their business, such as the use of hardware technology and software is basic section for business information system. As the world developed, emerging technologies in business is important to Carrefour. The success of Carrefour depends on the good business information management which helps Carrefour to handle relationship between managers, employees, customers and partners well. Therefore, Carrefour has expanded the market and improved the competitiveness with business information management. As a result, emerging technologies in business is modern enterprise indispensable concept.

Thank you for attention my

Presentation

References • Accenture. (2010). Carrefour: Finance and Accounting Shared

Services. Retrieved April 1, 2010, from

http://www.accenture.com/Global/Consulting/Finance_and_Performance_Mgmt/CarrefourServices.htm#hpd

• Carrefour. (2010). Web page. www. Document. Retrieved April 1, 2010, from

http://www.carrefour.com

• IBM. (2010). Carrefour strengthens customer loyalty and its brand with a new promotions strategy. Retrieved April 1, 2010, from

http://www01.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/cs/JSTS7P5QXY?OpenDocument&Site=gicss67retl&cty=en_us