Kathmandu goes cross channel with new CRM

Retail chain Kathmandu is preparing to go live with a new customer relationship management system, as it prepares to expand into other markets and further integrate customer service in its physical and online stores.

The first phase of the project, which will see Kathmandu shift its legacy database onto Microsoft Dynamics and integrate with its existing email and business intelligence platforms, is due to go live on April 19.

“We’re very promotionally focused but we’re trying to become more customer centric,” said Kathmandu CIO Grant Taylor.

Rather than go with Microsoft’s cloud hosted Dynamics, Kathmandu chose to keep its data hosted locally, using Dimension Data’s advanced cloud service.

Taylor said the decision to do so was about performance and control.

“The performance we’ve seen so far is very very good. CRM is a great product to have in the cloud which makes it available to anyone with an internet connection.”

The ability for the retailer to manage compliance with the Payment Card Industry data security standard was also a critical factor in the decision to host locally.

“I investigated various models and this was by far the best I’d seen. It’s a real pay-as-you-go model,” Taylor said.

In the second phase of the rollout, due in August, Taylor said Kathmandu hoped to enable a single point of contact for all of its sales channels, improved sign up processes in store for its loyalty program, and the ability to connect mobile devices to the CRM platform.

“We could start linking it in with kiosk technology, self-service, these are the things this platform can help enable.”

Taylor said the retailer had already trialed the use of iPads in its Chapel Street Melbourne store, allowing customers to purchase products online that may not be in stock at the store.

“We’re seeing some initial benefit. We can attribute sales we wouldn’t have had to it,” Taylor said.

“It’s leveraging the investment we’ve made in upgrading our ecommerce site, and it looks like something we’ll take forward.”