IBM introduced new software and services offerings dedicated to helping businesses swiftly adapt to rising customer demand in today’s digitally transformed B2B and B2C marketplaces.

With its Smarter Commerce initiative, IBM is defining and leading a new market that it estimates will grow to $20 billion in software alone by 2015. The company said Smarter Commerce transforms how companies manage and swiftly adapt to customer and industry trends across marketing, selling and service processes that span the entire commerce cycle, putting the customer at the center of their decisions and actions.

“Customers use social networks, mobile devices, websites, and influencers to make buying decisions today,” said Craig Hayman, general manager, IBM Industry Solutions. “These businesses must connect to these customers where and how they prefer to buy to be successful. At the same time, they need to make sure they have the means of effectively managing their supplier and trading partner network to ensure they have the products at the right time and place to meet this new customer demand.”

Business adoption of Smarter Commerce technology is already underway. By installing IBM Smarter Commerce software, First Tennessee Bank improved the success rate of its marketing campaigns by more than 3%, realizing a return on investment in the software of more than 600%.

The new commerce imperatives are bringing nontraditional IT buyers such as marketing officers and procurement executives into pivotal roles that are supported by Smarter Commerce.

IBM has announced Smarter Commerce services offerings to help clients deal with these new challenges related to commerce.

Customer value strategy accelerator—IBM’s industry and strategy specialists will work with clients to envision, evaluate, and prioritize new business value possibilities. Clients receive a roadmap and prioritized recommendations for new business models that address the changing needs of the social, digital, and mobile consumer.

Cross-channel experience assessment—IBM’s industry and channel specialists will analyze current customer experience by channel, identify pain points and limitations, and map customer expectations and behaviors (based on voice of the customer information). In addition, through a customer experience workshop, IBM explores cross-industry leading practices and creates design principles for the target customer experience across channels.

IBM has also announced new Smarter Commerce software offerings that meet a wide range of business demands; including advanced analytics, cloud computing,
cross-channel commerce, social business, and supply chain planning and execution.

Bringing all these elements together to help better manage commerce is a priority for businesses. A recent IBM Institute for Business Value survey of more than 500 economists worldwide estimated that much of the $15 trillion in system inefficiencies on the planet comes from waste in inventory backlogs, failed product launches, wasted materials, and ineffective marketing campaigns.

For more information:
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/34262.wss