Bolei Digital launches real-time inventory tool for omni-channel retail

With the system, a 'smart gun' can scan in-store inventory and a 'smart tablet' can allow sales staff to locate, reserve and/or ship a shopper's desired items. Both devices are connected to the internet and pull real-time stock data from the cloud-hosted software.

The software has already been localised into Chinese (both simplified and traditional) and is being rolled out with two luxury shoe brands in the Greater China region.

As lines continue to blur between online and offline shopping, consumers now expect to be able to reserve, pay and ship with ease, be it via a website, mobile app or a physical store. E-commerce has effectively become a seamless extension of the retail experience, rather than a mutually exclusive channel, said Charlie Bodycote, managing director of Bolei Digital.

Aiming to help apparel retailers rapidly and affordably deploy omni-channel commerce and perhaps capture an additional 20 to 30 per cent in sales, the firm acquired an exclusive distribution licence for the software in the Asia-Pacific region from British startup Purecomm.

“We saw a gap in the market,” said Bodycote, “where local software developers had neither the knowledge of the fashion retail industry nor the expertise to connect the physical outlet with the online store. So, we sourced the best cloud-based solution we could find to bring it to Asia and lead a revolution in online-to-offline commerce."

Added Napoleon Biggs, commercial director of Bolei Digital, “By hosting the software in the cloud, we are able to empower smaller [retail] players to provide the same level of service and product availability as the large multi-nationals.” 

Bolei Digital, an e-commerce and digital marketing consultancy, was set up in in January 2014 to address the challenges of traditional retailers.