Yoox Net-a-Porter Group and IBM have come together for a long-term partnership in an attemp to improve the luxury e-tailer’s capabilities through IBM‘s commercial technology and enhancing customers’ omni-channel shopping experience.
In a joint statement on Monday the two businesses said the new deal would see the pureplay taking advantage of IBM‘s commerce technology products to improve its customer focused innovation and developing sales platforms. Ultimately, this will result in a shared technology platform across YNAP‘s multi-brand and mono-brand online stores.
Yoox Net-a-Porter claimed the new platform would be “robust, reliable and scalable, to support and double-digit growth of a multi-billion euro business, benefiting all of its customers and brands.”
This single platform will also help further the integration between Yoox and Net-a-Porter following the merge of the two companies. YNAP will also have a representative on IBM‘s customer advisory council, a forum of IBM customers that provide input for IBM product development.
According to YNAP‘s Chief Information Officer Alex Alexander, the alliance “will enable our exceptionally talented technology team to focus on what it is renowned for: Industry-leading innovation, cutting-edge technology and customer-centric solutions.”
John Mesberg, General Manager of IBM commerce, said that taking on IBM‘s technological and commercial capabilities would allow YNAP “to engage with shoppers through personalised experiences that are based on their unique style and shopping preferences and delivered across any device or channel.”
Among other features, the etailer will utilise IBM‘s order management systems to improve its inventory integration between its platforms, retail network and the distribution centres of its brands. This integrated platform will also allow a much more singular view of the Yoox Net-a-Porter customer, creating data to be put to use in developing the chain in the long term.
