Big success of RBTE 2012 enjoyed by K3 Retail and army of major retailers

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Big success of RBTE 2012 enjoyed by K3 Retail and army of major retailers.

Substantial growth was achieved at the recent Retail Business Technology Expo and Cards & Payments Solutions 2012 that helps cement its place as the major UK retail IT event in the exhibition calendar.

 
The two-day event enjoyed a 46% increase in visitor numbers on last year's, attracting 6,150 people, representing major retailers from across Europe who participated in the Global Retail Forum meetings that covered IT, finance, supply chain and e-commerce topics.
 
RBTE 2012 also provided the industry with an invaluable opportunity to network, with the key hub being the K3 Champagne Bar that was the focal point of the company's presence at this year's event as it celebrated the launch of AX 2012 for Retail the ultimate Multichannel solution.
 
K3 Retail also used the event to host the launch of the search the 'Retailinsider.com Top 100 Multi-channel Mover & Shakers' of 2012. This is its third-year of sponsoring the report whose recognition as a key tool for highlighting the major players in the industry has grown since the first report was published in 2010.
 
The excitement around RBTE has grown because the retail technology industry is enjoying a bright period as it has moved massively on from being largely about EPoS systems and mainframe equipment to now embracing multi-channel, mobile commerce and payments, social media, and interactive in-store technologies.
 
Such is the influence today of these various elements that IT is now involved within all parts of the modern retail organisation. This was a theme picked up by K3 Retail who used RBTE as a platform to highlight how retail technology is now all-encompassing.
 
Tony Bryant, head of business development at K3 Retail, stated: "It is no longer good enough merely speaking to IT directors when you are selling a back office system, you need all levels of the business involved in the discussions because these solutions cut right across a company."
 
"Marketing and customer management have become a lot more important, and can no longer sit in a separate silo with distinct software solutions. Retailers need to embark on fundamental change in order to properly utilise emerging technological advances and to keep up with their competitors," he added.