Digital Transformation Shaping Future of Retail Industry

 

 

Retail industry, one of the most fundamental industries of any economy was at cross-roads in 2019. 2017 had seen bankruptcy of household names like Toys R Us, while the same year Walmart posted record sales. During the same time, Amazon was becoming a bigger behemoth with each passing year, while traditional retail was still the leader in market. Digital transformation of the industry was inevitable in all aspects, but there were retail firms dwelling on it.

In early 2020, COVID-19 virus infection spread across the world and entire world was caught in a never experienced before lockdown. Retail emerged as both one of the biggest victims and at the same time one of the winners in the ensuing 2 years. As the world is still trying to adapt to the post-pandemic new normal, the crossroads of retail is no more there. The writing is on the wall — “Digitalize the Supply Chain or Perish”. It is clear in 2022, that for retail business to go into the next era, have to leverage technology and rethink their business model.

Primary learnings in retail digitalization:

• Technology adoption speed: Retailers with a system to quickly experiment with new technology and adopt it across the value chain are more likely to succeed in the digitalization journey. The two areas which have emerged as critical for the next decade are following:
• Adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Even though digital transformation of retail has been ongoing for the past 3 decades, the almost infinite ability of AI and Machine Learning in predicting demand, inventory management and customer behavior analysis has enabled the digitalization possibilities tremendously.
• Adoption of cloud servers and technologies: Cloud based technology allows retailers to achieve scalability and flexibility of operations without the costs and responsibilities of local infrastructure
• Consumer experience: Consumer experience, both in online and offline retail is greatly enriched with new technologies. Technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), Beacons, High Speed Connectivity, Robotics etc. are giving consumers improved check out experience, browsing experience, personalized sales and marketing offers and compressing delivery mediums.
• Better asset and security management: Technology like IoT using RFID and sensors can help in locating assets and inventory management. AI and ML based behavioral analysis combined with sensor technologies at the exit and checkout counters can effectively put an end to theft or suspicious activities.

Key technologies leading digital transformation in retail:

Sales & Marketing improvements:

1. Enabling Multi-channel strategies

Customer expectations fuelled by internet, are changing at a very fast pace. They do not care about the source and process involved in the back end. They are also likely to use multiple channels for shopping and it is imperative for a true retail player to be present in multiple channels and look at delivering high quality customer experience at each level. However, the experience in each channel has to be backed by central promise and consistent across channels. Multi-channel digital strategy must focus on data insights generated using ML to build a cohesive view of customer’s buying behavior. Harvard Business Review, has analyzed customer spends and come to a conclusion that shoppers using 4 or more channels for purchase are likely to spend more than customers who use 1 channel.

2. AI powered customer service

Customer service has seen a sea change in recent years with the advent of 24/7 chatbots. What we have seen actually delivering the best results is a hybrid combination of chatbots and human intervention if the chatbots are not able to solve customer query. Hybrid combination has improved resolution time and decrease cost significantly. Chatbots are AI powered, which means that with time and more data, they will be solve more customer queries in future and in faster time.

3. Beacons

Apple introduced beacons in 2013 and since been a leader in beacon technology use in retail. As per beacon technology, the customers will have beacon enabled wearables or mobile phones and upon agreeing to marketing offers will receive personalized marketing and promotional offers. Retail outlets have beacon sensors which identify customers using beacons and provide personalized offers as per the analytics of each customer. Beacons are expected to reach a market size of $25bn by 2024.

Assets and logistics management:

1. Use of IoT in inventory management

RFID tag enabled smart shelves have been developed by Amazon which directly interact with AI applications based on the cloud. This enables real-time analysis and predictive inventory management

2. Use of Blockchain in better visibility and security of the logistics chain

Blockchain enables visibility of the supply chain without compromising on the security. As Blockchain Technology is almost impossible to be breached, it will also provide better clarity and transparency of processes.

3. Cloud computing networks to provide flexibility, scalability and sustainability

High speed data connectivity has enabled Cloud Computing to become the choice for all future application development. Logistics in supply chain requires remote access and seamless data flow. Cloud computing is the best and cheapest way to achieve that. It also reduces fixed cost by eliminating server investments. Cloud computing also reduces retail industry’s carbon footprint as the industry tries to score better on rising consumer demands of sustainable growth.

Process improvements using power of data analytics:

1. Machine learning powered retail analytics

High number of transactions in a retail environment also generate massive amounts of data at all levels of the value chain. Data analytics has shown to directly improve revenue by an estimated of 8–9%. Machine learning allows much faster processing of big data and throw insights which can be directly implemented. In combination with AI models, the insights generated from data analytics using ML, performance can be tested across processes in logistics, marketing, design etc. and implemented.

2. Process mining

Process mining is used when a deep dive is required to understand any particular process and make improvements. The data and insights churned by ML is used in various algorithms and applied to processes and simulations are conducted. Then the conditions are tested in real time against test parameters provide process improvement actionable strategies. Process mining is best used in measurement of value creation using digitization actions as it identifies root causes and provides potential solution, even in real-time environment.

Operational Automation

3. Automation at an enterprise level

Any process or system that can reduce human impact and at the same time increases overall productivity of the system can be considered as automation. Automation helps inf reduction of operational costs, errors and processing time. Primary enterprise level automation in the retail industry are as follows:

a. Inventory/supply chain management using IoT and cloud technology

b. Cloud based ERP technology

4. Automation at store level

Application of robotics in combination with IoT, cloud-based applications and robotics has enabled Self-checkout systems to make rapid progress in the last few years. Apple, Amazon, Walmart and Microsoft are betting big on the self-checkout automation process. Consumers can use RFID or tag readers and their payment details can be stored on a Blockchain enabled secure cloud location. The checkout is largely automated due to smart tagging using RFID and payment is settled at the click of a button by the consumer. This has resulted in higher revenue per session, shorter cues and improved checkout experience

In Conclusion:

Retail industry is poised to get on a new journey of digital transformation starting in 2022. Along with the exponential growth expected in e-commerce, conventional retail is also expected to continue to exist in somewhat of a hybrid format. It is an imperative for the industry to not only adopt digital technology but also work with IT firms to develop innovative digital solutions.

Supply chain innovations like AI powered smart transportation, robotics to eliminate human error and predictive analysis of demand are all going to grow at an explosive pace. Retail players are needed to be more agile and updated now than ever before in the fast-changing post COVID-19 pandemic world.

Like other businesses, if you too are looking to develop retail solutions, Mindfire Solutions can be your partner of choice. We have a team of highly skilled and certified software professionals, that have developed many custom solutions for our global clients over the years.

Here are a few interesting projects we have done in Retail Industry.

Content Source: Medium

How to solve critical business challenges with API Testing

 

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are sets of functions that allow your software application to trace data and interact with external software systems or components.

Some instances of APIs include logging into an application using a social media profile, paying online via PayPal or accessing local weather snippets on search engines.

What Is API Testing?

API testing is the way to verify the health of every API within the software system. This API testing approach ensures that all APIs’ functionality, security, reliability, and performance stay intact.

Unlike UI testing, QA teams run API test cases without interacting with the software product’s user interface. Instead, QA engineers pay attention to testing the business logic layer of the API framework.

Surpassing the user’s experience in testing your application, the QA team needs to resolve many challenges in manual testing by running API tests.

There is a need to implement custom solutions. However, these are some common challenges everyone runs into.

Value of API in business

APIs enable businesses to :

· Connect with customers:

An effective API can give potential customers additional reasons to interact and connect with their business on a personal level.

· Streamline operations:

The insurance company could develop private APIs to be used by its employees — for instance, to give accurate information to the sales team that can help them calculate quotes more efficiently, even if they are on the road, through mobile apps.

How to Overcome Challenges in API Testing

Unlike the challenges in manual testing that occur in the user interface, QA teams must tackle API issues in the API framework and business logic layer.

This API testing approach often prevents IU issues before manual testing. The dashboard shows its own set of obstacles by executing API test cases before interacting with your product.

Luckily, you can reduce the challenges faced in API testing by implementing the best practices:

1. API Testing Setup

Manual testing makes sure what works and what do not. However, automated testing is also necessary with API to determine how well they can work under pressure. The most challenging part of the process is to set up the testing infrastructure and run it.

Solution:

To win over the testing challenges, you need to figure out how your APIs look in the design phase to have the APIs 100% uptime.

2. Updating API Schema

Working with an ever-changing API helps facilitate demand in today’s API economy. Although, when APIs update, the data formatting handling requests and responses must also be updated. Else, it can lead to a slowing down of the whole process.

Solution:

To avoid the downtime challenges, thoroughly test the API in alpha and beta environments. The chances of issues go down to 90 percent if you do so.

3. Sequencing API Calls

In many cases, API calls require appearing in a specific order to work accurately. This generates a sequencing challenge for the testing team. For instance, if a call to return a user’s profile information goes through before the profile is even created; the request will return an error. This becomes more complicated when more applications are involved.

Solution:

We suggest making a flowchart to visualize the API calls. This helps developers build API calls and integrate them quickly without causing issues.

4. Tracking Systems Integration

It’s essential to make sure the API testing system is functioning correctly with the data tracking system. This helps bring back correct responses on whether a call is working correctly.

Also, it’s used to monitor API performance passively. To dodge any challenges here, rethink your application in the design phase or how it will integrate.

Solution:

Ensure you aren’t causing any applications failure by testing in parallel with critical integration systems. This can be done by implementing and involving load testing in your continuous delivery.

5. Testing All Possible Parameter Request Combinations

APIs handle communication systems by forwarding data values to parameters & transiting the parameters through data needs. It is important to test all the essential parameter blending in the API to check for flaws in specific configurations.

A significant project could end up assigning two varied values to similar limits or creating instances where numerical values are at the pace of text values. The addition of an extra parameter increases the no. of likely combinations exponentially.

Solution:

Pick applications that are simple for everyday operations. This way, you can see how the API is being used, plus if any configuration modifications are required to have a GA (general availability) release.

6. Validating Parameters by Testing Team

Validating the parameters is one of the important things, but challenging sometimes. It must showcase how fast you are serving those parameters. The team must be sure that every crucial parameter data uses the appropriate string or numerical data type fits within length limitations, an assigned value range, and passes another validation criterion.

Solution:

It can be resolved by having continuous synthetic API tracking and monitoring to grab the issues early on. Furthermore, it must be combined with an APM solution to have a complete 360-degree view.

7. Allow Time for Familiarity with APIs

While most QA testers are familiar with manual testing challenges, they may not be as versed in API testing. To your knowledge, many peers on your QA team might not be familiar with an API framework or even comfortable running API test cases. A solid API testing strategy doesn’t thrive when your team doesn’t have the skillset for testing APIs.

Solution:

Give comprehensive training that explains your APIs and the business logic layer of your product. Review with your team the rules dictating the usage of your APIs, right from copyright policies, rate limits to storage policies, and display policies.

If possible, hire QA engineers for your team having extensive API testing knowledge and experience with the challenges faced in API testing.

8. Ensure the Framework Is Suitable for APIs

Any upgrade to your product or within the API can drastically alter how your framework supports APIs. Also, validating the parameters within your API framework is a daunting task, especially when your APIs need specific restrictions and validation criteria.

Solution:

Continuous APIs testing throughout the development cycle also catches defects early, letting developers resolve the issues sooner.

Regular review of the framework ensures your framework is suitable for testing APIs. And when in doubt, ask yourself these questions during inspection:

● Does your framework allow integrations with GUI tests?

● Will the framework supports GUI tests?

● Can the framework use API libraries and build management tools?

Conclusion

API testing is an important part of application development in the modern business environment. Letting it slide can be a big mistake and cost you big bucks. It’s better to be careful and alert with the system and follow a routine check-up to make sure everything is in place.

If you are looking for custom API Testing Services, we can be your partner of choice. Mindfire Solutions has a team of highly skilled 650+ certified software development and testing professionals, who have been serving global clients for over 20+ years.

Content Source: Medium

Adding a Universal link to iOS Apps- Challenges & Solutions

 

 In this blog, I am going to explain how to, without considerable effort, add Universal link and Deep linking capabilities to an iOS app

We are going to cover this in 3 sections

• Understanding deep link, URL scheme, and Universal link
• The issues with a universal link and the difficulty in incorporating it
• A nice workaround to get rid of the complexity of universal links.

If you are aware of the universal link and the challenges in having it up and running, feel free to jump to the 3rd section straight away.

Understanding deep link, URL scheme, and Universal link

- As opposed to a common belief, a URL scheme is not the same as a deep link.

Then what exactly is a deep link?

Well, the term “deep link” is the route to a specific spot on a website or a native app. So, for a mobile app, “deep link” is a link that contains all the information required to navigate the user deep into a section of the app instead of just launching the app.

What is a URL scheme and how it works?

A URL scheme can be treated as a specially designed URL just to open a particular app.
For instance, any iOS app can open WhatsApp with “WhatsApp://” URI using the URL scheme. This is possible because WhatsApp has registered itself with the app store with “WhatsApp” as a URL scheme.

However, to send a “Hello” to a particular number in Whatsapp, the URI needs to be like “WhatsApp://send?phone=(actual phone number)&text=Hello”. This, in turn, will open chat for the given number with the supplied text pre-filled. This is an example of a deep link in action.

So, what exactly is a Universal link? and why at all so we need it?

The URL scheme works just fine as long as the app is installed on the user’s phone. In the above example for instance, if WhatsApp is not available, then “whatsapp://” URI will just not work and so as the deep link to send a message to a user.

Click here to know more.

Like other businesses, if you too are looking to develop IT Solutions, Mindfire Solutions can be your partner of choice. We have gained significant experience over the years working with a diverse clientele. We have a team of highly skilled and certified software professionals, who have developed many custom solutions for our global clients over the years.

Content Source:  Medium

 

Is Robotic Process Automation changing the Test Automation Game?

 

RPA has taken the IT world by storm. I won’t say that it is the newest thing in business because it has been there around for about 10 years now. But now is the time when it is spreading like wildfire. More and more companies want to adopt it.

To set the context, let’s look at how AI has broken all the barriers of our imagination. I bet that a few years ago when we used to see robots in movies, we would think that they are just part of our imagination or even if we considered them to become reality someday, we always thought that the day to be many years away. But what we never imagined was that technology will progress so much so soon. Today Artificial intelligence is making machines more and more human-like. They want machines to not only follow our instructions but to think, and possibly also to exhibit emotions. It is almost like humans want to assemble humans in labs. No wonder then that a robot named Sophia was very recently even given citizenship of Saudi Arabia.

Now going back to Robotic Process Automation. Going just by the words, it seems like Robots automating processes. The catch, however, is that that when we say Robot, we don’t mean an actual physical robot, but a virtual one — the automation program.

What’s the big deal about RPA in software test automation?

Many could argue that in traditional Automation also we were creating automation programs. So what is all the hype about?

The key distinctions according to me are :

• It is script less: Coming from a Manual testing background it was always a challenge for me to always keep learning the latest scripting languages but now I don’t need to learn any programming language to automate a test scenario. You just need to be good with your logics and should be able to think out of the box scenarios.
• Focus is back to product quality: I am not saying that in Traditional automation the product quality was getting hampered, But in my own experience I feel that when I was working on Automation via scripts, most of my time was getting consumed in writing code and at the end of the day, only very few scenarios were automated, and I was not able to cover as much scenario and I didn’t have the time to dive into variety of scenario. So I feel that out of two 1 thing was always getting compromised either the Coverage or the deadline. But with RPA tool this problem of mine has been resolved to a great extent.

How things work when automating test cases with RPA?

There are many RPA tools available in the market like UI Path, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism and many more. You can use any (FYI: I am not promoting any specific tool).

There are few basic criteria on which all the RPA tools are based on:

• Already defined user actions: Most of the user actions that one can think of while automating a test case like the click of a button, mouse hover, opening browser, typing into a text box and many more, they are already defined and the user doesn’t have to code.
• Built-in decision logics and looping statements: The best part about using RPA tool for creating scripts was, I didn’t have to worry about the syntax of my decision logic and adding loops, for example, do-while, for, etc. They are built-in and I just needed to use them.
• Configuring of user events through Parameters: Every user action or event that we use can be easily configured using its parameters. Almost every property of a user event is made available so as it can be customized as much and as easily as possible.
• Easy to create variables: RPA tools make it very easy to create a variable without stressing upon the syntax.
• Error handling: If there is an error that occurs while configuring the user events or in the full flow, RPA tools have very good error handling mechanism. It helps the user to narrow down the area of error and also gives very clear and specific error messages making it very convenient for the user to correct the error.

What RPA has changed in my Automation Testing approach?

• So as I said above, for me RPA has put the focus back to thinking about logic, covering some out of the box test scenarios, rather than spending hours just automating the basic functionality.
• RPA has improved my testing coverage also, as I am able to cover number and different types of scenarios.
• Thanks to RPA, I am able to automate the test scenarios faster as I don’t have to write every single line of code on my own.
• Another advantage of using an RPA tool is, I face less number of errors while automating a test case. As in RPA tool, they have built-in codes for most of the logics and I just have to make sure that I use them in correct flow.
• With RPA tool, I was able to manage my scripts much easily as most of the times it just making tweaking into the properties of the built-in user actions.
• Also when I create my scripts using RPA tool, they are more easily readable and I am able to explain them to another person in a better way
• Being from a manual testing background, it was always a big challenge for me to always keep on learning the latest scripting languages but now I don’t have to invest my time learning the coding languages.
• I can invest my mind in more decision making tasks rather than some boring and repetitive tasks that can be done by machines also.

Now, when I extract the essence of all the benefits, the bigger picture that I get is RPA helps to increase Test Automation Coverage, reduces the time required, hence reducing in the process the cost of Testing and in turn increasing the Company’s profit.

Having said that, I did face challenges while automating test scripts with RPA Tool?

1) I was not able to automate everything
Having worked with different scripting automation tools, I feel that there are some scenarios which I can’t achieve using RPA tools like I am not able to automate scenario which deals with complex Database entries, multiple formats of input or unstructured input data.

2) It executes at a slower pace
When I execute a script created via any RPA tool it executes at a UI speed but when I run a script created using scripting languages, it is much faster. So I feel that RPA is comparatively slower than the processes automated using traditional automation.

3) Not much available on Web, so need to explore yourself
Test Automation using RPA is relatively new. So there are many built-in user actions and functionalities of different tools that you have to explore on your own and not much help is available on the web. So that was also one of the challenges that I faced.

4) It can increase a company’s Test Automation cost
When I started automation using RPA, most of the RPA tools that I came across were paid and just 1 or 2 had free versions available and that too had not much-advanced features contrary to the open-source scripting tools available in the market. So I feel that this can also prove to be a disadvantage as it will increase the cost of Automation for a company.

But I feel that the pros somewhere outnumber the cons and the proof of this is that more and more companies are investing in Test Automation using RPA. So in my opinion, if you are the one who wants to adopt RPA in Test Automation, then the time to act is now.

Like other businesses, if you too are looking to develop RPA solutions, Mindfire Solutions can be your partner of choice. We have a team of highly skilled and certified software professionals, who have developed many custom solutions for our global clients over the years.

Content  Source:  Medium