Getting Your Retail Business Back on Track During and After the Covid-19 Pandemic

Adetunji Adelakun of Scantranx tells us about a cloud-based POS and eCommerce solution for modern retail and wholesale businesses.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Adetunji Adelakun: Thank you so much for asking. We are all doing great. We have been lucky not to have contracted the virus so far. It has been a very tough time for both individuals and businesses, but I am optimistic that things will return to normal soon across the globe.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Scantranx.

Adetunji Adelakun: I am a Software Engineer with over 11 years of experience. I have worked with different reputable IT firms in different parts of the world (Europe, Africa, North America). I have been privileged to manage several IT projects in the retail and financial sector. I founded Scantranx in 2018 because I had seen a lot of retailers and brands struggling to implement an effective omnichannel retail solution. In the course of my job, I came across lots of retailers and businesses complaining about the challenges of integrating their online and offline sales channels and how difficult it has been for them to manage several systems to carry out their daily operations, so I thought there is a piece missing in the market and that’s how Scantranx began.

How does Scantranx innovate? 

Adetunji Adelakun: Innovation is at the core of what we do at Scantranx. The retail industry has experienced tremendous growth since the advent of the Internet; in the last few years, retailers have experienced a lot of shift in consumer behavior based on mobile devices. The shift in consumer purchasing habits which is being driven by the emergence of eCommerce and mobile technology, has, in turn, disrupted retailers’ traditional sales channels and back-office operations. There is a new trend in the retail industry which is the Omni-channel Retail Operation. Omni-channel basically means seamless integration of online and in-store sales channels. As an award-winning retail technology company, we have worked extensively in this area with different retailers and brands. One of the major advantage of omnichannel solution is that it helps retailers to increase sales and improve customers’ experience. With a modern retail solution like Scantranx, retailers can remove barriers and create more consistent consumer experience.

Nowadays, consumers determine the trends of retail businesses and growth of the industry. The traditional retail solution is now obsolete and inefficient. Today’s consumers’ wants a unique experience across all sales channels (Brick & Mortar, eCommerce, M-Commerce, and Social Media).

Therefore, it is highly essential for retailers to fuse all their sales channels and provide a seamless experience across channels. Fusing Brick & Mortar stores with online sales channels is a complex process than one might imagine, majority of retailers ascertain that apart from the high operational cost to implement such a system, getting the right IT systems/solution capable of such functionalities is a major problem. A lot of retailers are currently searching for a robust retail management solution that can simplify the process. Integrating sales channels requires high expertise and experience to achieve a desirable outcome.

Scantranx has helped a lot of retailers to increase productivity and weather the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have developed a single and robust platform that could help retailers to adopt omnichannel retail in a simple and effective model by bringing different retail solutions into one platform. Scantranx platform allows businesses to access a suite of applications like inventory management, point-of-sale (POS) applications, CRM, eCommerce, Loyalty Programs, and analytics all in one place instead of subscribing to multiple programs that increases retailers’ overhead costs.

How did the coronavirus pandemic affect your business, and how are you coping?

Adetunji Adelakun: Our business was affected by the Coronavirus as the retail sector is one of the major industries that was really hit by the effect of the pandemic. Most retailers were forced to shut their doors to customers due to the lockdown. However, as an innovative company with a wide array of retail solutions, we experienced significant growth and traction on our eCommerce platform as Covid-19 forced companies to move online. We hope most retailers will commence operations soon as the vaccine is being administered in different countries.

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Adetunji Adelakun: Well, we did not make any difficult choices. Being an innovative company helped us to respond quickly to the changes in the market, eCommerce was growing rapidly during the lockdown, so we leverage the digital transformation which is going on in the retail industry.

What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to navigate this crisis?

Adetunji Adelakun: As a technology company, working remotely is not a new thing to us at Scantranx, almost all our employees are working virtually even before the Covid-19 happened, so we do not need to introduce any new tools or change our work process because of the pandemic.

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Adetunji Adelakun: The retail technology and FinTech industry is extremely competitive, there is no doubt about it. However, we differentiated ourselves from competitors based on our innovative and technological capacity. We leverage on modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and unique technologies to support our clients and provide valuable offerings at affordable prices. 

Your final thoughts?

Adetunji Adelakun: COVID-19 has changed the retail landscape. There has been a major shift to virtual operations for most businesses. Most brands are embracing eCommerce, expanding sales channels, and adopting new sales models to stay relevant in the competitive market. Most retailers need to be innovative and adopt technology to stay relevant during and after the pandemic. 

Your website?

https://scantranx.com