Guest Bio

Clint Ridenour | Application Specialist, Teamwork Commerce

The Teamwork Commerce platform is built on a natively integrated framework; this strong foundation enables Teamwork Commerce to provide efficient omnichannel functionality to retailers across many industries. With a strong cloud backend, retailers are able to connect a variety of legacy systems, tools and integrations to drive more engaging retail experiences.

What are the current emerging technologies trends and challenges in the retail world? What is a “day in the life” of an Application Specialist? Clint Ridenour, Application Specialist at Teamwork Commerce, joins us to discuss. Clint has been part of the Teamwork family for over a year, and considered a resident expert on the Teamwork platform. Clint’s previous retail background enables him to really understand and help his clients and drive long term success for both companies.

Overview

A day in the life of an Application Specialist involves a lot of client-facing meetings, working on various work flows and processes within Teamwork (i.e. gift cards and loyalty programs), troubleshooting, brainstorming and thinking outside the box to improve customer experiences. Having a good customer relationship with our clients and partners is key and the number one priority at Teamwork. If issues arise, it is easier to communicate and solve problems together, with partner and client involved. Customization of the Teamwork platform is also key; this allows us to adapt and to provide customers a variety of solutions, in physical stores or online channels.

One important trend affecting retailers is clienteling, personally communicating with customers to build long-term relationships. Digital technologies and omnichannel customer experiences are also important, especially for online shopping and picking up in physical stores. Order routing to other physical channels and using a store as a mini-warehouse has helped retailers maximize their inventory. Teamwork features such as Order Fill Logic show the retailer which store is best for fulfillment, based on which store has the greatest quantity.

Guest Bio

Christopher Rossini | Director of Sales, Avalara

The Teamwork Commerce platform is built on a natively integrated framework; this strong foundation enables Teamwork Commerce to provide efficient omnichannel functionality to retailers across many industries. With a strong cloud backend, retailers are able to connect a variety of legacy systems, tools and integrations to drive more engaging retail experiences.

One of our integration partners is Avalara, a tax compliance software-based, cloud-based app. Data is sent through an API and allows Avalara to evaluate what is on the order in real time and make the appropriate tax calculations. Avalara captures and houses all the data and can also help companies with filing and remitting sales tax returns.

Chris Rossini, Director of Sales at Avalara joins us to discuss tax related issues for retailers.

Overview

One important topic affecting retailers took place June 21, 2018. The US Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision in South Dakota vs. Wayfair that states can require out-of-state sellers to collect and remit sales tax on sales to in-state consumers even if the seller has no physical presence in consumer’s state. The decision allows each state to define a sales threshold (dollar amount or number of transactions) which will trigger this collection requirement. Before Wayfair, businesses with no physical presence in a state were not considered to have sales tax “nexus” and no requirement to collect and remit tax on these sales.

Marketplace facilitator laws impose an obligation on the marketplace facilitator to collect and remit sales tax on behalf of marketplace sellers. These laws are significant because they shift the obligation to collect and remit sales tax from the seller to the platform that facilitates the sale (the marketplace facilitator).

International tax topics include tariffs, HS Code classifications, registration requirements and value added tax. Tax education is important for retailers. For additional free tax related resources, please go to www.avalara.com

Guest Bio

The Teamwork Commerce platform is built on a natively integrated framework, this strong foundation enables Teamwork Commerce to provide efficient omnichannel experiences to retailers across industries. With the strong cloud backend, retailers are able to connect a variety of legacy systems, tools and integrations to drive more engaging retail experiences through multiple channels.

What are the current emerging technologies trends and challenges of the retail landscape in Europe? Why is Ireland an ideal location for business development? Scott Cahill, Director of EU Sales at Teamwork Commerce (based in Dublin) joins us to discuss. Scott has been part of the Teamwork Commerce family for 16 months, cultivating a wide array of sales and partner relationships to drive long term success for the company.

Overview

Working on digital technologies and e-commerce platforms are the new omnichannel strategies for the US (Uber, Amazon, AirBnB) but in Europe they are experiencing high growth as this access becomes part of everyday life via social media such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. While consumers expect to have all the power, retailers are learning how to be interesting on multiple channels and how to improve customer experiences in the physical store and on social media.

Sustainability is a hot topic, as well as clarifying a retailer’s brand image and narrowing of product offering. Clienteling is a trend and an opportunity, especially in the luxury segment. The closing of brick and mortar stores and depending on digital strategies is a reality for some retailers due to the pandemic. COVID-19 measures like traffic counters are a trend that may not go away, and might actually create a more enjoyable customer experience for some shoppers.

Why Ireland for businesses? The corporate tax is very competitive. After Brexit is complete, Ireland will be the only place in the world where its citizens can work in UK and in Europe without a visa. The geographic location is ideal for US and European companies. They welcome all countries and companies for the boost to their economy.