Navigating The Shift to Seamless Commerce With KPMG and SAP

The distinction between online and offline has disappeared for the average retail consumer. They expect a singular experience, whether they are scrolling on a phone or walking through a sliding door. However, for the teams working on the backend in this industry, the reality can often amount to a fragmented mess of legacy systems that struggle to deliver on the promise of a seamless experience.

According to a KPMG ebook published earlier this year, bridging this gap requires a fundamental inversion of the traditional retail business model.

People Over Product

The ebook notes that historically, retail operations have been linear. They have included sourcing a product, choosing a channel, and pushing the product to the consumer. However, this model has become obsolete in the era of seamless commerce, and successful transformation requires inverting the pyramid by placing the consumer at the top, followed downwards by the product and channel.

This shift demands more than just new code; it requires customer-aligned leadership. As Puneet Mansukhani, Global Head of Retail Digital and Technology Transformation, KPMG International, notes, “The seamless integration of data is the essential ingredient that allows retailers to make effective, customer-centric decisions.”

The Technical Challenge

Still, the human desire for a seamless experience can often be thwarted by technology challenges. Many retailers continue to rely on fragmented, on-premise ERPs stitched together from dozens of disparate software solutions. This can result in data silos where inventory doesn’t know what e-commerce is doing.

This is where the shift to SAP Cloud ERP for Retail becomes critical. Unlike legacy systems, it is designed to operate as a cloud-based ERP built on common data structures, according to the ebook. This architecture allows for:

• Moving beyond batch processing to see live inventory levels and demand forecasts
• The ability to pivot quickly, such as managing pop-up trends or automating assortment management based on real-time sales information
• Managing complex variables like seasons, collections, and styles for vertical retailers on a single platform, rather than disparate systems

A Methodology for Complexity

Technology, however, is rarely the sole point of failure in a transformation. To enable success, KPMG firms advocate for a functional transformational methodology that goes beyond IT implementation.

KPMG professionals identify six integrated design layers that should work in concert to reach that strategic North Star. They include:

1. Functional Process
2. People
3. Service Delivery Model
4. Technology
5. Performance Insights and Data
6. Governance

By treating people and governance on par with technology, retailers can avoid the common trap of installing a modern tool into an outdated organizational culture.

The stakes for modernization are financial and immediate. Historically – based on KPMG research – retailers have spent 1-3% of revenue on technology. According to the KPMG ebook, staying competitive in the seamless commerce landscape of the future may require increasing that investment to 4-8%.

For retail leaders, the message is clear: The technology to deliver a seamless human experience is available. One of the biggest challenges for retailers is having the organizational discipline to deploy it effectively.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

Seamless commerce begins with ending the use of disparate ERP systems. For years, retailers have operated on fragmented, on-premise ERPs. This legacy approach can create data silos. Retailers today should move to a cloud-based foundation, such as SAP Cloud ERP, that uses common data structures across the entire organization. This unifies heterogeneous data, empowering employees with real-time information to respond to trends immediately rather than waiting for batch processing. It enables automated assortment management that leverages seasonal trends to drive sales instantly.

Vertical integration is essential for retailers in the fashion industry. Fashion retailers face unique complexities such as managing multiple seasons, collections, and rapid style changes, which generalist ERPs can often fail to address efficiently. SAP’s specific Fashion and Vertical Business solution is a game-changer for this sector. The solution leverages embedded AI, analytics, and process automation to manage every aspect of a fashion organization from a single platform. This provides the real-time data necessary for flexible purchasing and demand-supply matching, leading to optimized inventory and improved visibility across the entire value chain.

Choosing people over product should be the new operating model. Implementing SAP for Retail requires a fundamental inversion of the traditional retail operating model, which has historically centered on products and channels. However, to succeed with a SAP Cloud ERP infrastructure, retailers should put consumers first. This requires customer-aligned leadership and a workforce that is empowered by data, rather than restricted by it. The transformation methodology should include equal focus on people, governance and technology to help ensure the organization is ready to use the new tools. Choosing the right implementation advisor that can help your organization transform for the future is a vital piece of the puzzle. KPMG professionals act as trusted advisors who take a multidisciplinary approach and are known for their deep experience of the global retail industry. KPMG firms can deliver transformation projects using various SAP solutions, whichever approach best fits the needs of an organization.

To learn more, visit: KPMG at NRF 2026: Retail’s Big Show

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