Service
Enterprise Solutions
Accelerate Enterprise Digital Transformation for Sustainable Change
Industry
Retail
Omnichannel CX and Intelligent Innovation – The Future of Retail
Highlights
- Retail organisations face rising volatility as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a top priority, but fragmented operations and disconnected data limit impact—making integrated, real‑time workflow orchestration essential.
- The combination of ServiceNow’s AI-powered workflow platform and TCS’s deep retail domain expertise, delivered through TCS’s certified vast pool of domain experts, creates a compelling transformation path for retail companies.
- With TCS and ServiceNow, retailers gain a unified execution layer that links data, intelligence, and action across the enterprise—supporting scenarios from customer service and store operations to asset uptime, employee support, and vendor coordination.
- Learn from real-world use cases that can help retailers shift from reactive demand management to intelligent, orchestrated, and delight-driven operations at scale.
On this page
On this pageinpage
Overview
Retail and consumer product organisations are operating in an environment defined by volatility, complexity, and accelerating expectations.
A convergence of forces— geopolitical disruption, regulatory pressure, talent scarcity, and rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI)—is shaping the future of retail and consumer supply chains. These forces have underscored the challenges that fragmented operations, disconnected data, and siloed execution pose for retailers, preventing them from turning AI investments into real business value.
To move from managing demand to delivering delight, organisations must simplify operations, enable real-time decisioning, and orchestrate work seamlessly across customer-facing and back-office functions.
This is where the combination of ServiceNow’s AI-powered workflow platform and TCS’s deep retail domain expertise, delivered through low-code, no-code assets, creates a compelling transformation path.
Challenges
Retail organisations are under pressure to deliver seamless customer experiences, resilient operations, and empowered frontline teams.
Companies must deliver all this while managing cost and complexity. ServiceNow has evolved into a unified ‘AI + Data + Workflow’ platform, positioning itself as a system of action across customer service, supply chain, field service, information technology (IT), human resources (HR), and store operations.
Approach
To address the growing complexity of retail operations, organisations need a unified, intelligent, and connected approach (see Figure 1).
Unified consumer experience
ServiceNow connects customer interactions with backend processes, providing a single view of issues, orders, and requests across channels. This enables faster, more consistent, and personalised service.
Intelligent demand and operations alignment
AI‑driven insights help anticipate demand patterns, align supply and service operations in real time, and reduce stockouts, delays, and over‑servicing.
Connected operations
The platform links customer service, store operations, field service, and IT into end‑to‑end workflows—reducing handoffs, automating resolution, and improving cross‑functional coordination.
Proactive service delivery
Predictive signals identify and address issues before they impact customers, improving uptime, trust, and brand loyalty.
Scalable automation
Routine tasks are automated across departments, freeing capacity for higher‑value work and driving sustainable productivity gains.
Phased transformation
Retail organisations should avoid ‘big‑bang’ transformations in favour of phased execution:
Stabilise and unify: Establish a single intake and visibility layer for high‑friction workflows
Automate and assist: Introduce AI, guided workflows, and automation
Connect data and act: Expand data connectivity to enable contextual AI orchestration
Scale packaged outcomes: Roll out additional use cases with key performance indicator (KPI)‑driven governance
Critical enablers include strong data quality, governance, change management, and a clear operating model for AI trust and accountability.
ServiceNow-powered retail transformation: Connecting customer experience, operational efficiency, and employee experience
Platform
ServiceNow’s retail-focused platform delivers next-gen customer experience and connected operations for the modern retailer.
Industry‑specific workflow orchestration
ServiceNow’s retail industry solution focuses on customer satisfaction, growth, store productivity, and cost efficiency. Key capabilities include connecting headquarters, stores, and regional teams; automating store tasks; enabling employee self‑service; streamlining vendor and procurement workflows; and orchestrating site openings on a single AI‑enabled platform.
From automation to AI‑infused workflows
With Now Assist, ServiceNow embeds generative AI (GenAI) directly into workflows, supporting case summarisation, conversational interactions, contextual guidance, and faster issue resolution. The emphasis is not on AI for its own sake, but on AI that removes friction from work.
Strengthening the enterprise data foundation
ServiceNow’s Workflow Data Fabric and Workflow Data Network unify structured, unstructured, real‑time, and third‑party data across enterprise systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), point of sale (POS), order management system (OMS), customer relationship management (CRM), and supply chain platforms. This creates the foundation for AI agents to act with context, governance, and trust—critical for scaling enterprise AI in retail.
Observations
Retailers must take swift action on AI possibilities, and TCS and ServiceNow are poised to help.
ServiceNow is becoming a system of action across store operations, customer service, procurement, IT, and employee support; it is not just an IT service management (ITSM) tool.
AI delivers value only when embedded in workflows and grounded in enterprise data, supported by strong governance and controls.
Frontline enablement is central to retail success, balancing customer outcomes with workforce productivity and experience.
Ecosystem integration is a differentiator, as retailers demand seamless connectivity across complex application landscapes.
Packaged, outcome‑driven solutions matter more than generic platforms, accelerating time to value and reducing transformation risk.
Retail domain expertise
TCS’s retail domain functional expertise combines ServiceNow’s platform with TCS’s deep retail expertise to deliver modular, AI‑driven outcomes.
Key capabilities
Execute business-aligned ServiceNow strategy supporting omnichannel communication and real‑time collaboration
Translate retail business needs (store ops, supply chain, customer service) into ServiceNow solutions
Define road maps aligned to digital transformation and omnichannel goals
Ensure end-to-end process design and implementation, with focus on store operations, supply chain disruptions, and facilities management
Optimise store operations, enabling faster resolution of store issues (POS, kiosks, inventory systems) and delivering a centralised store helpdesk
Transform customer experience, with a focus on managing omnichannel customer queries
Retail functional experts at TCS with deep ServiceNow expertise don’t just configure the platform, they transform retail operations end-to-end by aligning technology with business outcomes, improving efficiency, and enhancing customer experience.
AI use cases
New AI use cases for retail are emerging to address today’s challenges.
Omnichannel customer service and case triage
ServiceNow CSM, Now Assist, and Workflow Data Fabric unify customer cases across channels, summarise interactions, classify issues, and route work intelligently, delivering faster resolution and consistent experiences.
Returns, refunds, and order exceptions
Integrated workflows across systems for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Service Management (CSM), Order Management Systems (OMS), Point of Sale (POS), and finance streamline exception handling, entitlement checks, refunds, and customer communication, improving recovery and reducing churn.
Store operations command centre
Retail workflows centralise store issues, tasks, and escalations, giving managers and headquarters real‑time visibility while reducing manual coordination and follow‑ups.
Predictive maintenance for store assets
Field Service Management (FSM) and IT Operations Management (ITOM) leverage alerts and internet of things (IoT) signals to detect failures early, automate dispatch, and support technicians with mobile tools, improving uptime and consistency.
New store openings and remodels
Workflow orchestration replaces spreadsheets and emails with structured task plans, dependency tracking, approvals, and risk detection, shortening opening cycles.
Employee self‑service and frontline enablement
Employee Centre, HRSD, ITSM, and Now Assist provide a unified support experience, improving productivity, adoption, and employee satisfaction.
AI‑ready data and decision orchestration
Workflow Data Fabric and Network connect operational data across retail systems, enabling contextual AI, faster decisions, and higher return on investment (ROI) from automation initiatives.
Conclusion
The real power of ServiceNow lies in convergence.
When enabled with TCS functional consultants, retailers gain a unified execution layer that links data, intelligence, and action across the enterprise, supporting scenarios from customer service and store operations to asset up-time, employee support, and vendor coordination.
Expected business impact and KPIs
ServiceNow‑led retail transformations should be anchored in measurable outcomes:
Customer outcomes: Resolution time, first‑contact resolution, Customer Satisfaction Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) and Net Promoter Score® (NPS®), returns turnaround
Store operations: Task service level agreement (SLA) adherence, backlog reduction, store opening cycle time
Asset performance: Uptime, mean time to dispatch and repair, technician productivity
Employee experience: Self‑service adoption, fulfilment time, front-line productivity
AI and automation: Automation rate, data coverage, reduced manual effort, cost savings per workflow
The ‘demand to delight’ journey has become more urgent. Market volatility, omnichannel complexity, talent constraints, and AI acceleration leave little room for fragmented operations or isolated pilots. ServiceNow’s evolution into an AI‑native, data‑connected workflow platform—combined with TCS’s industry expertise and packaged outcomes—offers retailers a practical, scalable path forward.
The most credible transformation message is not ‘AI everywhere’, but ‘AI and automation where it matters most’. When focused on critical workflows and executed with discipline, ServiceNow and TCS can help retailers shift from reactive demand management to intelligent, orchestrated, and delight‑driven operations at scale.