What’s the benefit? For many retailers, keeping up with the demands of customers, the challenges of inventory and distribution, and the evolving needs of information technology is almost too much to handle. The National Retail Federation (NRF) seeks to aid retailers with many of these difficulties, but to address the particular challenges of IT, NRF has the subsidiary Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS). The main benefit of membership is a compilation of numerous educational offerings, which are all focused on “helping retailers and solution providers identify, adopt, and integrate current and emerging information technology.” ARTS provides IT neophytes with a starting point to familiarize themselves with best practices and common knowledge. For those with IT expertise, ARTS provides specific resources and tutorials to enhance skills.

Why it works for members: Familiarity with the technology landscape and the wide array of available solutions is essential, and ARTS is built to address those very concerns. The resources, ranging from white papers and business-process models to XML schemas and data models, aim to help leaders from project managers to developers and information architects.

Other perks: ARTS also frequently hosts webinars on topics like digital receipts and customer centricity. And the learning opportunities extend beyond the digital realm: ARTS has a series of events and conferences for members. For example, ARTS’s next quarterly meeting will take place at the Tractor Supply Company Store Support Center in Brentwood, Tennessee, on August 17.

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