Whether it is mobile or Omni-channel retail, retailers are moving to phase two of the one version of the truth mindset. The desire is to remove complexity and to get everyone working from the same version of the data.

The single version of the truth started as a business intelligence and data warehouse mantra. By consolidating all of the data into a single data warehouse after being cleaned retailers have been able to greatly improve efficiencies particularly in the area of forecasting and inventory control.

We are now seeing phase 2, but it is no longer around the data warehouse, but rather the inventory view and business logic around transactions. Soon to be gone for most retailers are separate merchants handling different sales channels. The move is to a single merchant handling the inventory and forecasting for every potential way the customer wants to buy that item.

And running concurrently in most companies, particularly in those in the General Merchandise category, is the move to singular business logic for their transaction engine regardless of whether the transaction is a traditional POS, a mobile device, a consumers mobile device app, ecommerce, or catalog. This theme was a key part of the Epicor Insights conference last week here in Nashville.

By moving to a single business logic that sees a singular view of available inventory, retailers can vastly improve the efficiencies of their development efforts and overall success of their companies.

Now this is obviously easier said than done. A key component is enterprise order management. That is the place to start. Its a journey, but one worth taking.