This post is sponsored by Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions.
Retail and Hospitality organizations are no longer competing on their physical locations – they compete on the quality of their technology, including digital storefronts, chatbots and apps.
Customers will walk away from businesses if they experience downtime due to outdated technology or encounter a disconnect between the physical and online experiences. Agility and innovation are key, with 80% of success now depending on how fast an organization can adapt.
This environment demands the flexibility to make technology adjustments quickly while maintaining top-level customer service.
To meet these needs, businesses are increasingly tapping AI in a variety of areas:
- Predictive Agility: Inventory forecasting, dynamic pricing and personalized marketing
- Security: Detecting anomalies, fraud prevention and automated incident response
- Analysis: Analyzing large datasets for real-time information on consumer demand
- POS: Streamlining payments and checkout for physical and online stores
Retailers are upgrading faster than ever, but upgrading doesn’t need to mean starting over. Flexible, modular systems allow businesses to keep pace with evolving demands while providing a consistent experience to consumers.
For example, Toshiba’s MxP™ Modular eXpansion Platform allows retailers to create a tailored self-checkout solution for their specific store footprint. The platform is designed to enhance operational efficiency.
Modular tech keeps what works and adds what’s next. Each module performs a specific function and can be replaced or upgraded without requiring the entire system to be rebuilt. This breaks large, monolithic systems into flexible, interoperable components that can be customized to meet an organization’s unique needs — adding mobile ordering to ease peak demand, expanding payment options to reach more audiences, or introducing analytics that anticipate customer needs.
With modular tech, companies can:
- Replace or upgrade outdated components with ease
- Customize hardware and software features
- Test tools in real-time environments
- Experiment easily and move on quickly
- Rapidly adapt to market shifts, omnichannel demands and new technologies
These innovations will become increasingly necessary as demand for workers spikes. The Hospitality industry is projected to face a shortage of 8.6 million workers by 2035, and modular technology allows businesses to do more with less. Self-service tools such as generative AI chatbots can reduce staff workload while automation streamlines workflows and reduces human error. Additionally, modular solutions enable organizations to adopt new capabilities without requiring specialized technical expertise.
Best practices for implementation
Organizations looking to implement modular technology architecture can take a few steps to ease the process.
- Start with a clear roadmap: Identify which areas (e.g., POS, inventory, analytics) benefit most from modularization
- Invest in interoperability standards: Use APIs and standardized data formats to ensure seamless communication between modules
- Prioritize governance and security integration: Maintain consistent security policies and compliance across all modules
- Build change-ready teams: Train staff on agile workflows and cross-functional collaboration
- Pilot, learn, scale: Begin with smaller, high-impact modules; iterate based on performance before full rollout
- Embed security into every layer (security by design): Integrate cybersecurity at the design phase rather than as an afterthought
- Empower cross-functional agility: Encourage collaboration between IT, operations and business units
Conclusion
Organizations that invest in modular technology will be the leaders in retail, entertainment and hospitality, empowering staff to do more with less. They will have the flexibility to add the innovations they need, when they need them, taking the organization and the customer experience to the next level. Learn more.