About CRA

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About Us

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About Cambridge Retail Advisors

At Cambridge Retail Advisors, we're all about retail, just like you. We don't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we partner with retailers, bringing our deep operational leadership and cutting-edge technology know-how to turn your trickiest problems into clear, practical solutions that drive real growth and efficiency.

500+

Projects

Over 500 engagements including retail, hospitality, grocery, convenience and entertainment
96%

Client Re-Engagement

Our engagements are powered by a diverse team of seasoned consultants, meticulously matched to align their specialized expertise with your specific project requirements.
100%

Leadership

Our partners and practice leads are all former C-level retail executives with hands-on industry experience.
23+

Years Experience

Every consultant brings an average of 23+ years of direct retail experience, translating into unparalleled industry knowledge and practical solutions.
200+

Experienced Consultants

Our engagements are powered by a diverse team of seasoned consultants, meticulously matched to align their specialized expertise with your specific project requirements.
YOU DON'T NEED TO TEACH RETAIL TO OUR CONSULTANTS!

Complete Retail Consulting Services

Cambridge Retail Advisors helps retailers from start to finish, from setting a plan to putting new systems in place. Our services come in three main parts, plus extra "Horizontal Services" to make sure things are ready and keep working well long-term.

a business woman makes a chess move with a golden piece

Planning Services

We help you make a clear plan that fits your business goals, find ways to grow, and set things up so you can expand easily.

Business Strategy and Planning

Looking at the market, checking out competitors, and planning for the future.

IT Roadmaps

Step-by-step plans to update your tech and connect different systems.

Cloud Planning

Checking if you're ready for the cloud and how to move there.

Better Business Processes

Making your main retail tasks smoother and more efficient.
a business woman analyzes several screens for key data

Choosing Technology

Using our retail knowledge and proven methods, we help you pick the best tech solutions for your specific business.

Omnichannel Solutions

Picking systems for sales (POS), online stores, mobile, and 'buy online, pick up in-store'.

Payments and Security

Finding solutions for safe payments, security compliance, and fraud prevention.

Customer Systems

Advice on CRM, loyalty programs, and Customer Data Platforms (CDP).

ERP Systems

Guiding you to choose ERP systems for managing products, supply chain, and money.
a group of project team members celebrate a big milestone

Putting Systems in Place

Our experts give you organized, hands-on help for smooth changes, successful launches, and making sure users adopt new systems quickly.

Project Management

Picking systems for sales (POS), online stores, mobile, and 'buy online, pick up in-store'.

System and Data Integration

Finding solutions for safe payments, security compliance, and fraud prevention.

Quality Testing (QA)

Thorough testing of sales (POS), ERP, and e-commerce systems.

Training and Change Help

Providing custom training and smart ways to manage change.
Our extra Horizontal Services—like Change Management, Quality Assurance (QA as a Service), Staff Augmentation, and Fractional Consulting—are part of all phases. These services add to our main offerings by giving flexible, as-needed support, helping you achieve lasting change and lowering risks.

Service Line Capabilities

We support retailers through every part of their technology journey: from setting a vision and picking vendors, to successful system setup and ongoing improvements.

1

Strategic Planning and Assessment

We help retailers create strong business and technology plans, review current systems, and build clear roadmaps for growth.
2

Vendor Selection and Architecture

We guide you through choosing the right retail tech. We manage the RFP process, evaluate vendors, and design solutions that fit your business needs.
3

Implementation and Optimization

Our experts manage your IT projects from start to finish. We ensure smooth system setup, quality checks, and effective change management to boost user adoption and results.

Our Approach: Strategy

Our strategy methodology ensures alignment between business objectives, technology capabilities, and organizational readiness, creating a solid foundation for successful transformation initiatives.

Discovery

  • Assess current state operations and systems
  • Analyze performance metrics and pain points
  • Identify business goals and opportunities
  • Document key stakeholder requirements

Direction Setting

  • Define strategic objectives and priorities
  • Develop evaluation criteria
  • Identify potential solutions and approaches
  • Engage stakeholders to build consensus

Future State Design

  • Create detailed future state vision
  • Design business processes and systems architecture
  • Define organizational structure and roles
  • Develop change management approach

Transformation Planning

  • Create implementation roadmap
  • Develop resource and investment plans
  • Define governance and risk mitigation
  • Prepare business case and ROI analysis

Our Approach: Selection, Evaluation, and Mobilization

Our strategy methodology ensures alignment between business objectives, technology capabilities, and organizational readiness, creating a solid foundation for successful transformation initiatives.

Engagement Planning

Define project scope, timeline, and team. Establish selection criteria and decision process.

Requirements Development and RFP

Gather detailed requirements. Create comprehensive RFP leveraging our extensive requirements repository.

Evaluation Modeling and Weighting

Develop scoring model with weighted criteria reflecting business priorities and objectives.

Vendor Evaluation

Conduct demos, site visits, and reference checks. Score responses using standardized approach.

Solution Rationale

Document selection rationale with supporting evidence. Address risks and mitigation strategies.

Executive Summary

Prepare executive-level summary with recommendations and business case for preferred solution.

Mobilization

Develop implementation plan. Establish governance structure. Kick off implementation.

Our Approach: Systems Implementation

Our implementation methodology incorporates robust governance, comprehensive testing, and proven change management practices to ensure successful system deployments with minimal business disruption.

1

Planning

  • Develop detailed project plan
  • Establish governance structure
  • Define success criteria
  • Resource allocation and scheduling
2

Design and Development

  • Detailed system design
  • Configuration and customization
  • Integration development
  • Data migration planning
3

Implementation

  • Deployment planning
  • Training and change management
  • Go-live execution
  • Post-implementation support
4

Testing

  • Unit and integration testing
  • User acceptance testing
  • Performance and security testing
  • Defect management and resolution

Increased Emphasis on Change Management

Research consistently shows that effective change management is one of the most critical factors in successful technology implementations. Organizations with excellent change management practices are six times more likely to meet project objectives and deliver expected business outcomes.

Adapt. evolve. Thrive. Three big jigsaw puzzles with modern retail store images
At CRA, we integrate change management into every aspect of our implementation methodology, recognizing that technology transformations ultimately succeed or fail based on people's willingness and ability to adopt new ways of working.

Our retail-specific change management approach addresses the unique challenges of retail environments, including distributed workforces, varying technical literacy, and the need to maintain business continuity throughout the transition.

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Flexible Engagement Models

Our flexible engagement models allow you to leverage our expertise at any stage of your e-commerce journey, from initial strategy development through ongoing optimization and refinement.

Strategy and Planning

  • System architecture design
  • Technology selection
  • Define success metrics
  • Implementation plan and timeline

Implementation

  • Facilitate technology changes
  • System integrations
  • Oversee QA and launch

Ongoing Optimization

  • Regular analysis of consumer experience
  • Ideation of optimization opportunities
  • Management of A/B and multivariate tests
Contact us today to learn how Cambridge Retail Advisors can help you transform your retail technology ecosystem and drive measurable business results.