The End of Siloed Retail: A New Model for Agility, Accuracy, and Growth

Did you know siloed systems cost retailers and brands billions in lost opportunities every year? Commerce is evolving at breakneck speed, yet many businesses remain trapped by outdated tools, fragmented data, and sluggish workflows. 

At Digital Wave Technology, we’re changing that. Our CEO, Lori Schafer, shared this vision at Conversations On Retail’s inaugural One Store at a Time Solution Summit on March 12, detailing a future powered by a unified data foundation, native AI driving every decision, and composable commerce solutions that keep pace with modern business needs. 

It’s time to rethink technology for consumer industries—not as a patchwork of fixes, but as an agile engine for growth. 

Why Siloed Systems No Longer Work 

Retailers and brands have outgrown disconnected systems. Siloed data leads to delays, errors, and inconsistent customer experiences—issues that impact both trust and the bottom line. Legacy “suites” often promise integration but deliver a Frankenstein of acquired tools with mismatched architectures and confusing interfaces. The result? Inefficiency everywhere. 

The stakes are high: lost sales from missed trends, duplicated efforts across teams, and blind spots in operations. “Companies still predominantly operate in silos,” Schafer warned, underscoring why digital transformation demands a smarter approach. 

The Power of a Unified Data Foundation 

Picture a single analytical data model as your business bedrock—one version of the truth that eliminates uncertainty. “There are no more silos of data,” said Schafer. “It’s one version of the truth—very accurate.” 

That’s the core of Digital Wave’s ONE℠ Platform. It offers real-time visibility into marketing, merchandising, pricing, content, and operations, ensuring every team—from retail to brand to supply chain—syncs with clean, unified product data. 

This foundation powers omnichannel workflows, erasing divides between stores, digital channels, and back-office systems. With AI cleaning data on entry, retailers and brands unlock insights that drive sharper, faster decisions. 

AI-Native, Model-Agnostic, Future-Ready 

At Digital Wave, AI isn’t a bolt-on—it’s native. Numerical AI tackles forecasting and optimization. Generative AI handles content, copy, and personalization. And because our platform is model-agnostic, it works with any AI model—off-the-shelf or proprietary. 

That flexibility matters. “Different problems call for different models,” said Schafer. From dynamic pricing for high fashion to promotional optimization for grocery, the ONE℠ Platform adapts to every retailer or brand’s evolving needs. 

Connected Solutions, Personalized Experiences 

The ONE℠ Platform is an ecosystem of modular, composable enterprise solutions—all fueled by a shared data foundation. “Retailers only learn one user interface for many different solutions,” said Lori Schafer, CEO of Digital Wave Technology. The result is faster onboarding, minimal training, and a more cohesive user experience across teams. 

It spans product information management (PIM), master data management (MDM), merchandising, pricing optimization, and generative AI content creation. 

Need accurate attributes fast? Our platform uses computer vision to scan packaging and populate fields automatically. Need on-brand product descriptions? It batch-processes thousands, tailored to your brand voice. Every solution is connected, ensuring personalized customer experiences across every channel. 

Built for Speed, Built for Scale 

Modern retailers and brands need to move fast. The ONE℠ Platform was built for that. 

• Rapid Deployment: Quickly prototype and launch new applications with low-code tools and pre-built components. 

• Real-Time Precision: Drive pricing, inventory, and promotions with analytics that update in real time. 

• Scalable Growth: Schafer explained, “We optimize price points across a product’s lifecycle—regular, promo, and markdown.” That means growth without overhauls. 

Whether you’re managing assortment strategies or launching the next best-seller, the ONE℠ Platform gives you speed without complexity. 

Breaking Barriers, Building What’s Next 

Retailers and brands don’t need more band-aids. They need a unified, agile foundation that meets today’s demands and scales for tomorrow. The ONE℠ Platform from Digital Wave Technology delivers just that. 

We’re not just integrating AI—we’re changing how it’s used across the industry. Our platform brings together data, intelligence, and composability so you can unlock speed, accuracy, and lasting growth. 

Ready to move beyond silos and lead with intelligence? Reach out to discover what the ONE℠ Platform can do for your team. 

Listen to Lori’s full presentation at Conversations On Retail’s inaugural One Store at a Time Solution Summit here.