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Leslie Hand

Research Director

As Research Director for IDC Retail Insights, Leslie Hand provides fact-based research and analysis for IDC Retail Insights Supply Chain, Merchandising and Demand Management service. She also provides thought leadership on Sustainability, IT for Green and RFID.

In her 25+ years in retail information technology she has guided strategy, development and implementation efforts in supply chain, demand planning, merchandising, point-of-sale (POS), integration and retail back-office applications in a variety of retail segments including grocery, drug store, and specialty. She leverages this experience to provide relevant advice to retailers and technologists on technology, technology strategy, and business processes.

Ms. Hand regularly contributes to the Retail PLM and Sourcing blog in the IDC Retail Insights Community (http://idc-insights-community.com/retail). Her Twitter handle is lesliehand.

Ms. Hand has a wealth of experience in small and large retailers, ranging from managing store systems and IT operations in the mid-1980's for a drugstore and specialty retailer, to heading IT for a new division of a tier 2 retailer in the 1990's, leading in the selection, implementation and support of the full range of store and central technologies, and culminating in a Global IT strategy role for a top global grocer.

Immediately prior to joining IDC Retail Insights, Ms. Hand was the Director of Global RFID Strategy and the Solutions Center for Ahold. In this position, she was responsible for defining and communicating the long-term Global RFID (EPC) vision and strategy, developing proof of concepts collaboratively with cross-functional business teams, actively engaging in EPC standards development (EPCGlobal) and managing Global Data Synchronization (GDS) supplier on boarding and adoption. In addition, she was also a key contributor to SOA integration initiatives and the standardization of the application portfolio among the regional operating companies.

Ms. Hand is a frequent speaker at industry and technology vendor events and is regularly quoted in the business, technology, and trade press. She holds a bachelors degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Research Authored by Leslie Hand

Best Practices: Grocery Survey Results Indicate There Is No Return to Business as Usual
Leslie Hand
Jun 2010 - Doc # GRI223732      Best Practices
This IDC Retail Insights report is based on the 2010 IDC Retail Insights/RIS News Supermarket Benchmark Survey and captures the essence of the retail response to a dramatically different grocery landscape — one colored by s ...
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JDA FOCUS 2010: Will "The Supply Chain Company" Deliver?
Leslie Hand, Simon Ellis
Jun 2010 - Doc # GRI223669      Perspective
This IDC Retail Insights Perspective reviews JDA's FOCUS 2010 end-user event, and IDC Retail Insights and IDC Manufacturing Insights share what they learned at the event. JDA had much to prove to existing and potential customers, after i ...
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Best Practices: 2010 Retail Supply Chain Survey Reveals Top Initiatives and Supply Chain Priorities Align on Efficiency and Lean Execution
Leslie Hand
Jun 2010 - Doc # GRI223369      Best Practices
This IDC Retail Insights report provides retail supply chain investment best practices, as discovered through analysis of the 2010 IDC Retail Insights and Manufacturing Insights' Supply Chain Survey. This report should b ...
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Worldwide Retail IT Spending Guide, Version 2, 2009
Leslie Hand, Bob Parker, Nina Bonagura, Ivano Ortis, Giuliana Folco, Gary Koch, Christopher Holmes, Milan Kalal, Roman Maceska, Renato Troya, Matias Berardi, Chin-Boon
May 2010 - Doc # GRI223465      Pivot Table
This IDC Retail Insights Pivot Table presents our best estimates and forecasts for the worldwide retail IT opportunity. This Pivot Table provides IT spending forecasts for the following subindustries: apparel and accessory stor ...
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Improving Product Quality — The Top Retail Supply Chain Initiative of 2010
Leslie Hand
May 2010 - Doc # GRI223409      Perspective
This IDC Retail Insights Perspective provides insight into a key finding from our 2010 Retail Supply Chain Survey. The finding, improving product quality is the number 1 retail supply chain initiative, will be examined i ...
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The State of RFID 2010: 10 Takeaways from RFID Journal Live 2010
Leslie Hand
Apr 2010 - Doc # GRI223042      Perspective
This IDC Retail Insights Perspective provides insights from the RFID Journal Live 2010 event that took place in April in Orlando. This was the fifth consecutive year that this writer attended this event, so our perspective is b ...
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Business Strategy: RFID — EAS Never Knew Loss Like This Before
Leslie Hand
Apr 2010 - Doc # GRI222746      Market Overview
This IDC Retail Insights report explores the retail strategies emerging from the growing number of RFID initiatives, particularly for softlines retailers including American Apparel and Charles Vogele and general merchandisers i ...
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12 Things Retailers Did Last Year to Improve Supply Chain and Overall Business Performance
Leslie Hand
Mar 2010 - Doc # GRI222405      Perspective
This IDC Retail Insights Perspective outlines 12 of the supply chain initiatives that provided near-term returns in 2009. We recommend that retailers look to this list to see if they have done all that they can to improve suppl ...
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MediaTile and 1020 Placecast — Enabling Immersive Customer Experiences
Leslie Hand
Feb 2010 - Doc # lcUS22225610      IDC Link
Retailers are applying precision retailing tactics to attract and retain customers, meeting current needs with relevant targeted messaging and winning their loyalty by engaging them and understanding their aspirations. Engaging consumers, w ...
Maximizing the Lean Store Advantage with RFID
Leslie Hand
Feb 2010 - Doc # GRI222179      Insights Presentation
In this presentation, you'll learn how leading retailers have been able to improve the speed and precision of inventory cycle counts, gain a comprehensive view of in-store inventory, and reduce both shrinkage and out of stocks. ...
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More Research authored by Leslie Hand