New consultancy launches: Cambridge Retail Advisors
Founding members of management consultancy Boston Retail Partners (BRP) leadership team have launched new consulting venture Cambridge Retail Advisors (CRA).
A release from the firm stated that the new firm will “continue the legacy of Boston Retail Partners,” which supports retail industry clients with strategy, technology, and process solutions. Cambridge Retail Advisors will continue many of the existing BRP client relationships and engagements.
CRA will focus on strategy, selection, and implementation for customer engagement, product and inventory management, including POS, mobile, e-commerce, order management, CRM, and merchandise management.
The new consultancy’s leadership team averages more than 25 years of retail and consulting experience. The wider team includes industry leaders and team members who have all worked in retail and hospitality.
"We're excited to start this new chapter, and we look forward to continuing our leadership role as trusted advisors and thought leaders. As retailers assess their current customer engagement processes and solutions, many recognize the need for improvement. It is time to reimagine the customer engagement model, as retailers must continually transform their organization, business processes and technology to align with the demands of their customers," said Marty Whitmore, managing partner at CRA.
Whitmore is a senior IT executive with deep expertise in the retail industry. He previously spent more than six years with BRP, where he was latterly a senior vice president. Before that, he spent over two decades at TJX and predecessor firm The Marmaxx Group, where he was SVP of global infrastructure services, VP of global store systems, and AVP of store systems.
"Customers want to shop wherever and whenever they want with the benefits of both the digital and physical experience,” said Hunter Harris, partner at CRA. “As retailers look for ways to differentiate in today's highly competitive market, personalization is a critical component for optimizing the customer's shopping experience.”
Harris has over 30 years of retail and consulting experience. He previously spent five-and-a-half years at BRP, where he was latterly an SVP. Before that he spent nine years at Capgemini, where he focused on retail supply chain consulting. Harris was also an EVP at retail consultancy LakeWest Group, a senior manager at Accenture, and a VP in the retail practice at SAP America.
The CRA team also includes VPs John Rohland and Mike Powell, and project managers Sarah Pelton, Joe Lawlor, and Arjune Ramdan. The firm’s office is located in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
