We know it’s a tough world out there for retailers, and that every moment and dollar saved can make a difference. At Google, we’re on a mission to empower retailers as never before with technologies to help you keep up with your hyper-educated customers, complex supply chain communications, distributed teams, training demands, and brand evolution.

Curious to know how Google helped a major retailer address some of these issues? I’m hosting a free webinar on Thursday, June 21, with Jason Breazeale, Senior Manager of Collaboration for international food retailing group Ahold. Jason will talk about how Ahold moved 55,000 employees to Google Apps so that its global workforce could enjoy the benefits of Google’s integrated, web-based platform for communication and collaboration. I hope you’ll join us. Please register at this site.

To help you gain a better understanding of how retail companies like Ahold and others are working with Google Apps to solve their real-world challenges, here’s a look at some of those issues and how we’re helping retailers move forward:

Better serving your customers
Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Calendar and Google Sites make it easier for your associates to communicate and share information via mobile devices and store kiosks. You can also build community and share information with Google communication and social tools such as Google+ Hangouts on Air.

Driving agile processes
Google Docs, Google Drive, and Google+ Hangouts enable anytime, anywhere collaboration among product designers, suppliers, and manufacturers. You can also conduct online, real-time meetings with virtual teams using Google+ Hangouts, and standardize communication and collaboration platform between stores and corporate with the Google Apps suite.

Streamlining associate onboarding and training
Create an HR portal with Google Sites to share forms, while tracking recruiting and hiring with Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and Forms. Deliver anywhere, any device, on-demand training with a Google Sites training portal and Google+ Hangouts on Air, and track training progress and compliance with Google Forms and Spreadsheets

Check out our site at http://www.google.com/apps/retail to explore more of these issues and understand Google’s solutions more deeply. You’ll also read how real customers are using Google Apps to solve these real-world world challenges.

And don’t forget to register for our webinar featuring Jason Breazeale of food retailing giant Ahold, who will discuss how his company has benefited from its move to Google Apps.

Posted by Rhonda Stites, Head of Retail Industry, Google Enterprise