The Awards

These Awards are designed to reflect the current challenges and innovations of this past year, with an eye always on Community and Partnership, the DNA of our organization.

Partnership Awards

Partner of the Year

Achievement in Excellent Customer and Employee Culture - Customers want to do business with good companies. The satisfaction of your employees in service to the satisfaction of the customer above all else, can sometimes create difficult decisions, but you know the right thing to do. Applicants/submissions must demonstrate multi-faceted excellence including philanthropy, customer first behavior and a great employee culture, with results.

The VIP Challenge Award

2024 theme: Development of AI/ML capabilities, personalized to impact clients specific challenges and/or enhanced customer experiences

You took down barriers and incorporated speed, agility, and resourcefulness, moving away from the status quo, developing an original and inventive solution, or a significant change to your business model for your clients. Demonstrate innovation in partnership to solve a client hardship, pain-point, or new opportunity.

Best Kept Secret Award

You have a great solution or service with good customer success, but not enough people know about it - or - they don't associate it with your brand. Explain your success and why it could be a game changer.

The Retailer’s Favorite

You are always there, in good times and bad, AND no drama, no friction. Your clients consistently reach out to you, even for things outside your expertise. Apply here and explain why your customers say they wish all their partners were like you.

Best Longstanding Partnership

You and your clients enjoy a long-term relationship that has been forged by successes and adjustments, but you have built trust, remained innovative, and continue to find ways to work together for mutual benefit. As a result of your committed partnership (minimum 5 years), the client continues to have sustained rewards over time. Describe the results, expectations and agility that create this sustained relationship.

Retail Partnership Awards

Retail Partner: Person of the Year Award

The Retail Partner of the Year Award recognizes the executive in retail that is a pioneer, an innovator, a lifelong learner, and a mover and shaker. He or she is a leader who leaves a path for others to follow and embodies the Vendors in Partnership mission in how they work with their partners, demonstrating vulnerability and trust as they come equally to the table and establish successful long-term partnerships. This executive also demonstrates to those they lead, how all boats rise in a committed partnership, enabling future leaders to further advance effective business relationships for mutual benefit.

Retail Transformation of the Year

SUBMISSIONS FROM A RETAIL COMPANY ONLY

This award recognizes a retailer on the transformation journey delivering sustainable change and measurable results. Submissions for this award should demonstrate a cross-functional program with results from one or more of, business model transformation, technology modernization, Organizational/Culture transformation, or Business process transformation. The entry must demonstrate how the transformation journey is delivering quantifiable, ongoing and sustainable business impact and results. Highlighting partners that contributed to the success is a plus! This award is for retail companies to enter only, use code RETAILERNOM to complete your entry upon checkout.

Innovation in Commerce

Best Unified Customer Experience

Retailers need a way to build a branded experience that meets their customer's expectations, connecting cross channel customer information to ultimately impact the customer experience. Describe how your solution brings the best customer experience to life.

Best Breakthrough Technology Solution

Cutting-edge technologies have transitioned from unfamiliar entities into targeted solutions with clear goals and expectations. With examples such as AI/ML, AR, Robotics, Livestream, Voice or other breakthrough tech, explain how you have become an integral aspect of success and performance for the retailer.

Best Commerce or Multi-Vendor Platform

Just about every aspect of commerce has evolved, with composable commerce creating a strong partnership ecosystem, including the continued rise of marketplaces. Describe how your solutions or services are helping determine the right business strategy, appropriate flexibility, robust functionality or seamless integration for customers, employees and other stakeholders.

Marketing

Best Marketing Automation

Retailers need to communicate seamlessly across multiple customer segments and touchpoints, regardless of how they interact with the brand. Describe how your B2B or B2C solution addresses any of the multi-faceted marketing touchpoints across the website, mobile, social, direct mail, call centers, paid media and email.

Best Execution of Retail Media

Retail Media Networks continue to grow at an unprecedented rate, with an ecosystem of agencies, technology partners and marketers creating powerful experiences across the customer journey. In addition to new marketing techniques, describe how you provide clients with creative capabilities and aligned incentives beyond traditional efforts, and cater to product and service innovation.

Analytics

Best Retail Insights

Insights are critical and actionable with the data in an actionable format. Describe how your solution interprets foundational business data for customers, pricing, financial etc. across channels, responds to dynamic interactions and delivers real value for your clients.

Best Business Intelligence and Analytics Platform

Today's challenges require business intelligence that is interactive and intuitive, with ease of implementation and agility for managing changes in the business. Describe how your solution, technology and execution deliver the foundation for accurate and critical business analysis.

Supply Chain Innovation

Best Distribution Center Innovation

Innovations affecting productivity, reduced costs and speed to destination, are changing the industry and critical to compete. Describe how you are serving the industry and winning using robotics, automation, AI or simulation to bring state of the art methods to the efficient handling of merchandise.

Sustainability

Best Sustainability Initiative

Sustainability is a powerful value proposition for business leaders and consumers. The retail industry must combine operational excellence with social and environmental responsibility, transparently demonstrating their environmental impact and support of the broader community. Describe the initiative that demonstrates your values with a detailed impact for your company, and the benefits for the retailers that work with you.

Payments

Best Payment Innovation

A frictionless, last moment, user experience is critical for conversion. With new payment options, gateways, integrations, and innovation, describe how your solution enables this critical step and how you service the retailer with ease of implementation.

Communication

The Retail Voice

The retail community needs valuable information from those that best understand the changing market, what's coming next, and the interpretation of what it means. If your passion is keeping the industry informed as an analyst, journalist, blogger, podcast host or any media resource,  highlight the great value and experience you bring to the industry.

Security

Best Security Solution

Protecting operations, customers and employees from fraud, risk and interruption are a daily concern for retailers. Describe how your solutions help your clients discover, mitigate, protect and recover from threats and business challenges.