Decathlon, a major innovation player in the global sports retailing, comes back with revolutionary new ideas. With its 1,600 stores in 52 countries, the Frenchy aims to reinvent the customer experience in its stores using APIs.

With its network of applications powered by APIs, Decathlon aims to connect systems and processes that were previously disparate. Such as point of sale software (POS), order management and inventory data – so employees can easily access and reuse applications and data, globally.

“Development teams across the company can access and reconfigure these building blocks, unlocking endless potential for innovation and expansion” said Tony Leon, CIO and CTO of Decathlon USA. He adds “For example, our order management project would have taken a year […], but we completed it in four months.”

Decathlon started by designing a cloud-based order management platform with reusable APIs. It includes product prices, order reconciliation, inventory and order preparation. Today, thanks to its architecture and API network, Decathlon can reduce the lead time by 30% in the implementation of new solutions, such as shipping.

Decathlon is constantly innovating. Using APIs (accessible through a Mulesoft platform) and its “labs” store, the French sports retailer wants to create a store that redefines the customer experience: A perfect playground of + 4000m² on the outskirts of San Francisco in California.

Although ambitious, its objectives are clear:

• Reinventing checkout process
• Share the availability of stocks in real time with consumers
• Leverage standalone robots to provide daily inventory updates

«Simply present your shopping basket, it is fully scanned, and the prices are displayed on the iPad. You only have to pay with your phone, or with a card, because the store does not accept cash » claims Michel d’Humières, CEO of Decathlon USA.

In a country where « Cash is King », it’s a daring bet to refuse cash payment… Not to mention the considerable advantage offered by APIs and their culture of re-use: it is possible to use a single API for several different applications. And in this context, it is a bundle of 11 APIs which are adopted in re-use to support this innovation!

At Orange France, APIs are also very common in physical sales networks. Here are five examples of internally used APIs:

• Queue management in store and taking into account customers in this queue.
• Search and archiving of tested equipments carried out in the shop, especially Livebox or Set-top box tests.
• Safe and quick check of digitized supporting documentation scanned in the shop.
• Management of express withdrawals in Orange stores with information relating to a customer order (mobile or accessory) made from the Internet store.
• Sharing editorial information to run Orange stores in France, Reunion and the Caribbean region

Still in this re-use logic, maybe one of you will find a new way to use this technology!

Explore the links below:

On a visité le nouveau Decathlon d’Emeryville. On a eu des surprises. – French Morning

Decathlon Leverages API Network To Eliminate Checkout, Streamline Inventory – Retail TouchPoints

Décathlon, un nouveau concept de magasin connecté – Siècle Digital

Decathlon goes for Salesforce’s MuleSoft and API management – Entreprise Times