There has been a sea change in the way modern marketing management and retail operations have evolved and at the crucial end of these developments, lies Information Technology (IT). It is an accepted fact that modern organized retailing cannot survive without IT acting as the strong backbone. Modern retail operations have been revolutionized by the use of Information Technology (IT), which has now become an inevitable part of the process. The laser-scanners that are being used in most grocery supermarkets and superstores to read the product bar codes are merely the visible components of the substantial investment made by retailers in extensive computer and high speed communications networks in order to collect and exchange data between stores, distribution centers, suppliers and head offices. Such networks are not the sole preserve of large companies. The relative costs of IT systems have fallen considerably in recent years, enabling most retailers towards investment. The use of IT is further expected to grow rapidly.

Information Technology (IT) has proved to be vital for core retailing functions like store operations, merchandise management, planning and forecasting, and inventory control. Supply chain initiatives like Quick Response (QR), Efficient Customer Response (ECR), and Collaborative Planning and Forecasting (CPFR) are due to IT. A relatively young organization like Wal-Mart (founded in 1962) has leveraged IT to become one of the largest retail corporations in the world, outstripping competitors like SEARS and K-MART. The success of many companies may be related to the way they have improved the operation of their business through investment in technology. The significant contributions to efficiency can be directly related to the application of scanning and stock control systems, data interchange and management support systems. Modern technology is transforming the retail environment and has helped many companies expand their operations.

IT refers to the production, storage and communication of information using computers and microelectronics. It includes not only the equipment used to produce, store and communicate information, but also the business applications where it is used. An IT system requires `hardware' (the term used for the equipment which handles data using computer equipment). Mainframes are the largest computers used to run major systems, with specialized software often produced by the mainframe supplier or by closely associated companies. Minicomputers, as the name suggests, are smaller computers with much of the power of mainframes but which can use commercially available packages, representing considerable savings in cost and development time.

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