Strategic advisory for retail technology, software and investment

Independent advice for investors, retailers and software companies on retail technology strategy, product positioning, platform selection, competitive assessment and transformation.

30+ years of hands-on experience selecting, implementing and assessing POS and Unified Commerce platforms across complex international retail environments.

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Independent and vendor-neutral. No resale, no vendor commissions, no referral fees.

Who I advise

Three audiences, one perspective

I advise investors, retailers and software companies on high-stakes decisions involving retail technology and software platforms — combining deep market knowledge with hands-on experience selecting and implementing competing solutions.

Investors & Private Equity

Independent assessment of retail software platforms, competitive positioning, product maturity, technology risk and growth potential — beyond ARR and market metrics.

Retail Software Companies

Product strategy, competitive benchmarking, market positioning, roadmap prioritisation, international expansion and enterprise readiness — from someone who sees both sides of the market.

Retailers

Technology strategy, platform selection, transformation roadmaps and independent programme assurance — strategic judgment first, delivery capacity second.

What I help with

Advisory services

Senior-level engagements across the full arc of a platform decision — from independent advice, due diligence and platform selection through hands-on implementation and multi-country rollout of POS and Unified Commerce platforms.

Investment Due Diligence

Independent product and technology due diligence, competitive benchmarking, software market assessment, technology-risk evaluation and growth-potential assessment ahead of an investment decision.

For investors & private equity

Portfolio-Company Advisory

Product maturity reviews, roadmap and growth assessment, strategic positioning and value-creation support for portfolio companies after investment.

For investors & boards

Product & Competitive Strategy

Product strategy, competitive positioning, roadmap prioritisation, product-market fit and build / buy / partner decisions for retail software vendors.

For retail software companies

European Market Entry

Market assessment, go-to-market and implementation and partner models, plus enterprise and RFP readiness for software companies expanding into European retail.

For retail software companies

Platform Selection & Implementation

End-to-end POS and Unified Commerce delivery — from RFI/RFP and vendor assessment through solution design, integration, payments and multi-country rollout to go-live and lifecycle support.

For retailers

Transformation & Design Authority

Target architecture, transformation roadmaps, implementation leadership, independent design authority and programme assurance across multi-country retail transformations.

For retailers

Why Ewoud

Three perspectives, rarely combined

I bring together three perspectives that are rarely found in one advisor: the retailer selecting technology, the implementation leader making it work in practice, and the strategic advisor helping software companies improve their product and business. It is also why boards and management teams bring me in for a short, independent second opinion — a board review, a programme health check, or an honest assessment of a transformation that has stalled.

01

The retailer selecting technology

I know how retailers actually evaluate platforms — what claims survive contact with real stores, and what determines whether a growth story is credible.

02

The implementation leader

Having selected and implemented competing platforms across large international estates, I can assess architecture, localisation, operating model, scalability and real-world execution risk.

03

The strategic advisor to software companies

I advise software companies on product strategy, commercialisation, scaling and international growth — so I understand both how retailers buy and how vendors need to build, position and sell.

Hands-on implementation and independent strategic judgment — from one advisor.

My independence is structural, not just stated. I don't resell software or implementation, and I take no vendor commissions, referral fees or partner incentives. Every recommendation I make serves your interest alone.

Structurally independent · Vendor-neutral · No resale · No commissions or referral fees

Selected experience

Programmes across international retail

Selected engagements across large multi-country store estates and thousands of POS endpoints — spanning strategic platform decisions, hands-on implementation and multi-country rollout.

2023 – present
Action 3,000 stores · 14 countries
Strategic POS platform assessment and target architecture for a large international value retailer, followed by governance of a multi-country transformation.
GK Software Adyen Centric
2023 – present
Amac 50 stores
Strategic advisory and implementation leadership in the transition from ERP-centric retail technology to a best-of-breed Unified Commerce architecture.
New Black Adyen SAP Business One
2022 – 2024
Kiko Milano 1,000 stores · 25 countries
Senior independent advisory and design authority for a large international Unified Commerce programme spanning Europe and the Middle East.
New Black Adyen
2019 – 2022
Scotch & Soda 200+ stores · 11 countries
Led European Unified Commerce vendor selection, target architecture and transformation strategy across multiple countries.
New Black Adyen
2016 – 2022
Rituals global
Strategic advisory on payment platform, PCI-DSS, fiscal compliance and Unified Commerce direction for a global retailer.
New Black Adyen
2018 – 2019
Coop 300 stores
POS platform selection and target architecture with SAP integration.
Centric
2016 – 2019
Action 2,000 stores
Governance of a large-scale POS hardware programme: 6,000+ POS units, €30M+ investment decision.
Centric
2015 – 2018
NS Stations
POS selection and target architecture with SAP integration.
Anchr
2010 – 2014
HEMA 500+ stores · 4 countries
POS platform selection and rollout across 3,000+ endpoints.
Cowhills

About

Ewoud de Boer

Ir. Ewoud de Boer MBA is an independent strategic advisor specialising in retail technology and software. He advises investors, retailers and software companies on high-stakes decisions involving POS, Unified Commerce, product strategy, competitive positioning, platform selection and transformation.

What differentiates his perspective is that he has both selected and implemented competing technology platforms across large international retail environments. This allows him to assess not only product functionality and architecture, but also implementation complexity, localisation, operating model, scalability and real-world execution risk. He is an independent advisor on European POS and Unified Commerce platforms, working vendor-neutrally and without implementation resale or software commissions.

Alongside more than 30 years of retail technology experience, his work with PUM Netherlands Senior Experts has sharpened a second part of his advisory approach: rapidly understanding unfamiliar businesses and markets, working intensively with leadership teams, structuring complex challenges into focused workshops, and turning the outcome into clear strategic priorities within a short timeframe. He applies the same disciplined method in his commercial engagements.

Based in
Maarssen, The Netherlands
Education
MSc Computer Science (Twente) · MBA (Bradford, UK)
Languages
Dutch (native), English (fluent), German (proficient)
Active since
1990

International software advisory

PUM Netherlands Senior Experts

As a senior expert with PUM Netherlands Senior Experts, Ewoud advises technology SMEs in emerging markets on product strategy, commercialisation, international growth, organisational scaling and technology strategy.

These engagements are short and intensive. Ewoud works directly with company leadership to rapidly understand the business, break complex challenges into focused workshops, and synthesize the outcome into a coherent strategic direction and practical action plan — typically within around two weeks. It is the same method he brings to retail technology and software advisory work.

PUM is a non-profit that connects experienced Dutch professionals with businesses in emerging markets; Ewoud contributes as a volunteer expert. Missions have taken him to India, Bangladesh, Burundi, Lebanon and Vietnam.

Let's talk

Discuss a strategic question

Considering an investment, a platform decision, a product direction or a programme that needs an independent view? Get in touch for a short, senior-level conversation.

Email ewoud@rethink.nl
Phone +31 6 2456 1772
LinkedIn Ewoud de Boer
Location Maarssen,
The Netherlands