J.C. Penney named business technology leader

Plano, Texas J.C. Penney Co. said Tuesday it has been ranked No. 6 in the 2009 InformationWeek500, recognizing the retailer’s strategic, innovative technology.

It was named the Category Winner for Supply Chain and the Industry Winner for Retail.

“To rank sixth on the InformationWeek 500 list and be named a category and industry winner is a great honor for J.C. Penney and our entire IT team,” said Tom Nealon, chief information officer. “We believe investing in IT, particularly in a downturn economy, is a competitive advantage for our company, and are encouraged to continue to develop innovative technology solutions that are key to driving business and maintaining our strong industry position.”

J.C. Penney’s Door to Floor technology was cited as one of the “20 Great Ideas.” The technology enables store management to know what merchandise will be delivered up to 48 hours in advance, allowing for optimal planning and preparation for getting merchandise off the truck and onto the sales floor. The end result is greater efficiency in terms of merchandise speed to floor, set execution and overall increased productivity.