Food Lion Improves Store-Level Tasks
To consistently execute its retail strategy across its enterprise of more than 1,200 stores, Food Lion LLC, Salisbury, N.C., added a task-management solution.
The chain, which is a division of the Delhaize Group, is known for its groundbreaking retail concepts in the fields of pricing, convenience and customer service. However, managing such a vast enterprise made it difficult to streamline workloads, manage task accomplishment, monitor ongoing promotional efforts, and ensure profitable store execution.
By adding the RetailAction Manager application from Reflexis Systems, Norwood, Mass., the supermarket chain gained a way for store associates to spend more time with shoppers rather than manage back-end operations.
The chain integrated the Web-based solution with its existing portfolio of retail systems. The project, which was completed within 17 weeks, now enables Food Lion’s stores to use timely exception-based reporting to gain a real-time view of workloads and overload. It also provides insight into stores that are facing problems.
“Food Lion has now synthesized business processes and is providing tremendous value to their customers,” said Raghu Narayanamurthy, VP of professional services at Reflexis. “Food Lion was able to drive remarkable return on their investment within a short time scale.”
Stage Stores Delves Into Operations Performance
Houston-based Stage Stores is committed to delivering nationally known, brand-name apparel, accessories, footwear and cosmetics through its family of almost 670 stores nationwide. In an effort to better evaluate sales and inventory across its store network, the chain is expanding its deployment of McLean, Va.-based MicroStrategy’s reporting and analysis solution.
Stage Stores, which operates Bealls, Palais Royal, Peebles and Stage department stores, already uses the solution to assess vendor performance, analyze point-of-sale transactions and produce financial reports. The solution’s expansion will enable the chain’s buyers, planners and allocators to use transactional reports for merchandising analysis. More specifically, users will be able to gain insights into store operations, product sales, marketing campaigns, merchandise management and customer loyalty.
“MicroStrategy is a powerful tool that provides excellent analysis capabilities, especially for organizations with enormous amounts of data,” said Jeff Kish, CIO of Stage Stores. “By streamlining the analysis of our transactional data, our users will have the information they need to make strategic, data-driven decisions.”
Plaid Pantry Adds New POS to Reduce Maintenance Costs
When Plaid Pantry, Portland, Ore., went in search of a new point-of-sale solution that would support future upgrades and maintenance, the chain chose the UltimaTouch 1800 Series POS Workstation from Ultimate Technology Corp., Rochester, N.Y.
The 100-store chain required a solution that would reduce installation, software and maintenance costs. The new POS also had to be flexible enough to support future upgrades. Designed with expansion in mind, the 1800 Series fit the bill.
Ultimate Technology provides point-of-sale products built on standards and flexibility. These features help to automate store-level operations.
The UltimaTouch 1800 Series has a rugged 15-in. LCD screen, and features Intel processors and an embedded chipset for hardware configurations stability. The system also provides options including a 3-track Magnetic Strip Reader, an internal CD drive, integrated speakers, and a two-line, 20-character customer display. It is also flexible enough to support wireless operations and PCI (payment-card industry) standard upgrades.
“We are excited about the UltimaTouch 1800 workstation for our convenience stores,” said Brad Buckmaster, IT manager for Plaid Pantry. “We anticipate that this update will meet our POS demands and reduce maintenance and failure costs.”