AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT RETAIL SOLUTIONS, DISTRIBUTED IN THE TIMES

RETAIL SOLUTIONS30 MAY 2007 YOUR GUIDE TO IT SOLUTIONS AND TECHNOLOGY TRENDS FOR RETAILERS

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT RETAIL SOLUTIONS, DISTRIBUTED IN THE TIMES2

CONTENTS

DHL total solutions p. 4

Security is on the card p. 4

Harvey Nichols recognises role of IT p. 4

Retailers reap the benefits p. 5

Where are they now p. 6

Getting command of the chain p. 8

Making contactless a reality p. 9

DHL steps up to the retail challenge p.10

The customer experience p.11

RETAIL SOLUTIONSA TITLE FROM MEDIAPLANET

Project Manager: Tonje Loew Hansen, 020 7563 8885Production Editor: Ulrika FalleniusEditor: Chris FieldDesign: Sophie WesterbergPrepress: Jez MacBeanPrint: News International

Mediaplanet is the leading European publisher in providing high quality and in-depth analysis on topicalindustry and market issues, in print, online and broadcast.

For more information about supplements in the daily press,please contact Henrik Kanekrans, 020 7563 8873henrik.kanekrans@mediaplanet.com

www.mediaplanet.com

Retail board mem-bers are impatientto see IT deliverbenefits to theirbottom line be itincreasing sales,improving mar-gins, cutting sup-ply chain costs orboosting staff pro-ductivity. Theimpatience isrecognition that ITdoes really make adifference andinfluences the waythe whole organi-

sation works in ways not seen 10 years or more ago.When IT was charged with simply processing, the

board could look at the value that IT vendors wereattempting to add in simple productivity terms. Whatwere the savings and what was the return on theinvestment? Talk was about data warehousing, work-flow integration and the wireless store, which mostnon-experts did not understand, with projects fre-quently under delivering and over spending.

Today the game has changed. Systems and processesdefine the whole way a retailer interacts with its cus-tomers and suppliers. From customers’ behaviourthrough supplier relationships, IT drives the way theorganisation fulfils its objectives.

For many retailers, their e-commerce site hasbecome a primary engine of growth. It will have as big

an impact on retailers and property companies as thedevelopment of the superstore and hypermarket 20years ago.

Customers are driving the change. E-commerceoften offers the customer more convenience, betterchoice, better service, and better prices than traditionalbricks and mortar retailing. These have historicallydriven other major changes in the retail industry.

No longer can the Board leave IT to IT profession-als, claiming ignorance when the wrong strategicdecisions are made or blaming IT when the projectsover spend and under deliver.

Today as never before, successful organisations willsucceed by ensuring that the IT function is integratedinto the organisation. The people who ensure that ITsystems can work are the users. Leading edge technol-ogy is of no use unless it delivers real customer bene-fits. When the users do not get it, the red lights shouldbe flashing.

The answer lies at the top of any organisation, notwith IT. Unless the Board take responsibility for seizingthe opportunities offered by new technology, organi-sations face the prospect of at best being passed-by bymore nimble and sure footed competitors and at worstthey will die. Evolutionary changes have caused thisbefore and no doubt will again. Do not let it happen toyour business.

Sir Geoff Mulcahy is Chairman of Javelin Group, theUK’s leading specialist retail consultancy and was for20 years the CEO of Kingfisher, which he grew to beone of the largest retailers in Europe

Welcome toRetail Solutions

Sir Geoff Mulcahy

In association with

Technology comes togetherHigh street retailers are experimenting with new ways tomanage orders that rely onmany different systems, dataand devices working together toenhance the customer experience and help retailerscontrol their costs. Only fiveyears ago, this level of innova-tion was simply not possible.

The technology is effectively finding newways to handle an old problem – how to man-

age a sale that may last weeks or even monthsefficiently and avoid errors caused by repeat-ed re-processing customer information. Thisis a particular problem for make to order com-panies such as furniture retailers which canget a reputation for getting orders wrong,delivering damaged goods and losing cus-tomer details.

IntegratedRetail for the Home from K3 manages theentire sales process, from customer webbrowsing, through in-store sales, specialorders and payments to tracking, delivery andafter sales with a single, integrated system.Retailers can expect to speed up the salesprocess, cut out errors and hold ups and cru-cially, improve the customer’s experience.Retailers can get even greater control over the

whole process by adding RFID tracking, prop-erty and fleet management, to ensure rightstock is in the right place and right time.

The pilot involves equipping the salesper-son with a personal digital assistant (PDA) topresent furniture options to the customer andgather information about their selections atthe point they make their decision. The sales-person can show the customer differentstyles, colour, sizes etc, and add these to theorder. The solution even allows the customeror salesperson to “sketch” detailed drawingswhich are captured as images and attached tothe sales order.

The PDA connects to the store network so theorder can be uploaded to head office for furtherprocessing, delivery of the furniture, trackingthe order right through to delivery, and man-agement of after sales, warranty and credit.

TO MOVE YOURBUSINESS FASTERAPPLY THERULE OFTHUMB

LUUP® is the mobile payment system that enables businesses

to accept payments and take instant orders anytime, anywhere.

Now customers can make a purchase walking along a street,

sitting on a train, even relaxing in the bath.

It’s fast, safe and easy to use, there are no set-up fees and we can

arrange everything you need to accept LUUP® payments in 48 hours.

Any business can accept LUUP® payments, from a one-man band to a

multi-national corporation. The opportunities for exciting new revenue

streams are fantastic for all.

Customers can purchase goods or services on impulse and pay instantly

by text with a credit or debit card, or money stored in their LUUP®account.

Even if they don’t have an account when they text, our UK based

call centre will call them back and get them registered straightaway.

Fees are transaction based so retailers only pay for what they use.

LUUP® is regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority, with a European

E-Money License. ‘Txt2buy’ will soon be as commonplace as ‘buy online.’

To find out more about this ground breaking way to buy and pay, contact

LUUP® the market leaders in this new technology today on 0207 491 1140,

email us on ukinfo@luup.com or bookmark our retailers’ website,

https://merchant.luup.com

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT RETAIL SOLUTIONS, DISTRIBUTED IN THE TIMES4

DHL total solutionsDHL is keeping ahead of the innovation curve by anticipating the logistics needs of global retailers.

According to Hugo Patten, IT director for DHL Exel SupplyChain’s Consumer & Retail business unit, “The increasingcomplexity of the global supply chain is driving the needfor new IT solutions and services that will deliver dramaticcost or productivity benefits for our customers.”

DHL is the world leader in logistics and has 160,000employees worldwide including 2,200 IT professionals. Inorder to help maintain this leading position in the market,retailers look to DHL to leverage its scale to deliver imple-mentations quicker, at lower risk and at lower cost. DHL, as an

example, has invested in a Warehouse Management System (WMS) competencycentre, which offers WMS skilled resources and a shared platform enablingretailers to implement a WMS within a distribution centre quickly and at lowrisk. DHL implemented 199 WMS implementations in 2006 across EMEA.

“Where DHL is different is that we can provide the full suite of IT solutionsand services for our customers including the management of IS procurement,data, services, projects, products, infrastucture and IT strategy.” Pattenexplains: “In designing global supply chains that need to be responsive to thechanging markets while managing risk and costs, DHL manages not just thecomponent parts but also the whole IT solution. DHL is investing in a numberof areas including reverse logistics, in-store solutions, inventory optimisation,RFID, voice picking and track and trace technology for the whole supply chain.Many of which can be seen at our state of the art Innovation Centre in Bonn.”

These types of innovative products can help retailers cut costs and operateefficient supply chains. As part of its Go-Green campaign the company has alsoimplemented sophisticated in-cab systems for their home delivery customers,to improve fuel efficiency and to increase miles per gallon in its vehicles.

There is also strong growth in the e-commerce market and DHL has developedan e-fulfilment platform to help SMEs to enter the online market in addition toa platform more suited to larger customers. All of these developments havegrown out of the need to meet the needs of our customers and IT is playing anincreasing role in helping make this possible.

To lead the way in truly integrated supply chains there is the need for continuedinvestment in IT and its people. This continued investment is a driving force inhelping DHL to maintain its market-leading position.

Schofield was never going to be an ITdirector in the classic mould. With aretail background from scratch - Burton Group at 18 and then Deben-hams where he helped develop thewedding gift service using kiosks andhand-held scanners – he onlyemployed IT after full consultationwith the business and a firm under-standing of their requirements.

He took a similar approach at Burberry, where he worked for fouryears as retail systems manager, look-ing after both head office and stores.

Security is on the cards

Virtually ignored by the mainstreammedia, the Payment Card IndustryData Security Standard (PCI DSS),the new worldwide data securitystandard (PCI DSS) being intro-duced by MasterCard Internationaland Visa International, demandscompliance this year.

PCI embraces a series of initiativesthat aim to raise consumer confidence in the use of credit anddebit cards as well as minimisinglosses shared between retailers,acquirers and card issuers. Themain idea is to protect card data sothat no one can get hold of it anduse it fraudulently. PCI affects anyone who captures, stores andforwards cardholder data.

Mark McMurtrie says: “Retailersmust prove that they have the technology, processes and proceduresin place to protect card details.Today, they are assessing whatneeds to be done and finding thetask bigger than anticipated, withthe result that many are now considering outsourcing their cardprocessing to specialist suppliers.”

Meanwhile, there is further needto protect consumers, retailers,banks and acquirers as onlinefraud grows. Chip & PIN onlinewas promised as far back as September 2005, and is now finallyon its way. Barclays Bank is introducing a handheld chip andPIN card reader for the home thatwill work with most cards, not justthose from Barclays. Readers arealready widely available but needto be programmed; Barclays isremoving this need and making theterminal compliant with APACSstandards, in a bid to grow themarket.

In July the bank will begin sendinghalf a million card readers called PIN-sentry to its home users, free. Use ofPINsentry will be compulsory for cus-tomers who wish to transfer money tothird party bank accounts.

When a customer inserts a card intothe PINsentry reader and enters thecorrect PIN, the device will generatean eight digit number. That numbermust be typed in to the bank’s web-

Security is the hot topic in payments right now, due tothe need to protect credit and debit card paymentsfrom a surge in fraud both on and off line.

site. For security, the card reader willnot connect to a computer.

Security can be further improvedby issuing value in a more secureform, as many retailers are doing withgift cards, in preference to papervouchers. Plastic cards can be securedin the same way as payment cards.

On line, security measures can be putin place to prevent the loss, misuse oralteration of the information receivedfrom online visitors, and to make suchinformation as secure as possibleagainst unauthorised access and use.All sensitive information is generallysent from the customer’s computer tosecure servers using the higheststandard security, SSL to prevent databeing intercepted during transmission.Collected information is usually storedon secure systems on encrypteddatabases which reside behind fire-walls. Credit card numbers are wipedfrom the computer database followingpayment and despatch of goods.

There is an urgent need to pro-

tect consumers,retailers, banks andacquirers as online

fraud goes”

”

We avoided large vendors

with lots of largeretail clients becausewe wanted to be in

control”

”

Harvey Nichols recognises role of IT

He was headhunted to Harvey Nichols,where he has been for four years.

“I have been lucky at HarveyNichols because I report directly toour chief executive, Joseph Wan,who, when I joined, wanted IT notonly to deliver more but to cost less.Today I’d like to think we haveachieved and deliver greater valueoverall.”

Schofield’s first task was to demon-strate financial control and an under-standing of the Harvey Nichols situa-tion, “the core systems and processes

had been built around a single storementality, while today we stand at sixstores and two stand alone restau-rants.”

After this review he deliberatelychose to work with vendors who hadsound products but not necessarily ahigh profile and large market presence.

“We avoided large vendors with lotsof large retail clients because wewanted to be in control, functionalitycan be developed but relationshipsare harder, and this approach has paidoff handsomely.”

A major overhaul of central systemswas completed to time and budget

and recent focus has shifted towards acohesive technical and proceduralapproach to improved stock accuracyand process efficiency.

Schofield is the first to play downhis achievements. “We are all here todeliver value for money. It’s all com-mon sense really. Stay focused. Don’tworry about using the latest technol-ogy, just get the job done with thetools you have. Use IT tactically butwith strategic intent.”

The role of theCIO is changingCIOInsight says that CIOs will be focus-ing more on strategy and innovation,and step back from overseeing day-to-day operations, process improvement,data quality, projects, standards andarchitecture issues. Since these issuesaren’t going away, CIOs will need todelegate more responsibility for themto other IT executives. However, 69 percent of CIOs come primarily from within

IT, and have advanced by excelling asproject managers or by serving asliaisons, consultants or business analysts. Half spent time as program-mers or systems developers. The moveto “hybrid” CIO with equal business/ITexperience has levelled off at about aquarter of top IT executives, while theidea of parachuting CIOs with littleprior IT experience has been abandoned. CIOs want to move beyondtheir IT roots to a broader strategicposition – but they need to ask whetherthey are really prepared to play the roleto which they aspire.

Hugo Patten

Martin Schofield is the IT & Logistics director of theUK’s smartest department store, but with a new addi-tional role heading up logistics and a seat on the board,he is living proof that IT has come of age in retailing.

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT RETAIL SOLUTIONS, DISTRIBUTED IN THE TIMES0 5

Workforce management systems havemoved on from simple time andattendance recording to dynamicsolutions that can schedule staff rotasaccording to tasks in hand and inresponse to the number and require-ments of customers in store or onlineat any time of day.

WFM systems are proven to make adifference; in an Aberdeen report,sponsored by WorkPlace Systems, the

Now in its 27th year, Retail Solutions continues to reflectthe latest trends and technologies and this year sees theintroduction of a number of exciting and new initiatives.All of the ideas have been developed in association withthe full co-operation of a number of leading vendors andretail IT directors.

New for 2007 and exclusive to Retail Solutions, Storeof the Future is a futuristic store demonstrating an in-store shopping experience of the future. Showcasingtechnologies that will be hitting the high street withinthe next five years, Store of the Future offers visitors theunique opportunity to walk through the ‘store areas’ andinteract with the innovative technology.

Store of the future will demonstrate how retailers canuse technology to meet the demands of shoppers andimprove their customer’s experience by tailoring tech-nology to their unique needs, preferences and shoppinghabits. Fujitsu is providing the technology for Store ofthe Future and technical experts will be on hand to offer

detailed demonstrations and information on system integration.

Visa Europe will be showing the latest developments incontact less payments with Visa payWave, prior to alaunch in London in autumn 2007 in partnership with itsmember banks including HSBC, HBOS, Lloyds TSB, andBarclays. With Visa payWave a payment card only needsto be waved in front of terminals with no need for it to bephysically swiped or inserted into point-of-sale device,ideal for high volume retail environments, such as coffeeshops, express grocery stores and newsagents, wheretransaction values are low and speed of service is essential.

Retail Solutions has again put together a full programme of free seminars that take place in the SeminarTheatre on the floor of the main exhibition. The SeminarTheatre is being sponsored this year by Mitel. The confirmed Retailers speaking include representativesfrom Tesco, McDonalds, Dixons DSGi, Boots Alliance

and Poundstretcher to name but a few, covering topicsincluding PCI DSS, Multi Channel Performance, Fraudand Loss Prevention and International Growth Strategy.

A new networking event has been introduced on thefirst afternoon of the exhibition within the VIP lounge.This champagne reception will start at 4pm, and will be agood opportunity to catch up with peers and colleagues.The VIP Lounge Feature area is making a return to RetailSolutions for the second year and will offer the opportunityto relax and either network or hold meetings away fromthe hustle and bustle of the show floor. The VIP Lounge isbeing sponsored by and co-hosted with IBM.

The European Retail Solutions Awards gala dinner willbe taking place on the evening of Wednesday 6th June.Established as the must attend event, the night attractedover 770 people last year, celebrating the best in retailtechnology applications from across European Retailing.

For further information and table bookings please visitwww.europeanretailsolutionsawards.com

r

r

y

With WFM, retailers can cut theirlabour costs by 3%

and improve customer service””

Retailers reap the benefits of workforce managementAs retailers are squeezed between rising costs and falling margins, they constantlylook for solutions that can address both issues. For the likes of H&M, Metro, Travelex,Wickes and Somerfield, workforce management systems are part of the answer.

link between ‘Best in Class’ Retailersand their deployment of WorkforceManagement (WFM) strategies hasbeen established. The WorkforceManagement Benchmark Reportshows that by using the WFM processmore effectively than other Retailers,80 per cent of ‘Best in Class’ Retailershave improved or met their labourturnover rate goals, resulting inimproved bottom line performance

due to retention savings and highercustomer service.

Contrary to other types of software,WFM systems also have relatively fastpayback. Ian Baxter, marketing directorof WorkPlace Systems, says: “ROI onsystems is generally around sixmonths and retailers can expect notonly to cut their labour costs by asmuch as three per cent, but at thesame time, improve customer service

by ensuring that staff rotas moreclosely match customer traffic.”

Tesco’s view of workforce produc-tivity is entirely customer-focused.The company keeps checkout queuingto a minimum by using infra-red people counting technology fromIRISYS linked to forecasting technologythat predicts how many customerswill hit the checkouts at any moment.The IRISYS Smartline solution usesceiling mounted infra-red sensors above the checkout lanes todetect the number and behaviour ofcustomers at the checkouts. Byanalysing behaviour, the intelligentsensors automatically calculate theaverage queue length, average waittime and overall store performanceagainst Tesco’s One in Front customerservice commitment.

Some vendors have gone further,concerning themselves not just withworkforce management but content as

well. Karen Dyke, business develop-ment director for Retail for Triangle,says, “Where store communicationsare still largely manual and paper-based, we are automating communi-cations, information distribution, and

Solving real issues withreal solutionsRetail Solutions has a long and successful history. It is the largest gathering of retailtechnology professionals in the UK, showing that it is an essential part of the retailindustry.

access to corporate information.Providing this infrastructure to storemanagers and staff is proven todramatically improve branch controland staff productivity.”

Others look at staff tasks, to makethem more efficient. B&Q has adopteda new labelling system, RetailEnterprise Suite, from Episys that willbring massive reductions in the timetaken to apply labels in its 332 storesin the UK and Eire. Tim Smith ofKingfisher IT Services, the KingfisherDivision responsible for IT servicesfor Kingfisher’s Operating Companies,said: “Our old labelling systemworked but it took too long, whilenow our staff can use the time savedto spend with customers. Tasks thatused to take 16 hours of store labourper week can now be completed inunder an hour.”

Derek Buchanan, CEO of Episys,points the way to the future; “In termsof optimising your in-store staff tofocus on the customer experiencerather than back office tasks, workforceefficiency can be significantlyimproved by the integration ofin-store functions with existinginvestment, e.g. ensuring that promo-tional signage is only delivered to thosestores with inventory, is delivered inplanogram order and is delivered in aconsistent form across all media. Fromthat platform, you can further reducetime spent on the creation of promo-tional signage by managing yourcontent in one place, with one teamand delivering it to the most relevantdevice, whether that be paper, yourwebsite, an advert or in-storemultimedia.”

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT RETAIL SOLUTIONS, DISTRIBUTED IN THE TIMES6

ENJOYTHEFREEDOM

OFVOICE

SOUND performance.Maximum RESULTS.

Vocollect Voice®, Vocollect’s portfolio of products and expertise for enabling Voice-Directed Distribution®

creates direct communication between team membersand information systems to deliver unparalleled performance in a variety of environments from distribution centres to long-term care facilities.

Vocollect Voice® literally talks people through theirdaily tasks, replacing cumbersome lists and traditionaldata capture methods with hands-free, personal voicedialogues.

Since 1987, Vocollect Voice® has delivered proven per-formance improvements in productivity, accuracy, costreduction and job satisfaction for mobile employeesachieving rapid ROI for businesses worldwide.

Email us at: retailtimes@vocollect.com

Remember Smart Store? This was apurpose-built facility in Windsorfrom Andersen Consulting (nowAccenture) featuring actors andstaged sets showing how shoppingand consuming would look in thefuture. With the dotcom boom in fullswing, the future was limited only bypeople’s imagination, or so themantra went.

Almost weekly, innovations werecoming over the US, then the pioneerin internet applications. One featured

Where are they nowBefore the dotcom crash at the end of the 1990s, a number of innovative technologieswere setting the world of retailing on fire. Problem was, none of them worked. ChrisField looks back.

a laser scanner in a dustbin. The ideawas that, on reaching for your tooth-brush at night before going to bed,you would see that the toothpaste hadrun out. You would then throw theempty tube into the bin, the bar codewould be scanned and then a messagewould be sent over your cable net-work to the nearest supermarket. Amember of staff would then drive toyour house to deliver a new tube.

Here was the future. Meanwhile,Pizza Hut was trialling a remote

ordering device, similar to a TVremote control. This domestic devicefeatured two buttons, one red and onegreen. As soon as you felt hungry,usually following a Pizza Hut adverton the TV, you would make yourchoice: red for pepperoni and greenfor margherita. A press of the buttonwould alert the local Pizza Hut tomake up and deliver your order, allwithin 20 minutes.

Consultants, technology expertsand analysts were telling us how it

was going to be and, frankly, theywere wrong, but we could alldream. Today, we are getting ourgroceries delivered to the door,buying and selling on eBay,downloading music and telecon-ferencing for free on Skype. Thefuture has arrived and it’s moreexciting than anyone could haveguessed.

After many false starts, the

future has finallyarrived and

it works””

D&A 20:20vision Opticians Dollond & Aitchison, hascommissioned CIBER Novasoft toimplement SAP retail solutions in a bidto improve the customer experience,reduce costs and increase sales.

D&A chose CIBER Novasoft and SAPRetail because it was the only solutionthat could provide a single view of itscustomers and manage the complexnature of its sales process.

Paul Willows, IT director at D&A said,“We are working together to provide asystem that will support the customer-centric strategy of the business and thecomplex issues that are unique to Optics.For instance the new system will allowour colleagues to automatically checklens and frame combinations againstprescriptions to ensure that we recom-mend and manufacture the perfect pairof glasses for each and every customer.

k

r

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT RETAIL SOLUTIONS, DISTRIBUTED IN THE TIMES8

Getting command of the chain

With more and more retailers sourcing products fromfurther and further afield, including Asia Pacific, theextended supply chain is throwing up a whole new setof problems of management, control and visibility.

Traditional supply chain systemswere largely home grown, built apiece at a time – and therefore uninte-grated – and designed to manageshort, often domestic loops. Today,they must be able to manage chainsthat operate at much higher speeds,service a broader range of formatsand channels, handle internationalcustoms documentation, demonstratecompliance with a growing burden ofregulation, all while reducing costs

for retailers whose margins are constantly under pressure.

Provider of global supply chainsolutions, Kewill, sees flexibility asthe main challenge to organisationsof all sizes trying to compete in theglobal economy. Kewill’s chief mar-keting officer, Jacquie Boast says: “Ina crowded global market, key playersfrom all industries are looking todrive efficiencies by having what weat Kewill call ‘a dynamic supply

network’. This differs from the traditional supply chain by enablingorganisations to be more responsiveto their end customers through flexi-ble connectivity between partnersand systems, providing improved visibility and effective global compli-ance, bridging the gap from a traditional rigid supply chain.”

There is a lot to be said for exploitingcurrent technologies better, evenwhile keeping a watching brief onnew developments. Mark Croxton,managing director of Aldata UK, aglobal leader in supply chain softwarefor retail, wholesale and logisticscompanies, explains: “We are seeing alot of interest in Track and Trace solu-tions, but most companies are stillusing EAN barcodes rather than RFID.Our response has been to support thisinterest, but in the meantime, to provide solutions based on existingtechnologies that identify product IDand relevant data means supply chainvisibility, more efficient operationand less mistakes leading to lowercosts and better customer service.”

This has put been to great effect atGrand Marnier by Aldata. The Frenchliqueur manufacturer complies withEAN 128 labelling conventions inorder to ensure traceability of allproducts,” said, Arnaud Mabire, ITManager Group Grand Marnier.“Aldata’s G.O.L.D. Stock solution hascompletely solved our warehouse

optimisation and traceability problems.Today, whether shipped to France orexported, every order is accompaniedby a documentation pack fully meetingcustomer’s requirements,” he added.

Other vendors are adding value tothe supply chain by enabling greateruse of product data. Enabler Wipro,an international IT and business services provider, has helped whole-saler, Nisa-Today’s to drive retailmember recruitment with a newmember communication and ordercapture system from Enabler.

“The new Order Capture System hasimportant benefits for both membersand Nisa-Today’s: All members –existing and new, can sign up moreeasily and cheaply than they can withother Symbol groups and benefitfrom a more enhanced, efficient serv-ice, resulting in better prices andservice to their customers,” said Nisa-Today’s IT director, Wayne Swallow.

With a global supply chain focus,Inovis says that flow of informationback from the supply chain has itstouch points. Stephen Jefferies, theirdirector of EMEA Retail explains,“This may be a direct electronic linkto customs quotas, UK freight forwarders, the shippers, overseascustomers, packers, manufacturersand even the manufacturer’s suppliers.All of these can all be linked in to yourextended web based, cost effectivesourcing or supply chain solution.”

Carphone Warehouse cuts fraudThe Carphone Warehouse, is preventing hundreds of thousandsof pounds worth of fraud following the adoption of RetailKey LPfrom IntelliQ, a provider of comprehensive loss prevention solutions. RetailKey LP, works by trawling through transactionaldata to spot exceptions against rules set by The Carphone Warehouse, taking the data required for analysis directly fromPIE, Carphone Warehouse’s global point of sale system.

“Like all major customer facing companies across Europe, thereis a constant need for the business to track and limit the risk ofabuse in every day areas such as refund and discounting policies,credit card fraud, and identity and insurance fraud,” said MikeFurphy, Carphone Warehouse’s European loss prevention andfraud manager based in Switzerland. “With the introduction of atailored data mining solution, we were immediately able to trackall transactional behaviour generated at every Point of Saleacross the business, and in every channel.”

Stylo Barratt cuts duty burdenStylo Barratt Shoes is set to improve accuracy and efficiency byupgrading warehouse management processes at its 330,000square feet distribution centre in Bradford using WarehouseManagement from RedPrairie. Concurrently, the company willenhance cash flow by deferring duty and VAT paid on importedstock using Duty Management, RedPrairie’s duty managementsolution.

“The provision of integrated duty management and WMScapability is viewed as a major benefit to our business,” says IanUnwin, operations director, Stylo Barratt. “Warehouse Manage-ment will optimise stock throughput and allocation, and result inmore accurate order fulfilment and a faster response to customerneeds across all business areas.” Duty Management’s process-dri-ven workflow functionality will simplify and automate the han-dling of bonded goods and ensure efficient compliance with HMRevenue and Customs (HMRC) regulations.

Mosaic communicatesat high speedMosaic Fashions, the parent company of high street fashionretailers, Coast, Karen Millen, Oasis, Odille and Whistles, hascommissioned a communications network and high-speed inter-net, from Vodat International.

By linking 650 sites across the UK, Ireland and Europe via highspeed broadband, Mosaic’s fashion brands will be able to processsales transactions faster, stream high volumes of data betweenstores and improve the share of knowledge across the company.

John Bovill, IT director at Mosaic Fashions Ltd, said: “Wedecided to take a fresh approach to our network and to streamlinecommunication between stores.

The speed of delivery of sales data, transactions and applica-tions now means that each brand is more efficient in its workingpractices.

Network installation started in September and we will start tosee cost reductions on our VoIP calls in 2007.”

LUUP expandsto providemobile paymentsLUUP, the leading mobile paymentprovider, is expanding acrossEurope, the Middle East and Chinato continue its m-payment andremittance strategy on a globalscale.

In Europe, LUUP is currentlyoperational in the UK, Germany,Norway and Poland. The companyholds a European E-Money Licenseand is regulated by the FSAenabling it to operate throughoutEurope. LUUP provides unrivalledmobile and online payment capa-bilities through SMS, WAP and theinternet to businesses, banks andnon-profit organisations.

Amnesty International recentlylaunched a campaign to supportthe women of Darfur using LUUP’sText-to-Donate service. In Ger-many, LUUP is even being used totop-up mobile phone pre-paidaccounts anytime from anywhere.

LUUP will showcase its Text-to-Buy service at the Retail Solutions2007 event in Birmingham on June5-7.

Businesses wishing to acceptinstant orders and payments forproducts can find out more athttps://merchant.luup.com

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT RETAIL SOLUTIONS, DISTRIBUTED IN THE TIMES0 9

The relationship between these two paymentindustry leaders began in 1998 and since thenthey have developed a range of award winningproducts and solutions to allow retailers toaccept plastic card transactions. An example ofthis has been their successful collaboration inrolling chip and PIN technology to thousands ofretailers and card accepting businesses acrossthe UK.

The partnership, built on trust and reliabilityof the products produced, is underpinned by acommon objective: to set the benchmark indelivering innovative payment solutions for UKretailers and to develop products that address thekey challenges that retailers face every day.These include the speed of transactions, queuetimes at the checkout, security of payment pro-cessing and increased footfall.

Barclaycard Business and Ingenico are nowworking together to ensure retailers are ready forthe latest innovation – contactless payments. InSeptember this year contactless cards will beginto be issued by banks, a change that is set totransform the payments industry. This fast,secure payment solution will allow any Barclay-card Business retailer to accept payments forgoods under £10 in less than a second.

To demonstrate this new card payment solu-tion both Barclaycard Business and Ingenico willbe appearing together at the Retail Solutionsshow, UK's largest event for retail, hospitalityand leisure decision makers to source real solu-tions to real business issues. Barclaycard Busi-ness and Ingenico can be found at stands E30 &E40 throughout the show which runs on 5,6,7June at NEC, Birmingham.

Making contactless a reality: A relationship between Barclaycard Business and Ingenico built ontrust and reliability

Barclaycard Business, one of Europe’s largest acquirers and processorsof plastic card transactions and Ingenico, a world leader in providingsecure transactional payment solutions, have, over the last nine years,developed a long and successful relationship which provides retailerswith fast and secure payment processing solutions.

Upcoming supplements

For more information on promotional opportunities and other titles, please call Henrik Kanekrans +44 (0)207 563 88 73 or email henrik.kanekrans@mediaplanetgroup.co.uk

Communicate core messages within a relevant editorial environment

Mediaplanet is the leading European publisher in providing high quality and in-depth analysis ontopical industry and market issues. Upcoming titles include Asset Finance, Made in Italy, Vision,Theme parks, Regeneration, Perfect Skin, Private Aviation, Arts & Collectables, Polo, Business ProcessOutsourcing, Nanotechnology, Water Management, Help your Heart, Diamonds, Business Continuityand Parkinson’s Disease

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT RETAIL SOLUTIONS, DISTRIBUTED IN THE TIMES10

Whilst online retail flourishes,established retailers launchingtransactional websites face thischallenge - same brand, same prod-ucts and same services across allchannels be that store, web,catalogue or phone. Zendor, theManchester-based multi-channelfulfilment specialist, provides theexpertise and infrastructure required to help retailers join upall operations to deliver a trulymulti-channel shopping experience.

With a firm foothold in the industry,Zendor are one of the longest-runningthird party fulfilment solutions providersin the UK, set up by home shoppinggiant N Brown plc in 1999. Leveragingfrom its core strength in fashion andfootwear fulfilment, Zendor has steadily

built a reputation and creditability along-side its highly flexible and robust infra-structure to manage a range of propositionsfor big-names retailers such as EarlyLearning Centre, River Island and JJBSports.

Zendor’s full end-to-end physical solution encompasses e-commerce,storage, pick/pack, delivery, returns anddedicated call centre services. And whatsets Zendor apart is not only its expertisewhich helps retailers capitalise on theopportunities of multi-channel retailingby defining an online strategy and inte-grated business model, but also the closealignment of its third party services. Theresult for clients is synchronised retailchannels, which can deliver a coherent,seamless customer service.

Already handling 3 million item dispatches, 0.5 million returns and 0.6

million inbound customer contacts (callsand e-mails), Zendor has positioned itself for future growth and expansionwith the acquisition of a new flagshipwarehouse in North Manchester. Unitingits core team, with a proven trackrecord in all distance selling, at this‘showcase’ site and adding almost200,000 sq ft of capacity to its fulfilmentnetwork takes Zendor to the next levelof development and maximises its abilityto see companies through the nextphase of retail and beyond.

Contact details: Nick Allen, Chief Executive / E-mail: curious@zendor.com / Tel: 0161 238 2050 / www.zendor.comZendor, Unit 26, Broadgate, Oldham Broadway Business Park, Chadderton, Oldham, OL9 9XA

ZENDOR GETS MULTI-CHANNEL RETAILING ALL JOINED UP

Retail technologyawardTriangle won in two categories at thisyear’s Microsoft Retail ApplicationDeveloper Awards : Best Communica-tion and Collaboration Solution plusthe judge’s special category of ‘People-Ready Business in Retail’.

Triangle joins a select group ofwinners who are widely recognised asadvancing the state of technology inretail. The judging panel features representatives from leading retailers,who this year included Tesco and Primark in the UK. Now in their 7thyear, Microsoft’s EMEA Retail Appli-cation Developer (RAD) Awards are amajor event in the retail technologycalendar. They recognise independentsoftware vendors and retailer ITdepartments that have made the bestuse of Microsoft technology to deliverbusiness value to retailers in Europe,the Middle East and Africa.

Retail Manager has been imple-mented and is delivering a wide rangeof benefits for leading UK retailersincluding Mothercare, The BodyShop, Matalan, Vision Express, NewLook and The Officer’s Club.

Matalan totransform communicationwith TriangleMatalan has implemented Triangle’sRetail Manager™ to improve retailprocesses and achieve a step change ininternal communications. The InSightsolution has helped Matalan increaseefficiency while reducing operatingcosts; the business expects benefits tobe realised within two years.

“This was a retail-led project thatwas all about the end users,” saysAndrew Weir, Head of Retail Opera-tions, Matalan. “We wanted to intro-duce one very clear communicationchannel whilst reducing traffic on the others: to improve quality of commu-nications, visibility of task executionin stores and reduce communicationcosts. We wanted to help stores to prioritise and manage critical infor-mation and key messages. Ensuringthat time saved at the back of houseincreased the quality of our customersshopping experience.”

ChoicesUKmanagesclients onlineChoicesUK, an entertainment retailer,has transformed its e-commerce systems and order fulfilment supplychain with the support of Charteris.

ChoicesUK’s e-commerce systemsnow give the company a single viewof its customers, data and processes,enabling it to sell across multiplechannels – website, mail order andtelephone sales. In addition, there isone service policy so that returns aremanaged more efficiently.

According to Graham Lyden, its ISdirector: “Our existing systems werenot scalable for future demands. Theywere based on a proprietary ASPrather than open .NET architecture.We needed a solution that could growwith us and enable us to expand intonew areas, including promotions,linked products and white label.”

Fashion retailnot open to buyonlineResearch carried out by Zendor revealsthat the number of fashion andfootwear retailers who have launchedtransactional websites has onlyincreased from 23 per cent in 2003 to39 per cent in 2006.

Zendor has been tracking 130 ofthe UK’s top retailers since 2003, andthe results show that almost two-thirds are currently unable to takeadvantage of the online opportunitiesavailable to them. Surprisingly, 11 percent of these retailers do not evenhave a basic website presence.

However, Zendor also identifiedthat 2006 saw the most activity in theonline fashion and footwear sectorwhen there was a 42 per cent increasein the number of retailers to launchan e-commerce operation (comparedto a 9 per cent increase in 2005).

The science of being right, DHLsteps up to the retail challengeThe modern world is a fast moving place and in retail – where planning cycles mustanticipate consumer demand sometimes months ahead of time – it spins even faster.Maintaining an edge in retail is all about being right: having the right product, inthe right place, at the right time, at the right price.

Historically, third party logisticsproviders’ (3PL) business grew withretailers through learning the retailers’‘art’ of being right, then applying the‘science’ to develop supply chainsolutions that focused on place, timeand cost, thus enabling retailers tofocus on their core business: product,price and brand. Today, the pace ofchange in the industry is challengingthis basic relationship between retailerand 3PL.

From fashion to food, retailers facean increasingly competitive market.Price deflation, specifically in manu-factured products such as clothing,has driven the need to source fromever lower cost factories off shore.

Retailers’ supply chains havebecome far more complex. Multiplechannels to the customer such as inter-net shopping, franchising, outlet andchain stores each have a different serv-ice driver – getting it 100 per cent rightfor an individual consumer in responseto an e-Commerce order is far moreexacting than batch shipments to store.

Traditional barriers between differentretail formats such as departmentstores, grocers and fashion specialistsare breaking down.

Retailers are seeking to increasetheir speed to market to remain competitive, while becoming increas-ingly accountable for their carbonemissions, food miles and contributionto congestion.

“Despite all the varied pressuresfacing the retail sector, at the end ofthe day retail success still comesdown to your team,” commentedPerry Watts, CEO DHL Exel SupplyChain Retail and Consumer division.“The retail supply chain challenge isever increasing, but the DHL team hasthe skills and knowledge to provide apositive contribution in cost control,service levels, systems change andshare price impact for its customers.”

DHL has the capacity and commitmentto meet its clients’ future retail needs,from large multi-national retailerswith global supply chains to small andmedium sized businesses for whomcollaboration with other retailers –through shared facilities, networksand resources – can create a real competitive advantage. This can be especially important where retailersare seeking to develop new channelsto market such as e-Commerce wherethe speed of growth is unknown andinvestment in infrastructure lessattractive.

In fashion, where speed to marketequals success or failure, DHL hasbuilt a European multi-user time-definite hanging garment network.The movement of garments – fromsingle items to entire collections – canbe tailored to support local, nationalor European launch campaigns.

As a leading logistics provider, DHLhelps retailers leverage the unit

shipping costs of their internation-al freight when buying offshoreand drives consistent service levelsend-to-end. DHL’s internationalnetwork of people, skills and tech-nology help retailers address lega-cy infrastructure and systemsissues, developing solutions thatsmooth the path to future globalsourcing success.

Today, environmental responsi-bility is an important aspect of anybusiness. DHL works with retailersto reduce their carbon emissionsby developing food miles initia-

tives, running trials with alternativefuels and electric vehicles, recyclinginitiatives for packaging and returns,running multi-user vehicles to sup-port multiple retailers in outlyingtowns, and offering retail consolida-tion centres such as those atHeathrow and in Bristol to reducecongestion.

The key to matching a retailer tothe right supply chain solution is tounderstand the business’ challengesand needs. With proven experiencein the retail industry, DHL provides ahost of solutions and technologies tosupport retailers throughout theentire supply chain

“These are exciting andchallenging times for retailers,” con-cluded Perry Watts. “But DHL is com-mitted to providing retailers withsolutions which are relevant totoday’s challenge of being right.”

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT RETAIL SOLUTIONS, DISTRIBUTED IN THE TIMES0 11

The great irony of customer service isthat retailers put improvement at thetop of their wish list but then fail toallocate funds directly to it. IT to therescue; one of the biggest changes inIT in the last 15 years has been theway that technology and businesshave come together to solve funda-mental management issues, of whichcustomer service a is key one.

Roy Tomlinson, managing directorof CIBER Novasoft, explains: “Whilethe initial motivation for implementingERP systems may be to improve stock,store and financial management, thefinal judgement will be on their abilityto improve customer service in thestores and online to drive sales.”

Successful customer servicerequires a level of flexibility in IT systems that has been largely absentuntil recent years. Famous for meetinginitial specifications but then slow tomake changes, the IT department nowhas at its disposal a range of packagedsystems that can add applications,almost on the fly.

Microsoft Dynamics provider, K3,can write applications to support itscore retail management modules during a project planning meeting.Paul Makin, sales director of K3explains: “There is less and less to distinguish between different retailmanagement systems. The judgement

The customer experienceFickle, demanding, sophisticated, informed, vocal – these are just some of the wordsused to describe the modern consumer. What is very clear to retailers is that they arehaving to work much harder on improving the experience that customers have whenthey browse and shop.

needs to be made on the ability of thevendor to deliver business value,adapt to the pace of change in thebusiness, and deliver relevant data tothe point of service.”

Paul Beard, sales director of Irish ITsolutions provider, Celtech emphasisesthe need for real time informationacross the business. “We are enablingcustomers to order online for pick upin a location of their convenience,without stressing the supply chainbecause total stock position and loca-tion is known at all times. In turn, theretailer can identify the customerthrough any channel and target pricingand promotions”

Customer service has been a driverbehind the adoption of broadband.

IT will be judged on its ability to

improve customerservice in the

stores and online todrive sales”

”

Mike Bielinski, managing director ofVodat International, talks about nextgeneration broadband systems, “WithIP Centrex, retailers can effectivelymake the whole enterprise into a callcentre, to manage customer commu-nications at the point of service, forstock queries, ordering, delivery, pay-ments, warranties, returns and so on.”

On the hardware side, specialisthand-held devices are rapidly converging with more consumer-likedevices such as the PDA. While therobustness and dedicated features oftraditional devices are important,their cost is preventing their adoptionmore widely beyond the warehouse.In store, hand-held PCs can handlestock management, price checking,label printing and mobile point ofsale, all applications designed toimprove customer service.

One such is Datalogic Mobile’sPegaso Compact PDA with colourscreen, which combines wireless connectivity with ruggedness andergonomic design. Running onMicrosoft Windows CE 5.0, it has a1.5 metre drop resistance, user acces-sible SDIO port expandability, is IEEE802.11 B/G and has single/vehiclecradle and multi battery charger. ItsIntel processor also provides computingpower for video and graphics applications.

Midlands Co-op revamps supply chainMidlands Co-op, with over 160 stores, is to use Aldata G.O.L.D. Supply ChainManagement and in-store software to support its retail operations in the UK.The order covers Aldata G.O.L.D. modules for central data management,order management, store inventory management, automated replenish-ment, point of sale and payment systems. The agreement includes optionsfor further G.O.L.D. Modules.“Midlands Co-op is seeking to improve itsoperational efficiency and flexibility through the implementation of AldataG.O.L.D.,” says Tony Carroll, head of retail for Midlands Co-op. “In G.O.L.D.we have found a system that will adapt to our dynamic business in a fast-changing retail landscape. We are investing in technology that will benefitour customers, our members, and our staff.”

“The technical architecture of the Aldata system was a big attraction”,says Mark Ruttley, head of IT at Midlands Co-op. “We have chosen an open,scalable system which will drive large business benefits quickly within asimplified, integrated structure.”

Footasylum attacks footwearmarket with new systemsFootasylum, a footwear and apparel retailer launched by former JD Sportsexecutives, has commissioned K3 to design and implement an entire suiteof retail management solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics.

Footasylum will be using Microsoft Dynamics’ in the stores for point of saleand in-store back office, and in the head office for merchandising, warehousingand financials. The whole solution will go live in May of this year.

Peter Atkinson, Operations Director of Footasylum, said: “Retailers needslick IT and supply chain solutions and Footasylum is no exception to this.Dynamics is an end to end solution which will be a key element within theoverall operation. The reporting tools in Microsoft Dynamics will enable usto manage our stocks at the lowest level enabling us to respond very quicklyto store and regional variances.”

Electronic communications for SMEsWholesaler, Nisa-Today’s, is using Kewill Trade Forms for exchangingbusiness critical supply chain information with over 300 of its small tomedium suppliers.

With over 674 Nisa retail members in the UK, Nisa-Today’s handles avast number of orders and customer enquiries every day. Kewill TradeForms is expected to increase Nisa-Today’s electronic trading communityto in excess of 75 per cent of its supplier base, utilising the Kewill suite ofeBusiness supply chain execution solutions, including Kewill MessageBroker,Kewill Trade Forms, and the Kewill RetailXchange.

“Kewill’s Trade Forms solution supports our overall drive to enhance supplychain efficiency by eliminating manual errors and streamlining our processes.The system will reduce administrative costs and increase visibility, whileenhancing the relationship with our small to medium suppliers, allowing us toreact quickly to changes in the market and ensure continual development inour supply chain”, said Wayne Swallow, IT director for Nisa-Today’s.

JD Sports responds to localdemandJD Sports, with 400 stores, is ramping up its merchandise planning andforecasting capabilities with assistance from IT and business servicescompany, Enabler Wipro.

The new system will be developed based on Oracle Retail’s planningapplications in conjunction with First Friday. It will enable JD Sports toenhance its planning and forecasting accuracy and speed at Category andBrand level providing visibility for terminal stock management. In thisway, JD Sports will be able to allocate stock to stores more quickly andaccurately, and be more responsive to local demand.

“JD Sports is a fast moving and highly successful business. Enhancingour existing merchandising processes will enable us to provide more effec-tive assortments to our customers,” said Martin Beardsell, head of mer-chandising, JD Sports.

Fortnum & Mason drives signageFortnum & Mason has selected a signage solution for its Piccadilly storefrom global information technology solutions and services company,Episys, to complement its new Food Hall.

The initial delivery, comprising a complete signage solution includingsoftware, printers and labels, provides signage for the Food Hall, whichopened on October 30. The second phase, in line with the main store refur-bishment, will be fully integrated with the back office systems, and providea signage solution for the whole store.

Ian Weston, operations director, Fortnum & Mason said: “The retailenterprise suite has delivered us exactly what we need in terms of a ticketingsolution for Fortnum & Mason, and we’re delighted with the results. We didlook at other potential suppliers, but felt that Episys was offering the solutionthat best suited our requirements.”