Don't get left behind!
Retail World - May 2011
Don't get left behind, Retail World, May 2011 (PDF)
In part two of our series on retail business solutions, we again look at some of the systems and technologies making life easier for retailers and having a positive impact on profit.
1. A better print solution
Company name
Upstream Print Solutions
Product/Service
Utrack
Description
Utrack is a print tracking and monitoring system designed to promote responsible usage. The Technology integrates not only with a retailer’s existing print servers, but also embeds within printers and multifunction devices.
The solutions offers real-time monitoring, ‘follow-me’ printing with swipe card authentication and reporting activity down to user and department levels vi flexible web interface.
By logging all print, copy, fax and scan activity – including document name, size, colour, mono output, cost and number of pages – the tool gives organisations detailed insight into who is printing, moving and storing what.
Target market
Utrack is used by both small independent retailers and large multi-site retailers operating in a wide range of market sectors.
Key benefits
When part of an overall managed print solution Utrack can help reduce almost a quarter of a business’ printing costs.
Armed with the intelligence Utrack provides, organisations can roll out measures to reduce printing levels and ensure network resources are use in a sensible manner. These measures include:
- Making end-users responsible for their own activity
- Billing specific departments for their printing
- Setting quotas for specific teams
- Implementing ‘swipe-and-release’ print technology
The technology also allows organisations to manage their carbon footprint by providing insight into the carbon emissions generated by their current levels of printing.
Approximate cost
POA
Retailers currently using this system/service
Retailers currently using the Utrack solution include Bakers Delight – one of Australia’s most successful franchises, with retail bakeries across the country.
Using the Utrack solution, Bakers Delight can track printing behaviour for accurate departmental charge-back and a consistent cost-per page across the business financial forecasting.
With Upstream, Bakers Delight has streamlined operations, saving 18 per cent a year in operation costs while increasing printing capacity by 50 per cent.
Quote from a happy client:
Joanne Stubbs – CIO, Bakers Delight.
‘Dealing with Upstream was a breath of fresh air. The cost savings were very welcome, while the increased capacity came as a bonus.
2. Warehouse management system
Company name
Provida Pty Ltd
Product/service
Accellos Warehouse Management Systems
Description
The Accellos Warehouse Management Systems is a full warehouse management systems combining radio frequency and barcode technology with a robust, three-tiered, internt-based architecture.
Target market
This product is well suited to any retail business that has a warehouse, holds stock and is seeking to run all greater efficiency and effectiveness.
Key benefits
It’s a powerful, scalable and flexible real-time warehouse management system that helps boost productivity, reduce costs, shorten order fulfilment times and increase customer satisfaction. It can also be fully executed in a cloud-based environment with fully secured back up and 24/7/52 access to all items residing within the system.
Approximate cost
For a fully-fledged warehouse management system, it costs about $2500 per system users. The RMS is $2200 per system users. Implementation costs are additional.
Retailers currently using the technology
- Coles
- Track n Field
- H Polesy
- Crabtree & Evelyn
3. Better product allocations
Company name
JDA Software Group
Product/service
JDA Planogram Generator
Description
JDA Planogram Generator is a software solution developed to address the inventory assortment optimisation challenges faced by many retailers and their suppliers. The powerful software solution takes the guesswork out of what products/inventory should be held at each individual outlet.
Target market
Any retailers that manage across many outlets of a single retail group. It takes into consideration local demographics, population, consumption rates, social conditions, income averages, size of outlet and many other factors that can have an impact on a geographic location.
As a result, the Planogram Generator elimates the inaccurate manual inventory selection process.
Key benefits
In Australia, with a small population spread over a vast geography, it will elimate all the guesswork and optimise inventory actions along the entire retail supply chain, regardless of how thinly stretched they may be. Take, for example, a national chain of convenience stores, retail coffee or chocolate chains, hardware stores or even clothing stores. With a traditional approach, the manager of each outlet would guess as to what product lines many or may not be popular and make inventory decisions accordingly.
However, by using Planogram Generator, store managers can calculate accurate stock requirements immediately, relative to local demographics and potential upcoming needs.
Approximate cost
On application and relevant to level of need required.
Retailers currently using the service
This is a new technology on the Australian retail handling market so there are no existing users to reference.
4. Better product allocations
Company name
JDA
Product/service
JDA Allocation
Description
JDA Allocation helps you to keep the big plan in mind as it considers the details to create accurate store specific allocations.
Using up-to-date information from your transaction system generate store size profiles. JDA Allocation enhances and transiates key consumer insights into pinpointed allocations that finetune and optimise store=specific product assortments across your entire retail organisation.
With most allocation systems, you can only select one or two items to allocate at a time. But with JDA Allocation you can select 20 40 or even 100 items at a time – or even an entire assortment – to allocate and push through in one round.
This supreme scalability saves time and enables you to determine your ideal product mix for each store a quickly and easily as possible.
Additionally, the solution provides you with flexibility to derive an allocated quantity by any form of calculation. This means that you are free to create allocation details without being limited to a prescribed library of calculation methods.
Target market
Almost all retail sectors but particularly larger retailers.
Key benefits
- More accurate, store-specific allocations stemming from the ability to leverage relevant timely and intergrated data from supporting host, planning and optimisation systems.
- Effective inventory and assortment plan execution
- Ability to conduct and manage complex allocations in less time
- Increased in-stock merchandise percentage without any significant inventory increase
Approximate cost
PCA
Retailers currently using the technology
JDA is used by many leading apparel and softline retailers around the world including Hibbett Sports, Chico’s, River Island, Phillips Van Heusen, Casual Male, KappAhi, Charlotte Russe, Foschini, Fred Meyer and Brooks Brothers.
Quote from a happy client:
Gary King CIO – Chica’s FAS
“JDA Allocation is helping us reduce markdowns, leading to an improvement in our overall margins. In essence, the system ensures that the right product is delivered to the right place at the right time”
5. Container cooling system
Company name
Fanquip
Product/service
Container cooling system for safer unloading conditions.
Description
By using an assortment of its own technologies, air movement specialist Fanquip has been able to develop a movable ‘container cooling system’ that regulates the internal temperate of transport containers to keep workers comfortable and safe during industry approved manual handling tasks.
Key benefits
In some cases, it is economically unviable for a company to have automation to empty out transport containers, particularly if the delivery frequencies are low, quantities are small, or individual units are irregular or physically tiny in size.
Therefore, an element of manual handling is involved to complete the job, but this leads to another potential occupational health and safety problem that Fanquip has been able to resolve.
During the summer months in particular, internal temperatures within transport containers are significantly hotter than the already hot outdoor environment – and this can be very uncomfortable for employees assigned to this task. Fanquip’s container cooling system is permanently mounted wherever required: in the instance, the unit is in the receiving dock area.
It is added by a movable arm that can be manoeuvred from one position to another to comfortably hook up to any container access point regardless of where the vessel rests.
Cool air is produced by the air-conditioning module and then moved through flexible ducting by an industrially rated Fanquip blower.
The system is adaptable to any size of transport container and the size of the air-conditioning unit as well as the length and diameter of ducting is relative to each application, therefore ensuring the container cooling system is configurable to just about every situation of this type.
Approximate cost
POA
Retailers currently using the technology
The inaugural installation was made recently by a company that wanted to keep its staff cool as they unloaded rubber products from 40-foot containers. This user specifically stated if didn’t merely want fan-blown air distributed throughout the container, it demanded thermostatically controlled, ducted air that also used a temperate controller. Fanquip was able to deliver a solution that solved this problem and made working in these huge containers far more comfortable and safe for employees.