RIS Executive News Brief - April 20, 2005

4/20/2005

Specialty Retailers Leverage Customer Data to Differentiate

Providing customers with premier levels of service and experience in the store is critical for retailers to compete effectively in today's market. Seventy percent of the top 100 specialty retailers can identify customers at the POS and 85 percent are able to identify customer purchasing patterns at corporate, according to the LakeWest Group Sixth Annual POS Benchmarking Study. "The key to good customer service, whether through a unique shopping experience or value-added services, is good information," says Ken Morris, president of LakeWest Group. He drills down into this topic in the upcoming Web seminar, "Customer Experience: The Critical Metric for Successful Store Operations," produced by RIS News, which will be broadcast Thursday April 21, at 2:00 pm EST.

Click here to register for the event.
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BP PetroChina Selects NCR RealPOS
BP PetroChina Petroleum, a joint venture of BP and PetroChina, installs NCR RealPOS 30 point-of-sale terminals in all of its Express convenience store locations across China's Guangdong province.
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Circuit City Chooses RealiTea to Deliver Online Customer Service
Circuit City Stores chooses TeaLeaf RealiTea for visibility into what customers do and see while shopping on circuitcity.com.
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Sur La Table Cooks Up Cross Channel with Commercialware
Sur La Table selects a suite of CommercialWare products to deliver a centralized, cross-channel retail system for its growing chain of kitchenware stores.
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SAS Enhances BI Offering
SAS announces it is shipping an enhanced version of the SAS Enterprise BI Server, a major component of the SAS9 Intelligence Platform, to users worldwide.
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Wincor Nixdorf Introduces the BEETLE /V Package
Wincor Nixdorf introduces the BEETLE /V, a value-priced POS system that includes a retail-hardened BEETLE system with display, printer, keyboard and cash drawer.
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Printronix Releases Platform for Thermal and RFID Printers
Printronix releases the 5r thermal printing platform, which builds upon the technology of the T5000e and SL5000e series, further enhancing the UHF multiprotocol RFID printer for EPCglobal.
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Industry Events

May 10 - 12, 2005 -- i2 Planet 2005 produced by i2 Technologies, JW Marriott Desert Ridge, Phoenix, AZ. For information: www.i2.com

2005 Retail Trends Forum
RIS is providing a snapshot of the industry's emerging trends in an upcoming forum right in your area. The half-day seminar will include a preview of the RIS/Gartner Retail Technology Study, as well as presentations on topics including consumer-driven replenishment and real world RFID insight. Speakers include Jeff Roster, VP of global industries for retail, Gartner, Mohsen Mohazami, VP of IBSG, Cisco and Andrew Gaffney, group publisher of RIS.

Click here for more information or to register for May 4 at the Westin New York at Times Square, May 5 at the Crowne Plaza Boston-Natick or May 12 at the Wyndam Dallas Market Center.

Improve communications, enhance productivity and cut costs! Attend a free web seminar May 31, 2005 from industry leader, Mitel. This live web seminar will focus on how Mitel Your Assistant conferencing and collaboration solutions can bring your associates closer together, slash costs and improve productivity across the board. Click here to register.
Learn how the durable Symbol MC50 enterprise digital assistant (EDA) helps increase retail productivity and decrease IT headaches. Click here to get your FREE EDA Info Kit, including a Forrester report defining the essential features to demand in an EDA and a Symbol White Paper on the MC50.

Learn how the Symbol MC3000 mobile computer helps boost productivity and enhance enterprise flexibility. Get your FREE MC3000 Mobility Kit today. It includes a buying guide, an application brief, white papers and a Flash demo that contain answers you need to make an informed purchase decision. Click here now.

Join New Edge Networks in your favorite city for a free seminar, and gain the knowledge needed to join the broadband revolution. Navigating the way to Broadband IP Solutions, will provide solutions for navigating broadband migration roadblocks, including CISP certification and security, POS equipment compatibility and application integration. Click here to register and for more information.

Join Manugistics at enVISION 2005, the world's premier conference dedicated to perfecting the entire demand and supply chain. Learn more at http://www.manu.com/envision2005/. Manugistics - One Step Ahead of Demand.

11 Reasons Why You Should Visit NSB Group at Retail Systems - including a FREE MSN music card and a chance to WIN a Creative Zen portable media center (a $500.00 value)! Click here for more reasons to visit us at booth # 102.

Microsoft Business Solutions for Retail Management System Solutions in Action free demo CD gives you a no-risk opportunity to view the latest retail solutions from Microsoft. With Microsoft Retail Management System, you can keep using the same software and systems, even as you grow into multiple stores and retail channels. Click here to order your free CD today.

Industry White Papers

Meeting Multi-Channel Customers' Rising Expectations: Retail Opportunity -- and Survival Strategy
Multi-channel shoppers are already playing a big part in many retail success stories, but the industry has only begun to scratch the surface. Retailers who can successfully service this fast-growing, high-spending group gain access to a valuable asset. Click here to download and learn how. Sponsored by GERS.

Beyond Sarbanes-Oxley: Using Compliance Requirements to Boost Business Performance
How can regulatory compliance lead to competitive advantage through increased enterprise-wide visibility, improved internal controls and operating efficiency? Click here to download and learn how. Sponsored by Oracle.

Executive Intelligence

The New World View of Category Management: Offshore

By Mark Nelson, executive vice president of Market Analytics Solutions, Symphony Service

Leading consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail companies have gained a competitive edge through the use of innovative category management and space planning activities to achieve sales growth and profitability goals. In order to accomplish these objectives, timely and accurate execution at retail and cost effective category management efforts must become priorities.

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LG Electronics Manages Transportation Network
LG Electronics USA selects Ryder Systems to design and manage its U.S. consumer electronics and home appliance product warehousing.
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La Jolla Club Golf Company Automates Supply Chain
La Jolla Club Golf Company, a golf equipment company that designs, manufactures and markets premium golf clubs, uses SPS Commerce's hosted EDI services with Dick's Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy.
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Symbol and Philips Announce RFID Gen 2 Early Adopter Initiative
Symbol Technologies and Royal Philips Electronics announce an agreement to cooperate in the development of Electronic Product Code Generation 2 solutions.
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Francisco Partners Acquires RedPrairie
RedPrairie Corporation enters into an agreement to be acquired by Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity fund.
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CVS March Sales Increase 34 Percent
CVS announces that total sales for the five-week period that ended April 2, 2005 were $3.55 billion, increasing 34 percent compared to $2.65 billion in the prior year period.
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Build-A-Bear Shows Increase in First Quarter Sales
Build-A-Bear Workshop announces that its fiscal 2005 first quarter (13 weeks that ended April 2, 2005) preliminary net retail sales increased 23.4 percent to $85.7 million compared to $69.5 million in the first quarter a year ago.
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