Healthy injection of technology for Holland & Barrett

Holland & Barrett, the UK retail chain for vitamins, minerals, health foods and nutritional and herbal supplements, has commissioned Triangle, a provider of control and communications solutions, to implement Retail Manager. The solution will enable it to manage products, pricing, promotions, training and general administration in its 500 stores over a broadband network, using a browser interface.

Jason Oakley, Buying Director at Holland & Barrett said, "Existing processes are largely paper-based and communicated via post, fax and telephone, which has proved time-consuming, costly and prone to error. By automating these and other processes using Retail Manager, we expect to be able to provide a better service to our stores and enable our associates to move from administrative tasks to serving customers."

Holland & Barrett has purchased three web-based business forms within Retail Manager, which alone will provide the retailer with rapid return on investment. They are Accidents and Incidents, Starters and Leavers and Petty Cash. These forms link directly to other databases, such as Planner, so that all events are managed as a workflow. For instance, for Starters and Leavers, there is a direct link to HR and Payroll, so that pay scales and commissions can be calculated according to training levels achieved. The project is expected to go live in January 2008.

Retail Manager automatically knows which store is using the systems so that it can display all forms in the relevant Holland & Barrett fascia. Karen Dyke, business development director for Triangle, said, "While this solution is backed by powerful technology, it is simple to use and delivers bottom line business benefits for Holland & Barrett. We are in the business of helping the company to deliver relevant data and processes."

www.retail-manager.com

New rugged hand-held area imager

Metrologic Instruments have announced the release of its industrial-grade hand-held area imager, the MS1890 Focus, engineered to provide scanning performance in challenging environments.

Designed to withstand two-meter falls, this IP54-rated omnidirectional imager has applications for retail back-of-store, manufacturing, transportation and logistics.

"The resilient MS1890 Focus is designed to overcome the often punishing conditions found in industrial settings," said Ebony Patterson, associate product manager for Metrologic. "With its IP54 rating, it's ideal for scanning in harsh conditions such as a dusty warehouses, steamy storerooms or rainy loading docks."

The MS1890 Focus decodes all standard bar codes regardless of orientation or print quality due to patented FirstFlash technology. The MS1890 Focus reads codes damaged, worn or wrapped in clear plastic.

The MS1890 Focus also features Code Select technology which allows the imager to capture up to seven bar codes in a single flash and then decode them in any pre-determined order. The MS1890 Focus also comes with an open system architecture which offers possibilities for developing value-added custom application modules embedded directly into the imager instead of the host.

For image-capture, the MS1890 Focus combines a high-resolution CMOS sensor with a powerful processor enabling a wide array of outputs.

Metrologic offer full technical support and manufacturer's warranty with option to extend in both cases.

www.Metrologic.com

Haven Holidays deploys revenue management system

JDA Software Group today announced it has signed an agreement with Haven Holidays, part of the Bourne Leisure Group, to implement the JDA Tour Revenue Optimizer solution to deliver accurate demand forecasts and an automated revenue management and pricing solution. The key objective is to maximise turnover within the Holidays Division of Haven Holidays. In recent years, the company's manual revenue management techniques have faced capacity constraints and rapidly changing demand patterns. The decision to select JDA technology to increase revenues was seen as a logical extension to current practices.

"As part of our constant drive to improve the quality of our 36 holiday parks, we continue to invest many millions of pounds every year in improving our estate both physically and aesthetically," said Neil Davies, head of commercial at Haven Holidays. "These redevelopments have resulted in available capacity for the holidays business that remains relatively static. Therefore, future increases in turnover will largely be generated by increasing margins rather than volume. The adoption of state-of-the-art technology is crucial in enabling us to achieve our financial goals."

Haven Holidays manages thousands of holiday packages, many of which have differing associated cost structures that can add complexity to the challenge of maximising tariff.

"This makes the revenue management of each park extremely challenging," Davies said. "JDA's expertise in the implementation of revenue management solutions across various sectors of the industry should ensure that we unlock the potential that exists within the holidays business. With more than half a million holiday packages sold each year and an increasing tendency to book late, it's crucial that we react immediately to any change in demand and adjust prices accordingly."

Haven Holidays initially selected JDA because of its industry-leading forecasting solution, JDA Demand, powered by Manugistics, as well as its broad, cross-industry revenue optimisation experience.

www.jda.com

Paul & Joe London invest in IT for expansion

Paul & Joe London, the franchise for the Paul & Joe brand, has selected Eurostop's retail management systems to support its planned expansion across London. The retailer currently has four high profile stores in Ledbury Road, Brompton Road, Sloane Street and Covent Garden, and is to open three new stores by the end of 2007 with more following in 2008. The entire Paul & Joe range is available in the shops, which include womenswear, menswear and childrenswear, shoes and accessories.

Paul & Joe London will be installing Eurostop's WinRMIS at its head office to manage stock and coordinate sales and merchandise data from the stores. WinPOS will be installed in the shops giving staff access to the latest stock positions and customer loyalty data.

Claire Brake, General Manager at Paul & Joe London commented, "We needed a new system to support our aggressive expansion plans. We were impressed by Eurostop's deep understanding of the retail fashion industry, the broad array of functionality within the product and that their customers speak very highly of the systems and the service provided."

Phillip Moylan, Sales and Marketing Manager at Eurostop said, "Our aim at Eurostop is to automate as many processes as possible and provide as much functionality as possible, allowing our customers to pick and chose the features that best support their business. We are delighted to welcome Paul & Joe London as customers and look forward to working with them in the future."

www.eurostop.co.uk