German fashion house selects Oracle

Wehmeyer, the German fashion house, has selected Oracle Retail Price Optimization to more effectively manage its inventory, Oracle announced this week. Wehmeyer will use the Oracle Retail application to introduce a more advanced approach to managing in-season inventory, assortment and pricing strategies across its 40 stores in Germany.

Following the buyout of the former KarstadtQuelle AG subsidiary, the private equity investor firm MRSBC Holding has focused on developing a 'Roadmap to Value' that will support business transformation. As part of a wider strategic change management programme that includes better promotions management and store refurbishment, Wehmeyer's new owners have identified key areas of the retail business that can deliver gross margin return on investment quickly and efficiently, as the first step in this process.

Increasing profitability through a better understanding of customer demand and more effective inventory management is one key area, and Oracle Retail Price Optimization will help provide Wehmeyer with greater visibility into customer demand, the impact of price points on inventory levels, gross margin performance and optimal in-season inventory management decisions. Wehmeyer's selection of Oracle Retail Price Optimization marks an important first step in the retailer's overall business transformation.

"Oracle Retail offered us a scalable platform on which to transform the Wehmeyer business," said Thomas Sajovec, head of administration & logistics at Wehmeyer. "Oracle Retail Price Optimization offers a way to unlock the business value in our assets quickly, using price and markdowns to help achieve the best possible margins before the end of the season or product lifecycle."

www.oracle.com/retail

Wincor Nixdorf launches outsourced transaction service for retail

Wincor Nixdorf has launched a new retail transaction processing platform, eServices.EFT to provide a complete card-handling service. Delivered using a fully outsourced shared services model, eServices.EFT handles charge, credit, debit, store, petroleum, loyalty, e-top-up and gift card processing from multiple issuers.

Steve Porter, director for UK Services comments, "Switching to eServices.EFT removes a significant fixed IT cost from retailers, and replaces it with a variable fee based on volumes. This is a huge opportunity for retailers. They can now completely offload the hardware supply, service, maintenance, network and transaction processing tasks to eServices.EFT, allowing them to re-focus on the real challenges facing the retail sector."

For many retail groups, handling card transactions requires significant in-house IT investment. Systems, software and personnel are dedicated to providing an always-on capability, representing a high fixed cost to the business. Outsourcing non-core tasks, such as card transaction processing, to specialists is a fast-growing trend.

"No other processing provider is able to offer such a comprehensive service for retailers, from EPOS hardware, installation and support, the supply and support of latest-generation software, through to the provision of network connectivity and transaction processing from a single supplier. Outsourcing services to Wincor Nixdorf makes retailing just that bit easier," says Steve Porter.

www.wincor-nixdorf.com

Firebox.com goes stateside

Firebox.com, the online retailer for gifts, gadgets and games, has gone stateside with a dedicated U.S. website, fulfillment and shipping centre.

Visitors to Firebox.com will be automatically directed to the UK or US version depending on the geo-location of their IP address and American orders are picked, packed and dispatched locally in the US.

The American launch has been a challenge for the UK born company - particularly the in-house IT department which had to re-develop the entire site to allow for customised US descriptions of up to 1000 products.

The company previously supplied the US market from its UK warehouse. Falling dollar rates made products relatively expensive for US customers, but the real issue was international shipping costs making the customer proposition unattractive. But in the run-up to Christmas 2007 Firebox launched local fulfillment and hasn't looked back.

Operations at the new warehouse based in Philadelphia are now synchronised with the UK distribution centre. When a new product is added to the range there is in-built capability to add two language descriptions to the site and both warehouses receive automatic notification to expect delivery. When an order is dispatched the details are uploaded so that customers can track delivery progress.

Christian Robinson, the company's MD explains, "Apart from delivering technically, Firebox has built a reputation on excellent service and a whole shopping experience that customers enjoy throughout the site. We needed to ensure that was replicated at all levels in America, and so a lot of time has been spent communicating the essence of the Firebox brand to our US staff." The dedicated US site was beta-launched towards the end of 2006, but in just two months, sales outstripped the previous 12 months of American orders.

Firebox.com has also simplified the ordering process on both sites by breaking the checkout into two stages. The first stage focuses on where the order is going along with how it's getting there and the second part deals with how the order is being paid for. The checkout uses AJAX, a Web 2.0 technology, to speed up actions like browsing delivery options and redeeming promotional vouchers without reloading the page.

www.firebox.com

Store of the future report

New research commissioned by Visa Europe indicates that online and bricks and mortar stores are likely to perform complementary roles in the future. With internet sales expected to account for almost 20% of turnover by 2012-15, and websites becoming increasingly transactional rather than informational, we are also likely to see a rise in the application of technology within the retailer community. As a result there will be a rise in automated self scanning, product tracking for inventory using RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) and targeted promotions delivered directly to consumers while they shop. In addition they are likely to have access to PC/web based facilities in store giving immediate access to product and customer reviews.

According to 'The Store of the Future 2012-2015', a Visa Europe commissioned report by the Centre for Retail Research, the fate of the high street seems uncertain with over one quarter of retailers (28.7%) expecting a drop in store numbers. Store formats are likely to change with 70% of retailers expecting to introduce new formats and more information services by this time.

Customers will be able to order on the website and pick up items in stores whilst smaller stores may focus on services and information rather than holding large inventories. Automated self scanning begins to loom large on the horizon with over 22% of retailers expecting to introduce this in some form. RFID tags are likely to be introduced by 34% of retailers to help them make better use of product inventory management and in the future used to offer customer promotions, whilst almost 50% or retailers expect to use technology to send customer targeted promotions using demographics and loyalty card information using email and texts.

According to Dr. Steve Perry, Executive Vice president, Visa Europe: "The critical role that converging technologies are going to play in shaping the retail space of the future is clear for all to see. The study shows that while changes may occur over a relatively short time period, the Store of the Future is likely to be shaped by a range of technologies in the digital era, but all will have a common goal - to create greater convenience for the customer and in turn achieve stronger differentiation and business success for the retailer."

www.visaeurope.com