SkillNet Solution Highlights

• Oracle Retail Stores Implementation
• Integration to Merchandising, Sales Audit, Store Inventory Management and other systems
• Major customizations include Centralized Customer Lookup, Centralized Store Returns, Pricing for non-receipted returns, Employee Discounts, Credit Certification related changes, item lookup changes

"As we expand we want to ensure our systems will enable a consistently high level of customer experience at our stores. SkillNet's expertise and integration technology enables us to do just that by providing a best practices driven implementation plan for the new generation POS system."

Chief Information Officer at this retailer

SkillNet Solution Benefits

• State of the art Java based POS solution to support stores expansion
• Rich functionality and real-time integration with corporate systems enable store associates to provide superior customer service

The Retailer’s Goals

The retailer was planning on aggressive stores expansion, and did not want to it to come at the cost of customer service. The goal was to consistently provide superior customer service across its brands, which number over twenty-five, and ‘in seam’ with the growth. In addition, the retailer needed to streamline processes across its various channels. While the retailer did have a store implementation strategy, and preferred best of breed systems, an implementation partner was needed, who could implement the systems with a view to integrate them and facilitate seamless processes.

In SkillNet, the client found an ideal partner, with SkillNet’s flagship integration framework, StoreHub™, paving the way for an execution plan that met all of the business milestones.

SkillNet Approach

Given the multiplicity of brands and products, SkillNet first invested time into customizing the various systems needed to keep step with the aggressive growth plan. The focus was on driving the adoption of new generation systems at the store level to provide superior transaction support and enable an optimal customer experience. Next, SkillNet emphasized the seamless execution of processes between physical stores and other channels, as well as between stores and the corporate office, using StoreHub™.

StoreHub™- SkillNet's Store Integration Framework uses pre-fabricated integration process templates, application connectors for industry leading applications and data transformation logic that makes the integration between store systems and other applications in the retail enterprise as easy as plug and play. It uses business standards such as NRF IXRetail and technology standards such as BPEL and XML Webservices to provide the technology foundation for such a solution ensuring the integration approach provides better flexibility and faster response to changes demanded by the market. Given the technology foundation, StoreHub™ also provides a tangible starting point for retailers to evolve to a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA).

The SkillNet solution enabled a common, next generation POS system across the retailer’s stores. In addition, the POS system is well integrated with Merchandising, Inventory and Sales Audit systems, empowering the retailer to stay agile and customer centric.

About This Retailer

This retailer is a leading apparel company, which successfully competes in the marketplace through a multi-brand, multi-channel and multi-product category strategy. With a family of 27 brands, the retailer provides high quality apparel to different consumers and lifestyles, across multiple categories - from sportswear to fragrances and from swim to outerwear; and across all distribution channels - from luxury, department and specialty stores to regional chains and mass retailers.