Connected Retailer - An Epicor Blog

Hope, Dreams, and a Touch of Technology goes a long way in Liberian Schools and Orphanages

2012-11-20T08:00:00-08:00

I’ve attended the SuperSaturday event for the last two years. It’s packed with the top retail analysts and C-level executives who are in town for the NRF Annual Convention & Expo. The event is fast-paced covering the latest data and trends in the retail industry. However, what I look forward to most about the event is Greg Buzek/IHL Services talking about the Retail Orphan Initiative (www.retailroi.org) and how our (Epicor) sponsorship donations aided children around the world – providing new schools, playgrounds, safe water wells, building homes for orphans and caregivers, rescuing hundreds of girls from human trafficking, and distributing high nutrient meals to starving people.

Being able to give through sponsorships is wonderful but seeing who you’re giving to is truly magical. I know this because I just came back from visiting three schools and two orphanages in Liberia that have benefited from RetailROI funding.

What did I see? Hundreds of smiling, happy children hungry to learn, dream, and aspire to become doctors, teachers, beauticians, carpenters and journalists in a country they love so dearly. They may not have electricity or running water but they have a roof over their heads, food in their bellies, a school to attend – with teachers, a principal and a pastor mentor – thanks to RetailROI and Lifesong for Orphans. Eight months ago RetailROI sent Jones Christian Academy twenty netbooks so they could start a computer class. This week we installed Khan Academy software which will provide both teachers and students additional lessons across several subjects and improve their computer skills. Also with their new printer, they may even start printing out tests!

Being there in person also helped us to better assess other needs of the schools and orphanages that we can provide assistance to in the future, like building an additional classroom for the deaf students at the Rehab School (their classroom has been located outside), ensuring every child has a desk to sit at, fixing security/property walls that haven’t been able to withstand excess water during the rainy season, determining what can be put in place to better prepare the kids for high school, college, and employment and so much more.

However, the highlight of my trip was spending time with the kids. I am very grateful to Build-A-Bear-Workshop^® who filled one of my suitcases with 100 smallfrys® bears, bunnies, and monkeys to give to the kids. From the youngest to the oldest – the kids loved them!

To no surprise, there was not a learning curve on how to use games on my iPad even though most had never seen one – their favorites were Angry Birds, Tomcat, and Paper Toss – not to mention seeing themselves in the camera.

Key “learnings” for me are these kids need a secure place to live with opportunities to dream and be able to see those dreams come true. Our funding needs to focus on sustainable long term items such as education and technology that will allow for them to succeed in the future. To assist with this funding, Epicor will be taking donations of $10 for RetailROI at the upcoming NRF in January 2013. As a thank you for your donation you will receive a Build-A-Bear Workshop smallfry® bear, bunnie or monkey. Please visit Epicor at the NRF Expo (booth #1805) and Help a friend – build a future!

Three key goals of RetailROI:

Bring Awareness to the enormous needs of orphans worldwide
Encourage companies (Retailers, Vendors, Manufacturers) to create programs internally for their companies to help with the need
Raise Funds through the following ways to help "feet on the street" charities who are making a real difference

For more information about the Retail Orphan Initiative, please visit www.retailroi.org.

Posted by Diane Cerulli, Director Retail Product Marketing, Epicor

Innovative Technology from Epicor Flourishes with Newly Designed Stores: Build-A-Bear Workshop Unveils through November

2012-10-26T12:15:00-07:00

Epicor Retail customer Build-A-Bear Workshop®, the interactive entertainment retailer of customized stuffed animals, recently opened its first highly anticipated newly designed store at West County Center in St. Louis. The store is one of six that the company will open through November in select markets across the United States. The updated store allows Guests of all ages to personalize the bear-making process and offers them a different experience each time they visit a Build-A-Bear Workshop store.

The new interactive stations throughout the store leverage Epicor Retail Multi-Channel Transaction Adapter (MCTA)--recently honored with a Gold Stevie^® and People’s Choice Stevie^®from the 2012 American Business Awards. The MCTA is used to build the transaction with pertinent data all along the way as the Guest scans their “bear” of choice and adds personalities, adds sound at the Hear Me station, names it and gives it an address at the Name Me station which all leads up to the final Take Me Home check out at Epicor Retail Store point of sale (POS) system. Build-A-Bear’s vision, innovation and inspired use of technology bring the ultimate interactive experience to its customers, young and old and Epicor is proud to be part of it.

Visit a newly imagined “Build-A-Bear Workshop” store near you:

West County Center in St. Louis, Mo.
Stoneridge Shopping Center® in Pleasanton, Calif.
Annapolis Shopping Mall in Annapolis, Md.
The Somerset Collection in Troy, Mich. (opening Friday, Oct. 26)
Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, Va. (opening Friday, Nov. 9)
Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis, Ind. (opening Friday, Nov. 16)

Posted by the Epicor Social Media Team

Customer Engagement on the Rise

2012-09-20T08:00:00-07:00

Over the last year customer centricity has been one of the top concerns in the minds of retailers. In a recent thought leadership report by Apparel Magazine, the ever-growing and fluctuating topic of customer engagement is brought to a new level – Customer Centricity 2.0. According to Apparel, “Today’s leading apparel retailers are changing their focus from improving what customers will encounter within the store to how consumers can engage the brand and the enterprise as a whole in all channels, in turn enhancing the entire shopping experience and fostering long-term retailer-customer relationships.”

If you ask Apparel, the “essential elements” of managing a legitimate customer-centric organization requires the following:

CRM/Clienteling
Advanced Segmentation
Mobile POS and Mobile CRM
Channel Unification and Channel-Agnostic Retailing
Integrated Planning, Merchandising and Allocation
Advanced Business Intelligence

When asked about what successful retailers are doing to achieve heightened customer engagement, Ian Rawlins, vice president of marketing for Epicor, said “Advanced transaction and CRM systems are key, but customer centricity must be enabled and supported in all areas of the enterprise. Retailers are also looking for fully integrated solutions that provide a seamless, multi-channel view of information – solutions that let retailers know, in real time, what inventory is available where, and allow inventory in one location or channel to be used to fill orders in a different one.”

What are the challenges of conducting business in today's marketplace? What is your organization doing to become a more customer centric organization?

Posted by the Epicor Social Media Team.

Epicor and Ace Hardware continue to work together to enhance customer experience in retail field

2012-08-10T15:55:26-07:00

As the provider of a fully integrated technology solution to 14 distribution centers in the U.S.A. and 4,600 stores located in all 50 states and 60 countries, Ace Hardware Corporation is one of the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the industry. Ranked by J.D. Power and Associates as the “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Home Improvement Stores for the Sixth Consecutive Year,” it’s no wonder that the company has reigned as the helpful hardware store in thousands of communities across America since 1924. With the recent announcement that the company will continue to choose the functionality, flexibility, and integration capabilities of Epicor point of sale (POS) software as its only recommended POS solution, it is clear that Ace Hardware is committed to remaining a leader in the field.

However, the company is not only marked as one of the top competitors in the industry; it is also known as a visionary among them. When Ace entered the retail scene 85 years ago, their approach to business was inspired, allowing individual stores to purchase merchandise in bulk to save money and buy at the lowest possible price. Ace has continued on this trend and continues to be notable for providing a variety of hardware products, as well as niche items and services relevant to each individual community.

Ace makes it possible to remain relevant by allowing each store to be independently-owned and operated by local entrepreneurs who live in the neighborhoods in which the store resides. Not only are these business owners passionate and hard-working, but they are also active community members who are invested in assessing and serving the needs of their clients and neighbors. By extending their relationship with Epicor for the next three years, the hardware retailer will continue to protect their status as a reliable, efficient, and profitable business operation that is dedicated to customer satisfaction.

Posted by the Epicor Social Media Team