Oracle Unveils Oracle Product Information Management for Retail

 http://www.oracle.com/corporate/press/2008_jan/pimretail.html?rssid=rss_ocom_pr


NRF 97th ANNUAL CONVENTION & EXPO, NEW YORK,  14-JAN-2008 05:00 AM   Oracle today announced the availability of Oracle(r) Product Information Management for Retail, an innovative master data management application that allows global retailers to create a single, enterprise view of all product information to help unlock value from within the business. Oracle Product Information Management for Retail helps retailers improve operational efficiencies, accelerate the speed-to-market of new product introductions and service offerings across different channels, improve customer intimacy and automate collaboration with trading partners.

As the industry continues to experience a dramatic transformation and the channels of retailing expand, retailers are being forced to devote significant time and resources to addressing data quality issues. These efforts are cutting into their profits and negatively impacting the bottom line as a result of factors such as wasted labor and lost productivity. Making matters worse, ignoring the data quality problem is not an option as it can lead directly to missed sales, lost market share and customer dissatisfaction when products are unavailable or slow to reach the shelf.

"Many retailers are missing the point on Product Information Management and as a result are not properly preparing themselves for the future," said Andrew White, Research Vice President, Gartner. "To be successful with business-led and technology-enabled initiatives such as customer centricity, business intelligence, multi-channel integration and SOA, retailers must establish a solid information infrastructure. With PIM, retailers can build a foundational part of that information infrastructure that will outlast and support any number of business applications and business process changes from today to the future. Retail CIOs should evaluate PIM sooner rather than later as a means to future-proof their needs for a single view of product from consumer to supplier."

Oracle Product Information Management for Retail integrates, standardizes and synchronizes fragmented product data from multiple systems into a single, central data repository. As a result, the solution is able to deliver a trusted source of product information. This is especially useful for retailers with multiple item masters, multiple sales channels or those who require data synchronization with suppliers. Retail mandates around the use of Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) standards have proven to be catalysts for many retail product information initiatives. Key features of Oracle Product Information Management for Retail include:

* New Product Induction and Product Synchronization: enables retailers to synchronize product information with information from their suppliers to help reduce errors and improve overall data quality

* Automated Syndication through GDSN: out-of-the-box certified solution for GDSN and 1Sync data pool

* Collaborative Processes: allows the extended retail enterprise and third parties to be involved in the product setup process

* Flexible Attributes and Content Management: helps retailers maintain all of the various attributes that products have across different channels within a single system

* Flexible Configuration: allows the user experience to be tailored to user roles and provides for a streamlined, secure process

* Unstructured Data Management: maintains information from various formats in the same repository and automates integration of data and services between internal applications to help ensure data integrity

* Broad Data Quality Tools: maintains a clean, accurate single source of the truth

* Open-standards based integration architecture: distributes accurate information to the extended enterprise

"Oracle Product Information Management for Retail builds on Oracle's commitment to provide global retailers with innovative solutions that address their most critical business imperatives and deliver measurable value," said Hardeep Gulati, Vice President PLM and PIM Product Strategy, Oracle. "We see a significant opportunity to help retailers and their suppliers become more profitable and deliver increased shareholder value from leveraging a single source of accurate product information."


Anchor Blue Retail Group, Inc. Selects Oracle Retail Stores Applications to Enhance Customer Service and Drive Higher Sales

http://www.oracle.com/corporate/press/2008_jan/anchorblue.html

Specialty Apparel Retailer to Help Streamline Returns Process for Customers and Tackle Fraud with Oracle Retail Returns Management Solution

NRF 97th ANNUAL CONVENTION & EXPO, NEW YORK,   14-JAN-2008 05:00 AM    Anchor Blue Retail Group, Inc., which operates Anchor Blue stores, a specialty retailer of juniors and guys apparel and accessories, and is licensed to operate Levi's/Dockers Outlet by MOST, has selected Oracle(r) Retail stores applications to help increase customer intimacy, make more profitable sales and reduce fraudulent returns in its over 250 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. The specialty retailer will implement Oracle Retail Point-of-Service, Oracle Retail Central Office, Oracle Retail Back Office and Oracle Retail Returns Management.
Privately owned by Florida-based Sun Capital Partners, Anchor Blue has recently embarked on a strategy to expand into a national chain. Already with a strong presence on the West Coast, the retailer now has stores in 12 states following its recent entrance into new markets in Georgia and Florida. Anchor Blue recognized the need to support its growth strategy with best-in-class technology solutions at the store level that can help provide a superior customer shopping experience for customers and bolster profits for the business.

"We place a significant emphasis on providing our fashion conscious customers with the latest trends, freshest styles and a great overall shopping experience in our stores," said Mike Caldera, Anchor Blue Retail Group's Vice President of Information Technology. "Our long-standing, strategic relationship with Oracle Retail has delivered significant value to our business and we believe that this new investment in their point-of-sale and returns management applications will be equally successful."

In selecting Oracle Retail Returns Management, Anchor Blue Retail Group is on the cutting edge of addressing a significant issue facing the retail industry today. According to a 2006 National Retail Federation study, return fraud costs retailers $9.6 billion annually. Oracle Retail Returns Management will help Anchor Blue Retail Group process returns easily and accurately across all its stores through real-time return authorizations that screen for returns fraud by analyzing return behavior and identifying specific return patterns. This will allow the retailer to simultaneously reduce fraud and improve customer service.

Anchor Blue Retail Group's selection of Oracle Retail stores applications is an important next step in the retailer's efforts to transform its business by laying the internal foundation of supply chain, logistics, merchandising, IT, corporate finance and human resources to ultimately improve the store experience. The specialty retailer has already implemented a broad selection of Oracle Retail merchandising and planning applications to help build better visibility into the supply chain and renew focus on its core customers.

"Anchor Blue Retail Group's transformation efforts have the retailer poised for success as the business looks to grow and expand into a national chain," said Duncan Angove, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Oracle Retail. "We are pleased to build on our proven track record of working together to deliver additional value to Anchor Blue through their implementation of Oracle Retail stores applications."

About Anchor Blue Retail Group, Inc.
Anchor Blue Retail Group, Inc. is an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. It operates Anchor Blue stores, a specialty retailer of juniors and guys apparel and accessories since 1981, and is licensed to operate Levi's/Dockers Outlet by MOST. Anchor Blue Retail Group, Inc. is based in Ontario, California and currently runs 252 retail locations in 31 states and Puerto Rico. More information about Anchor Blue is available at http://www.anchorblue.com.