CHICAGO, May 17, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Alphameric(tm), Inc. (www.alphamericusa.com), a worldwide provider of retail merchandising solutions, today announced the launch of smartdecision(tm), a unique merchandise planning and assortment planning solution, at the Retail Systems 2004 Conference and Exposition in Chicago. Designed to meet the demands and requirements of retailers managing fashion or highly-seasonal products, the smartdecision workflow system brings decision planning technology into the 21st century giving retailers the ability to make merchandising decisions down to the individual store department level based upon characteristics such as physical store size, sales volume and even climatic zones.
Based upon the Microsoft .NET framework for increased scalability, performance and ease of deployment, smartdecision is the only decision planning solution that can manage product assortments at stores in different climatic zones allowing product allocations to be made based upon the seasonal characteristics of the individual stores. The smartdecision workflow system, which is designed to enhance the flow of information and transition seamlessly between the merchandise and assortment planning modules, also provides retailers with immediate access to images of the product assortments at each individual store.
"Our new smartdecision solution is truly the only solution that meets and exceeds the demands and requirements of 21st century retailers operating in an increasingly competitive and cost-sensitive market," explained Andrew Blarherwick, Managing Director for Alphameric's Retail Division. "This solution ensures that retailers are delivering the most appropriate product assortments to their individual stores based upon climatic, demographic and store size profiles. Furthermore, smartdecision not only improves efficiencies at the merchandising level, but we've built the solution on the Microsoft .NET framework to improve implementation and management at the IT level."
Based upon years of practical experience in designing, implementing and using merchandise and assortment planning solutions since the mid 1980s, the smartdecision suite provides a unique blend of 'top-down' merchandise planning functionality, store planning and grading, assortment planning and order management, as well as in-season re-forecasting and open to buy management.
Outdating 20th century merchandise and assortment planning solutions, smartdecision is a single integrated workflow-driven solution that raises planning standards and capabilities in a uniform business-driven manner, delivering increased efficiency over other solutions that utilize non-integrated applications across the business.
The robust smartdecision solution provides a new level of agility allowing retailers to quickly respond to consumer needs. To manage the planning requirements for stores with varying geographic, demographic and size characteristics, smartdecision provides retailers with a variety of unique management features. Retailers can cluster their stores based upon characteristics such sales volume and space, and can manage seasonal differences by Climatic Zone, evaluate different size profiles by size/color options in different store clusters and grades, and can quickly and easily blend continuity products with new products to provide the appropriate mix.
About Alphameric Retail
Alphameric Retail, a subsidiary of Alphameric plc (LSE:ALM) is a leading retailing specialist, providing solutions and technologies that deliver everything necessary to be a successful retailer. For more than 25 years Alphameric has provided software and systems throughout North America, UK and Europe. With more than 25,000 retail software implementations, Alphameric is a leader in delivering integrated software and professional services for the retail industry. The company's agile solutions for POS, merchandising, enterprise and business intelligence continue to increase customers' efficiencies and revenues in today's fast moving retail environment.
Alphameric's expertise is based on an in-depth understanding of retail combined with a practical approach to technology-based solutions. The company is focused on two areas of excellence: the retail enterprise and retail intelligence. Within the retail enterprise, Alphameric's offering encompasses both head office and store-level event systems - from the back office all the way through to the till at the front of the store. It also includes best-of-breed merchandising, visualization and product design solutions. For retail intelligence, Alphameric provides a complete range of solutions to support the best decision-making, including comprehensive analysis, planning and forecasting.
The company's client base includes Marks and Spencer, House of Fraser, JJB Sports, Dunelm, Nike Europe, the Outdoor Group, Bon Marche and all:sports, retail bookmakers Coral Racing, Ladbrokes, Stanley Racing and Tote as well as key retail hospitality brands Costa Coffee, Pret a Manger and TGI Fridays.
For additional information about Alphameric products and solutions, call 877-484-3344 or visit www.alphamericusa.com.