NEW YORK and AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 14, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Infor, a leading provider of beautiful business applications specialized by industry and built for the cloud, and Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM) today announced a partnership designed to redefine retail management software. The companies will build a new, cloud-based retail management solution for Whole Foods Market that is expected to enable the grocer to operate faster and more efficiently while enhancing customer experience. The new retail management suite, Infor CloudsuiteTM Retail, will also be made available to companies in the retail industry.
"The new retail platform we will co-create with Infor will be unlike anything currently on the market, better leveraging major technology advances to deliver much more value at lower cost," said Jason Buechel, executive vice president and chief information officer of Whole Foods Market. "With Infor, Whole Foods Market has found a partner ideally suited to help us co-create a new retail platform that enables a more efficient, connected enterprise with greater visibility, flexibility, insight, and ease-of-use for our team members – all while delivering a better end-to-end shopping experience for our customers."
Through a combination of cloud-based automation and more advanced, efficient processes for a wide variety of strategic merchandising and supply chain management functions, Whole Foods Market expects the new platform's advanced analytics to provide insights that will drive business performance and operational efficiencies. The new platform's advanced IT infrastructure is also expected to deliver more in-depth information and an enhanced shopping experiences for Whole Foods Market customers both in-store and online through Whole Foods Market's digital channels.
Infor today also announced details of its plan to develop the next-generation end-to-end retail software suite, with Whole Foods Market serving as a collaborative partner in the endeavor. Through the partnership, Whole Foods Market will become a working lab for Infor development engineers and designers from Hook & Loop, Infor's Manhattan-based internal design agency. Infor teams will work alongside Whole Foods Market team members to identify critical process improvements and develop a purpose-built software suite that enables Whole Foods Market to make better and faster decisions, take advantage of modern technologies like cloud and open source, and deliver a better experience back to its customers.
"Over the last five years, Infor has pioneered the modernization of enterprise software, from the focus on design as a core competency, to the embrace of open source technology, to the delivery of mission-critical ERP in a multi-tenant cloud," said Duncan Angove, President of Infor. "By partnering with Whole Foods Market, a company that shares our vision, values, and culture, Infor is poised to disrupt the retail software industry, helping companies use data science to drive real-time decisions and a consistent, beautiful experience that keeps customers coming back again-and-again."
About Whole Foods Market
Founded in 1978 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market is the leading retailer of natural and organic foods, the first national "Certified Organic" grocer, and uniquely positioned as America's Healthiest Grocery Store™. In fiscal year 2014, the Company had sales of approximately $14 billion and currently has 431 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market employs approximately 91,000 team members and has been ranked for 18 consecutive years as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America by Fortune magazine. For more information, please visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com/values-matter.
About Infor
Infor builds beautiful business applications with last mile functionality and scientific insights for select industries delivered as a cloud service. With 13,000 employees and customers in more than 200 countries and territories, Infor automates critical processes for industries including healthcare, manufacturing, fashion, wholesale distribution, hospitality, retail, and public sector. Infor software helps eliminate the need for costly customization through embedded deep industry domain expertise. Headquartered in New York City, Infor is also home to one of the largest creative agencies in Manhattan, Hook & Loop, focused on delivering a user experience that is fun and engaging. Infor deploys its applications primarily on the Amazon Web Services cloud and open source platforms. To learn more about Infor, please visit www.infor.com.
Infor customers include:
- 18 of the top 20 aerospace companies
- 10 of the top 10 high tech companies
- 10 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies
- 21 of the 25 largest U.S. healthcare delivery networks
- 18 of the 20 largest U.S. cities
- 20 of the top 20 automotive suppliers
- 17 of the top 20 industrial distributors
- 15 of the top 20 global retailers
- 4 of the top 5 brewers
- 21 of the top 30 global banks
- 6 of the 10 largest global hotel brands
- 6 of the top 10 global luxury brands
This announcement reflects the direction Infor may take with regard to the specific product(s) described herein, all of which is subject to change by Infor in its sole discretion, with or without notice to you. This announcement is not a commitment to you in any way and you should not rely on this document or any of its content in making any decision. Infor is not committing to develop or deliver any specified enhancement, upgrade, product or functionality, even if such is described in this announcement and even if such description is accompanied by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should," "will," and/or similar expressions. Many factors can affect Infor's product development plans and the nature, content and timing of future product releases, all of which remain in the sole discretion of Infor. This announcement, in whole or in part, may not be incorporated into any contractual agreement with Infor or its subsidiaries or affiliates. Infor expressly disclaims any liability with respect to this announcement.